Advertising the Mudblood Club PV Galim Fin

Flip. Maya's eyes were scanning the pages of her new book fast. She was on the second series of the Daniel Silva books called "The English Assassin". It was about an Israeli spy named Gabriel Allon who roams about Europe to solve a mystery that is placed upon him from the Mossad (Israeli Intelligence). It was almost like an Israeli version of James Bond except with an improvement on mature content. Flip.

There happened to be a lot of free time for Maya at the moment as she had nothing to grade and she does not perform her rounds until after curfew which was in a few hours. Times like these were always her guilty pleasures as she can focus on reading for fun, studying culture or even perfecting her lesson plans.

Whilst enjoying her alone time, a Slytherin student had walked into her office. Maya, paused her focus to read one word on the page, but did not tear away her focus to look at the first year. "A simple knock was all that was needed," she said, her Israeli accent thick.

"Would you mind if I put these up on the walls in your classroom, outside it, or both?"

Maya, took a deep breath, trying to ignore the fact that this child had interrupted her pleasurable moments of being alone. She dog eared the page she stopped in her book, closed the book and put it down in front of her on her desk. She finally had made eye contact with the boy and reached her arm out to see what advertisement he wanted to notify students about.

When she looked at the poster, the boy began to explain what it was about. Maya's insides winced when he had used the derogatory word that was used for muggles. The word "mudbloods" was an indecent word that put down those who became magic from muggle families. As much as Maya would have liked to throw this boy out of her office, she had to be as cordial as possible.

"Like being looked down on as a muggle-born, for example."

His description for the club confused her just a bit. Was it a club for those to put down muggle-borns or was it for muggle-borns to come together? If it was the latter, why would they be calling it "Mudblood Club"? The only way to rid of such confusion was to ask more about it.

"Can you tell me a bit more about your club?" she asked, probably shocking the student of her desire to learn more, that is, if it was about putting down muggle-borns. Her deadpan face staring straight into his eyes, waiting for an answer. If anything, she was trying to intimidate him for if it was a club to put down muggle-borns, she wanted him to change his mind and go elsewhere with his propaganda.

Reducio

Just letting you know, @Jack Burnett, Muggle Studies is only for third years and higher. So you wouldn't have been in her class as of yet. She has no idea who you are!

@Maya Galim - Apologies for the mistake on my part! Hopefully edited the first post enough for it to be acceptable, but please don't hesitate to let me know if there's anything else I need to change or that I missed!

Blinking rapidly as he was gently chastised for not having knocked, Jack reddened a bit in embarrassment and dipped his head apologetically. "Sorry, Professor. I was a little lost in thought; that was inconsiderate of me. I'll make sure I knock next time."

By the deep breath he took, the Slytherin was fairly certain he'd already begun by giving off a bad impression. While that was all fine and dandy for meeting his fellow students, teachers were a whole other matter - especially when he wanted to ask a favor of them. He would just have to try harder to prove himself and overwrite whatever bad qualities she may have already associated him with.

He patiently watched her mark her place in her book with a fold of a page corner, waiting until she had met his eye before asking and explaining what he wanted to do regarding his club's fliers. The boy watched the professor's face carefully as she read, curious as to whether or not she would give away any indication of her opinions or feelings on the matter. However, when he was finished, all she asked was if he could tell her a bit more about his and Wren's club. His lips parted slightly as he tried to think of what to say, unprepared for such an inquiry.

Well, he supposed it was to be expected with the somewhat contradictory messages the mere title of the club was sending.

"Certainly," the red-headed youth replied with a smile. It had not escaped his suspicions that she might have been attempting to intimidate him with that intense stare of hers, but Jack prided himself on being immune to such psychological tactics, regardless of who they were from.

"A fellow muggle-born student - Wren Caster - and I thought it would be helpful to other muggle-borns and maybe even half-bloods who were raised in the muggle world to get some help on adapting to the wizarding world. I guess it would be kind of like the help your course offers wizarding students, but in reverse. Only, that's not all we do."

He set his bag down on the ground to spread his arms, gesturing more expressively. "Caster wanted to make the club exclusively for muggle-borns, but I thought it could be more inclusive and helpful to others if we invited anyone of any blood liniage to join. That way, those with more knowledge about the wizarding world could provide their expertise to muggle-born students and the muggle-born members could do the same for others, like purebloods, who are more ignorant of the muggle world. Basically, our club is meant to reduce the gap of ignorance and alienation between the muggle-born students and pureblooded ones, as well as give everyone in the middle a chance to feel welcome on both sides rather than excluded."

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Jack couldn't help flushing a little as he continued on to the next part. "I just thought...it's easy enough to say 'muggle-borns are stupid' or 'purebloods are snobby' as a generalization, but maybe meeting and getting to know someone from one of those groups personally might make other students more open to changing their minds on the matter. If they had any at all in the first place, of course. I'm hoping to get first years to join so as to keep them from the concept that there's any rift at all since many haven't even been exposed to it yet."

Hazel eyes once more found Professor Galim's. "Er...is that answer sufficient enough, professor?"

It seemed the Slytherin had quite a bit to say about this newly found club that he and another friend, Wren, had put together. Listening to every word he was saying, Maya could not help but to feel confused, but also defeated. She felt it was her job was to ensure that muggle-born students felt at home in the wizarding society. There are so many changes, but above all, there were those who did not think kindly of them learning the magical ropes.

To hear that this club was to help muggle-born students fit in, but have a derogatory name attached really did not sit well with Maya. Was this appropriate? Their mission statement sounded appropriate. But the name... Why would they choose such a name to represent themselves?

So many questions were running through Maya's mind. The bigger one was, who approved of this club? What professor thought that this kind of club, more referring to its name, would be fine on school grounds? "Mudblood" was a name that often had negative connotation. Unless, they were trying to change its meaning of how people felt of the word? But even so, they were too young to understand that way of thinking. Were they?

"Interesting." It was all Maya was able to mutter right away. Her right elbow on her desk, she propped up her head with her hand and tapped her left hand on the desk surface, making a rhythmic sound. She had a lot of questions, but she had no idea where to start. Maya couldn't lie-- she loved the concept of the club. She just needed to know why that name. Why couldn't they call it something else? Perhaps their intent was to trick purebloods into the club and convince them that muggle-borns are not that bad?

"I need to ask... Why that name? Obviously there are better choices out there," she inquired. "You do know the meaning of 'Mudblood' do you not? How does that provide 'inclusion' if you are using a derogatory name to begin with? A name, may I add, that displays inferiority in the world of magic." Maya thought it was best to start there as it was really the only problem she had with this club. Any other questions she was wrapping around her mind would most commonly come later.

Apologies in the delayed response, @Jack Burnett!

@Maya Galim - No problem!

The first-year stood before the professor, trying not to fidget too much as he waited for her to process it all and pass her judgement. Her ambiguous, single-word response of 'interesting' to his explanation didn't exactly instill in him the greatest level of confidence. However, at the question regarding the choice of the club name, hazel eyes lit with a passionate, mischievous gleam while a sly grin crept across the expanse of his face and transformed it and the entirety of his demeanor completely.

"Pardon?" the Slytherin asked, his tone making use of an innocence that his then-current countenance could not have possibly pulled off with conviction. "I'm sorry, Professor...but do you have any proof that the term 'Mudblood' is derogatory? What about it, exactly, suggests inferiority?" His smile broadened as he raised a hand to gesture while he spoke.

"I don't know about you, Professor, but in my experience, words - particularly names used to address certain people - only hold power over those who choose to surrender it. An insult isn't insulting until someone chooses to be insulted by it. A praise is worthless unless its subject chooses to acknowledge it as recognition of their efforts. In that regard, how can the term 'mudblood' be considered derogatory when I simply choose to use it as a shorter, easier, catchier synonym for 'muggle-born'?"

The redhead clasped his hands behind his back and began to walk a bit in front of Professor Galim's desk - almost as if he were a teacher himself pacing before the front of a classroom full of students while giving a lecture.

"Pretenses aside, let's examine the term itself. From where I stand, there's no point in attempting to rid ourselves of it or suppress its use because with its prevalence in wizarding society, even ignorant muggle-borns are likely to come across it eventually."

He paused to snort in derision. "Kind of ridiculous that those meant to be insulted by the word would be the last to be made aware of its meaning, but ignoring the stupidity of whomever didn't think that through, my argument remains: it would be more practical to integrate the word into our common, everyday vocabulary rather than to attempt its expulsion from the English language." The boy halted in his steps to hold up an index finger for emphasis.

"'Mudblood' has less syllables than muggle-born and has the appeal of rhyme, which makes it faster to say, more catchy, and altogether easier to pick up. All that's left is to eliminate the negative connotations associated with the word - a simple task that I think requires less effort than most realize."

He spread his arms with a laugh. "It's like introducing a vaccine for an illness. If muggle-born students are exposed to the term in small, harmless doses enough to become familiarized with it and eventually desensitized, they'll develop an immunity to it before they even learn to identify it with negative connotations in the first place." He smirked.

"After all, muggle parents certainly aren't going to be familiar with the word, much less expose their children to it, so the chances are high that our club could become the first introduction to it that muggle-born students get. With that kind of controlled exposure on our side, what's left to threaten our endeavor? Purebloods?"

Jack turned to pace in the opposite direction as he continued. Though Professor Galim had suspected the term might have been meant to trick purebloods into joining their club, she was close, but not quite correct. "That brings me to another reason I want to use the term more often. By drawing the attention and curiosity of those already aware of the term's negative connotations, they are free to openly challenge our club with open hostility and ridicule."

"By drawing out our opposers and inviting them to openly make a reasonable argument against our cause and use of the term, we would have the chance not only to expose and point out the flaws in their ways of thinking, but by doing so, convince them to agree with our own. Communicative conflict, debate, and negotiation actually happen to be favored pastimes of mine, so I'm confident I could flip their perspectives to the point that they begin to question their own stances on the matter."

The boy beamed proudly. "With some critical thinking, I'm confident the more intelligent ones are likely to join us. As for the more close-minded, they may choose to stick to their beliefs, but at the very least they will have to see that, to some degree, logic and the changing times are not on their side." Leaning down for his bag, Jack searched through it a moment to retrieve a muggle textbook - one of many he had collected from his time in muggle school.

"History has always been a favorite subject of mine," he told the professor. "I believe we can learn a great deal from the past. An example would be the famous American song called 'Yankee Doodle'." He opened the book to a page he had marked with a note and turned it to the adult witch so she could read the passages he had notated.

"The British originally created and sang this song to mock American colonists. However, the Americans not only embraced the song; they added their own verses and claimed it as patriotic, singing it back to its original creators as a sentiment of defiance and mockery. Nowadays, hardly anyone even remembers it wasn't the Americans that the song originated from in the first place, let alone that it was made to insult them."

The Slytherin first-year enthusiastically indicated the passage he had highlighted in his textbook. "That, to me, is a true demonstration of the power words and communication in general can have if people understand how to properly utilize it. History is recorded and remembered to make sure we don't repeat the negative events of the past...but I think it's just as important to consider the benefits of intentionally repeating the positive ones."

Allowing the professor to continue looking over his book or putting it away if she seemed finished with it, he attempted to revisit the subject of how he intended to follow through with his objectives. "As I'm sure you know, Professor, jokes made about certain groups of people among the groups themselves are considered more funny than insulting because they take the time to find humor in their own existence and ways of life. They're able to laugh at themselves, which I think is really important." His smile had mellowed by then, indicating his serious views on the matter.

"If people like Wren and I - muggle-born students ourselves - can send the message to others that the word 'mudblood' is not something we're ashamed of, I think we can prevent the perpetuation of it as being negative at all. We can teach our fellow muggle-born wizards and witches not to take offense to it by not taking offense ourselves and treating it as a frivolous, trivial joke no matter who uses it or with what intent."

Jack chuckled softly. "I mean, the word itself sounds like something a toddler came up with, wouldn't you say? Without context, it's not even particularly insulting; just amusing. So after hearing all that, Professor Galim...maybe you can enlighten me some. Why shouldn't we use that term in our club name?"

Who was this boy? He spoke as though he was much older than eleven or twelve years old. He spoke like an adult who was either a psychiatrist or a philosopher. He was speaking in ways that only one who would think upon such a lifestyle would venture. But alas, it was only his first year at Hogwarts, in which, he would only have thought of this club and its mission statement for a few months. Maya believed that he was fed all of this information rather than learned on his own.

"I'm sorry, Professor...but do you have any proof that the term 'Mudblood' is derogatory? What about it, exactly, suggests inferiority?"

Maya's eyebrows furrowed. Although this child was speaking about his club as an adult, there were some aspects of his knowledge that were unknown. It was obvious that he did not do his reading on such a topic. Before beginning, she waited for him to answer her questions. It was only fair. Until then, she would begin her lesson with him.

She waited. Listening. And waited. Listening. And waited... Still listening. The boy could write his own speech if he wanted to. Actually, he would definitely be skilled at filibustering at parliament. Perhaps he would take on a career in law or politics at the rate he was going.

When he was done, Maya gave him a soft smile, and slowly got up out of her chair. She turned around to her bookshelf and looked around for a minute, in silence, for a book. Ah, silence. It was nice to have it after what felt like 20 full minutes being talked at. She gave a soft laugh to herself and finally found the book that she was scanning for. It was a blue book that looked well kept. It was probably a ten-year old book and it read, History of Muggleborns. Maya took it out of her bookshelf and tossed it onto her desk, the writing in the boy's direction.

"If you open the book to the table of contents, you will be able to see the different times muggleborns have been persecuted by purebloods and the likes of the Wizarding World," she began, showing the table of contents listing countless attempts of ridding muggle-born witches and wizards from society. She then thought of the next biggest proof that was brought out not by groups of people, but rather from the Ministry of Magic themselves. Maya turned back around and looked around for a pinkish-red, thick pamphlet.

Luckily, it was near the opening of where the other book was set. Maya took the pamphlet and tossed it on top of the open book in front of the student. On it, was a red rose with thorns and in the middle of a rose was a female, presumably a witch or wizard. The live thorn symbolized as a muggle-born witch or wizard. The title read, Mudbloods and the Dangers They Pose to a Peaceful Pure-Blood Society. The author was none other than Dolores Umbridge.

"If you thought that it had been years since muggle-born witches and wizards have been targeted, think again. This propaganda was written in 1997 by the Ministry of Magic. Granted, the Ministry has been reformed a year later, but it does not mean there are many minds out there who truly believe that muggle-borns must be eliminated from wizarding society," she taught, moving her way back to her chair and eyeing down the Slytherin student.

"While I acknowledge your ability to try to change the status quo, it is unrealistic. While you believe that you're trying to end its meaning, you're only feeding into it," Maya added, warning the student of his and his co-clubber's ideas. "In addition, less syllables does not make it valid."

Maya paused, hoping the student would take in all that was presented to him. There was proof throughout history. The fact that this child would base it off of his eleven-year experience was beyond her. The chutzpah that some children had nowadays was too much to bear.

During the silence, the boy rested his throat, watching as the professor stood to retrieve a blue book that appeared to be in excellent condition. She tossed it onto the desk before him so he could read the title. Then she mentioned what he would find if he opened the book to the table of contents.

Taking the comment as an invitation to open said book, Jack stepped up to the desk to do so in order to locate what she was referring to. There was, indeed, a list of different times in the table of contents at which muggle-borns had been persecuted by purebloods and others of the Wizarding World who did not approve of them. However, he still failed to see how this applied to the particular aspect of their conversation regarding one very specific term.

Jack thus continued to read and skim through the text as he waited for the woman to continue, keeping his peace until he understood what point, exactly, she was trying to make. As a lover of history, particularly the comparison of recorded muggle history to recorded wizard history, he was fairly confident he was at least aware of the major events mentioned in the blue tome before him. Eventually, however, his attention was drawn by Professor Galim once again when she took a thick, pinkish-red pamphlet to toss at him.

She sure seemed to enjoy tossing things today. With idle amusement, the Welsh boy wondered if it was a regular habit of hers to toss things at students or if she only did so at the ones who irked her. Or, he thought cheekily, maybe I'm just special.

When he picked up the pamphlet, however, his interest was soon recaptured by its content.There was a red rose with a...girl?...in the middle...and thorns around it. Jack's brow furrowed, not quite sure what to make of it as he read the title at the top. At that, he released an involuntary snort and quickly held the pamphlet higher up to hide the lower half of his face, hazel eyes peering sheepishly over the top of it to see if the professor had noticed.

Regardless, she was speaking again, so he hung on her every word, eager for more of an explanation regarding the absurd-seeming propaganda.

Ah, he thought as he followed the train of her thought after she finished speaking. She believed him to be ignorant, too. He supposed he couldn't blame her, considering his age and relatively recent introduction to the wizarding world himself. However, Jack also suspected that caused her to underestimate just how devoted he was to his absolute favorite subject.

"With all due respect, professor," Jack replied, gently setting the pamphlet back down on the desk before him, "I've been aware of all this for quite some time. In fact, I learned several months ago that the author of this very pamphlet was supposedly murdered with a very famous wizard accused of the crime."

He searched for her gaze, hoping to lock eyes to let her know he did not take the whole matter as frivolously as a peer of his might have. Jack guessed he could see her perspective, and given his self-made reputation as a slacker and a class clown, though he could tell why she might have been attempting to dissuade him from his argument. If he was her, he would have just seen himself as some other snot-nosed kid trying to cause a ruckus by using an offensive name without fully being aware of the weight it carried and the blood that might have been shed over its mere use.

However, Jack was determined to prove that, despite all appearances and track records, this was not a subject he was simply being stubborn about just for the sake of amusing reactions. Granted, there were such actions he took for that very reason and nothing else, but this was not one of them. To overthrow the status quo was a common and popular function of his favorite role models and the character archetype they embodied - tricksters. If he couldn't do something as simple as change the mind of a single person, adult or not, how could he expect to embody any other trickster traits as he made it his personal mission to do?

Taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth to respond once more. "Pardon me, Professor Galim," Jack replied, gently setting the pamphlet back down on the desk before him, "but I never stated at any time that, as you put it, I 'thought it had been years since muggle-born witches and wizards have been targeted'. Even if I had, however, I'm not sure how that would pertain to the matter at hand." He gestured toward the blue book of Muggleborn history. "I've been aware of all this for quite some time now. In fact, I even learned several months ago that the author of this very pamphlet was supposedly murdered with a very famous wizard accused of committing the crime."

The boy looked back up at her earnestly. "I imagine that, as a result, tensions are higher now between muggle-borns and those against them than they have ever been. However, I whole-heartedly believe that only makes my attempted endeavor more important and relevant to the students of Hogwarts than ever."

He stood before her with his arms to his sides, ready and willing to be convinced if she had any meaningful arguments to counter his own with. However, all he was gathering so far from her words was that she didn't believe he even had a right to contest the notion of his objective with her due to his lack of experience regarding his youth and what she might have believed to be his naivete.

Perhaps she hadn't been properly listening to his points before because she thought he himself didn't know what he was talking about and thus hadn't made the effort to directly contradict the majority of them straight-on. She simply seemed to be trying to attack what she saw as his lack of true knowledge and intimidate him into backing off by persuading him he was way out of his depth. But while Jack knew that he still had a great deal to learn about many, many things and that he could hardly call himself a fraction as knowledgable as the professor in front of him, there were a few, specific areas of expertise he was confident enough in that he wasn't about to submit to without a fight.

"Please allow me to reiterate," he told her steadily, deciding this time to be as brief and succinct in the delivery of his message as possible. He held up an index finger to begin.

"One - there is no more proof that the term 'mudblood' is definitely derogatory as there is proof that the term 'witch' is - a word that is arguably more offensive to the average muggle student than the former. Anyone can take offense to any term and therefore it's a ridiculous notion to ban the use of a word simply because it's 'hurtful' to some people."

Next, his second finger popped up beside the first, indicating the transition into his next point."Two - attempting to suppress the use of or rid the society of this term is only likely to encourage the perpetuation of its use by those who mean to use it offensively. At the same time, it's just as likely to encourage the proclivity to take offense to said term when, like I stated before, there is absolutely no necessity for it."

A third figure came up beside the first two. "Three - due to the difficulty a muggle-born child would have to even be able to hear the term 'mudblood' before the age of eleven, there is a huge potential for success in transforming the connotations of the word in the eyes of current and future students who have yet to become exposed to it or who still remain ignorant as to the original intention behind its use. We can 'nip it in the bud', so to speak, due to the controlled environment of the school and the club which are both supposed to be safe and comfortable for all students. The lack of influence of more biased or skewed adult viewpoints also aids in this."

As this was one of the strongest points he had to make on the subject, Jack decided to re-elaborate a little more on this third one than he had with the others. "Getting to the root of the problem is a major factor in the odds of success. Like I said, my club can act as a vaccine against those who have yet to be tainted by the corrupted notions of blood making one inferior. We might even be able to 'cure' a few of those who have already been affected by their parents and other outside influences due to the fact that this school and its staff have the largest impact on its students' lives for the majority of the year."

"If victims cease to take offense, they will cease to become victims. If they cease to become victims, the word and its wielders lose their power, causing them to cease become bullies. The would-have-been antagonists might just learn to see how ridiculous they're being in attempting to subjugate those who they see more lowly by the mere use of a term. And if they understand that their beliefs about the term, its power, and the muggle-borns who the term refers to are faulty, chances are they may attempt to re-think the biased opinions they were raised with.

"In this manner, both potential future victims and bullies can be prevented from developing as such, growing alongside each other and turning out with the view of one another as equals instead."

This, Jack thought, might have been one of the points he had been trying to make that Professor Galim had become most dubious about. Perhaps it was this point she was trying to refute of his by showing him the recent past - that it was no so easy or simple to overwrite history, nor should he have tried to do so.

In that, he could see her perspective. He hadn't really mentioned much about allowing students to understand the historic connotations of the word, but Jack was well-aware of how important that was in the effort to avoid repeating it. He also wanted to make it clear to the lady that the past struggles and events that muggle-borns had gone through were not things he was trying to belittle or ignore by speaking of the future. He wasn't trying to overwrite history, after all - he was trying to continue it and move it forward with progression.

"Professor, I'm not trying to make light of, forget, or erase the past. Thus, I'm not 'feeding into it', nor do I intend to let others do so. As I said, history is my favorite subject and it's very important to me. I know what's happened both for the worse and the better and I fully mean to make sure everyone in our club understands the whole history that comes with the use of the word. What I'm trying to do is reduce the past's harmful influence on the present and the future. And couldn't one say that the physical manifestation of the world's present and future are children?"

Jack spread his arms. "If it's true that people see children that way and children can learn to adapt with the times, living with the term while becoming desensitized to it, I believe it's entirely possible that wiser adults willing to see sense may end up following their example, whether consciously and intentionally or not. Those who don't will be significantly reduced, and, in time, out-reasoned, out-numbered and out-lived by more forward-thinking individuals. After all, there is no stopping progress or change no matter how much one might want to."

It was then he put up his right hand again, holding up the four fingers he had prior so that he could start from where he left off before unfurling his thumb as the fifth digit. "Five - you mentioned that less syllables do not make the word valid, but I never claimed that they did anything of the sort. I said that, regardless of its meaning, the fact that the word 'mudblood' has less syllables than its less-offensives synonym, 'muggle-born', gives it the appeal of rhyme, makes it faster to say, and makes it more catchy." He couldn't help smirking a little. "It also sounds stupid, so it's easier to make fun of than take offense to.

"This is relevant because all of these things make the word very easy to pick up. For this reason, I think it's better to use the word and get others used to hearing it rather than to teach them to avoid it like it's something to be afraid of. Using it often will desensitize everyone, both potential bullies and victims, to it. Once they're desensitized, it'll mean to little to be any more harmful than the term 'muggle-born'. The silliness of its construction as an insult also makes it perfect for laughing at which is a fantastic weapon against those intending to mentally and emotionally attack others. It's almost too easy to mock and minimize the word as a derogatory term."

When the professor told Jack that his endeavor was 'unrealistic', he almost couldn't believe his ears as his hands fell to his sides yet again. Surely she didn't actually believe that, did she? He studied her dark eyes, glad he had repressed his initial impulse to laugh at the suggestion and its irony. Whether or not she did believe it, Jack decided to think of the feedback as a test.

At last, flabbergasted though he was, the redhead settled on a polite smile - not too telling of his amusement regarding the situation, but not too stiff, either. Jack forced himself to relax his shoulders, formulating how to say what he wanted to convey in the best and most professional manner possible. As usual, too many possible responses bubbled up in his mind like air to the surface of a carbonated drink and it took some time to sort through them.

"Is that your main argument against me using the word 'mudblood'?" he asked calmly, careful that his tone sounded merely inquisitive. "That my goal is 'unrealistic'? Not that it's harmful or dangerous or negative in any way to anyone?" The Welsh boy tilted his head curiously at her. "So, then...if I could prove that issue wasn't an actual problem, you wouldn't have any other reasons to say no?"

As if defeated, Jack sighed and gathered up his fliers to replace in his bag alongside his history textbook. Even while he did so, though, he began to talk again."...You say you acknowledge my ability to try to change the status quo," he said. "But what I'd like to ask of you instead is that you acknowledge any one person's ability to succeed in changing the status quo. Isn't it said that even one person can make all the difference, though?" Jack asked her. "Was the so-called 'Boy Who Lived' not proof enough of that?"

He closed up his bag and scratched his head quizzically. "To say something is unrealistic, especially to a muggle-born witch or wizard, is basically meaningless in my opinion. What people perceive as reality is being shattered all the time. The other day I learned in class how to turn a teacup into a rat. That's essentially giving life to an inanimate object. Do you know how 'unrealistic' that's considered to any muggle? And if you told a wizard that there were portraits with people moving inside of them all day long for their entertainment without getting tired - unlike the people in magical portraits who get tired like any other person - wouldn't they call that 'unrealistic'? At least until you played them a Netflix series on an iPad?"

Jack carefully flipped through a few more pages of the History of Muggleborns book wondering who the author was and if he might have been able to find a copy of the book in the school library. "In spite of all that, though, you're trying to tell me that I can't get people to change their minds about the connotations of a single word because it's 'unrealistic'? Isn't that just a tad ironic?" Gently closing the book after checking for the author's name, he tried to commit it to memory.

"I hope you'll forgive me for saying so, Professor, as I mean no disrespect, but I have to be honest. I can't help but find it a tad bit hypocritical that you tell me my goal is unrealistic and that I'm the one feeding into the intended meaning of 'mudblood'. After all, aren't you the one who's demonstrating the inferiority complex that muggle-borns seem to cling to by telling me not to bother trying to fix anything?" He frowned. "It's my understanding that muggle-borns are not any less powerful or magical than purebloods regardless of what they might have us believe. They can't prove it. So why should we accept it as such?

"Furthermore, I have yet to understand why you think my goal is unrealistic. This is especially strange after I not only gave you so many supporting reasons as to why the intended outcome of my efforts is not only possible, but it's probable.

"That said, who made you believe that you or anyone else or any efforts made toward such a cause would be ineffective? Is that not the very same small-minded thinking that the majority of society pressures individuals into believing so that they won't even dare think about upsetting their precious status quo? But who else creates and defines that status quo other than those very same individuals?"

He slowly pushed the book and the pamphlet on top of it back toward Professor Galim. "I think society and the majority want us muggle-borns as the current minority to believe that we can't make a difference or change others' minds as a whole because they don't want us to rock the boat prematurely. However, in time, muggle-borns are bound to out-number and out-live everyone opposed to them, starting with the dying breed of purebloods. It's just logical for that to happen. I mean, didn't you yourself say that the Ministry of Magic was reformed a year after the pamphlet you showed me was written?" He gestured vaguely toward the pinkish-red paper. "As the song goes, 'we didn't start the fire'. Progress is already being made. I'm only attempting to help it along. Where's the harm in that?"

Jack shouldered his bag as he prepared to leave the office. "One only has to open up any history book - whether a muggle one or a wizard one - to know that individuals are the ones who make history. They may have help along the way, but all it takes to start a revolution or promote a new way of life is a person who believes that they can. It is those who don't believe they can and accept that others tell them they can't who don't. But it is those who know they can regardless of what they're told who do end up in these books that generations upon generations into the future read."

The boy looked about for a clock in the office, wondering what time it was. It was a little depressing to think all the time and passion he'd spent here trying to prove his point might have been futile in the end, but with luck, perhaps he had at least provoked the adult into thinking about his concepts a bit more. Then again, who knew? With as little as he knew of this professor, perhaps she could have taken such offense to his perceived impudence that she would assign him detention - not that such a thing would have made him sorry for speaking his mind.

"Anyway...regardless of whether or not you will allow me to put up these flyers inside, outside, or even near your classroom, I still intend to do what I can to be the change I want to see in the world. Unless, of course, you have a direct and legitimate reason to impede my actions, change our club name, or refute any of the five main points I've mentioned prior...?" He cast her an inquiring look.

"You may have authority and power within these walls, Professor. You can force us to change our club name or disband it. You can give me detention or even expel me. But I think you and I both know that regardless of what you might say in terms of what is and isn't unrealistic, you can't truly stop me in the pursuit of my goal any more than you can stop word of mouth, communicated thoughts, expressed ideas, progression, or change." He paused at this, then chuckled softly under his breath. "Or maybe you could. What right do I have to say what is and isn't possible? Only that others might call it 'unrealistic'."

He readjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder as he turned toward the direction he had entered the room from. "After all, you were muggle-born too, weren't you?" he asked the teacher. "Shouldn't you, more than most, know how absurd it is to be told by people who supposedly know 'better' what is and isn't possible? I know that this time last year, I could have been sent to an insane asylum for claiming that it might have been possible to fly on a broomstick...Hahaha..."

@Maya Galim

If there was one thing that Maya enjoyed, it was the fact that her students would take the time to read and see what was in front of them. She saw the Slytherin look through the table of contents of her book and even take a look at the pamphlet. She saw how he was quizzing himself of the information and it made her feel good that she was teaching him something. Unfortunately, it wasn't something new. According to the silver and green uniformed eleven- or twelve-year-old, he knew all of this information already. Maya, was wondering if the personality of the child in front of her was a "know-it-all" or if he already did know everything. She could not tell. But one thing was for sure... He loved to talk. Perhaps he loved to hear himself speak. There were quite a lot of adults nowadays that liked to hear themselves speak. She guessed this skill had to start sometime in their adolescence. @Jack Burnett was most likely a perfect example of this theory.

The minute he spoke the words "with all due respect" Maya knew that she was going to listen to another speech. How long this one was going to was unknown. To her luck, she found herself slowly sitting down in her chair and leaning forward against her desk, listening to the boy question the author of the pamphlet. While he was correct that the author of the pamphlet was murdered (and good riddance), she was intrigued to hear what else the child knew of at his young age.

"Anyone can take offense to any term and therefore it's a ridiculous notion to ban the use of a word simply because it's 'hurtful' to some people."

As a woman who tried to understand culture, there was one that was hidden among all cultures and that was the culture of Generation Z, or Gen Z. It was a group of children who were born between 1995 to 2015. These group of students have a sense of enlightenment, however, they are forgetful of the other generations around them. While they are the true generation who grew up with technology aside from Millennial's, they are the ones who are much more in connection with other people both virtually and in person. They believe in the ending of racism, bigotry and more, and by doing so was to confront everything head-on. Jack Burnett fit in the category quite nicely. He believed that by using the word, it would diminish its meaning. But would it really? Maya, was not at all convinced.

This was a new species of children that Maya had to figure out. Anything she would say would never get through to them. At least, so far, not with this one. For someone as young as him, he seemed to have an answer for everything.

A vaccine..., Maya still was not convinced. Anything he would say would not change her mind. Maya was a woman who was set on her ways. This was not realistic. Perhaps in the walls of Hogwarts this can be something that would be approved, but the minute he steps out into the real world, he would be eaten alive. However, just as much as she was set in her ways, so was he.

Maya wondered when the student was going to end his speech. Granted, she could interrupt him at any time, but what was the point? He was just going to do it all over again. He said a lot of the same things over and over again and she could not handle hearing them once more. His list after list to make his point was getting to her, but Maya was patient.

When Mr. Burnett had finally said his last statement, Maya pursed her lips. Was she to tell him off about how his mindset would not work in the real world? No. Again, their conversation would go nowhere. Instead, Maya will give him what he wants. He would then have to suffer the consequences in the future when he realizes that in Hogwarts it may work, but out there in the real world, it is much more than a filibuster.

The minute Jack pushed the pamphlet back towards her, Maya had an idea. The first step of her idea was to accept the invitation of having the flyers inside her classroom.

"Okay, Burnett. You've made your point...s. You can put some flyers up on my bulletin right over there," she calmly said, pointing at the bulletin board near the exit door where other flyers are placed. "Anything else?" she asked.

The Slytherin was halfway to the door when Maya's voice stopped him. He turned back around, dipping his head at the permission given to him with a quick, forced smile that might have been meant to imply gratitude. However, the distant look in his eyes suggested that something else continued to trouble him.

"Thank you, Professor," he told her. "But actually...there is something else."

Jack had started packing away his fliers and getting ready to leave in the first place because he too had sensed what Maya Galim had - that the two of them were so stubborn in their ways that their conversation wasn't likely to encourage any actual communication between them. Flash, too, had seemed to think that there was no getting through to Jack if only because he always seemed to find a way around things or to find an argument against something else. What they might not have realized was that Jack was more than willing to be proven wrong or called out on his reasoning; he actually longed for it.

Other than his parents, from which he had learned how to argue in the first place, no one seemed to be able to match him in wit the way he hoped to be; to beat him at his own game. Or, if they did seem able or Jack suspected they could, for some reason they didn't. Ruka, for example, hadn't really seemed to contradict him on anything even though the Welsh boy was fairly certain he easily could have if he wanted to. Some, like Flash and now Professor Galim, Jack thought had some oppositions against his words but didn't bother voicing them. Perhaps they assumed he would never be willing to accept a loss even if they had a valid reason to prove he was wrong and thus decided to give in to him prematurely so as to get some peace.

While people like Flash and Professor Galim might have assumed that this was what Jack wanted, as that was the scenario in which he seemed to 'win' the soonest, this was far from the case. The fact that the majority of people he talked to were so daunted by the lengths to which he would go to argue a point that they refused to argue altogether was boring enough. It made the redhead disregard the majority of people as stupid and dull.

However, recognizing and knowing someone was wiser than they let on and yet not bothering to prove it when Jack was practically begging them to by way of challenging them to oppose him... Nothing compared to the disappointment he felt then. It was like a professional martial artist watching a very renowned opponent throw in the towel simply because they couldn't be bothered to put in the time and effort of a match. Like he wasn't worth the time and effort. What kind of victory was that?

If there was something to be learned, Jack wanted to learn. And there had to be something; he could see it in the woman's face. Why, then, was she holding out on him? Was she worried about hurting his feelings or something? Maybe she thought his pride was all he had and feared taking it from him?

"I was wondering..." he began, somewhat shyly averting his gaze, "...you say I've made my points, but you don't seem like the type of person so readily willing to accept and agree with them just like that. Also, you've yet to really give your own opinion on the matter. Why...why is that?"

@Maya Galim

Other than knowing how to stand up for what he believed in, there was another trait that the boy in silver and green possessed. It was intuition. He was correct to question her ability to "accept" his proposition. Maya felt that Burnett was able to sense the quick acceptance and was not afraid to ask about it. Here, a first year, pushing his beliefs onto a Muggleborn Muggle Studies Professor.

Maya clasped her hands together and rested them on the old oak desk. She slightly leaned into her hands and had a small smile on her face. She was glad that he called her out on her bluff, but it did not mean she needed to answer him. He would make an interesting student when he reaches his third year, she thought to herself. Granted, she probably wouldn't be able to get through a lesson without him debating each topic in some way, shape or form. But nonetheless, his personality would be an excellent fit to teach others.

"My opinions do not matter. I am only a guide for all students. I have given you information that you've taken lightly into consideration. I will give you some advice, and that is to be aware of your surroundings."

Maya knew that her advice was vague and it shared a lot of layered opinions, but he-- along with others who were running the club and its members-- needed to know that there were lots of obstacles that they will bump into along the way of their want to change the world.

"עכשיו, again, you're more than welcome to leave a few flyers here for my third years who will come within the hour for class. Unless you've changed your mind," she asked, her eyebrows raised high.

Reducio

עכשיו = Ach'shav = Now
@Jack Burnett