July 20th, 1889

Dear Mr. Abernathy,

I am writing in response to the article you wrote covering the murder, apparently at the hands of a werewolf, of a Muggle man in Cambridgeshire on July 13th, which appeared in print on page twelve of the Daily Prophet on July 15th.

I take issue with the tone of your article, and more specifically with the phrase "in cold blood" as it implies an agency similar to human-on-human murder which is entirely inappropriate. Our understanding of werewolves is, of course, very limited given that we as wizardkind have neglected to consider them as worthy of thought or study despite living side by side for centuries, but we do know that werewolves lose their human sense of morality and self while transformed, and that if this deed was perpetrated by a werewolf it would not have been done by choice. In fact, due to the lack of other incidents in this area it seems quite plausible that if a werewolf is residing in this area they have taken great pains to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the past and probably give a great deal more thought to the safety and wellbeing of those around them than the average witch or wizard does.

While we will likely never know the exact situation surrounding the events in Cambridgeshire on July 13th, the rhetoric pursued by your article is not only misguided but actively harmful to society, as it increases the stigma for those afflicted with lycanthropy and prevents those who have recently been infected with seeking appropriate support services, which only increases the odds of another tragedy and perpetuates this cycle. We as wizards must do better, for all our sakes — and particularly as a journalist you ought to have more integrity and take some responsibility for the things you write, not carelessly rehash the same tired narrative that has been trotted out for these sorts of incidents for years, just to put a more sensationalist spin on your headline.

Expecting better from the press;
M

---

Kieran Abernathy

The following 2 users Like Juliana Ainsworth's post:2 users Like Juliana Ainsworth's post
   Cecily Gallivan, Loretta Browne

---

Prof. Marlowe Forfang

Jules

July 21st, 1889

M

Thank you for your letter; it is rather rare that someone would reach out to me in defense of werewolves, given everything that we know about them. I appreciate the feedback.

How would you have us cover attacks committed by werewolves, if it is not in the paper? Someone has to be responsible, after all, whether the lycanthropes have agency over their actions or not. Just curious.

K. Abernathy

  

July 23rd, 1889

Dear Mr. Abernathy,

Thank you for your response.

I am not suggesting that events such as these have no place in the news, and am disheartened that this is what you took from my previous letter. I suggest, instead, that the culpability for these tragic events lies less with the individual werewolves who may be involved (which, in many cases, we merely assume to be the case instead of looking for any concrete sort of proof; it is quite easy for a wizard who wishes to get away with murder to time it correctly and stage whatever they please) and more with the society which continually drives them into the shadows and forces them to pursue desperate measures in order to keep those around them safe.

I have been fortunate enough to become acquainted with many werewolves through my research, and I have found them to be, in a word, exceptionally human. They care deeply about those they love, and make choices (some frighteningly difficult and even incomprehensible to the average witch or wizard) in order to protect them while struggling desperately to maintain some sense of normalcy, which society fights tooth and nail to strip from them at every opportunity. Every werewolf is capable of great harm, but so to is every untrained witch or wizard. As a society, we ought to be less concerned with making an already difficult life harder and more concerned with supporting and aiding werewolves who wish to abide by the same rules of civilized society to do so safely and comfortably.

When tragic events such as the Cambridgeshire murder occur, we may choose to reinforce the same narrative which society has upheld for centuries — that this is the work of some cold, heartless beast and that situations like this are fully beyond our control — or we could shed light on the truth of the matter, which is that these things are not the work of monsters, unless they are monsters of our own creation; that they are preventable, and we have simply failed through ignorance and prejudice to prevent them.

Hoping you understand,
M

---

  

---

Prof. Marlowe Forfang

Jules

July 25th, 1889

M

You are very thoughtful about this; your outlook will not be particularly popular in a newsroom, but I appreciate your sharing it. Werewolves as humans is not a view one hears frequently. I must confess that there is a degree to which I agree with you - lycanthropy is a disease, after all, and one does not choose to have it any more than one chooses to contract dragon pox.

What work has brought you into acquaintance with werewolves? You do not have to indulge my curiosity here if you do not want to, but one so rarely encounters 'open' lycanthropes that I must ask.

K. Abernathy

  

July 27th, 1889

Dear Mr. Abernathy,

I'm afraid I understand quite well that it is not a popular opinion, in the newsroom or anywhere else, which of course is half the problem; no one wants to listen. I appreciate that you have taken the time to do so, and please know that my opinion of you is a good deal better than when I wrote initially.

It is true that not much work brings one into contact with werewolves, and in fact I have had to seek them out — but I think my work is quite worth the pain of doing so. I have been interviewing werewolves for years, and hope soon to be able to publish research (real, honest research, not blind speculation) on their natures. Currently, the scholarly conversation on lycanthropy has not progressed much past the popular opinion, but I hope, very soon, to change that.

M

---

  

---

Prof. Marlowe Forfang

Jules

July 29th, 1889

M

Well, I would be interested in research if you ever do publish it.

How does one identify werewolves to speak to?

K. Abernathy

  

July 31st, 1889

Dear Mr. Abernathy,

I shall keep you in mind when I do! (A matter of when, not if; this project has been years in the making already and there is clearly a need for it in the field, as our prior conversation demonstrates)

Finding subjects for research is a challenge, as for obvious reasons one must rely on those affected to present themselves for research and it is not safe to verify their status independently (or at least, I have not yet conceived of a safe method for doing so). I think, however, that this was much bigger as a potential problem in my early research, when I was not yet aware of what questions I ought to ask; I do not think it would be very easy for someone to pretend with me at this stage (though I hesitate to call myself an expert, I am as much of an expert at this point as any researcher could call themselves on the subject, I think).

M

---

  

---

Prof. Marlowe Forfang

Jules

August 2nd, 1889

M

I imagine that it's difficult to filter the truth from lies - but beyond that, how does one get werewolves to reach out in the first place? There is no incentive for them to do so; not when they risk exposing themselves to Ministry imprisonment.

K. Abernathy

  

August 4th, 1889

Dear Mr. Abernathy,

Well, I pay them, so that helps.

It's also important that I assure their anonymity — which is not, I recognize, the best research practice and it does place several limitations on my work, but it's necessary in order to encourage their cooperation. I run ads periodically — in the Daily Prophet classifieds and a few other likely places — if you're curious about the language I use.

M

---

  

---

Prof. Marlowe Forfang

Jules