“So, the Statute of Secrecy. All of you will at least have been told a little about it, I’m sure. Does anyone want to tell me what they think it means?” Trina looked around, gesturing at a student with their hand up to give an answer.
“Right, the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, by its full name, or the Statute for short, is basically a global law that we all have to follow in order to keep the magical world secret from the muggle world. For those of you from non-magical families, the Ministry of Magic would have told you about it when you were given your Hogwarts letters. If you grew up around magic, it's something you will have just grown up knowing, even if you didn’t know the exact name.”
“The interesting thing is that it hasn't been around forever. In fact, the law was only signed in 1689. It was officially established as law in 1692. So until then, although witches and wizards weren’t strictly open about their practice of magic, it wasn’t the great secret it is today. However, in about the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, the relationship between the communities completely deteriorated. We’ll go into this a little more in your third year when we look at the witch trials.”
Trina stopped to take a drink of water. No doubt the students were sick of her voice by now in the semester, but the information was important. “The Statute, then, was put in place on an international level, with authorities, like the Ministry of Magic, given the job to monitor the community to make sure it's being followed. For you, it's part of the reason why you can’t use magic outside of school until you’re an adult, which under wizarding law is until you're seventeen. This is not just for your own safety and the safety of those around you, but because there’s the risk of you showing magic in front of muggles, which creates a whole heap of problems. It also means that if you have muggle friends and relatives, you have to keep the wizarding world secret from them. Obviously, if you have muggle parents, they can be told some things so they can still support you, but the Ministry can help you out there. There are also other restrictions, like how entering muggle competitions is monitored and in some cases completely restricted. Which is unfortunate, but I suppose it’s the risk of an unfair advantage, even if you’re able to completely control your magic and not use it at all. It’s part of the price we all have to pay for our magical abilities.”
Trina stretched, clearing her throat as the students took a couple of notes. “Alright, well, since that was a lot to go through, I’ll leave it at that. Even better, I won't give you any homework.” There was some relief amongst the students, and she shook her head as she waved her wand to open the doors.
Homework
RP the lesson - Attendance is fine. Extra credit to the first poster to answer the question!
“Right, the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, by its full name, or the Statute for short, is basically a global law that we all have to follow in order to keep the magical world secret from the muggle world. For those of you from non-magical families, the Ministry of Magic would have told you about it when you were given your Hogwarts letters. If you grew up around magic, it's something you will have just grown up knowing, even if you didn’t know the exact name.”
“The interesting thing is that it hasn't been around forever. In fact, the law was only signed in 1689. It was officially established as law in 1692. So until then, although witches and wizards weren’t strictly open about their practice of magic, it wasn’t the great secret it is today. However, in about the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, the relationship between the communities completely deteriorated. We’ll go into this a little more in your third year when we look at the witch trials.”
Trina stopped to take a drink of water. No doubt the students were sick of her voice by now in the semester, but the information was important. “The Statute, then, was put in place on an international level, with authorities, like the Ministry of Magic, given the job to monitor the community to make sure it's being followed. For you, it's part of the reason why you can’t use magic outside of school until you’re an adult, which under wizarding law is until you're seventeen. This is not just for your own safety and the safety of those around you, but because there’s the risk of you showing magic in front of muggles, which creates a whole heap of problems. It also means that if you have muggle friends and relatives, you have to keep the wizarding world secret from them. Obviously, if you have muggle parents, they can be told some things so they can still support you, but the Ministry can help you out there. There are also other restrictions, like how entering muggle competitions is monitored and in some cases completely restricted. Which is unfortunate, but I suppose it’s the risk of an unfair advantage, even if you’re able to completely control your magic and not use it at all. It’s part of the price we all have to pay for our magical abilities.”
Trina stretched, clearing her throat as the students took a couple of notes. “Alright, well, since that was a lot to go through, I’ll leave it at that. Even better, I won't give you any homework.” There was some relief amongst the students, and she shook her head as she waved her wand to open the doors.
Homework
RP the lesson - Attendance is fine. Extra credit to the first poster to answer the question!