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Originally Posted by
AmbiguouslyMe 
Tibi scrunched up his face again. He knew this. It had been in a book and if it was in a book, Tibi would know it.
Raising his hand again, he ventured a guess of sorts, "Well... if they knew what really happened, they'd know we exist... and the statute of secrecy , um" Tibi paused; this was not going to be sophisticated language, "says we can't tell them or let them find out."
Right?
"The Statute of Secrecy is indeed the answer I am looking for." Ethan nodded around at those who had mentioned it.
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Originally Posted by
Sincerely, Crysta Amber beamed with pride. She was happy that she was making a good impression on her first day of class. Hopefully the rest of her classes would go so well.
"My mother might have been part of the team. She is a cursebreaker herself." Amber stated, with pride for her mother and the knowledge that her mother came back to her with after she was gone on work.
"Excellent, do feel free to pop by my office and we can discuss it if you like." Ethan winked at the young Hufflepuff.
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Originally Posted by
Golden Monkey William thought for a moment, thinking back to a time when he wasn't around. "Well professor, one thing I do know if that everyone has their own opinion and when one person says one thing, the others might disagree, wanting to disprove that persons ideal." he began, his voice sounding a little bit hesitant. "Then there's peopel wanting to prove they're better than everyone else by saying something completely out there and not listening to those who know better. I mean, if we all listened to each other properly, I'm sure those disputes wouldn't happen as often. Though no one is ever 100% perfect right?" He went on, his voice sounding more normal now that he was getting into the swing of things.
As he listened to the professor replying to the other students who had answered, his mind began wandering off. Mirror huh? He shook his head, getting back to the topic at hand, "Well Sir, I know that folk tales are one thing that keep our world from the muggles, even if it's changing one of our true stories and adding a bit of things to it, to make it sound majestical or dangerous. Then of course there's the Statute of Secrecy." he replied, knowing he was going on and on but not really caring.
"It's all about power." Ethan answered, "Getting it and keeping it. Many disputes stem from the desire of one side or another to have power."
Ah.
"Thank you for bringing up folk tales. Indeed myths and fairy tales are indeed a way that the statute of secrecy is supported. Muggles see magic as make-believe and that is a very powerful resource that Wizardkind can use to keep ourselves hidden. Propaganda so to speak." Ethan nodded in appreciation.
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Originally Posted by
Zoerawrr "Indeed," Jake replied again, feeling a little stupid when he did. "Cool beanz."
Cool beanz indeed.
As Truebs went on, Jake was suddenly struck by a mental image of looking through a two-way mirror, whilst a clone of his was on the other side, seeing only a reflection. Hmmm. That metaphor didn't work when you put clones into it.
He pointed at Tibi with one hand as he raised the other. "Like Tibi said, something about the statute of secrecy. And... didn't the magical and muggle world used to live in harmony, until apparently the muggles started wanting magical solutions and everything, and then wizards went into hiding, and that thinger of secrecy was put into place. The International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy," Jake paused for a moment. "Basically... doesn't that mean we're selfish?"
Seemed about right.
"But now... and then of course, with the witch-burning, we'd face prosecution, and maybe like, lab testing," Jake shuddered, realising he'd gone on a bit.
"Another good answer. Though in a way you contradict yourself Jake. You say it means we are selfish, for not helping muggles with our magic, perhaps for not taking away disease and pain and hardship from mugglekind? It isn't merely because of the statute that this is so, like you said it is because of expectations muggles had that they would get everything they wanted, often disregarding the fundamental laws of magic and what is actually possible. Indeed wizardkind would face great prejudice from muggles. Fear tends to breed such things. We will discuss this aspect of the statute." Truebridge nodded.
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Originally Posted by
HG_forever 'A mirror?' Whit knew he was only using it as a metaphor but seriously, how was she supposed to know what this mirror was? She sat there thinking about it and heard a couple of students mention the Statue of Secrecy. That could be what Professor Truebridge was talking about but she felt it was something more than that. Like, for instance, whenever you wanted to go to Diagon Alley you had to go through the Leaky Cauldron. More students continued to mention the statue but instead she rose her hand and answered with, "Would it be something like the magic brick wall in the Leaky Cauldron, rather than the statue of secrecy. Anyone can tell a muggle about Wizards but the only way a muggle can get to Diagon Alley is if they go with a wizard, right?" A guess never hurt anyone.
"Quite right in a sense, Whitney. It is charms and magic that are put in place in order to keep the statute intact. The reasons are often just as important as the methods."
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Originally Posted by
Magenta Magenta smiled mischieviously at the girl who had laughed at her little slip before turning back to look at the professor. "Uh, ministry of magic?" she asked rather than answered. She looked around quickly to see what the others said, hopefully she wasn't way off.
"Indeed. The ministry, or rather all of the ministries for each country. It all ties in with the statute."
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Originally Posted by
TSnitch Tori sat down beside Carter and took out her books. She wondered how good she would be in this class.
"While I appreciate your presence, I do not appreciate that you are late. Please endeavour to be on time in the future." Ethan looked up at the new arrival and provided a little warning.
ooc: remember, if the class has already started, just post like you are already there unless you want to risk losing points for arriving late. No points lost this time though! Quote:
Originally Posted by
Windsfreak Matheu raised his hand. "Is that how Muggles formed the science Cryptozoology? It's the equivilant of Magizoology to the wizard kind. My father is Muggle and he and my step-mother work in the Muggle world to show that magical beasts do exist." Matheu wasn't too sure how much he said, but he wanted to know. He needed to know! "They have permission by the Ministry, of course. It's just something that my step-mother got my father into doing."
"The Statute does not apply to muggles." Ethan answered. "However, you will find that the ministry actively ensures that Cryptozoologists in the muggle world come up against stumbling blocks. Any witches and wizards that 'help' the muggle cryptozoologists, would be helping to actually keep things hidden and keep an eye on what is revealed or risk Azkaban. The Statute of Wizarding Secrecy is often kept intact simply because of the disbelief that is already built up amongst muggles. Testing that, and ensuring that there are doubters is a fundamental part of enforcing the statute." Truebridge explained, more for the benefit of the class as a whole.
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Originally Posted by
Ratel Arrick looked thoroughly lost. Everyone could have made up everything that they had just said, and he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.
That didn't make any sense. You weren't supposed to see on either side of a mirror, just a reflection.
"You mean tinted glass," Arrick blurted, unable to let the inconsistency slip by. "Like a limo or sunglasses. People ernt see into the tinted side but you can see out. You can't see out the backside of a mirror."
"Indeed. But a 'two way mirror' is what the muggles call it, even though it is a contradiction of itself." Truebridge answered the little Hufflepuff.
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Originally Posted by
Deniiz Yay, Evan was right! He had feared this lesson the most, but his first answer was right! Now the next one...
He again raised his hand hesitantly. "The mirror is the Statue of Secrecy... and their strong belief that magic is unreal. Even if someone told the magic was real, they're so determined it is not that they wouldn't believe anyway..." He trailed off and waited to be called "wrong".
"Precisely. The belief on the part of the muggles, or the disbelief really, is a fundamental part of what makes the statute actually work."
Ethan did like it when Slytherins gave good answers.
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Originally Posted by
Herminny Herminny raised her hand and said, "I believe thats the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy which is a law in the wizarding world that was first signed in 1689 then established officially in 1692. The law was laid down by the International Confereration of Wizards to safeguard the wizarding community from Muggles, and hide their presence from the world at largeThe Statute states that each individual Ministry of Magic is responsible for hiding the presence of the magical community in their own country. Each Ministry is held responsible for, among other things, the control of magical beasts, curbing public displays of underage magic, and ensuring that magical games and sports are played without fear of discovery.
Breaches of the Statute, such as using magic in front of Muggles for no good reason, are dealt with by the Ministry, with a variety of punishments available to be enforced upon the offende .".
"Thank you Herminny." Truebridge could always trust that Herminny Telerino, troublemaker though she might be
, could be counted on to have read the text book.
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Originally Posted by
rubindo This is a simple question. "The mirror between wizards and muggles, is, well, magic! We use spells and charms to create a mirror." It seemed pretty straightforward.
"Magic is one of the ways we keep the statute intact." Ethan answered, "though the statute itself is intended to keep magic intact. It's circular in that way."
Ethan looked around the class.
"So why is the statute necessary?"