— The —
Daily Prophet
Daily Prophet
Price One Knut
April 12th, 1888
The Veela Problem: Generational Effects
The Issue Of Halfbreed Offspring
The recent article featuring legal commentary on the issue of Veela by Mrs. Angelica Flitwick has sparked an ongoing legal debate within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, our sources report.
"The half-breed issue is, of course, not a new one," junior lawyer Everett Potsdam told our reporters. "But the discussion has moved from the problem of education — which was settled almost entirely within the Department of Education last year — to that of marriage, which is still heavily contested." Mrs. Flitwick had previously compared marriages between Veela and humans to those consummated under the influence of the Imperius Curse or that of a love potion, which have been established to be invalid by a wealth of existing case law.
The crux of the debate now is how similar the effects of a Veela's charm are compared to such extreme measures, and how diluted Veela blood must become before the effects are considered trivial. The potential effects on inheritance law are also potentially massive, as Veela and their offspring have a reputation for promiscuity. "If a man married to a Veela, or a half-Veela, came forward and claimed he did not believe his children to be legitimate, there would be very little the court could do except to take his word for it and dissolve the marriage, which might see dozens of children with second- or third-generation Veela blood turned out on the streets."
Half-Veela also present a unique issue as far as legal classification goes. "Under the current legal system, any child with one human parent is considered a human citizen — not a being," clarified Department of Magical Law Enforcement clerk Wilfred Bastley. "Which means that they are entitled to all the same rights as any other citizen of magical Britain." As such, Mrs. Flitwick's suggestion to ban Veela from the country would not apply to these half-breeds, and in some cases could see young children forcibly separated from their mothers. Some argue that this is for the best, as the child would then be raised exclusively by their human parent and guardians and might adhere more closely to traditional wizarding values, mitigating the problem of their supernatural charms.
Potential solutions to the problem such as starting a registry of Veela and their offspring, licensing special permits for unions between part-Veela and humans, or requiring extensive prenuptial agreements are hotly debated within the department, and are all still in the strictly theoretical stage. "This issue likely won't be firmly decided until there's a case regarding such a marriage brought before the Wizengamot," commented Mr. Potsdam. "But without at least a registry, there's no telling when that might happen — or whether it would even be recognized for the groundbreaking case it is. The halfbreed issue is largely a silent one when the children in question can 'pass' for pure humans."
Whatever the eventual outcome may be, it is clear that neither the Veela problem nor the ongoing debate regarding part-human children will be resolved any time soon.
"The half-breed issue is, of course, not a new one," junior lawyer Everett Potsdam told our reporters. "But the discussion has moved from the problem of education — which was settled almost entirely within the Department of Education last year — to that of marriage, which is still heavily contested." Mrs. Flitwick had previously compared marriages between Veela and humans to those consummated under the influence of the Imperius Curse or that of a love potion, which have been established to be invalid by a wealth of existing case law.
The crux of the debate now is how similar the effects of a Veela's charm are compared to such extreme measures, and how diluted Veela blood must become before the effects are considered trivial. The potential effects on inheritance law are also potentially massive, as Veela and their offspring have a reputation for promiscuity. "If a man married to a Veela, or a half-Veela, came forward and claimed he did not believe his children to be legitimate, there would be very little the court could do except to take his word for it and dissolve the marriage, which might see dozens of children with second- or third-generation Veela blood turned out on the streets."
Half-Veela also present a unique issue as far as legal classification goes. "Under the current legal system, any child with one human parent is considered a human citizen — not a being," clarified Department of Magical Law Enforcement clerk Wilfred Bastley. "Which means that they are entitled to all the same rights as any other citizen of magical Britain." As such, Mrs. Flitwick's suggestion to ban Veela from the country would not apply to these half-breeds, and in some cases could see young children forcibly separated from their mothers. Some argue that this is for the best, as the child would then be raised exclusively by their human parent and guardians and might adhere more closely to traditional wizarding values, mitigating the problem of their supernatural charms.
Potential solutions to the problem such as starting a registry of Veela and their offspring, licensing special permits for unions between part-Veela and humans, or requiring extensive prenuptial agreements are hotly debated within the department, and are all still in the strictly theoretical stage. "This issue likely won't be firmly decided until there's a case regarding such a marriage brought before the Wizengamot," commented Mr. Potsdam. "But without at least a registry, there's no telling when that might happen — or whether it would even be recognized for the groundbreaking case it is. The halfbreed issue is largely a silent one when the children in question can 'pass' for pure humans."
Whatever the eventual outcome may be, it is clear that neither the Veela problem nor the ongoing debate regarding part-human children will be resolved any time soon.
GULLIVER DORAN