SUMMARY: In the wake of the Second Wizarding War, Magical Britain was forced to acknowledge that magic as it stood was simply too dangerous. Through a bitter combination of public opinion and external political pressure, the nation's foremost remaining witches and wizards were brought together to cast a terrible fiat upon the land. No spell cast in magical Britain, the edict issued, could ever be cast again.
Faced with the necessity of starting a new period of cooperation with the muggle government, Hogwarts sends an acceptance letter to a muggle. Meanwhile, there's political infighting on both sides of the magical divide, wizards are being extorted and assassinated, and a group of talented students are the only ones who can spend their time figuring out what seems to be going wrong with Magic…
A/N: For this fic, at least, book canon will be law. I want to explore wizarding politics and the way magic works, but I want to do so in a way that I'm reverse-engineering the series and dancing with the already set-down rules, not abusing them or stepping on their feet. So if you notice me deviating from the books, please help make sure I don't get away with it.
Other various warnings/statements of content:
- The primary relationships in this fic will be friendships, not romances.
- Most of the action will be focused on OCs.
- If you're willing to volunteer your time to brit-pick, that'd be uncommonly suave. Otherwise, beware, for I am estadounidense.
- This will be the longest thing I've ever attempted to write. If you have any advice on completing it, please let me know.
Harry Potter and all associated creations belong to J.K. Rowling; I am but a fool in love.
Muggle
October 1999
Dudley Dursley stared in slight disbelief at the newspaper clipping that was sitting mercilessly on the table in front of him. The disbelief wasn't aimed at the clipping itself, for he hadn't yet read it, nor, despite what his neighbors believed, was he stymied by the mere act of trying to read the paper. What astonished Dudley was not the waving and posturing of the figures in the photos, nor was it the large, tawny owl which had delivered the missives. He was familiar, frightening as it may be, with such oddities.
The oddity he was not familiar with was his cousin willingly sending him post.
Dudley had shared scantly a word with Harry since Harry had miraculously defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort just over a year before, an event which had ended a magical civil war and protected Dudley's world from hordes of genocidal supernaturals. It was not exactly a boon that could be forgotten, but it was also the case that Harry, perhaps due to Dudley's childhood sport of abusing him, had never really gotten into the spirit of wanting to interact with his beefier cousin.
Nevertheless, lying next to the Halloween edition of The Daily Prophet was a note scribbled in dark green ink:
Big D,
(The note began)
I am sending you this article on the hope that it may find your interest, survival-oriented man that you are.
In brief: magic is now significantly less powerful than it used to be. This seems like good news, but I know enough about the world to say that it probably isn't.
Keep on your toes. This should be a much easier feat than it would have been four or five years ago, since you can now actually find them.
Harry
It was not much of a note, but it was both more words than they had ever spoken, and, as it were, found Dudley's interest. He was a little bit confounded by his cousin's seemingly frivolous reason for sending the paper, but nonetheless moved to read it, well aware of the evil look in the owl's eye. (Owls were not, Dudley knew, as patient as E-Mails.)
WARLOCKS INSTITUTE RADICAL DECREE
It is a certainty that, after today's revolutionary binding occurred, no Dark Wizard would ever again be able to wreak havoc on our country. What is less certain is that we, the wizarding public, will not also be crippled. The precise nature of the interdiction is impossible to describe, as those who instituted it responded to prompting questions hostilely, but what can be said is that it is a spell of incredible power and somewhat terrifying majesty, one which blankets the entirety of magical Britain and which responds to sufficiently powerful spells by learning them and nullifying their effects for any future cast.
The nullifier, of course, has a list of exceptions, crucial spells like the memory charm and the pestilence-dispelling charm which are too weak to trigger its defenses. However, for most spells, the nullifier is completely effective, as was demonstrated to headmistress Minerva McGonagall when she turned the robes of a member of the ICW into butterflies to protest the nature of the binding. When the headmistress, insulted by another particularly pompous member, tried to perform her spell again, it failed, despite her well acknowledged mastery of Transfiguration. (Interested readers may note that she instead turned the offending warlock's robes into slugs).
"It's just a waste," McGonagall was quoted as saying, "It's a retaliation of the highest sort against a completely neutral benefactor. Magic is supposed to be beautiful, not a, a tool to clean socks with." She went on to say that rather than assaulting magic, we should be focusing on the witches and wizards who misused it.
Though transfiguration and the other more academic branches of magic are sure to suffer in the coming months, those magics which are crucial to our survival and secrecy remain fully intact.
"Despite the losses," said Draco Malfoy, pureblood scion and one of the sponsors of the bill, "we have escaped from repeating the sins of our fathers. If we must sacrifice some of the grandeur of magic and some of the value of our homes in order to save our lives and our souls, then that is a bargain I'm willing to make." ∎
Dudley mulled over the article for a bit, and then scribbled back an equally short note to Harry.
Dear Turdmuffin…
§
December 1999
Diddykins,
It seems that our worlds may not end up as separate as we had both hoped.
It's my best guess that you, whether you wish it or not, will be made into some sort of Muggle ambassador.
I could try to stop that from happening, but, as much as I'd hate to admit it, you're one of very few muggles who could even act as a go-between, and the only British one that I personally know.
So — keep safe.
I'll keep you posted on how things progress.
Harry
NULLIFYING SPELL OBLIVIATES MEMORY CHARM
The nullification spell, placed in October to prevent future casualties, has unexpectedly revolted as, just last night, members of the DMLE realized that the crucially important memory charm no longer worked. As far as lead investigators can tell, the nullification spell slightly lowered its standards as to how powerful a spell has to be before it's blocked — the change is miniscule, but it is enough that the memory charm, the most powerful of the once-allowed spells, is no longer excepted from the nullification.
What this means, in short, is that the Ministry no longer has Obliviators, and that, in time, the Statute of Secrecy will rust and fall apart.
The Ministry calls for citizens to maintain their calm and make every effort to keep spellcasting to those areas which are already warded from Muggles, namely Hogsmeade, the urban complex formed of the Diagon and Lower alleys, and the wizarding portions of the 108 mixed Muggle-Wizard villages.
"Muggles are a skeptical sort," said Harry Potter, World Savior and Auror, "It is likely that it'll be a while still until they uncover the existence of our society."
A potion to replace the memory charm is under works, but as the charm was developed by Perenelle Flamel herself after nearly a century of study, hopes are not high.
Until this saving potion is successfully brewed, or wizardkind unveils ourselves, we must take it into our own hands to maintain the secrecy which has been the foundation of our society since 1692. ∎
For more on the nullification spell, turn to page 2.
For more on the political ramifications, turn to page 3.
For more on maintaining secrecy, turn to page 5.
§
April 2000
PLANNED ALTERATIONS TO HOGWARTS CURRICULUM
Walpurgis Night, one of the most important wizarding holidays, has also historically been the night when Hogwarts reveals its class selections for the coming year. And by "reveals," I of course mean "reaffirms," as the core Hogwarts curriculum has hardly changed these past few centuries.
It was to some shock, then, when the new core classlist featured neither Transfiguration nor Charms, nor even History of Magic. Taking their place are classes on Artificery, Cantrips, and Invention; Artificery given its nature as a craft which does not require incantation, Cantrips for the study and combination of all spells allowed under the Nullifier, and Invention to find new ways to do what is no longer possible. For older students, Defense Against the Dark Arts has been merged with muggle studies. Transfiguration and History of Magic will stay on as upper-level electives, but Charms is no longer taught in any way.
Reactions are mixed, especially as Artificery has long been considered a skill for the lower classes, and not for the learned elite. However, it and its brother craft of Potioneering are now capable of feats that spells cannot attempt, and so it falls to Hogwarts to teach these skills to our best.
It is bittersweet to remember that the coming week marks the second anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. So many died to save our little piece of the world, and though it seems we are now safe from Dark Wizards, we enter still into another turbulent decade. ∎
§
October 2001
Pig-in-Wig,
We discussed the idea as inevitable many letters ago, but it is still shocking (and terrifying) to say that my world will soon be revealed to your own. The memory modification potion was proven completely infeasible on scales large enough to keep muggles in the dark, and so the Ministry has decided that it would be in our best interests to reveal ourselves, rather than being forcibly exposed.
Still, I can only hope that most muggles are more like what you've turned out to be than how you grew up. Wizards are outnumbered something like six thousand to one, and it wouldn't take very many bullies or even well-intentioned scientists to tear us to shreds.
Thank God, at least for the established sanctuaries.
Harry
P.S. Still up for being a diplomat? Your luscious blonde locks may end up as an advantage – everyone will be so stuck on them that they'll forget to disagree with you.
P.P.S. The engagement was called off. Despite your protestations that true love does exist, I'm not sure we're meant to marry whoever we had a crush on at age 15.
London Times: WIZARDS REAL
The Prime Minister called a press conference with the utmost urgency not more than three hours ago, and then appeared uncharacteristically anxious as she seemed to struggle with her words. Eventually, she simply croaked out "Magic… is real," and nodded to purple robed man beside her.
"My name is Kingsley Shacklebolt," he announced in the speech that will turn our world upside-down, "and I am the Minister for Magic." He most ably demonstrated this by pulling out a thin wooden "wand" and changing the color of my hat. He then performed a few other tricks, such as levitation, teleportation, and (after making us all crowd into a small study) walking through fires.
There is no doubt that magic exists, and that the practitioners of it (self-described as "Wizards") have an autonomous society embedded within our own. When questioned about the existence of Magical societies outside of the UK, Minister Shacklebolt answered that if there were, they had not yet revealed themselves to him.
It is unsure how things will develop from here, but what is positive is that we go to sleep tonight knowing that the world is slightly more magical than it was when we awoke. ∎
A special issue of the Times will be running tomorrow with basic facts about Wizards, including estimates of their population, inquiries into what impossibilities are allowed under magic, and an investigation of their economic system, which seems like it could hardly function if it works as Minister Shacklebolt describes.
§
November 2001
London Times: "MUGGLE" TO ATTEND WIZARDING SCHOOL WITHIN TWO YEARS
In the month since the existence of Magic was revealed to our (the "muggle") world, questions have been flying around like crap in a monkey cage. Particularly, what's been preying on our leaders is finding ways to reconnect to a culture which has been hidden from ours for more than three centuries. Hidden, I should add, due to Witch-Hunts instigated by our own ancestors.
Cooperation with Wizards is a necessity, as they have certain skills which would be an invaluable resource to our country. It is equally necessary for the wizards to cooperate with ourselves, as their population has been gutted by two recent civil wars, and they need some assistance to get back on their feet.
It is with great pleasure, then, that we of the Times get to announce that by September 2003, there will be a non-magical attending the most prestigious school of wizardry that exists.
This is one half of a sort of exchange program: A wizarding child will be attending the Smeltings Academy, a distinguished English boarding school with outfits that match the Wizards' eccentric fashion tastes.
In this way, the two nations will be brought closer together. If all goes well, the size of the exchange program will be ramped up, and Hogwarts will be accepting scientists and poets alongside its current students, just as Smeltings will be teaching modern ideas to this medieval society. ∎
§
Are you sure this is a clever idea?
H.P.
No, but I doubt it could hurt. Should give you some time to maneuvre, as well.
Also - Get back together with Ginny.
D.D.
Absolutely not.
H.P.
Thanks for reading, and please do review! It would be pretty cool to know someone else read it and cared enough to write something back. Criticism is very, very appreciated, so long as it is specific (if you don't tell me what to change, it'll be very hard to change it).
Peace and Love,
- NoMrDarcy