September 2nd, 1893 — Professor Pembroke's Office

At breakfast, Tony had been informed by a Ravenclaw prefect of the time Professor Pembroke expected him at his office that day. The prefect had also provided him with something that resembled a snitch and told him to give it the command 'Take me to Professor Pembroke' when it was time to get to his office and the snitch would take care of it. Only to make sure to pay attention, as they tended to be fast.

Indeed, after commanding the snitch, it came to life and after giving him a moment to realise what was happening, it started flying towards the direction of Professor Pembroke's office. It took all in Tony's power not to be distracted by his impressive surroundings and instead keep loyally to the snitch's path!

His arteries were buzzing blood by the time he made it outside the Muggle Studies classroom. Just going to class would make him fit and Nat Gallivan had told him about some wizard sport called Quidditch earlier today!

But this was not the time to think about that. After politely knocking and hearing the professor's voice from behind the door, Tony entered the office.

"Good day, Professor Pembroke," Tony greeted as he took the offered seat.

---

Thomas Pembroke

  

It was good to be back, Thomas thought as he finished up unpacking everything he needed in order to set up his lessons on Monday. While he enjoyed having his summers off to focus completely on his activist work and attend society gatherings, he loved being there for his students a lot more and it was that feeling that made him sure that he made the correct decision in leaving the Ministry when he did; the Muggle Liaison Office was not at all terrible, but it only allowed him to do so much.

He looked up from his desk when he heard a knock and answered, “Come in.” When he saw Mr. Anthony Lawrence, he gave him a welcoming smile, and gestured to the seat across from him at his desk so that he could sit down. He had pulled his file after the awful incident in the Great Hall yesterday and knew that perhaps he might need someone to talk to about being a muggleborn in a world like this; it was what he was trained in and he had a lot of personal experience as well. “Would you like some Cracker Jack?” he asked, offering him a small box, “I acquired quite a bit from the World's Columbian Exposition in the States this summer; it’s not widely available yet, but it’s quite good, I promise.” He was so excited to show off all of the new inventions he either brought with him or got photographs of while he was there to his students in the coming year.

After the boy either took or rejected the offer of the treat, he continued, figuring he ought to get to the point, otherwise the poor child might just be confused why he asked him here in the first place. “I don’t know if your housemates have introduced me to you yet, but I’m Professor Pembroke, and I teach Muggle Studies here at Hogwarts. I spent a good chunk of my years working for the Muggle Liaison Office at the Ministry of Magic, working with relations between muggles and wizards, but I specialized in helping muggleborns interact with wizards and their own families,” he introduced himself to the first year, “I’m muggleborn myself, actually, so I understand all of this might seem like a lot to you and I hope that Miss Valenduris didn’t spoil your thoughts on our world. But, I wanted to check in with you and let you know that I’m here if you need anything or have any questions.” He then waited to allow Mr. Lawrence a chance to speak, hoping that he was doing okay right now.

  

Like any enthusiastic child, Tony took the offered caramenl-coated popcorn, having never tasted something like this before! He had been offered some wizarding snacks at the common room gathering the evening before: Bertie Bott Beans and a chocolate frog that he hadn't had the heart to eat, but kept the card of Dilys Derwent, who was a healer, just like he aspired to be!

Well, after the incident with Miss Amarantha Valenduris the evening before, Tony wasn't so sure about that. His previous enthusiasm about taking potions was marred by her behaviour, seeing that she was the Potions Club president and her personality had discouraged him from pursuing a membership.

It seemed that this was the reason why Professor Pembroke had called him in his office that day, though Tony had put two and two together after a housemate told him what he taught. Tony, who in his previous life was coming from a family that fit the status quo (white, Church of England Christian, English, reasonably well-off), was unused to being the subject of prejudice. It felt awful and dehumanizing and there was a part of him that wanted to hide that he was from a non-magical family. If there was such prejudice about it, why hadn't Professor Valenduris, his initial mentor, warned him about it? Tony could have lied about coming from a non-magical family, said that at least his mother had been a witch. Then, perhaps Miss Amarantha wouldn't have been so cruel to him and he wouldn't feel like his and Hyacinth's friendship had ended.

Then again, Professor Pembroke admitted to being a muggleborn himself and he'd described a successful resume, so clearly one could make something of himself in this world, in spite of their "lesser" blood.

"Thank you, Professor Pembroke," Tony said. "To tell you the truth, professor, I find the term 'muggle' somewhat derogatory as well. Don't you think?" He preferred to think of his family as non-magical, than use that odd word to describe them. Muggle. It set them apart, made them seem like they were lesser humans than wizards.

---

  

He smiled as the boy took the treat, figuring he might want to at least give it a try, and he got right to explaining who he was and perhaps a bit about himself to explain why he was someone who wanted to talk to Mr. Lawrence about what happened. Thomas remembered the first time he heard the slurs being thrown at him and it was his first day of Hogwarts as well, and he supposed he was far more fiery about it than most, but he dedicated his life to trying to make relations between muggles and wizards better in hope that one day no student ever had to deal with that and they could be accepted like any other student.

“Do you?” he hadn’t really considered that muggle was a derogatory term as well, if he were honest, it was just the term that he got used to using as it was what most of his peers used when referring to non-magical folks and was intended to be the most politically correct term. But, he supposed that he could understand a distaste for any word that separated you from what was deemed as right or normal; no matter the age, all anyone really wanted was to fit in with everyone else, after all. “I have to admit that I never thought of it. To me, it just means without magic, but perhaps that is just because it’s what I grew up with, but I’m curious, what would you rather they be called? And in turn, what should we call ourselves if not muggleborn?”

  

On hindsight, there needed to be a single world that denoted the meaning 'one without magic', the same way they had the worlds 'wizard' and 'witch' and 'sorcerer/sorceress' etc, instead of saying 'the one who uses magic'. So the problem was not with the word itself, but with its connotations.

"I don't like to be excluded from the other wizards," Tony admitted shyly. "I feel like by being called a muggleborn, it singles me out, makes me feel like I'll never be one of them properly." His father would often say how, no matter how educated and accomplished a person of colour from the colonies was, you could never make a proper Englishman out of him. Was that his fate in the magical world, to be an outsider that everyone viewed as lesser than?

---

  

“Did you know, in the States, they call muggles ‘no-majs’ and in France they call them ‘non–magiques’, perhaps either of those would suit your fancy better,” He suggested, though he supposed that wasn’t the point the child was trying to make and he felt for him because he knew precisely how it felt to feel singled out for being muggleborn for the first time. He nodded, then replied, “I understand, however, in truth, blood status only matters to those who like to pretend it does, people like Miss Valenduris may think they’re superior because they’ve had magic in their lives for generations, but they really aren’t and you'll find many others here who don’t feel so unkindly toward you. You are a wizard, regardless of where you come from and you are capable of just as much magic as any pureblooded wizard in this whole school so long as you keep to your studies.”

  

Tony like the sounds of 'no-maj' and 'non-magique' much better than this odd word 'muggle' that the British had devised. Oenologically it made more sense than 'muggle', which he couldn't think of having any root word that described its definition. It sounded more like some epithet used in the past to describe non-magical people unkindly, and then it stuck.

"But surely those wizards have an advantage," Tony said. At eleven years old, he didn't have a firm grasp on social class, but he still knew that there were people who had more power than others. Like how, in his muggle word, the nobility had more power than the working class. Then, there was the matter of knowledge. Miss Hyacinth already knew so much about the magical world, before even coming to Hogwarts. For her, casting magic would be second nature. She'd probably had a headstart on spell-casting compared to him.

"Is there a witch Queen as well and these purebloods are the peerage?" It sounded like it, the nobility always married amongst themselves and were considered better than regular folks. Unless someone became very very rich and even then, he was branded as nouveau riche. Was that to be his destiny -- no matter how good of a wizard he became, he'd only be a nouveau riche wizard?

---

  

While he could not deny that was true, his wizard-born peers would have certain advantages because they were used to magic, he didn’t believe that it would hinder a student’s progress in growing should they keep studying. “Perhaps,” he replied, “But there are laws preventing underage wizards unless under very specific circumstances to practice magic outside of Hogwarts. So, it’s not likely any of your peers are any more advanced than you are. I believe you will find that you excel in many things despite being new here; tell me, Mr. Lawrence, what sort of things interest you? Perhaps I can help you find your niche.”

He shook his head and while he wasn’t sure explaining the whole political structure of the wizarding world was something he could do without confusing an eleven year old, he would try to keep things as simple as he could. “No, there isn’t any Wizard Queen, but we do have a Minister for Magic, a bit like your Prime Minister and we have the Wizengamot, which is a bit like your Parliament. Did you know a muggleborn witch sits on the Wizengamot? She was named Head Girl in her time here at Hogwarts; a woman born of no magical blood, just like you, and yet she helps legislate some of the laws we have today.”

  

It was inspiring and encouraging to hear about this accomplished muggleborn woman who had made it on the Wizengamot. And a woman, too! While they had the Queen, Parliament consisted entirely of men. So, in some ways, the wizarding world was a more progressive one.

"I confess I do not have a taste for politics," Tony replied cleverly, though in truth, which eleven-year-old had? Unless it was from a prestigious family with a long line of politicians, dictating his future career choices. "My father is a doctor and my grandfather had been a surgeon before him." Thanks to his grandfather's occupation, the Lawrence family had been propelled to the middle class. In fact, the name Lawrence had been adopted by his grandfather, as it sounded more middle class than his old surname of Baker (he had been the son of one). "Miss Hyacinth told me that the wizard doctors are called healers and that they do a lot of potions..." He had been excited to join the Potions club, but knowing that her awful sister was the head of it had now turned him completely off that prospect.

"But in fairness, I want to try all classes offered here. I want to learn all there is about magic and perhaps see how to use it alongside our sciences. To tell you the truth, Professor Pembroke, while the wizarding world seems fascinating, I couldn't help but notice how... olf-fashioned everything is. I was told that wizards send their mail with owls, when we have discovered telephones and the telegraph before that! Why put these put beards through all this trouble, when the muggles they so despice have found a better way?" It was still hard for him to distinguish himself from wizards and muggles, feeling himself part of both worlds.

---

  

He chuckled, of course, he wouldn’t expect a boy as young as he was to care about such things. Maybe he would change his mind in the future, but Thomas also knew plenty of adult men who were also fairly apolitical. Though, if Mr. Lawrence was as passionate about muggleborn and muggle rights and the prejudice they faced, he may find himself helping lead the change in politics one day. Nevertheless, he had plenty of time to explore such pursuits when he was grown and for now Thomas was interested in hearing about what he was interested in at his age now. “That they are. I assume you’re interested in studying to become one? It’s a lot of hard work, you’ll need to make it all the way through to your N.E.W.T. levels at the end of your seventh year and score well. But, I’m sure the son of a doctor and a grandson of a surgeon can handle it,” he replied, giving him an encouraging smile before pulling out a quill, ink, and a piece of parchment to write down some prerequisites for becoming a healer to give to Tony for reference, “You’ll need to work hard in all of your classes, not just potions; there are charms, transfigurations, and even magical plants you’ll need to know for your exams. I highly recommend joining the clubs for the ones you are interested in and even the ones you struggle the most in as they will help give you the practice you need.”

Thomas was glad that Tony seemed willing to try all the classes that were offered if he could, thinking it was good to be well rounded and it was good to see where his skills and interests would lie in the end. He nodded in agreement, honestly, he thought the very same thing; wouldn’t it be much easier if wizards were willing to work with muggles rather than reject their ideas completely? “Wizards are stubborn folk, I’ve found. Very set in their ways, but they have tried to work with muggle inventions as well. If you ever take my class I can explain more in depth, but you’ll find that any item that uses electricity simply does not work when there’s a heavy magical presence. And so far while we may find spells to get them to mimic working, such as when using the phonograph, as I often demonstrate in my classes, most don’t and so it makes wizards not want to bother learning to use them,” Thomas explained to him, “But while you are right that there are some things that would be easier if we learned to work with each other, don’t leave here thinking that all wizards who grew up as such despise muggles. I trust your friend who told you about healers, doesn't despise them, and I know Professor Valenduris doesn’t.”

  

It was some comfort to know that Professor Valenduris, his first mentor, didn't believe in blood supremacy. It would have broken Tony's heart to know that the elderly professor secretly hated people like him. How could someone like Miss Amarantha come to so much hate, when her own relatives didn't espouse her beliefs? Then again, Tony's father was a conservative and a racist, and Tony was nothing like him.

"Thank you for your support, Professor Pembroke," Tony said with a smile.

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