Draco Malfoy’s Reasonable Concerns
let the other sort in, do you?”
Draco Malfoy, of the well-known wizarding family, has recently found himself in the middle of a heated row that has made him the subject of coordinated volleys of Howlers and general abuse; but, as he invites me courteously into the Wiltshire mansion that has been his family’s home for generations, he seems more hurt than angry. “Why are people so outraged, just because I say that magic is real?”
Malfoy has long argued that people not raised in pureblood magical families like his own can never share the same wizarding experience: “They’re just not the same, they’ve never been brought up to know our ways.” He has become the de facto leader of a pressure group, Fair Play for Wizards, which campaigns for the blood-based rights of traditional wizarding families.
His oddly well-resourced campaign has been organising, gathering signatures of concerned wizards and witches, and lobbying the Ministry of Magic department charged with keeping other species in subjection. Recently, it seems their persistence has borne fruit. Under the latest Ministry guidance, it will now be possible for magical schools to exclude mudbloods on the grounds that it offends the “dignity” of pureblood wizards. Mudbloods will instead be sent to a separate-but-equal school being constructed for them in the suburbs of Kigali.
“Believe me, if mudbloods were really being discriminated against, I would be marching alongside them!” Malfoy insists. “But attending classes with real wizards can’t be right. They would obviously use their inbuilt advantage to sweep the board in Muggle Studies exams. This measure is all about fairness.”
As I take my leave, Malfoy looks at me keenly. “‘Avada Kedavra’ is a free speech issue, Miss Skeeter!” he says with emphasis.
And with that, I start the long walk back down the carriage drive.