Well, I know it's been absolutely forever, but in between work, trying to have a bit of a social life, writing a novel, and completely redesigning my husband's website, I've not had much time, or inspiration to write much. I won't say I'm back, because I have no idea when I'll have the time to write another chapter. It could be up tomorrow, it could be up in 6 months. I'm sorry, but I want to be honest. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. Thanks to Ravenclaw Midnight Blue for inspiring me to write.

Quibbler Article: The Underage Muggleborn Law

In the aftermath of the trick played by the elder and younger male Weasleys, Harry noticed that all of the Weasleys were completely shunned. He did his best to champion Ginny and the twins, pointing out that Ginny, as a Slytherin, would never try to sabotage them, and that the twins were just all-around good guys. It worked to some degree, but not as well as he'd hoped.

The following weekend just happened to be a Hogmeade weekend, and Harry elected to stay behind with Luna to help her with the next Quibbler article while Draco and Mia went on a date.

Their hard work paid off when everyone was seen to be discussing the Quibbler and, more specifically, their article, a week later when it was published.

The Underage Muggleborn Law

By Luna Lovegood

Despite your personal attitude toward wizards and witches of non-magical parentage, dear reader, I am certain you can agree with me on one definite fact: many laws currently in Wizarding Britain's lawbooks are prejudiced, whether overtly or covertly, towards non-magicals and witches and wizards of non-magical parentage.

The overt prejudices do not, for obvious reasons, need to be scrutinized, they merely require change. However, the covert prejudices need to be brought to light so Wizarding Britain may better understand, and seek to change, what it is doing to those of non-magical parentage.

One of these covert prejudices is the Underage Magic Law. We all know this law. We are told once we enter Hogwarts that we cannot perform magic outside of the boundaries of Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and the Hogwarts express. Doing so constitutes an infraction of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and can result in warnings and/or expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The only exception to this rule is self-defense.

Those born to magical parents are most likely familiar with the Trace. This is a magical spell placed upon children when they are sorted into their Hogwarts house, which breaks upon their 17th birthday. It is said to monitor whether a witch or wizard under the age of 17 performs magic when outside of school.

However, there is a fatal flaw with what we are told. Children of magical parentage are well known to perform magic outside of school, most often at the encouragement of their parents to ensure they do not forget what they learned in school. The truth about the Trace is that it can only detect that magic is performed, not who is performing it. Therefore, when magic is performed by an underage witch or wizard living with magical adults, it is assumed that the magic has been performed by the adult. However, when magic is performed by and underage witch or wizard living with non-magical adults, that student is issued an official warning.

Now, laid out in such a fashion, it becomes obvious that the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery really only applies to those of non-magical parentage. I, personally, can think of no fair reason to deprive such students of the chance to practice magic during the holidays, especially as this essentially means that their parents are unable to see exactly what they are paying for their children to learn. Were I a non-magical parent, I would question the intelligence of paying for an education I cannot see the benefits of.

I propose a change to this preposterous law. A dear friend of mine recently traveled to France and was kind enough to provide me with the pamphlet she received upon arrival (see page 12). Despite being a proud British subject, I must say French laws in this matter are far more reasonable and generally just better. As an underage witch or wizard in France, the rules against magic use are no different than the rules which govern adults.

Witches and wizards are cautioned to use their best judgment when using magic. Overt magic usage in the presence of a non-magical person is punishable by fines or even jail time. However, subtle magic, whether in all-magical areas or non-magical areas, is accepted and even encouraged, as it is believed to help keep magical abilities strong (in adults) and hone magical abilities (in children). In fact, children often receive their first wands as young as four in an effort to help minimize accidental magic outbursts.

I believe that we, the British Wizarding population, should come together as whole and demand a reform to our obviously ludicrous laws. Underage witches and wizards have every right to perform magic as much as possible while it still holds the special aura of newness. Witches and wizards of non-magical parentage have, perhaps, even more right to this, as they have not only their own awe and wonder to satisfy and indulge, but that of their parents as well.

Take a stand, fellow witches and wizards, and owl the Ministry. For a listing of various Ministry officials and their owl addresses, see page 22.