A/N - Hi everyone. Here's the newest chapter and it's what TV Tropes would refer to as the "Wham!" chapter. If you don't know what that means go to the TV Tropes website and look up the entry for "Wham Episode."
One other announcement before we get into the chapter. Next week's chapter will occur on schedule but after that I'm taking a trip and may not have full internet access for a little while where I'm going so there will be a three week break before the chapter after that gets posted. The same thing happened two years ago during the posting of Lightning, Part 2 for the same reason as this is a trip I take almost every year at this time. I'll post about that again next week to give you all more specific info.
Disclaimer: The X-Men were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and belong to Marvel Comics. Harry Potter was created by and belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this and the only thing that's mine are the original parts of the story.
12) HALLOWEEN EXPOSURE
Quotes taken from X-Men #14
It was Halloween again and when Harry woke up that Tuesday morning he decided he was going to try to sleep through the whole day. Halloween was his least favorite day of the year. Not only was it the anniversary of the murder of his parents but every Halloween since he returned to the wizarding world had contained some kind of disaster.
His first year at Hogwarts saw him and Ron fighting a troll that had gotten into the castle to save Hermione from being killed.
His second year the Chamber of Secrets had been opened and several people were petrified by a basilisk over the course of the year. Many people at Hogwarts thought that Harry was behind it all because he was a parselmouth and he was accused of being the heir of Slytherin (the fact that he actually was Slytherin's heir was irrelevant because no one knew that at the time – not even Harry himself).
The year after that saw Harry and his fellow X-Men fighting Magneto for the first time in Florida while at the same time Sirius, who hadn't yet been cleared of the crimes he was accused of, had tried to break into Gryffindor Tower to catch Peter Pettigrew who was still living as Ron's rat Scabbers at that point.
Last year, however, had taken the proverbial cake. First the X-Men, with help from the Avengers, had saved the world from being destroyed by Professor Xavier's old enemy Lucifer. As if that wasn't enough when the X-Men returned to the X-Mansion they found Dumbledore waiting for them to inform them that Harry had been entered against his will into the Triwizard Tournament.
Was it any wonder that Harry wanted to just skip the day? Unfortunately it was not to be as despite his efforts to go back to sleep someone was pounding on the door to his room.
"Go away!" called Harry. Instead of the knocker leaving the door of his room was opened and Warren and Bobby both walked in.
"What's wrong Harry?" asked Bobby, "you haven't been in the gym and you're missing breakfast."
"What do you think is wrong?" retorted Harry, "have you forgotten what today is?"
"Halloween – oh" said Bobby as he made the connection, "sorry."
"Just leave me alone and I'll wake up tomorrow" said Harry rolling over away from his classmates.
"You can't just sleep through the day" said Warren, "it's not healthy."
"Watch me" said Harry, "nothing good ever happens on Halloween. Let me know when it's over."
"At least get up and eat something" said Warren, "I'm sure the professor will let you out of training if you're that depressed." Harry turned to face them and sat up.
"If you want to bring me something I won't say no" said Harry, "but otherwise I'm staying here."
"We're not your servants Harry" said Warren, "come on, get up."
Harry threw himself back down on his bed and pulled the covers over his head.
"No!" he declared in a dramatic fashion, "I have seen the future, and I am staying in bed!" With that he tried to go back to sleep but almost immediately the covers were pulled off of him and ice cubes fell on his face causing him to shoot up again.
"Hey!" he said, "don't do that!"
"Get up and I'll stop" said Bobby whose right hand returned to normal from its icy form.
"Fine!" huffed Harry as he slid off the bed on to his feet, "but I just know I'm going to regret this."
In a grudging manner Harry got dressed and went downstairs to have breakfast all the while wondering just how the Halloween jinx would strike this year. He found out almost as soon as he entered the kitchen where the rest of the team and the professor were although none of the newer students were there yet. This year's jinx was hard to miss when it was emblazoned right on the front pages of the newspapers scattered over the kitchen table that the professor and his teammates were all intently reading. The New York Times, the Daily News, the New York Post, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Boston Globe, even the Los Angeles Times, there were issues from all of them and several others including some international papers. Harry particularly noted the presence of The Times and The Guardian from Britain and wondered how long the professor had subscriptions to those papers. He knew Professor Xavier subscribed to many news outlets as one way to hear about potential new mutants but he'd never seen so many of them all together like this. All of them held some variation of the same headlines:
"Mutant and Magical Menaces!" "Magic is Real!" "Hidden Magic Users Live Among Us!" "Could Mutants and Magicals Team Up to Conquer the Human Race?" And on and on and on...
"Oh boy" muttered Harry as he realized what appeared to be happening, "Halloween has outdone itself this time."
Harry picked up one of the papers nearest to him to see what it said. It happened to be a paper called The Globe As he read the headlines his eyes got so wide he thought they would pop out of his head. The headline blaring from the newspaper said "MAGICAL AND MUTANT MENACE!" The secondary headline said "Eminent Anthropologist Says Mankind Faces Gravest Danger From Hidden Mutants and Magicals."
"Who the heck is saying these things?" he asked himself as he began reading the lead article It didn't take him long before he came to the name of Bolivar Trask the supposedly "eminent anthropologist" the headline had mentioned. He was the source of the story.
"Did you say Trask?" asked Sirius looking up.
"Yes" said Harry, "Do you know someone by that name?"
"There's a dark family of purebloods in Europe named Trask" said Sirius, "I forget exactly what country they're from though."
"Do you think this Dr. Trask is related to them at all?" asked Bobby.
"Maybe" said Sirius, "but I wouldn't think it likely. The Trasks are one of those families that have no use for the muggle world. If he's related to them I wonder how he got over here and got into a muggle profession?"
"Maybe he's a squib" suggested Warren.
"Maybe" conceded Sirius, "if he is I wonder how he survived? Dark families like the Trasks often kill any squibs they have."
"That's horrible" said Jean, "how could they do that?"
"Many dark pureblood families think having a squib member is shameful" said Sirius, "and yet in Britain the purebloods have intermarried so much that there's serious inbreeding there. That's what produces squibs but they don't want to acknowledge it. The families that marry half-bloods and mundane-borns are the ones that tend to have stronger magic. For instance, Harry, the Potters have often married non-purebloods like your mother. As far as I know there's never been a squib Potter. If there was it was centuries ago."
"Yet the so-called purest purebloods look down on us because we're not pure enough" said Harry with some sarcasm.
"More fool they" said the professor.
Harry went back to reading the article. It continued with "Dr. Trask warns that the superior abilities and supernatural powers of the hidden mutants and magicals will enable them to enslave the human race replacing our civilization with their own."
"Complete bollocks" said Sirius, "if magicals wanted to take over the world we would have done it already."
"There are some who do" pointed out Hank.
"The only way it would happen" said Sirius, "or even possibly could happen, would be if every single magical in the world united as one. But even that wouldn't work simply because there are so many more mundanes in the world than magicals, and most magicals realize that, at least in this country."
"I'm not so sure they do in Britain" said Harry as he read more of the story out loud, "listen to this: "According to the anthropologist's startling prediction, it is even possible that the superior mutants and magicals will consider normal men as little more than savages, suitable only for forced labor and gladiatorial sport." Doesn't that sound a bit like some purebloods we know?"
"Well Wizarding Britain is very insular" said Sirius, "you know that. Many of them are still basically living in 18th century. They don't know how far the mundane world has progressed and many of the blood purists think they still crawl about in the mud. Even Voldemort was that way and he should have known better since he came from the mundane world originally.
"The only dark lord in history to seriously threaten to take over the world was Grindelwald and that was because he worked closely with Hitler. He never would have gotten as far as he did without Hitler's support. But Grindelwald lost in the end, and not just because Dumbledore defeated him in a duel. That was just the final blow. He'd already lost the war by then because most of the world had fought back and beaten him and his forces."
"Yet somehow the Statute of Secrecy remained unbroken" said Harry, "That won't be the case now. Too many people will have seen these newspapers. With this story appearing so widely there's no way it can be covered up. There's no way to modify the memories of so many people at once. You'd have to do the whole world!"
"I think exposure was inevitable at some point" said the professor, "considering how advanced the mundane world has been getting it really was only a matter of time."
"You're probably right" Harry muttered as he finished reading the article, "but of all the ways it could have happened I didn't think it would be like this."
"Nor did I pup" said Sirius from his place next to Harry, "if it was just one newspaper publishing this story it could be dismissed but with so many publishing the same story that won't happen. Even if a lot of people don't believe about the magical world enough people will to make it impossible to cover it back up again."
"I knew it was a mistake to get up today" said Harry as he put down the paper and stood up, "I'm going back to bed. Wake me up again when it's tomorrow."
"I think you have the right idea after all" said Bobby, "I just might do the same thing."
"As comforting as that would be" said Jean, "ignoring the problem won't make it go away."
"This isn't just a problem" said Hank, "this is many problems."
"You're right" said Harry, "it would be bad enough if this attack was directed just at mutants but by exposing the magical world too this guy Trask, whoever he is, will cause chaos at high levels. The Statute of Secrecy will fall and God only knows what happens after that."
"True enough" said Xavier, "I imagine that before the day is out just about every magical government will be trying to figure out how to deal with this crisis."
"Oh to be a fly on the wall at Hogwarts when all the stuck up pureblood kids hear about this" said Harry, "to a lot of magicals this will be like the end of the world. I'm not kidding."
"But it won't be so bad here" said Scott, "most people in the U.S. know about magic. It's hard not to when you consider everything that happens here."
"That's true" said Sirius, "but is magic officially known in the U.S.? People may have some idea that magic is real, but does the general public know about the magical world? Do they know about wizarding communities and the government and the rest of it all? Do they know that magical creatures like dragons and unicorns and goblins really exist?"
There was silence in the kitchen as no one seemed to have an answer to that, not even the professor. Before anyone could try to answer Sirius' questions the newer students began to drift into the kitchen for breakfast. Kurt was first when he teleported in with a loud "Bamf!"
"Guten morgen" said Kurt as he looked around the kitchen and noticed the solemn mood in the room, "why is everyone so serious this morning?" For once Sirius didn't say anything to the comment. Instead he held out a newspaper for Kurt to take. As Kurt took the paper Peter came charging into the kitchen.
"Kurt" he said, "I thought you were going to wait."
"I'm hungry" said Kurt but Peter wasn't listening as he noticed the grim expressions on the team's faces.
"What's going on – ?" he began when Kurt cut him off.
"Ach!" said the German mutant, "I don't believe it. Can this be true?"
"It's true" said Scott .
"What?" asked Peter who looked at the paper Kurt was reading.
"By the white wolf!" he exclaimed as he saw the lead story, "what will this mean?"
"I don't know yet" said Xavier, "we'll have to have a school meeting to discuss this."
"Discuss what?" asked Kitty who entered the kitchen with Rogue and Rahne. Sam arrived right after that.
"This" said Scott who gestured at the newspapers on the table which the rest of the new students were all soon reading. Every single one of them was shocked by what they read and there was even some fear as to what the future might hold for them.
"We'll need to be careful" said Xavier once everyone was in the kitchen, "we don't know how this is going to play out and how bad things might get. We all need to be on our guard."
"Constant vigilance" said Sirius but without any humor in the words.
There wasn't much more to say on the subject. Even though the professor had everyone meet with him later in the main livingroom not much new was said. Everyone agreed they would have to be careful and see how events progressed.
As soon as the meeting was done Harry went back to his room, pulled out his communication mirror and called Ororo. She answered the call at once.
"Harry" she said as soon as she saw him, "I thought I might hear from you today."
"Oh?" asked Harry, "so you heard the news too?"
"You mean about the exposure of magic and the attack on mutants?" was the reply, "oh yes. We all got the news. My mother has been meeting with the president of non-magical Kenya all day to try to find the best way to handle things."
"Any word?" asked Harry.
"Not yet" said Ororo.
"I imagine the same sort of thing is happening in the U.S." said Harry, "between both presidents, and in Britain between the Prime Minister and Minister Fudge. I wouldn't be surprised if the Queen herself gets involved before too long."
"I'm sure such meetings are happening in most other countries too" said Ororo.
"You're probably right" said Harry, "except Wakanda."
"Lucky Wakanda" murmured Ororo, "Harry, why is this happening now? Why did this Trask person expose us all like this?"
"Your guess is as good as mine" said Harry, "but he didn't just expose us. From reading those articles it's clear that he's actively trying to stir up enmity against both magicals and mutants."
"And human nature being what it is" said Ororo, "he'll probably succeed with at least some people."
"Hopefully not many" said Harry, "I guess we'll see."
Ilvermorny was still on its fall break when the news broke that Halloween. Classes returned the next day and when Harry went to the school after lunch he found that everyone there had also heard the news about the exposure of magic. Many students followed the mundane news as they came from mundane homes or homes that mixed magic and the mundane together. Unlike in Britain there were few, if any, purebloods who were out of touch with the mundane world. The breaking news was all anyone could talk about. The headmaster and staff were doing everything they could to help the students face the issue and the potential changes that it could bring. The unspoken fear was that new witch hunts would break out. The unspoken hope was that the people of the world had advanced far enough that such a panic wouldn't happen.
When Harry returned to the X-Mansion he heard from Warren and Jean that the (mundane) president was going to speak to the nation that evening and gave him three guesses as to what he thought the speech would be about.
"And the first two don't count" Warren finished.
"The exposure is causing this much trouble already?" asked Harry, "no, don't answer that. It must be if the president is going on TV this soon after the story breaks."
"I wonder if he'll help or hurt the situation?" added Jean.
That evening Professor Xavier called the team and the newer students into the main livingroom so they could all watch the president's address together. Promptly at 8 PM all the major networks as well the public TV stations switched over to their news people who spent a few minutes preparing the viewers to hear the president speak before connecting to the live feed from the Oval Office in the White House in Washington D.C.
President Bill Clinton was sitting at his desk in the Oval Office. He looked directly into the camera as he spoke.
"My fellow Americans" the president said, "over the last two days I, like many of you, have seen some of the many news stories out there, both from our country and from other countries around the world, about mutants, magic, and the existence of hidden communities of wizards and witches secretly living right alongside us. Tonight I want to talk to you about the truth of these stories and what it all means for us as Americans and as people.
"The existence of mutants is well documented. Without mutations there would be no change and no evolution. In a sense all of us alive today are mutants as we are all made up of the many mutations our species – and all species – have accumulated since the beginning of life itself. If this wasn't true Earth would only have single cell life forms on it that would be unchanged from when life first appeared on this planet billions of years ago.
"It's true that some mutants have appeared who have very unusual powers and abilities. This is also well documented and more are appearing as time goes by. I won't name names as there's no need for that. We all know who some of them are. Like with all other people some are bad and some are good. Some good ones are even actively fighting to protect the world from the bad ones. In other words they're really no different from anyone else. They are people, just like you and me. We would all do well to remember that lest we repeat the mistakes of our past that eventually required the Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s to start putting right.
"Now on to the next point which is the existence of magic. Yes, magic is real. I'm sure that's not as surprising as it could be to all of us here in the U.S. when you consider how many superheroes we have and what many of their powers are like. If they have such powers why shouldn't magic exist too?
"But is it also true that there's a whole hidden society of witches and wizards who live alongside us with their own government and institutions? Yes, it is true and let me explain to you how this is possible and why it has been this way until now..."
President Clinton gave a brief history of magic in the U.S. He talked about the Statute of Secrecy which had been enacted worldwide in 1693 when magicals had gone into hiding all over the world. They hadn't done that to protect normal people from them but rather to protect themselves from normal people. Witch hunts had been quite common all through the middle ages and it was no accident that the infamous Salem Witch Hunts of 1692 had been the final push to drive magicals into hiding.
The next part of the president's speech covered the same ground that Sirius had covered with the team the previous day about why magicals were not the threat that Trask had been portraying them to be. After that he moved on to the end part of his speech.
"In this country we live by the principle that all people are created equal, regardless of sex, religion, race, or any other things that define one group from another. This is includes mutants and magicals too. They are people just like everyone else with their own talents and weaknesses. Everyone is unique. More to the point the hidden magical society in this country is an American hidden magical society. Yes, their community may be different from yours or mine, but is that really any different from how the communities of different states differ from each other? In a way one can say that the American magical community is its own state. Call it the 51st state if you wish. Theoretically we could even add a new star to the American Flag to represent the magical state.
"And remember this: like all of the other states in our union the American magical state is also subject to federal law. The Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of the Land to which all Americans are subject. This includes magical Americans too. The leader of Magical America is the equivalent of a state governor. Many other countries have similar relations between their magical and mundane governments although I can't speak for all of them by any means."
The speech ended shortly after that with the president urging people to be calm and accepting of mutants and magicals and remember that "we're all in this together" before closing with "good night and God bless the United States of America."
After the president was done talking Professor Xavier and his students all looked at each other for a few moments before anyone said anything. Scott was the first one to speak.
"Professor, what do you think?" he asked. The professor took a moment before answering.
"I think it went about as well as we could have hoped" he said, "President Clinton is a good man and from what he said tonight he doesn't agree with Trask. It's good to have someone like him on our side. However I fear that this is by no means the end of it. We may have won the first round but something tells me the game is only beginning."
(To Be Continued)
A/N: And cut! Next time we'll see how magical Britain takes this development. Meanwhile I really want to know what you all thought of this chapter so please take a moment to leave me some feedback. Constructive comments are always welcome but no flames or trolls please. Stay safe and well everyone.