Hogwarts: My Grandmother is the Queen

"But things are different now," Henry continued.

Draco asked, "How is it different?"

"The new Muggle-born wizards who are enrolled now," Henry said slowly, "are able to look at the wizarding world with respect, to view it as an equal, instead of looking up to it as before."

He looked out the window; the waters of Black Lake remained as deep and still as ever.

"They grew up watching TV, listening to the radio, and watching movies. They know the world is vast and there are many things they don't understand. They don't feel inferior because of magic; they just find it interesting."

He looked away and looked at them.

"Do you know what this means?"

All three fell silent; clearly, Henry's words had a significant impact on their beliefs.

"This means," Henry said, "that the Muggle world is no longer something the magical world can look down on. A hundred years ago, Muggles were using horse-drawn carriages and kerosene lamps. Now they have cars, telephones, televisions, and airplanes. What will they have in a few decades? I don't know. But I do know that their pace of development is much faster than that of the magical world."

He looked at the three of them.

"And you, heirs of pure-blood families, how much do you know about the Muggle world?"

"Muggle technology is advancing rapidly, and the gap between them and wizards is getting smaller and smaller. They can send Trident missiles thousands of kilometers away and destroy a city without leaving their homes, simply by pressing a button."

Draco opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Pansy lowered her head, seemingly deep in thought. Daphne also lowered her head, her expression obscured, but her shoulders were taut.

Henry didn't rush him; he knew how much of an impact these words would have on the three children who had grown up in a pure-blood family.

From childhood, they are taught that pure-bloods are noble and Muggles are lowly. Muggles have no magic, so they are weak; wizards have magic, so they are strong.

This is a matter of course, and no one has ever questioned it.

But now, Henry tells them: Muggles have missiles that can destroy a city with a single shot; Muggles have airplanes that can cross oceans in a few hours; Muggles have satellites that are watching things they can't see from the sky.

The line between the strong and the weak has never been so clear.

After a long while, Draco finally managed to speak.

"Your Highness," his voice was a little hoarse, "what you've described...the Trident missiles...are they really that powerful?"

"You think I'm lying to you?" Henry retorted.

"No..." Draco shook his head, "I just... can't believe it."

Henry put down his teacup.

"Draco, do you know what nuclear weapons are?"

Draco shook his head.

"A bomb," Henry said. "One of these could destroy a city, not just a few streets, but the whole city. Just one tiny bomb could turn London into ruins, barren and uninhabitable for decades."

"This weapon was invented more than 40 years ago," he continued. "The United States used it on two Japanese cities, causing them devastating damage, and the contamination from that weapon is still present today."

Yes, I know Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945; I know a lot of people there.

Draco's already pale face turned even paler.

Pansy whispered from the side, "Then...what about wizards? Wasn't Headmaster Dumbledore very powerful too?"

"Headmaster Dumbledore is very powerful," Henry said slowly. "He can defeat many dark wizards by himself, but can he single-handedly destroy a city in an instant?"

Pansy fell silent.

"And," Henry continued, "Principal Dumbledore will eventually die of old age, but nuclear weapons won't. They can be manufactured indefinitely. Just press a button, and it'll fly out. A Muggle, an ordinary person without any magic, can do what hundreds of wizards can't."

He paused for a moment and scanned the three of them.

"Now do you understand why I said the Muggle world should not be underestimated?"

The three remained silent for a while before Draco suddenly looked up.

"Your Highness," he said, "if a wizard infiltrates the Muggle elite..."

“Yes.” Henry nodded. “That’s the first objection you’d come up with. Send a powerful wizard to control the Muggle leaders, or sabotage their weapons. Sounds feasible, right?”

Draco nodded.

Henry smiled.

"Have you considered who to send?"

Draco paused for a moment.

"Of course... a powerful wizard."

"How many powerful wizards are there?" Henry asked. "Will Headmaster Dumbledore go? Why would he go? Will Vader go? He might want to go, but his own fate is unknown. Will Fudge go? Do you think he has the ability?"

Draco opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

"Even if a powerful wizard were willing to go," Henry continued, "what would he do after he got there? Control the Muggle leadership? How many people protect them? Wouldn't those protecting him notice that something was wrong with him? Even if he controlled the leadership, could he control the entire government? Could he control the army? Could he control the people who pressed the buttons?"

"No matter how powerful a wizard is, he can only be in one place. But Muggle weapons are scattered all over the world."

The group was completely speechless.

"That's not the most serious problem," Henry began again. "Do these Muggle-born wizards consider themselves to be on the wizards' side, or on the Muggle's side?"

"Of course, the wizards are on their side!" Pansy said, frowning. "Do they still consider themselves Muggles?"

"Why not?" Henry laughed. "Let me ask you a question—how would you feel if someone called you a 'Mudblood'?"

Pansy's face turned red.

"That's...that's..."

"That's an insult," Henry finished for her. "It's a blatant insult. It tells that person that they are not worthy of learning magic, that they are not worthy of standing with us, that they are inherently inferior."

He looked at the three of them.

"You've grown up hearing these words so often that you might not think much of them. But for those Muggle-born kids, every time they hear that word, it's a blow. Every time they're ostracized, it's a reminder—a reminder that they are not one of us."

"What do you think they will choose? Will they choose to continue being insulted, ostracized, and treated as outsiders? Or will they choose to return to the world that accepted them from childhood, loved them, and never called them 'mudbloods'?"

Finally, Henry concluded, "They'll choose the Muggle side. Not because they don't love magic, but because wizards have never given them a reason to love it."

Daphne suddenly looked up, her eyes seemingly glistening with tears.

"Your Highness," she said softly, "what can we do?"