mudblood_andproud | Books, Broomsticks and Butterbeer Oh My! ((Jim))

Jim nods along with Hermione's comments. "I don't know about your history, but where I come from, Earth's gone through a hell of a lot of wars and conflicts based on that kind of thing. The Native population of North America were seen as savages by white settlers, and the few colonists that bothered to learn more about the local tribes were mocked for being 'Indian lovers.' In the Second World War, Jews were blamed for all sorts of shit and that led to the Shoah. The Eugenics Wars were perpetuated by genetically-enhanced soldiers who thought that 'normal' people were worthless drains on society. That sort of thing."

"The point is, these things happened for two main reasons: lack of empathy, and ignorance about the people that were being persecuted. It's real easy to treat somebody as subhuman if you don't understand them and don't care about trying. That's what happened to wizards way back when, but all those Muggles are dead and have been for centuries. Attitudes have changed and people are more globally aware than they used to be, back when most people would never have a reason to learn about anybody more than a hundred miles away because they'd never meet. But now your magical society is doing that same thing, and the only way to stop it is to deliberately break the cycle."

"During the last few years of the Second Wizarding War, things were so bad, that Muggleborn and Half-Blood witches and wizards were arrested and placed on trial, for 'stealing' their magical abilities from Pureblood witches and wizards." Minerva spoke softly. "Everyone who was not a Pureblood who had a position of power, were thrown out of that position, so that a Pureblood could have their rights back."

"And since the Dark Lord took hold of the Ministry of Magic, he changed the laws to reflect his desires." Minerva added with a slight nod. "People may be more globally aware, but we have to fix all the laws that were re-written first. We are still trying to rebuild."

Hermione points out the window, where Hogwarts is now visible in the landscape. "Even our school has to be majorly repaired. That was where the last battle was fought."

"It will take time." Minerva sipped at her tea. "But small steps can make all the difference. After hearing of your ideas from Hermione, I have been debating the pros and cons of hiring a Muggle professor, to teach at the school."

No argument from him, and he nods. "Right. No one can fix a civilization overnight, no matter how hard they try. You've got to change people's attitudes to make real change, and that takes time. But there's no better time to start than now, as soon as possible, because the longer you wait, the longer it'll take. Or worse, Muggle tech might advance enough that magic can't stay hidden anymore. Right now, the ball's in your court. You can choose how to start letting Muggles in on the secret, and control more of the conversation instead of getting unmasked without any warning. It's going to happen, sooner or later."

Jim looks out the window at the old castle in the distance, and even from this far away he can tell it looks odd. Both in its construction, and in the damage it sports from the recent conflict.

Turning back towards McGonagall, he adds, "A Muggle teacher is a good first step, as long as you know they'll be safe, and teaching something the students will recognize as worthwhile."

"Of course, students are already limited in the spells that they are allowed to cast in the school grounds. But it would be simple enough to have a shield cast over the Muggle professor in question, so that any spells cast on him or her would not have any effect," Minerva noted softly.

"The Muggle studies professor is a position that has to be filled, since the classes were basically shut down during the Dark Lord's rule," Hermione added. "That is the same reason why there is no head of the Muggle Relations Office right now."

"A lot of wizards and witches also have a difficult time using Muggle technology right now. Many would consider it a magical inadequacy... that there is nothing that Muggle technology can do, where a spell or a charm would work in its place."

Jim shakes his head, not satisfied with those answers. "I don't know what gets taught in Muggle Studies, but is it mandatory? Do students see it as a waste of time? Do they have a practical use for anything they learn there?" Having a nonmagical teacher for a class that's seen as useless won't do anything to dispel the widespread belief that Muggles are inferior, the way he sees it. A teacher of a pointless subject can't earn respect.

"Maybe it'd be better to introduce a new course instead," Jim suggests. "Technology isn't the only thing that the nonmagical world has to offer, but like you said, wizards have never been to the moon either, have they? Do your societies have enough contact that your students even know what modern technology is like?"

He feels like he's asking a lot of questions, but Hermione did say that a fresh outside perspective could be helpful going forward. And there's no better way to learn than to ask.

"The class was the study of the daily lives of Muggles and how they cope with electricity, technology and science, and not magic.... from a wizards point of view." Hermione shakes her head slightly.

"It was made a compulsory class, when the Dark Lord took over Hogwarts. But he also changed the curriculum to spread prejudice and lies to the students," Minerva frowned. "The whole course would need a complete curriculum change. And perhaps, the incoming Muggle professor would be willing to ensure there is a practical use from the class."

"We don't have a lot of modern technology in the wizarding world. There are some modes of transportation... like this train... that are based off Muggle inventions. But we don't use cell phones or computers at any of the wizarding schools," Hermione answers.

"But with the right Headmistress," Minerva stiffened slightly, "That can change. We could introduce a technology component into Muggle studies. Get our students learning how to use a computer, or a cell phone."

Jim nods towards Hermione, at her first statement. "That's a good example of what I'm talking about," he says, though he knows she might not have intended it that way. But that's the thing about cultural attitudes... they seem normal because it's what you've grown up with, and might not notice until someone else points it out. And if her society is grabbing impressionable young kids when they're still in their formative years, it's no wonder they pick this stuff up and internalize it, regardless of whether they were born Muggle. "The wizard attitude is that Muggles are coping without magic. Coping's what you do when something's been taken away from you, like if you lost an arm, or a family member. Or your innocence. Muggles aren't coping with their lack of magic, they're flourishing despite it."

He's encouraged by McGonagall's determined attitude, getting her on the right track, and he picks up his tea cup again to take another drink, before it gets completely cold. "That's a good start." He has another inkling of a thought, but he needs to know how grounded of an idea it is first. "How dependent are wizards on their wands? Is there any way you might not have access to your magic, even temporarily?"

Jim will find that the tea in his cup is still as warm, just like it had been freshly poured.

"It takes a lot of concentration to cast and wandless magic is volatile and is often difficult to perform." Minerva answers Jim's question.

"And yes, there are wizards and witches who have to be locked up, and have their magic diluted," Hermione frowns.

Huh. Weird, but not terribly surprising. He drinks the tea anyway, since it's there.

"Okay, so here's a hypothetical situation. Let's say one of your students is somewhere completely unfamiliar, so they don't know where to go to get in touch with the local magical folks, and they don't have access to their magic. Maybe they lost their wand or it got taken or something; the details aren't important. Now they've got to navigate the Muggle world well enough to blend in and find their way home. Do you think a majority of them could do it?"

It doesn't take long for Minerva to answer. "No. The majority of them would be completely lost."

"Survival lessons, both in a magical situation or a Muggle community, would be a great class to add to Hogwarts Minerva," Hermione noted softly. "Many of us who had to be on the run from the Dark Lord, barely survived. Our camps was lucky, because of my research and preparedness."

"And while we do teach dueling at Hogwarts, we should look at other defense classes. Like the martial arts," Minerva added. "So that a wizard or witch doesn't try to immediately deal with a Muggle conflict by casting magic."

That's about what he expected, and he's pleased that they're taking this seriously enough to get to his next points before he has a chance to. "When all you've got is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. A Muggle in close-quarters combat against a wizard probably has the advantage if all the wizard knows how to do is cast spells. If nothing else, it shows a severe lack of creativity."

"And survival's important too," he agrees. It's one of his most fiercely-held beliefs for a damn good reason. "Whether it's getting along in Muggle society without being noticed or wilderness survival, every single person should know how to keep themselves alive and safe, no matter whether they're a student or not. No one ever plans to be in an emergency situation, and waiting until you are is a really shitty time to try to learn."

"Starfleet Academy teaches basic survival techniques to the point where every officer can theoretically survive for at least a week without support or rescue, but even then, a lot of it revolves around reliance on having access to emergency supplies," he adds, to give the both of them some perspective on where he's coming from on this. "I've studied a lot of archaic survival strategies on my own, the sort of stuff everyone thinks it outdated, like how to make a bow and arrow from stuff you can find in the woods, because you never know when something like that might be necessary. Most people will never have to use skills like that, but if you ever do, you'll be damn glad you know how to use 'em."

"I remember how off-guard Draco Malfoy had been when I had just punched him once," Hermione chuckles softly. "He just didn't know how to respond to such a Muggle attack."

Minerva listens carefully to the points that Jim adds. "It is our poor fortunate that you have other responsibilities, otherwise I would seriously consider you to be a very suitable candidate."

The train rolls into Hogsmeade, and Minerva dispels the silencing charm as people prepare to get off the train. "I am already responsible for implementing several major changes to Hogwarts. And I am going to ensure that survival training and a proper Muggle education course are included in those changes."

"I hope you enjoy your time at Hogsmeade, young man." With that, Minerva shifts into her cat form, a small tabby cat, and then makes her way to the train exit.

The fact that Hermione has personal experience with this helps prove his point, and Jim feels pretty good about what might come of this meeting. "I'm interested to see how this all plays out," he says, as the train comes into the station. "I've got a pretty full schedule, but I'd be happy to do the sounding board thing again sometime."

Her farewell is answered with a, "Thanks, you too," and he raises his eyebrows in surprise when she turns into a cat and disappears into the crowd. Wow. Unexpected. "I like her."

"She liked you, too." Hermione notes. She waits for the majority of people to get off the train, before leading Jim off the train to Hogsmeade. The snow-covered village looks like it is busy today. Flourishing again, now that the war is over.

"Which of the shops would you like to check out first? There is a wand shop, a cauldron shop, a quill shop. There is also a bookshop and a joke shop. There are a few pubs too."

"And if you want to see an infamous landmark, we could go down to the Shrieking Shack." Hermione smiles.

Jim hadn't expected snow, but he's warm enough in his jacket, and he looks around curiously as they enter the strange-looking village. "I'm a fan of bookshops," he says, giving her a smile. "What's the story with the Shrieking Shack?"

"The Shrieking Shack is 'haunted house', according to the villagers, because they often heard screams coming from inside." Hermione makes air quotations with her fingers.

She starts walking towards the book store.

"It has no doors or windows. No apparent way to enter the house... at all."

Of course, Jim has no idea if haunted things are actually haunted in this universe, so he can only ask. "Then where'd it come from?"

Hermione waits until they get to a quieter place on the street. "The Shrieking Shack was a safe-haven for a werewolf student of Hogwarts, who stayed there during his change. And then again, when he was an adult."

Well, that makes sense. "So he was the one screaming." That's... kind of sad, actually.

"It was. He hurt himself, so he couldn't hurt others."

Hermione leads Jim inside of Tomes and Scrolls. An elderly Goblin at the counter straightens slightly when they enter. And smiles with pointed teeth.

"Miss Granger. My favorite client."

"Good afternoon Richards. This is my friend Jim Kirk."

"Hello Mister Kirk. Welcome to my bookstore."

Jim's spent so much of his life around aliens that he doesn't give the goblin any funny looks. Why wouldn't there be people other than humans around, after all? Honestly, the weirdest part is hearing someone call him 'mister' again instead of 'captain.' "Thank you. I'm a big fan of bookstores."

"Good good. I am a big fan of bookstore fans." The Goblin hopped off his seat, and headed over to where Hermione and Jim were standing.

"Anything in particular you would like to purchase today?"

"Do you have the newest Arthimancy collection in stock?" Hermione asks.

"Certainly, Miss Granger. I set you aside one set. And you, sir?" He blinks at Jim.

"Is it okay if I browse a bit?" Jim asks, giving the goblin a bit of the Kirk charming smile. "I'm not looking for anything in particular, but something might jump out at me." Maybe literally, from what he's seen so far.

"No problems. The restricted section is clearly marked. Please do not pass by the barriers without my guidance." He goes back to his seat.

Hermione heads to a quiet corner of the bookstore, where she can check out the other titles. "And be careful that no books literally jump out at you."

"Yeah, I wondered if that could happen," Jim admits, as he walks along the shelves slowly, reading the spines of various books. "Got any recommendations?"

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