Chapter 771 - Subsequently

With November slowly coming to an end many of the students did not pay a great deal of attention to the news in the Daily Prophet regarding the raids except for the Slytherins and purebloods. Unlike the rest of the student population, they understood the gravity of the situation. The entire power dynamic of the underworld had been removed and now there was a vacuum in its place. Would the underworld cease to exist, or would another force seek to replace it? These were questions that could only be answered with time.

Still, the pureblood students were rather impressed by the Minister of Magic's decisiveness. They were not the only ones as their parents, other purebloods, and those in power were pointedly reevaluating the Minister of Magic. By having done so, the Minister of Magic would be granted more power by being considered a force to be reckoned with. It was an impressive maneuver by Minister Eugenia Jenkins.

Most of the students of Hogwarts failed to realize the aggressive and successful powerplay of the Minister of Magic. Instead, most of their attention was solely focused on the Auto-Database., the Magical Brain, and the Wiz Link. The students of Professor Elphias Murphy, the new Muggle Studies happily asked him questions including the purebloods about the proposed projects. Even the older students were intrigued by the concept and stopped by to ask further questions on the subject.

As a direct result of the popularity of the topic, Professor Murphy was permitted to hold a twice a week lecture for any student of any year or house to participate in and ask questions about the project or other muggle topics. Naturally, the older Slytherins and purebloods took advantage of the weekly lecture despite studying for their O.W.L.'s or their N.E.W.T.'s. They could feel the currents of power beginning to change. And if they wanted to remain where the power was, they needed to stay ahead of the curve.

In fact, many of the older pureblood students were secretly fascinated by the muggle realm but had never had the courage to ask before especially because of their parents. In a safe environment surrounded by their fellow peers the older pureblood children, especially those from Slytherin began to slowly open themselves up to other possibilities. It was not a grandiose event, but slowly progress and tolerance began to take root in the mind of these children and the future of the wizarding world.

Professor Murphy's weekly lectures had another startling effect and that was that the older muggleborn students saw the pureblood classmates in their own comfortable atmosphere. A portion of the mubbleborn students had always seen their pureblood classmates as arrogant and anti-progressive. In fact, the lectures opened their eyes to see the fact that while the pureblood classmates were reserved and even haughty at times, they were just as curious them. It was merely that their pureblood classmates hid it behind a reserve of coldness or manners. (Well, not all of them, there are always exceptions.)

In reverse, this caused many of the older muggleborn students to ask Professor Benjamin Buchanan, the new Wizarding Etiquette Professor, (a squib and descendant of the famous Angus Buchanan ruby player) to teach them more about wizarding society. Since the Professor had been hired for the younger years not many of the older muggleborn students had been interested in pureblood traditions. A spark of interest had been born in turn within these older students to learn about the traditions that their pureblood classmates were so proud of and in turn so proudly cared for.

Much like Professor Murphy, Professor Buchanan began to hold a twice-a-week lecture for any student year of any house to learn more about wizarding etiquette and traditions. Slowly the divide between the older muggleborn students and their pureblood classmates began to close as the muggleborn students learned of common misconceptions and faux pas in wizarding society. That and a great deal of purebloods were closet fans of the muggle sport of rugby.

In fact, Professor Murphy's and Professor Buchanan's lectures became so popular that study groups were formed between the two groups. Friendsh.i.p.s began to cross more than just mere houseline divides but social groups as well. And which unknowingly send would send that year's graduating class and all future graduating years with a change of heart and mind out into the wizarding world. Because for all of their differences, they also shared common interests and were not as different as they had previously thought.

A cruel character from a movie once said, "that no matter what is done it will never amount to anything to more than a single drop in a limitless ocean." To which another character replied, "What is an ocean but a multitude of drops?" For a single drop may not amount to much, but as the drops gather close and begin to puddle together as more and more join until someday an ocean is formed.

Although interesting enough the hospitalization of Mulciber Sr. passed by unnoticed including the transition of power of the head of the Mulciber family to that of his squib eldest son, Peregrine Mulciber. The only notice of the transition was a small article in the back of the Daily Prophet. Ordinarily the news would have caused huge waves in wizarding society, but such an occurrence was easily drowned by the news of the raid's success and all the proposed future projects by the Ministry of Magic.

The news would have even passed Rowan by if not for being in the common room studying one evening. She had been furrowing her brow as they had been asked by Professor Septima Victor for Arithmancy to calculate the planets and stars in conjecture to the winter solstice that would occur later in the future during the month of December. It was a rather difficult assignment to complete as the position of the planets and stars would affect the final calculation of the winter solstice. The alignment of the planet and star had to be perfectly calculated or else the assignment would be considered a failure with a Poor or Troll as a final grade. Troll….