Blood Prejudice PV Hui Ming, Extressia Leo 𝙲𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍

Interacting: @Regina Miller

Despite the recent dip in the standards that Hui Ming held for himself, he was still a well-put-together individual. Quiet, well-dressed, and proper; with neither hair nor hide out of place. With his general aloof nature, and his mannerisms, many of the people who knew the Slytherin first-year in passing assumed he was an immigrant pureblood, heir to some family of wizarding accountants perhaps. The impression was wrong, of course, but Ming never felt the need to go out of his way to correct people.

On this day, the Slytherin boy had just been passing through the Gryffindor table on his way to have a last-minute conversation with Miss Evelynn – or, more properly, Prefect Decipio – about some changes he had made to the plans of the Wargames going forward. The proposed changes were sizable, and he felt that the experience of someone older whom he trusted would have been to his benefit. Even in a rush as we was now, the boy possessed an air of calm, a quiet determination to him that was almost palpable.

It was in this state of mind that Ming just happened to walk past a certain upper year.

"What a farce"

The Slytherin first year paused on his way; distracted, perhaps by the enunciation. Or perhaps it was the girl in question, who seemed to hold herself in the correct posture. Or perhaps it was just the general disappointment in her voice that got to him.

Regardless of what it was that actually drew him in, the Slytherin had his interest piqued. The girl in question seemed like suitable company from her dressing and mannerisms, unlikely to fly into an emotion-filled tirade or draw her wand in front of others. So Ming did one of the things he hardly ever did at Hogwarts: he initiated a conversation.

“I beg your pardon, Miss.” The Chinese-British wizard said hesitantly, every word pronounced in proper Queen’s English. “What is vexing you so on this day?”

The bespectacled first-year had done little to follow the wizarding newspaper after his first couple of months in the wizarding world, having long since concluded that this world was not for him. Yes, he would need to know of the culture and societal norms of these odd people to get by, but more and more he fell back upon the habits of his upbringing over the traditions of these spell-happy, loud, and hormone-addled teenagers that made up the bulk of the Hogwarts system and (to his mind) the magical world at large.

Of course, his general disdain for the magical populace was not an opinion he could display freely; and here, in the face of what appeared to be a cultured individual, genuine concern won out over his general caution and dislike.

“Has something unsavoury made its way into the papers again?” Hardly a subtle deduction, given the paper she had put down.

Interacting with @Hui Ming

“I beg your pardon, Miss. What is vexing you so on this day?”

“Has something unsavoury made its way into the papers again?”

WC: 409

Interacting: @Regina Miller

His eyes shot up at the introduction. Now this was a girl who expected her last name to be recognized. That was problematic, since the name rang no bells for him.

“Hui Ming, a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Miller.” His response was automatic, drilled into him over years of social gatherings and other events. A bit bland as an introduction perhaps, but the introduction allowed him a simple evaluation of his peers – would they mistake his given name for his family name?

“An interesting claim, and one that – you are correct – I was not aware of.” The Slytherin boy said slowly, playing for time as his eyes found the newspaper across the table. There was but a moment of silence before he continued. “But not really all that contentious, if you really think about it.”

The words were deliberately slow, keeping pace with his mind as it worked through the issue. The Slytherin tilted his head ever so slightly, his eyes focused back on the Gryffindor upper-year. “Maybe I am misunderstanding the facts, but this Mr. Avery made no mention of magic. So what is a fair battlefield, really? I can admit freely that I would not want to find myself in a close-quarter brawl with a half-giant or even a goblin with enchanted arms.” To be frank, Ming would not want to be in spell range of most people with a wand either, given the trigger-happy nature of several of his year mates. But frankness is hardly something to be said amongst polite company.

Another small pause.

“Regardless,” Ming continued with just the slightest hint of contempt in his voice, his distaste for the issue made clear. “There will always be rabble-rousers keen to steal the spotlight. And right or wrong, giving them the time of day would only just help their quest of self-aggrandizement.”

Interacting with @Hui Ming

How easy would it be to break down that indifference?

WC: 605

"I believe that they are afraid. They are afraid of things they cannot understand, afraid of things unknown...afraid of what Purebloods can do that they cannot. Wouldn't you agree?"

OC Note: Apologies for the slow reply, life caught up to me with an unforgiving zealousness.

Interacting: @Extressia Garren Leo | @Regina Miller

Ming raised a questioning eyebrow at her comment about his articulation. Was that meant to be a backhanded compliment? Or simply just a well-intentioned comment?

As the upper-year continued with her thoughts it became evident that she had spent most of her life in the magical world. Or rather, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that she spent her time exclusively in the wizarding community. Perhaps, if he felt charitable, he could explain to this magical that the world did not revolve around magic: that there were many non-wizards and children on mundanes, Hogwarts students even, who would prefer not to engage with magicals and the mess that magic brought into the world.

But he did not. Her last words had irked him severely. Not that he would ever admit it.

Yes, Ming could agree that nurture played a significant role in how a person turned out. That the right parents and the right environment shaped a person, determining if they were doomed to a life of mediocrity or if they had a chance at a good life. Ming could even agree that Purebloods, with their connections and experience, had an edge.....in wizarding society,

As Ming was about to set out a scathing response - perhaps bringing up trigger-happy @Hildegard Schneider - as an example of all that was wrong with the magical world, he was interrupted.

"Agree to what about Pureblood?"

A pause, as Ming turned his head slowly over to the new voice. Another Gryffindor, it seemed. Well, at least they had managed several full sentences before being interrupted, and this interruption was not as bad as ....some he could name.

"A believe," Ming said slowly and with exaggerated cool, his eyes trained on the newcomer. "That Miss Miller here was just expressing how the purebloods terrify lesser bloodlines with their impeccable magic."

It was perhaps an exaggeration of her stance. But then, her argument was absurd: was it not the purebloods who rallied against the werewolves for the dangers they pose, or against the giants for their magic resistance and brute strength? For the ability to do that which the Purebloods cannot?

Interacting with @Hui Ming | @Exstressia Garren Leo

Typical Gryffindor. How infuriating. Why was I sorted into this House again?

"A believe, that Miss Miller here was just expressing how the purebloods terrify lesser bloodlines with their impeccable magic."

They do not understand what it feels like to question their own stance in the world, knowing that one day, their blood would die out along with their heritage.

WC: 654

Interacting: @Extressia Garren Leo | @Regina Miller

Ming had braced for an acid reply, but Miller's retort was.... appropriate, overall. Reasonably graceful handling of what was a rather pointed comment. Despite her obvious shortcomings, he would give her credit where credit was due.

The Slytherin blinked at the mention of losing traditions and cultural identity. it was a different asinine argument of the superiority of blood based on an arbitrary metric like magical fluency, or of the idea of wizard-kin being stronger than halfbreeds while halfbreeds were somehow more dangerous. No, the idea of British wizards being a separate identity from British mundanes, with this own roots and culture and history made a scary amount of sense, and something that Ming could not dismiss out of hand. It would give some rationale to why blood purity sentiment sustained despite the obvious attempts to stamp it out.

"Hmm." A thoughtful hum. he would need to process this later, and read up on it, if literature existed. Still, he let Miller blather on about the importance of blood to magical casting, and more of her ill-formed ideas. They were not worth engaging with, not like this one.

And then the other girl, who had yet to introduce herself - the rudeness of some poeple! - went and completely missed the argument. Instead, she mentioned a Harry Potter, and something about practising overcoming natural talent. It w2as an odd argument, ill-crafted, and one Ming did not fully understand.

Was she saying that this Harry Potter fellow tirelessly trained his magic day and night, and overcame every pureblood scholar? Surely not, for then Ming would have heard of him, and he had not. Instead, he directed his own question at Miller.

"And what, pray tell, are these traditions and cultures that you're losing out on? Is it not accurate to say that Dark Lords and wizard wars do more damage to wizard populations and culture than the dilution of your heritage?"