JAMES POTTER AND THE VAULT OF DESTINIES

       'Professor,' the young man said, and James saw that he was a college-level student and a member of Vampire House, 'as a scholar, surely you'd agree that your work with flora is intended for the benefit of all mankind. Is that true?'

       Neville narrowed his eyes slightly. 'I live in the hope that such is the case, young man.'

       'Then why, sir, do you and others like you insist on hoarding your discoveries for the magical community, refusing even to consider sharing them with the Muggle world?'

       The crowd erupted again, shouting scornfully, many climbing to their feet.

       'Questions… are… permitted!' a voice bellowed from the front row, and James was relieved to see that it was Professor Sanuye, his eyes dark and severe. The crowd quieted again almost instantly and the professor went on in a measured voice. 'But disrespect is not. You have heard the terms of our esteemed guest and they are quite reasonable. It is the policy of this school to welcome discourse, but not discord. Allow Professor Longbottom to answer your questions or do not ask them. Understood?'

       The crowd muttered to itself, obviously agitated, but subdued for the moment. On the stage, Neville cleared his throat again.

       'A good question, my friend,' he said slowly, raising his eyebrows. 'One that any thinking witch and wizard should ask themselves. The answer, however, is equally important. Granted, we in the magical community could offer many advancements and medicines to the Muggle world. The fact of the matter is that we do so even now. Your own Chancellor has had a hand in the groundbreaking Inter-Magical Knowledge Exchange Act, which allows inertly magical lifesaving discoveries to be shared with the Muggle world secretly, but effectively. There are charities and coalitions who have been granted special privilege to act secretly in the Muggle world, performing acts of magical intervention in deserving situations. I suspect that you are aware of these things, however, so I can only assume that what you truly mean by your question is this: why do we not simply throw the doors of the magical world wide open to the Muggle community, revealing ourselves fully and completely? Is this so?'

       The young man shuffled his feet slightly and glanced around at the rest of the audience. 'Um. Yes, I think that is exactly right. The prejudiced policies of magical governments against the Muggle world should be overthrown. Total disclosure is the only option that will result in real freedom for all of humanity…'

       'Yes, yes,' Neville nodded. 'I've seen the posters as well. Let us assume that we do exactly as you propose. The magical world comes out of hiding and reveals itself completely to the Muggle world. What do you expect will happen?'

       'Well,' the young man mumbled, looking around again, apparently wishing someone else would come to his aid. The rest of the audience merely watched with bright-eyed interest. 'Well, then there would be equality. We could help the Muggles. We could share everything we know with them, and help them in lots of ways. I mean, we're witches and wizards. We've got magic on our side.'

       'Ahh!' Neville said, leaning forward on the podium. 'We could help them indeed. But what if they didn't wish to be helped? What if certain members of the magical community desired to get involved in Muggle affairs, such as business, medicine, even government, and the Muggles didn't wish them to?'

       'Then we'd help them to understand that we just want to help them!' the student replied, rallying. 'They wouldn't know what was best for them, after all.'

       Neville nodded. 'So we'd help them against their will?'

       'If we had to,' the young man answered, raising his chin.

       'Indeed,' Neville concurred. 'Many would do exactly that. Certain witches and wizards would inculcate themselves into the Muggle ruling class, all under the guise of helping them. Some of us—not you, of course, my friend, but some—would be happy to resort to force. They'd use whatever magic helped them in the cause, even the Imperius Curse. Others, however, would be less… scrupulous. Believe it or not, my friends, there are witches and wizards among us who might actually wish to rule the Muggles merely for the sake of power. Such people are kept in check now by the existence of the international laws of secrecy. But what will you do with these witches and wizards if those laws are abolished? Will you protect the Muggles from them? How? What will keep wicked witches and wizards from using whatever means they wish to achieve power over the Muggles?'

       The young man seemed to know that he was losing the moral high ground. He shuffled his feet some more and refused to look directly at Neville. 'That's just scaremongering. That's what you people always do.'

       'Scaring people with fictitious threats is scaremongering,' Neville said kindly. 'Warning people about threats that are quite real—threats that history teaches us are very nearly a certainty given the right conditions—is an act of kindness and compassion. The history of Muggle-magical interaction is rife with conflict. Both sides are equally guilty, admittedly, but the reality remains the same. We stay in hiding, quite simply, because the good that could come from our incorporation into the Muggle world is decidedly less than the evil that would inevitably result. In a perfect world, my friend, your theories would be quite honorable. Alas, this is not a perfect world.'

       'Excuses and lies!' the student cried out suddenly, and the crowd stirred around him, murmuring agreement. 'You hate the Muggles, so you wish to keep them ignorant of us, and all we could do for them. There aren't any supreme evil witches and wizards bent on taking over the world. That's a lie that you people have made up just to keep the rest of the magical world in line. The Muggles would welcome us, and you know it. And even if they didn't…' The young man faltered suddenly, realizing what he was about to say.

       Neville didn't blink, but stared at the man solemnly, gripping the podium before him. 'Even if they didn't…,' he said, finishing the student's thought, 'we'd have magic on our side. Right?'

       The young man sat down suddenly and the crowd babbled again, growing noisy and tense. Professor Sanuye climbed to the stage and moved alongside Neville. 'That will conclude tonight's lecture,' he called sternly. 'Students, please make your way back to your dormitories, thank you. It is rather late, and at least some of you have class with me in the morning. I will frown upon any absences due to your staying out too late the night before. Good evening, and thank you for coming.' At that point, Sanuye turned to Neville, reaching to shake his hand. The two talked, their heads close together.

'What a complete load of yax fodder,' a girl behind James muttered angrily. 'But what do you expect?'

       'Come on,' Zane sighed, shaking his head. 'The sooner we get out of here, the better. Let's go grab a soda at the Kite and Key.'

       James followed Zane and Ralph out of the crowded theater, glancing back toward the stage. His father stood in front, flanked by Merlin and Denniston Dolohov, who was laughing animatedly. None of them seemed the slightest bit perturbed by the events of the night and James could guess why. Most of them had been dealing with the allegations of the Progressive Element for years, both subtly, through articles in the Daily Prophet, and overtly, such as the demonstration that had occurred at Hogwarts during James' first year. They had all developed rather thick skins about such things. James had not developed such a thick skin, and he felt decidedly angry and unsettled.

       As the three reached the theater doors and stepped out into the night air, James glanced around to see if Petra was planning to join them for a soda at the campus tavern. She was nowhere in sight amidst the dissipating throng, however. James lingered for a moment, looking for her without any success, and then turned and ran to catch up with his friends.