The Marauders: Year Two | #Wattys2016

The No-Maj Debate

The No-Maj Debate

James was on the pitch practicing with the Hogwarts team, despite the fact it was raining so hard there was little hope of seeing anything besides the miserable fog. He clutched his broomstick, hating his stupid glasses more than ever as they continuously clouded up. He took off the glasses for about the hundredth time, straddling his broom high above the pitch, and wiped them off with the hem of his robes. James squinted about, praying for some sign of the shimmer of a snitch, desperate to end the practice sooner, rather than later. Derek was far off below, barking out orders to the others as he zipped about on his own broom, his hair hanging in strings across his forehead.

The Ilvermorny students clustered about in the stands, huddled beneath umbrellas of various shades. Dawn Gleason looked positively miserable, having brought a blanket down from the North Tower dormitory to hide beneath from the cold. Eric Danes used his wand to make a little fire for Dawn to warm herself near and Dawn smiled at her classmate thankfully as she held her hands over the flickering blue flames in the stands. Only the students playing in the tourney were now allowed to observe one another's practice games, so beside the Ilvermorny students, the seats were quite empty about the pitch.

Meg Johnson and Jack Scout were the only two not technically watching the practice - instead, they were having a debate. "You heard Derek Bell, Jack. He said the Slytherins are power hungry, evil jerks. Why would we want to be associated with that? Don't be stupid. We're visitors here, the last thing we want is to end up making friends with the wrong people. There's enough moral bullshit going on back home, we don't need to be getting into it here."

"We ain't supposed'ter be minglin' with no-maj, Meg!" Derek said, "It ain't safe an' it ain't morally right. They don't belong in our world."

"Magic is magic, whatever blood runs through a person's veins," Meg replied, shaking her head. "Look at my brother. If my mom and dad hadn't adopted him, he wouldn't be allowed to attend school because his birth parents were no-maj. He's got the best marks in his entire grade now."

Jack scowled."It ain't because their magic ain't as good as ours, when they manage to cross over it definitely's just as good, I ain't sayin' that. I ain't prejudice on them themselves but I reckon if Bran was with his folks still instead'a yours he wouldn't be at Ilvermorny on account'a we'd have to explain what it was to his parents, the no-maj rules are broke. You know them muggle-borns they been acceptin' at this school ain't jus' comin' here without them parents knowin' where they're off to."

"Well no but there's probably some rule or something about it that makes it work. There's ways to make sure --"

"What's to stop them parents tellin' everyone else 'bout the wizardin' school?" Jack demanded, "They could tell ever'one they know 'bout it and the next thing you know you got lines down the road of people wantin' to see it, like it's a side show at a circus." He shook his head, "We've got in trouble too many times to risk it. Read the history books, will you? They're rich with reasons why not to mingle with no-maj."

Meg pointed down the row of students, "Eric said on his reservation they mix freely. Everyone on the reservation believes in magic, no-maj and wizard alike. The whole community helped him relocate to New Hampshire to go to Ilvermorny."

"Life on a rez is different than it is for the rest of us, you know that, Meg," Jack replied, rolling his eyes, "There's literally different laws, different government on a rez. In the real world, no-maj are dangerous."

"They aren't dangerous," snapped Meg. "They make mistakes because they don't understand magic and what being a wizard entails anymore than we understand being no-maj. If we weren't so secretive about it, if we just opened up and told them - hey, this is what's going on - and explained it really clearly --"