85 — Wand-ering
The wizards had known that there was no life beyond this Earth for several centuries. The wizards had used powerful amplification spells on their telescopes to examine all the nearby planets. They had been able to detect magic on all of them, but had seen nothing that indicated life. Even scrying for life on the other planets had failed to detect anything larger than a krill. Anything smaller they were not interested in.
Then they had examined outside of the solar system. Nothing. No signs of anything. It was possible that the great distances involved made such detection impossible, but their best wizards had decided that wasn't likely. They had, after all, found planets around the binary Rigel Kentaurus and Toliman, then Proxima Kentaurus, as well as that dim star the muggles had named Bernard's Star. But nothing living. Or, at least, what the wizards called life.
The local planets, he knew, had all been the recipient of muggle machines that were looking for life. If there had been a civilization of any kind the muggles would already have discovered it. Their scientists were convinced that other planets — not just inhabitable planets, but planets at all — were vanishingly rare. So, the muggles, too, knew there wasn't any other life-form out there.
But the Equestrians claimed their portal was to another world, distance to this one unknown. If they limited access to Atlantis, as they appeared to be doing, then no one would see the moon and discover their deception. Even allowing others through the portal would work as long as they limited it to times when the moon was not visible. With a little magic on the muggles, it would be quite easy to prevent them from even noticing the moon when it was visible.
Now that he considered it, they could even bespell the visitor to think the moon they saw was different than the one in the sky on Earth, as were the constellations. It wouldn't even be that difficult to develop such a spell. Just an illusion that only the spell recipient could see. A spell that would warp the muggle's perception of the night sky. An official at the port could routinely cast the spell on every visitor under the guise examining their passports.
If they ensured that every visitor to Equestria only saw them in their pony animagus form, they could keep up the charade that it was their normal form. Plus, as Atlanteans appeared to revere Poseidon, that wouldn't be that difficult. After all, even if they didn't overtly worship him, they did acknowledge his influence. Why else would they use those pony and horse terms for everything?
Yes, as long as they claimed to be from another world they could evade the rules of the Statute — he had to snort at the gullibility of the muggles. The Equestrians would be safe if they didn't do anything blatantly magical. No hexing or cursing someone, or transfiguring or conjuring something. All they had do was pretend what they did was "technology."
After all, they had never signed the Statute. They hadn't even known of its existence until Minerva had told them about it. That was a technicality, but it was still true.
And, based on what he read in the newspaper, the Equestrians were being scrupulous about labelling everything they did as technology, not magic. The article had even quoted a famous English muggle writer, Arthur C. Clarke, who had said, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." The Prime Minister had readily agreed with that quote, and held out the Equestrians' technological marvels as examples of that.
In short, the Atlanteans were hiding magic in plain sight.
They were calling it technology.
The muggles believed them.
Which, technically, meant the Equestrians were not breaking the Statute
He sighed deeply and stroked his beard.
The International Confederation of Wizards might complain that the English Wizards had done nothing to prevent the Equestrians from making their announcement. But, Albus could quite reasonably point out that it would be impossible for a country the size of the British Isles to prevent a continent-sized country, as Atlantis was, from doing anything they wanted.
In appearance, the situation was similar to Sparta and the Persians at Thermopylae. There was only the one portal, and it was in Little Whinging. Access was extremely limited. The wizards, in theory, could box in the Equestrians.
The Equestrian's, however, could simply move their portal to a new location, such as France, Germany, or the Russian wilderness, he could point out. Theoretically, it should be possible. Then they could move thousands of fighters through it before the wizards knew where they were. It would be impossible to stop such an invasion.
If they were interested in invading, which he knew they weren't.
At least this way the wizards knew where the portal was.
The article did not say that the other countries mentioned were inhabited by intelligent creatures that mirrored those from Greek mythology.
The link to Greece and ancient history would ruin their strategy. After all, if they were from another world, how did they explain so many coincidences with Greek legends and history? The fact was, they could not. The muggles would see through their ruse immediately.
The language compatibility, on the other hand, they could explain as an artefact induced by the portal, or a special translation technology.
He wondered if they had demonstrated either apparition or levitation to the Prime Minister, and called them teleportation and telekinesis. That particular muggle, the Prime Minister, knew the truth about magic. Had the Equestrians talked about magic at all? Or had they kept him in the dark and promoted the "technology" as just that, technology?
If that important muggle agreed that what they did was not magic, could Albus use that argument to persuade the ICW to do nothing?
It would be quite amusing if the Atlanteans were building up an entire façade of having technological wonders and hiding magic completely. By providing those medical cures to the muggles, and making the silly claim that it was all technology, they were distracting the muggles from magic while doing magic.
It was just like a muggle stage magician, doing things in plain sight while distracting their audience so the audience never noticed what else the magician was doing. He knew several had been investigated by the Obliviators to make sure they were not wizards breaking the Statute of Secrecy. Every trick had to have a proper explanation for the muggles — or close enough to not matter. That way a clever muggle wouldn't be able to deduce the existence of real magic.
In fact, reading the article a third time, from the view point of someone who didn't know about the Atlanteans or magic, he noticed the Equestrians had done and said nothing to indicate that they were not simply advanced muggles!
The Atlanteans were actually supporting the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy by pretending to be merely very technologically advanced muggles, he realized. Even the wizards and witches who saw the article would not suspect the Equestrians were not who they said they were — aliens. The only ones to know the truth were the wizards and witches who had seen either Princess Sparkle or Prince Blueblood.
Most of whom were now at Hogwarts!
Albus smiled to himself. Everyone knew that the Equestrians' ability to change to ponies was because they were animagi. He did have to wonder, though, if they had enough Equestrians who were pony animagi to pull off this deception. Unless they all had the same form? Such a thing was unheard of among the wizards and witches, whose forms were almost random.
Perhaps that Discord wizard was assisting them? For all they appeared to fear him, Miss Rarity had said they were friends with him. That wizard had said he liked ponies and not other animals — was that why they decided to tell the muggles they were ponies on the other side of the portal? He frowned. Poseidon presided over horses and water. Could this Discord be Poseidon by a new name? Could he have agreed to help them in their deception? Or was he the reason they all had pony animagi forms in the first place? Albus decided he needed to think on that a bit more.
All of the ponies, except Molly, being at Hogwarts meant he could control the flow of information. It wouldn't last that long once the out-of-Hogwarts rumour mill got going, but until then it would give him time to manage the situation to benefit everyone.
The ICW would not like that the Atlantean wizards and witches were masquerading as muggles on such a large scale. On the other hand, the Statute of Secrecy required wizards and witches to act like muggles in a muggle-controlled area. Which was exactly what the Atlanteans were doing. Acting like muggles.
Yes, they were doing magical things in plain sight, but the muggles all thought it was an advanced technology by ponies, not magic. Nor a magic trick. Which, again, still kept the fact of magic a secret.
It was genius! An incredibly bold way to interact with muggles while still maintaining their lives as wizards and witches.
Dumbledore had to shake his head in admiration of their ploy. He was sure that the Unspeakables in the Ministry could just as easily have erected a portal and then claimed to be "aliens." The muggles would never have guessed the truth.
Of course, there had never been a need or an excuse to do that. But it was an amusing thought. It would be one way to introduce the muggle world to wizards and witches without setting off massive genocidal attacks — claim to be from another world!
But why? To what purpose did the Equestrians want to interact with the muggles? Why did they want telephones? Floo-travel was easily superior to them for convenience. Plus, it had the advantage that when you made contact with someone, stepping through to be there in person was immediate. Or you could use apparition! Just pop over, walk up to their doors, and knock. No fuss at all.
And the televisions? He just didn't see the point of tiny screens showing plays. The simplistic and short muggle movie plays he had seen as a young man simply could not match real-life plays. Especially the wizarding plays with their wonderful magical backgrounds and characters.
No, plays were clearly superior to those motion picture things. There was just so much more audience involvement in plays. The advertising he saw in the newspapers for movies were just as obvious exaggerations to trick the muggles into going to them.
Plus, while he did understand wanting to see plays and read books in the muggle world, the wizarding books and plays were always so much better — Shakespeare, for example. He was unaware of any muggle writers who could match the great bard.
In any case, he needed to meet with the Minister as soon as possible. Then with the secretary of the ICW. He wanted to make sure the other nations heard his version of the situation before they discovered the truth and formed their own conclusions.
First, though, he needed to talk with Miss BonBon and Miss Heartstring to find out what they knew. And perhaps a few words with Harry and his Equestrian friends were in order, too.
He looked at the map while saying their names. They were still in their rooms. He would send a house-elf.
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"Thank you for coming so quickly," the Headmaster said as the two Equestrians entered his office.
"It's our pleasure," said Miss BonBon.
"It's not as if we have any urgent appointments," added Miss Heartstrings, giggling.
"That is true, I suppose," replied Albus, his eyes twinkling in amusement. It was such a pleasure talking with the Equestrians. They were always so fresh and open, without hidden agendas. Like children in many ways, they took such delight in the simplest things, and were always capable of expressing themselves without reservation. He envied them their naiveté.
They both grinned at him as they sat down.
First, a little small talk to get them to relax before he sprang the Embassy problem on them. "Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick are quite impressed with your progress in their subjects." He leaned back in his chair. "You've managed to master the First- and Second-year books in Charms and Transfigurations in just a month. At the rate you're going, you should be ready for your OWLs in them at Christmas. Very well done, ladies, very well done, indeed!"
The two blushed at his praise.
"Then all you need to do are your History, Potions, Astronomy, Herbology, and Defence Against the Dark Arts OWLs. Those are the core units and shouldn't cause you any trouble, based on how quickly you're managing the other two."
They grinned happily.
"How are things going otherwise?
Their grins faded and they traded tense glances, then Miss Heartstrings squirmed slightly in her seat as she said, "Potions is much more difficult than we expected. We've watched a few classes by Professor Snape, and asked him for pointers, and I must say, we are not impressed with his methods."
"Professor Snape is a Master of Potions, and he has my every confidence," the Headmaster said, his forehead wrinkling slightly as he stroked his beard. This was not going the way he wanted. He thought the changes he and the House Heads had implemented were working quite well.
The two exchanged another look with each other. Miss Heartstrings, turned back to him. "That has nothing to do with his skills at potioneering, however. We're talking about his skills at teaching students how to deal with potentially dangerous materials. He is very cavalier about it. Disturbingly so. We've watched his classes and he has taught the students almost nothing about safety. For example, you're aware of Sweetie Belle's 'accidents' in her class?"
She barely waited for his affirmative nod.
"She is not the only one affected, the entire class is involved, yet he does not set up shields, he does not set up protections, he does nothing to protect the students beforehand. Everything he does is in reaction to what happens." She shook her head. "His version of teaching is simply putting instructions on a wall and telling everyone to get to work. There is no question-and-answer period.
"That is not teaching, that is nothing more than cooking from a cookbook. The students might as well be at home and not in a class."
Miss BonBon was nodding her agreement.
Albus leaned forward, "He has taught them the bubble-head charm and they already know the shield charm. What more should he do?"
"Teach them the difference between slicing, dicing, and mashing, for one," Miss BonBon immediately replied.
"And why those matter," added Miss Heartstrings.
"Not to mention, do you really expect First Year students to master a Sixth-year charm in only a day? And make it last the entire class? Shields are not taught until Second Year." Miss BonBon shook her head, again, before continuing.
"Expecting First Year students to master these before their class even starts is unconscionable. Plus, he only taught the bubble-head charm to the Gryffindor/Slytherin class, leaving the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws out completely. How do you consider that to be adequate? Are only the Gryffindors and Slytherins deserving of protection?
"What has HE done to protect his students?" asked Miss Heartstrings.
"And that brings up another problem, his attitude towards the other houses varies by class, the only consistency is that he favours his Slytherins and degrades the other houses."
"He seems to enjoy baiting the students. He is biased to his own House students, allowing them leeway he does not show to others. He even took points from one student for breathing loudly! Those are not the actions of a Master of Teaching," Miss BonBon said firmly.
"If you do not know these things, then you are failing at your job as Headmaster. You are not providing due oversight to your Professors," added Miss Heartstrings.
Albus was temporarily nonplussed. He was not used to receiving criticisms of Hogwarts. The Equestrians' naiveté meant they spoke their minds. However, he knew it wasn't personal, they had no agenda he could perceive. They were telling him what they thought was wrong, just as Princess Sparkle had done.
"If he were the only example of teaching we saw, we would immediately withdraw Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Harry from Hogwarts as a substandard learning environment," Miss BonBon continued, "they would be better off just learning from the textbooks."
"Your other Professors, however, are clearly excellent at their jobs. We have no complaints with them," said Miss Heartstrings.
"Our only other serious complaint," Miss BonBon said, "is that you are obviously understaffed. Professor Minerva, for example is not only the teacher of Transfiguration, but also the Head of Gryffindor, and the Deputy Headmistress. Each one of those three is a full-time job, yet you expect her to do all three? For a school of this size? The other House Heads are also supposed to be full-time teachers, as well?" She shook her head.
Miss Heartstrings took up the criticism. "And you, yourself, have three full-time jobs: Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, and Headmaster of Hogwarts! That means Deputy Headmistress McGonagall has to pick up the things you do not have time for. That puts even more pressure on her time — and reduces the amount of time she can devote to the students."
Lyra continued, "Being a teacher of Transfiguration means she cannot help any Gryffindor student during the day who needs her assistance because the Professor is in class and not available as Head of House. If something comes up with a Gryffindor that needs her immediate attention, then she must abandon her class. That results in substandard teaching. Or she makes the decision that the problem can wait until later and continues her class.
"This means problems that need to handled now must be put off until later — if they are handled at all and not simply ignored. House Prefects do help manage the House, but they are not adults! But, they, too, are under stress as they must manage their studies as well as their duties. Plus, they are automatically biased to their friends and against those they dislike."
Both Equestrians were leaning forward earnestly.
He leaned back to consider things. Despite the sting of having them criticize him, the problems they mentioned were true. Simply saying that was the way they had been doing things at Hogwarts wasn't sufficient. Although shuffling duties around to Seventh-year students had helped the House Head's time constraints to some degree.
It did look bad, he had to concede.
He would need to talk to all of his professors to see what they thought. The examination of the things in the Room of Requirement was taking time from the professors' already busy schedules, even with the assistance of the Seventh Years.
They were, however, starting to see some additional income from the repaired treasures they had uncovered. The school brooms were in the process of being replaced, and other upgrades were being planned. Additional professors, however, would have to come from an increase in the budget from the Ministry.
That would be a tough argument to make to the Cornelius.
Perhaps if he stressed to the Board of Governors that the House Heads were being over-stretched? If he convinced them, then they could take care of convincing the Wizengamot and he wouldn't have to put as much pressure on the Minister.
"I will see what we can do to correct the problems you've noticed," he said, finally. "I will have a meeting with Professor Snape this afternoon, after classes, and I will discuss a few things with him. And I will discuss the other problems you have mentioned with the professors to see if we can arrive at a better situation."
He did not want the Atlanteans becoming disenchanted with Hogwarts. If they should take their charges away to Beauxbatons it would be an incredibly public blow to Hogwarts' and England's prestige.
Especially his.
Considering the public's reaction to news about Hogwarts brought him back to the subject of this meeting, the Equestrian muggle Embassy.
He sighed and smiled gently, stroking his beard lightly. "I wonder if you can help me with this." He swished his wand and the newspaper lifted up so they could easily see the front page, and the article of his interest.
He gave them a few moments to read the headline before floating the paper into their hands. It took them only a short time to read the article.
Their big smiles he took to mean that the announcement was not unexpected.
After a moment, Miss BonBon looked back at him and tilted her head in query. "And what did you want us to tell you?"
"This is a huge breech of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. Why did the Princesses do it?" He said quietly.
At first the two of them were surprised, exchanging startled glances. Miss BonBon turned back to him and shook her head firmly. "No, it's not. Everything mentioned in the article is technology, as far as the non-magicals are concerned, not magic. Revealing the portal does not reveal magic. Even their scientists," she opened the newspaper and pointed to an article referenced in the main story, "think it is a technological wonder. We are from a foreign planet, not from Earth, and they can plainly see that. Surely you know that as well?" She paused and studied him.
He sighed. Yes, the article did leave him with that impression. But he knew the truth. And so would any wizard or witch who had met the Equestrians and saw this story.
"The Princesses have told us to withhold information about magic," She continued, "from the non-magicals because they worry about a negative backlash against us. Based on how the non-magicals have reacted in the past, and still do react in some places, they fear we could come to harm. So, everything we reveal is going to be coached in terms of technology and knowledge," she explained.
"Only someone who has magic and has met the Prince or Princess, or heard about the portal, would realize magic was involved. Both the non-magicals and magicals, without that clue, will not realize we can do magic. They will see the portal and accept that we are aliens from another world. They will see what they want to see, both magicals and non-magicals." Miss Bon Bon concluded.
"We believe that by showing them our pony forms in Equestria, and emphasizing we are aliens, they will not make the connection that there are wizards and witches already here."
He just stroked his beard as he considered what to do. Clearly, they had known of the Embassy operation for quite some time — they had prepared their arguments in advance. It made him somewhat upset that something of this much import could be created without his input or knowledge.
Perhaps the Equestrians were not as naïve as he had thought.
"Do Harry and the young three witches know about this Embassy?" he asked.
Miss BonBon shrugged. "Yes. They all know we are setting up an Embassy. Harry Potter was very helpful in getting us a solicitor and preparing us with meeting the non-magicals."
He stared at her. "Why did none of you notify me of this?"
She tilted her head questioningly, "Why should we? Do the Americans, French, or Indians notify you of anything they plan to do with the non-magicals?"
"But you are in England, not America, France, or India."
"You will have to ask Princess Twilight, for her reasoning, then. We were not a party to that decision." She delicately frowned. "I would guess that it was because we had to protect the portal from accidental discovery. An Embassy means no one can access it without first asking us permission. So, we bought all the land around the portal and approached the British government."
"You could have hidden it with muggle-repelling charms, and then added shielding charms to warn you should anyone approach it."
"My understanding of the situation is that Princess Twilight had been through the portal for a week before Professor McGonagall made her appearance. By then, she had already approached the non-magicals and started on the Embassy before we knew such spells existed. Or, at least, as you use them.
"Then it was too late to change our approach. They knew who we were. We had purchased most of Little Whinging, and had sizeable amounts of gold and gems in their banks."
He sighed disappointedly. It was his fault, he realized. Minerva had told them about the Statute of Secrecy, he knew. As a result, he had assumed they knew all about it. He had expected them to act in secret, as did every other member of the ICW. He had thought they would abide by the Statute's rules, even though they had never heard of it, nor had to follow it before she told them of it.
He hadn't considered that they had already started talking with the muggles.
He really could not blame them for acting in the way they were used to acting in Atlantis.
He needed to talk with Princess Twilight about just what the Equestrians were planning to do with the non-magicals. His conversations with both Minister Fudge and the ICW were going to be very difficult, he realized.
In the meantime, he would notify the ICW that something important was happening in muggle England. He also needed to tell Unspeakable Bode that the Atlanteans were apparently contacting the muggles, while still keeping to the original intent of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy — do not reveal magic to the muggles.
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