Trying couple of days ...
Oct. 25th, 2008 11:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alt_luciusThe blood traitor resurfaced yet again, like an insect one thinks one has crushed, only to have it scuttle away after lifting one's boot. So of course, the last couple of days have been a bit on the calamitous side.
After the blackguard (no pun intended) retreated from the journal where he made a nuisance of himself, he apparently decided to incite an attempted break-out at Cheswell. It's all in the papers. He must have accomplices in this country, whom he induced through some method (doubtless an illicit and indecent form of magic) to disrupt the camps. Bella believes, as do I, that these culprits are the same miscreants who corrupted the Goblins enough to gain access to Gringotts and rob the bank last month. It makes sense: Their modus operandi seems to lie more in encouraging - possibly forcing - members of these inferior castes to rise up in revolt, creating chaos and bother for the rest of us.
Bella called upon a number of the MLE consultants to come to the scene, on the chance that some of Black's accomplices were there directing the action. No such luck, more's the pity. It took several hours to round up all the escaped Muggles, but not a wizard or witch mingled among them. Whomever started the riot must have Disapparated as soon as they reached a safe distance.
Naturally, after such a long night, I could not be expected to maintain the better part of my agenda on Friday. I confess I quite forgot to notify Crispin to cancel everything apart from tea at Hogwarts. I had every intention of doing so, but when I returned to the Manor, I found that the elf had allowed the bedroom fire to bank and die. He stammered something about not expecting me back home that evening. Utter incompetence - I ought to have done with it and behead the creature. If it had managed to get issue before now, I might have done so already. At any rate, by the time he arranged things to my comfort, I was both too fatigued and too out of sorts to give a thought to my clerk. Narcissa, wonderful woman, kindly set him to rights when he inquired after me around nine, and then compounded her splendid value by sending up a tray around eleven.
The one item I was certain to keep yesterday was tea. There was really no reason to cancel an afternoon engagement, and moreover, I had no wish to disappoint the children after we'd promised to be there.
I fear I rather did disappoint, despite all that, for I had many matters weighing on my mind and must have appeared ... distracted during our interview with Harry, Draco and Pansy. I knew that Pansy wished some private discussion and I was happy to oblige her; but even this I had to cut shorter than I would have liked in order to ensure adequate time for my topics of conversation with the Headmistress.
I have been growing concerned of late with a certain sullenness which I detect in the demeanour of some of the other students, even those who claim to have befriended Harry. Some of this is to be expected, of course, and while I shall necessarily do that in my power to prepare him and Draco to take care of themselves, it is part of growing up that we must all, in the end, fight our own battles and stand our own ground, or be trampled.
Nonetheless, the resentment of their status and resulting theft of valuable items (if they are related), suggests that the other students are not, in fact, as respectful of class as they ought to be. Particularly with the Lord Protector planning to attend Hogwarts next week, this presents a potential embarrassment. I should not like to think of His displeasure should anyone dare to show less than the proper deference to His son.
One individual in particular troubled me, and when I mentioned this to Professor McGonagall, she quite accommodatingly sent for the wretch. While his journal comments to students such as Longbottom seemed oddly bold, in person, he was gratifyingly cowed enough. He could barely look up even when I instructed him to do so. She has told me that he is Amycus' creature; presumably that is more than enough to keep him in his place under normal circumstances. Perhaps this additional dose of contact with a real wizard shall remind him what reason he has to fear.
Looking at the urchin brought home to me, in a way I have not felt so viscerally in some time, how vitally important the Lord Protector's New Order is to our safety and survival. I have always believed with every fibre that dominance over the more prolific, more bestial and less intelligent Muggle population is the only way to truly ensure Wizard prosperity. But this ... abomination, born not of the natural conception between witch and wizard, but rather the unnatural product of Muggle interference and blood-tampering, has no sense of birthright, no idea of the heritage to which real witches and wizards are heir, no cognisance of the higher purpose for which real Wizardkind was meant. This runion, this caitiff, has no hope of truly understanding the power that generation after generation have passed from father to son, mother to daughter, and thus, he is incapable of ever really attaining mastery of his full potential, or more importantly, the extent to which his progenitors have condemned him to a half-life.
In short, he can never be completely a wizard, because he can never be completely trusted not to sympathise with his animalistic forebears.
This week has been quite a study in contrasts: Half-bloods, Muggles and now this Mudblood abomination. I wonder if he has any sense that the ones to blame for his lot are not we, who have at least accorded him some measure of existence among his betters, but the very Muggles who beset him with the burden of powers which he cannot ever truly call his own. By making him the object of a failed attempt to usurp our proper place, it is they, and not we, who have spawned the grotesque creature that he is.
It convinces me more than ever that what we do is necessary, the only acceptable course and above all, right.
After the blackguard (no pun intended) retreated from the journal where he made a nuisance of himself, he apparently decided to incite an attempted break-out at Cheswell. It's all in the papers. He must have accomplices in this country, whom he induced through some method (doubtless an illicit and indecent form of magic) to disrupt the camps. Bella believes, as do I, that these culprits are the same miscreants who corrupted the Goblins enough to gain access to Gringotts and rob the bank last month. It makes sense: Their modus operandi seems to lie more in encouraging - possibly forcing - members of these inferior castes to rise up in revolt, creating chaos and bother for the rest of us.
Bella called upon a number of the MLE consultants to come to the scene, on the chance that some of Black's accomplices were there directing the action. No such luck, more's the pity. It took several hours to round up all the escaped Muggles, but not a wizard or witch mingled among them. Whomever started the riot must have Disapparated as soon as they reached a safe distance.
Naturally, after such a long night, I could not be expected to maintain the better part of my agenda on Friday. I confess I quite forgot to notify Crispin to cancel everything apart from tea at Hogwarts. I had every intention of doing so, but when I returned to the Manor, I found that the elf had allowed the bedroom fire to bank and die. He stammered something about not expecting me back home that evening. Utter incompetence - I ought to have done with it and behead the creature. If it had managed to get issue before now, I might have done so already. At any rate, by the time he arranged things to my comfort, I was both too fatigued and too out of sorts to give a thought to my clerk. Narcissa, wonderful woman, kindly set him to rights when he inquired after me around nine, and then compounded her splendid value by sending up a tray around eleven.
The one item I was certain to keep yesterday was tea. There was really no reason to cancel an afternoon engagement, and moreover, I had no wish to disappoint the children after we'd promised to be there.
I fear I rather did disappoint, despite all that, for I had many matters weighing on my mind and must have appeared ... distracted during our interview with Harry, Draco and Pansy. I knew that Pansy wished some private discussion and I was happy to oblige her; but even this I had to cut shorter than I would have liked in order to ensure adequate time for my topics of conversation with the Headmistress.
I have been growing concerned of late with a certain sullenness which I detect in the demeanour of some of the other students, even those who claim to have befriended Harry. Some of this is to be expected, of course, and while I shall necessarily do that in my power to prepare him and Draco to take care of themselves, it is part of growing up that we must all, in the end, fight our own battles and stand our own ground, or be trampled.
Nonetheless, the resentment of their status and resulting theft of valuable items (if they are related), suggests that the other students are not, in fact, as respectful of class as they ought to be. Particularly with the Lord Protector planning to attend Hogwarts next week, this presents a potential embarrassment. I should not like to think of His displeasure should anyone dare to show less than the proper deference to His son.
One individual in particular troubled me, and when I mentioned this to Professor McGonagall, she quite accommodatingly sent for the wretch. While his journal comments to students such as Longbottom seemed oddly bold, in person, he was gratifyingly cowed enough. He could barely look up even when I instructed him to do so. She has told me that he is Amycus' creature; presumably that is more than enough to keep him in his place under normal circumstances. Perhaps this additional dose of contact with a real wizard shall remind him what reason he has to fear.
Looking at the urchin brought home to me, in a way I have not felt so viscerally in some time, how vitally important the Lord Protector's New Order is to our safety and survival. I have always believed with every fibre that dominance over the more prolific, more bestial and less intelligent Muggle population is the only way to truly ensure Wizard prosperity. But this ... abomination, born not of the natural conception between witch and wizard, but rather the unnatural product of Muggle interference and blood-tampering, has no sense of birthright, no idea of the heritage to which real witches and wizards are heir, no cognisance of the higher purpose for which real Wizardkind was meant. This runion, this caitiff, has no hope of truly understanding the power that generation after generation have passed from father to son, mother to daughter, and thus, he is incapable of ever really attaining mastery of his full potential, or more importantly, the extent to which his progenitors have condemned him to a half-life.
In short, he can never be completely a wizard, because he can never be completely trusted not to sympathise with his animalistic forebears.
This week has been quite a study in contrasts: Half-bloods, Muggles and now this Mudblood abomination. I wonder if he has any sense that the ones to blame for his lot are not we, who have at least accorded him some measure of existence among his betters, but the very Muggles who beset him with the burden of powers which he cannot ever truly call his own. By making him the object of a failed attempt to usurp our proper place, it is they, and not we, who have spawned the grotesque creature that he is.
It convinces me more than ever that what we do is necessary, the only acceptable course and above all, right.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-28 06:11 am (UTC)Is blood, though, the only measure of a person's worth? I remember hearing about Grindelwald and his crusade against the muggles. I just wonder why it is that people have magic and some don't. Blood doesn't seem to have much to do with it, or wizards wouldn't be born to muggles. What, then, makes their abilities less worthy? I've always wondered this and I can only ask you.
Thanks again for your advice. I'll follow what you passed on to me. Thanks, also, to you and Mrs. Malfoy, for a wonderful tea.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-28 07:56 pm (UTC)Now, as to your pondering. For one thing, you make a mistake to prescribe blood status to a class of beings who do not come to their magic naturally. Even now, specialists in the Department of Mysteries are working to discover how it is that Muggles are able to steal magic from its rightful heirs and implant it into the capabilities of their issue. It is essential work, to discover the linkage between Mudbloods and Squibs, and to determine how that transfer is accomplished.
So the Mudblood, by definition, cannot be given credit for his own abilities, filched as they are from those who should have had them. It is a grave error to assume that Mudbloods are equal to Wizards simply because they exhibit certain unskilled, unfocused magical capacity.
Grindelwald is one of many who espoused the notion that Muggles had to be controlled for their own good - and for ours. Muggles have always been incapable of avoiding war. They are a violent and territorial race who threaten our existence, when they are allowed their freedom, as surely as they threaten each others' lives. Grindelwald's flaw (apart from idealistically trusting the turncoat, Dumbledore), was to set his store in the willingness of the average Wizard to spontaneously see the rectitude of his manifesto. He believed, as only the very young can, that the moment other wizards heard his plea for change, they would fall into line with no further instruction. Our Lord Protector, on the other hand, knew that to succeed, He needed not only righteous ideas, but a cadre of supporters and disciples who would ensure that His will turned to action.
My apologies: I'm giving a history lesson when you merely wanted an answer.
Blood is certainly not the only measure of a person's worth, Pansy. But it is, most simply, a measure of one's limitations. A Mudblood might become the very best of servants: Loyal, conscientious, attentive to his master's whim, anticipating of his desires, silent, and obedient to a fault. If he understands his place and works diligently to maintain it, then he contributes to society in the best possible way. Should he attempt to vault over the heads of his betters, however, he shall find himself in a world of which he has no proper understanding. He cannot be expected to meet, let alone exceed, the potential of a pureblooded wizard, because he is fundamentally lacking in the other qualities that accompany such a pedigree.
I trust that helps to explain?
no subject
Date: 2008-10-28 08:08 pm (UTC)Does that mean, then, that a mudblood cannot perform the same level of magic as a pureblood? I mean, what are the other qualities that are lacking?
And if Mudbloods don't come by their magic naturally, then how is it they're born with it? Or are they? I mean, babies can't steal.
I hope someday I'm as smart as you are.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-28 08:24 pm (UTC)As to the other qualities, I am sure that if you compare gentlemen and ladies of breeding to their subordinates, you will begin to comprehend the differences. Much as one can tell, with practice, the subtle distinction between a thoroughbred Abraxan and one that has been mixed.
I must set this aside for now, Little Bit - I have important matters to attend. Pray think on what I have said. I shall check my book later this evening to see if you have come to any further understanding, but by then, I expect you shall be asleep.
(And ... don't let 'Marie's' insolence lead you away from doing your homework, hm?)
no subject
Date: 2008-10-28 08:29 pm (UTC)I'm doing my homework! I'm being a good girl. Honest!
I do think, though, that some Honeyduke's would help me focus on my studies. It promotes being able to study, see.