Magi Studies

Magi Studies... Dale cocked a brow at the ridiculous flyer that had just been handed to him. "A little redundant don't you think?" he asked wondering what on earth possessed anyone to make a class studying wizards when they were all essentially studying wizard life at a school of magic. Perhaps the class might have been more usefully taught in non-magical curriculum in order to avoid misunderstanding and perhaps build stronger relationships with the non-magical part of the community that was all in all, out of the loop, even in the 2050's.

Dale shifted his weight to one side and looked at the Slytherin, wondering if she could just possibly be part of the bigoted bunch of purebloods who firmly believed anyone who lived in the non-magical world prior to Hogwarts was a complete dolt. Dale was not a dolt, so he found this type of mind-frame to be rather irritating. It was one thing to call someone stupid because they'd done something wrong, but to call them a dolt based on the fact that they grew up without magic was ridiculous when they all learned at the same time.

He also wondered, if this might perhaps be some sort of trap to lure unsuspecting muggleborns so that slytherins could easily have their go at them. It wasn't uncommon to find that Slytherins were not only absolutely stupid, but also painfully obvious in their endeavors for 'revenge', if you could call it that. Piqued with suspicion and admittedly, a mix of curiosity, Dale surveyed Calli for a moment before continuing,

"Wizards studying wizards, at a magical school.. Dare I ask, what would even be covered that hasn't already been covered in class?" Or the daily interactions with wizards, or trips to diagon alley and hogsmeade.. Really now,  what in the world did she expect to cover. 

Bridgette groaned with relief when the Great Hall came into view. There was nothing like stuffing your face after a morning of classes. She vaguely noted someone passing out flyers, but scooted to the other side of the crowd to avoid her. She was not feeling getting preached at today.

A biscuit was in her mouth before she even sat down, and she piled her plate high. God she loved the buffet-style food. She peaked over to the blonde Slytherin with curiosity now that she had avoided her. It didn't escape her notice how beautiful the girl was. A bit of a conversation between another Ravenclaw slipped her way. "Wizards studying wizards..." the younger boy seemed to scoff at her. Hmm... Maybe a history club? Bridgette was down for history of old people. Especially if it meant getting to know the pretty blonde.

Someone tossed a crumpled flyer onto the table and Bridgette snatched it, stuffing another biscuit in her face. She unrolled it, flattening it with the side of an arm. Magi studies? That's pretentious. She giggled to herself, throwing another glance at the girl. She really was staring at this point. Bridgette remembered now why she didn't go for Slytherins.

"If you think it's redundant, don't come," Caelani was cheerful in the face of Dale's usual cynicism. "It's not like anyone wants you there, anyway."

Caelani had no idea what Dale's ancestry was like. She had no real idea what anyone's ancestry was like, apart from the handful of students she'd seen at pureblood functions before they started Hogwarts. And the truth about those people was not that their blood was pure, so much as they didn't recognise any relationship with anyone whose blood wasn't. It was the not-so-secret nobody ever mentioned.

If she had to guess, though, she'd have said he was halfblood. Proper pureblood children like Caelani were taught manners, and improper pureblood children like Benjamin rebelled against those same teachings. And muggleborn children were clueless, though that wasn't their fault.

"I wasn't aware there was a class at this school about how to interact with people of different backgrounds without looking like a total buffoon. Maybe you ought to attend more often, Dale."

Dale rolled his eyes sourly. As if not being invited had ever been a hindrance to his endeavors. If this was headed in the direction of trouble he would be there first to stop any nonsense from getting out of hand. And judging by the way Calli spoke he was more than positive that this was just a ridiculous slytherin ego trip to feed to their insane ideologies that muggles are akin to apes and muggleborns would be the same. They merely needed to be educated on how to act like decent human beings. What a load of shit.

"Oh I'm sorry my mugglebred mind is offending you." he added very unapologetically, "Perhaps I will have to go to that class after all to understand how to properly speak with a pureblood. Does it start with an exaggerated bow, or should I just kiss your feet?"

bigots.

Dale had hardly noticed that they were being watched until he caught the red heads eyes just looking at them, snarkily eating her biscuit and looking at the flyer.

"Oi! Don't read that. This "club" has henceforth been banned" he made a grab for the flyer in her hand, wanting nothing more than to recollect and burn every single one of them.. well. Maybe not every one of them. He'd need at least one to report to the headmaster.

"I'm not offended by your blood, Dale," Caelani sighed. "Until just now, I thought you must have been halfblood."

Being muggleborn did explain how irritating he was. Thrust into the wizarding world, it was probably so different to the way he'd been brought up. Dale had reverted to what he knew best from growing up with muggles; rules. He clung to rules of any kind like a life raft. Caelani was surprised to feel sympathy welling up.

She would not let that feeling distract her, though. That was the entire reason she was running this class. To help people like Dale and people like Ana. Calli couldn't understand why muggleborns refused to even learn about magical culture when it would make them feel so much more at ease in the wizarding world.

"People dislike you because you're rude and condescending," she informed him.

It was the kind thing to say, when you took the long view. If Caelani didn't tell Dale now, it was possible nobody ever would, and he would go through life never realising that he had the power to change the way people treated him.

"This club isn't about bowing and scraping to people like me," she said. "It's about bridging the gap between magical and muggle culture."

She'd got that from her father: Bridging the Gap. It was the kind of catchphrase the Ministry used, and thus ended up on pamphlets at the Museum. Caelani wasn't entirely sure whether she liked it, but catchphrases had a way of sticking in the mind, so it couldn't hurt.

Dale gaped at those very words. Rude..... condescending...... ME?! Well.. Within reason. It wasn't like he enjoyed acting that way, or so he believed. In all reality he'd particularly enjoyed the exchange of biting words, the power struggle was like a trip for him, and he'd most certainly put himself out to seek it at times. He was only human after all...

"Now that's a charming way to phrase it. Tell me, how exactly does the wizarding world 'bridge the gap' when they keep their world virtually hidden from muggles?" he asked pointedly. After all the years and chaos that occurred between the worlds he'd wondered how it was possible that the wizarding world could act so open when they clearly shielded themselves from the other half, a desperate attempt to separate themselves from the awful muggles. Being muggleborn hadn't been an awful lifestyle, muggles were innovative and could be shown as such by a simple look at their means of writing. No amount of wizarding education could convince him that a quill of all things was a better writing utensil than a pen.

"I may be rude and condescending but at least I have an idea what really goes on in the world. As in, outside of the magical community. " hmph. He straightened up a bit so that he was at height with Calli "Have you even stepped into the muggle world or has daddy forbade you from rubbing elbows with the non magical scum?" he added rather snarkily. Something about purebloods had always rubbed him the wrong way, their obsession with blood supremacy had always reminded him of a darker past in history.

Breakfast was something Davina took seriously. If she was running back and forth between classes or got distracted by something, she easily forgot the meals that followed. Waking up early came easy to her, so it was part of the Slytherin’s routine to take her time in the Great Hall and stockpile her snacks for the day. Walking into the Great Hall itself, she spotted the sour look that was perpetually on Dale’s face, along with Caelani’s obnoxiously perfect one. Bridgette was close by as well but seemed to be watching the interaction rather than participating. Well… this had to be good. Anything that put Dale in a bad mood was bound to be interesting and definitely worth sponsoring.

Davina reached for Dale’s flyer while he was distracted and the smirk on her face slowly dropped as she read through the text of the paper in her hand, and realized Caelani’s involvment. “Seriously?” she accused her, frowning at her House mate. “You’re going to try thing rubbish again?” It wasn’t the first time the other Slytherin had tried to make others concede to her beliefs. As a younger, more naive witch, Davina had thought Caelani was going her the favor of teaching her what she knew; it was exactly what an 11 year old Davina had wanted in a friend. It eventually became very apparent to her that her schoolmate wasn’t exactly doing it out of the goodness of her heart.

The dark haired Slytherin never thought she would agree with Dale Roberts on anything. Ever. A heat of energy rose to her cheeks of having to be on his side, aside from the nature of Caelani’s handouts she was trying to distribute. Ripping the flyer in half, she let the pieces float to the ground. “Get over yourself.”