Secrets of the Muggle and the Magical Kind
A few days later, Hermione looked up from the copies of the treaties. For a while she stared blindly at the cheerful blaze in the fireplace of their private library.
She felt as if her world had been turned upside down.
At last she drew a shivering breath and looked over to where Severus sat at his desk, liberally adorning the essays in front of him with spiky scrawls in crimson ink. He must have felt her gaze because he raised his head. His dark eyes seemed to glitter with amusement, and she wondered if he was reading her mind.
‘Yes?’
She took a deep breath. ‘I’m an idiot. A dunderhead. A dunce,’ she elaborated.
‘Hardly. Those are secret treaties. There are a few—such as the extended Flamel family, or researchers at the renowned library of Alexandria,’ he smirked, ‘who are aware of the existence and significance of the Pacta, but today most wizards have never heard of them. And those who have, regard them as a myth.’
‘But they were not a secret when they were signed, right?’ Hermione said as another piece of information fell into place. ‘They only became a secret after the Statute of Secrecy was implemented. I bet there’s a secret addendum to that Statute specifying exactly that.’
Severus nodded. ‘Very good, Mrs Snape.’
Hermione shook her head, still dazed. ‘So this is the real reason for the pure-blood prejudices.’
‘Not quite, at least not today. Grindelwald knew about the treaties. But Dumbledore himself only discovered the truth about them when he was made vice-mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. Voldemort never knew about them. And trust me, Lucius’ and Umbridge’s nastiness is all their own. The Ministers know them, of course, since they have to keep up diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
‘However, it is true that the treaties are the historical foundation of the pure-blood agenda.’
Hermione shuddered. ‘Oh God. I never thought I’d ever understand the pure-blood faction. But now I do. Historically, at least. The church wanted to keep magic from spreading. And the pure-bloods wanted to keep their people safe. They agreed to keep the wizarding world a secret from the Muggles, to outlaw marriage with Muggles, and teaching magic to Muggle-borns, so the Inquisition would stop hunting and killing them. Us.’
For a while she simply stared at the parchments. ‘But there is no law against marrying Muggles in Britain, is there? And Hogwarts has always taught Muggle-born witches and wizards, right?’ She frowned. ‘And you said that the treaties are still in effect? How is that possible? And if they are, could the Inquisition—’
Severus held up his hand and scowled at her. ‘One question at a time, if you please.
‘First off, there is such a law. And you’ve seen evidence for its existence. I believe you have taken a look at the Black family tree in Grimmauld Place?’
‘Oh. So that’s why they started blasting them off the tapestry.’ Once more Hermione felt quite stupid. ‘But what about Hogwarts?’
‘As Miss Flamel told you—the magical community of Britain enjoys a special position due to the royal witches and wizards this country has seen throughout the centuries. But even in Britain marrying Muggles is still technically illegal, and only the magical quill enables us to find Muggle-born witches and wizards. But there is a loophole in the treaty—once a Muggle-born witch or wizard has entered the wizarding world using their innate power, they belong to us.’
‘The barrier at platform 9 ¾!’
He nodded with a slight smile. ‘Indeed. And if you look at other magical communities around the world, you should notice striking differences.’
‘Right. Durmstrang doesn’t teach Muggle-borns at all. And Beauxbatons…’
‘Only accepts Muggle-born students since the Holy Inquisition was renamed “Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office†in 1908.’
Hermione frowned. ‘Then why are the treaties still a secret today?’
‘You tell me.’
Now it was Hermione’s turn to scowl at her husband. She chewed on her lower lip, mulling over what she had read, and what Severus had told her. ‘Hmm. Okay. For one thing, they are only a plain old Muggle secret. They are not magically secret. Or you couldn’t have given the copies to me. Dumbledore couldn’t have given the copies to you. Alyah’s mother couldn’t have used them in her research in Alexandria.
‘Politically…it’s much better that they are a secret. Voldemort would have exploited them in order to win more supporters. Hell—sorry—Umbridge would love them!’ Hermione wrinkled her nose. ‘I’m surprised that Fudge and Scrimgeour didn’t leak anything…unless…hmm…is it possible that the Minister of Magic’s oath of office turns Muggle secrets into magical secrets? So they couldn’t tell, even if they wanted to?
‘But that’s neither here nor there …’ She frowned. ‘You said that the Holy Inquisition was renamed. Does that mean it was merely discontinued? Not really given up? Does that mean that the treaties are merely no longer enforced? They are truly still in effect, at least theoretically? And theoretically, the Inquisition could—could—’
‘Theoretically the Inquisition could invoke the treaties if they were found to be broken. And since the treaties were signed by the International Confederation, all magical communities would be subject to the penalties listed in the treaties.’
Hermione swallowed hard. She was suddenly very glad that she was sitting down.
For a long time, she remained silent, thinking about what she had discovered. Then something occurred to her. She looked up and realised that Severus was watching her thoughtfully. She gave him a shaky smile. ‘You know all that. And still you keep going back to Chartres cathedral. You’re just as reckless and brave as Harry, do you know that?’
‘I would thank you for not stooping to insults that compare my actions to that of a foolish Gryffindor.’
But his mouth curled ever so slightly with the ghost of a pleased smile.
“Binder. Someone who can banish and bind demons, zombies, and spectres easier than others.”
Why am i not surprised that he is some kind of exorcist of the magical underworld?
“My personal theory is that it is shaped by centuries of mythology and shared beliefs.”
How do you do it? Really, how do things in your “worlds” make perfect sense?
*hypnotized*
“For a moment she felt a stinging stab of jealousy deep in her chest because she was not the first. Followed quickly by a pang of pain at the knowledge that—while she had not been the first he had ever loved—she was the first to truly love him.”
That’s beautiful.
“obviously Charmed Manolo Blahnik stilettos.” and that made me laugh, ehe
Mona?? Don’t tell me! Did i miss something ? Da Vinci? *huh*
And something Severus didn’t know! Did he at least know that “the art of painting wizarding portraits was actually a kind of Necromantic magic?”
Intriguing,indeed!
I wonder where Alina will fit in all this!
So sad, a portrait to fade away, because there is no one left to remember them!
And what is happening with Hermione’s magic? hmmm
What could mess with her magic like that? *hmm*
Now that really surprised me!
Someone…we-know-who…is draining peoples magic through the tattoo?
Muggle-borns and half-bloods will lose their magic?
EVIL!
That’s even worse than what the Dark Lord did.
But how did we-know-who manage to move around the Other World ?
No, not alone, she is not alone, there is someone else doing all this with her.
And the Veil…
I must make another list…
I knew these tattoos were bad news. So, someone is siphoning magic off the muggle-witches/wizards through the tattoos. Presumably so that person has more magic at his/her disposal. An evil trick and even worse plan. So, what to do against it? First they have to find out who is doing that. And Alina better find the rest of the bells soon. I think they will need every one of them.
Yes, of course the tattoos were a really, really bad idea. *grins*
Finally! I’ve been antsy since Madam Pomfrey mentioned the unusually high need for pepper-up, etc, confirming my theory. I really needed somebody to put two and two together. Whew!
On another note, poor Alina when she discovers her head of house is proficient in Latin – the man creates his own spells among other things.
And about those Jarveys — it was the resurrection stone Ron and Lois saw them playing with wasn’t it? and that’s why nine Jarveys were killed that one night? and there’s a connection between their propensity for chattering insults and the Colin inferius isn’t there?
Hah! I knew those tattoos were siphoning energy back when Harry was feeling tired more than ten chapters ago! Finally someone else knows!!!
Also, I love your name for the library in the Middle East. I’ve always been devastated by the idea of all that knowledge being lost, and I love the idea that someone can still benefit from the books and scrolls at Alexandria!