Talk of Change

[Hayley Elridge]

Out of Character:

READ THIS BEFORE POSTING

This is the next meeting of the revolution. As mentioned, it is intended for civil discussion of ideas. The list of those invited is at the link above. If your character isn't invited and you want to join, please ask to be added to the list in that thread.

Everything was prepared. Hayley had (with help from her friends) arranged chairs in a wide circle in the abandoned classroom, in what she hoped would be a set-up to encourage discussion. She had sent notes around to everyone who had signed up. Hayley greeted them as they came in, in what she hoped was an enthusiastic yet polite manner (not her usual demeanour), and ticked their names off the list she'd gathered.

When everyone had arrived and taken seats in the circle, Hayley sat down too. All eyes were on her now, which made her more than a little anxious, but she pushed the feeling away. Things had changed a lot since that last disastrous meeting; Hayley hadn't changed her mind, but she had matured, and her discussions with certain people had influenced her opinions on how best to proceed. She knew, now, that a lot more consideration was needed, and hopefully this meeting would go some way towards providing that. In some ways she regretted waiting so long to call this meeting, but in others the delay enforced by her previous semester's depression had been vital to her thinking about how to proceed.

Finally, Hayley spoke. "Hi everyone. I'm Hayley. I believe that we need to do something dramatic to deal with the prejudice that's everywhere in the wizarding world. I still think the best way to achieve that is to repeal the Statute of Secrecy, but that's a long-term goal that needs a lot more planning, and I doubt there's much we can do about it while we're still at school. So! Today I want to start a discussion. I want to know what you think of my ideas, and to hear your ideas. I want to work out a plan for what we can do to reduce prejudice here at Hogwarts." Hayley already had some ideas of her own for that, but she wanted to hear what other people thought. "This is going to be a safe space. I won't tolerate nastiness or hate speech in these talks. I want a peaceful exchange of ideas." That shouldn't need to be said, but considering what happened last time Hayley felt the need to be very clear about it. She smiled. "Who wants to start?"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

During the last Revolution meeting, Geo had only made a brief appearance to check out what it was all about. She'd not been there when things had taken a turn for the worst and wondered whether if she could have helped had she stayed. The Hufflepuff was all for helping lower the discrimination of anyone, but it had to be done in the right way. The fourth year had taken a seat in the classroom, her chair turned inwards so that she could sit with her arms crossed over the back of it as she faced the room of students, and listened as Hayley introduced herself. It really was quite a feat to try and demolish the Statute of Secrecy, and there was no doubt that it had its place in their environment, but that didn't mean that she couldn't see where the Slytherin was coming from. "There's prejudice on every side." Geo said as there was a pause from the elder girl, and realising she was the first to speak she guessed she may as well continue. As a student who was unaware of her own status it was easier to give an unbiased opinion, and ever since she'd been a young child Geo knew she'd wanted to work with the law. "The Statute of Secrecy is in place to protect everyone, muggles and the wizarding world, but it doesn't mean that in time it's not an achievable goal and one day it may not be needed." she didn't mean to be suggesting that it was a bad idea, only that they had a very long way to go. She may not have fully agreed it would be a good idea to repeal it all, but she was all for helping within the school. "Take our houses for example." It was personal but much less so than blood status. "I'm not sure it would be total lie to say that some students don't get on with some people in other houses because of the instant trait judgement. But then there are those friendship groups that do exist between them, some of our closest friends are spread around the school, so what makes us open to that being acceptable?" she asked to no one in particular. If they could figure out the specifics as to break the smaller barriers, maybe they could be enlarged. Without getting too specific to upset everyone, Geo tried to keep the comments light and focused more on the meanings rather than the details. "If you meet a new student, doesn't matter which house, at what point do you see them instead of the colour of their robes?"
​

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley had regrets. A lot of regrets, about how Hayley's last meeting had gone. She had failed spectacularly in her role as security. She should have been quicker, anticipated the violence and gotten between them. But she hadn't, and it had seriously impacted how people saw Hayley's movement. Harley was determined not to let the same thing happen this time. An invite only discussion would certainly be more peaceful to start with, and if anything got heated, this time Harley would be ready. Harley stood next to Hayley, arms folded, and kept her eyes on everyone as they entered the room and took their seats, taking note if she recognised anyone who had caused a fuss last time. They would be the people to keep the closest watch on.

As the meeting started Harley stayed standing, a little bit out of the circle. She didn't see herself having much to add to the discussion, and would rather be able to move quickly if she needed to. As soon as people started talking though, Harley found herself wanting to chime in. "We're talking big picture." She said firmly, eyeing the younger girl. "Nobody's getting killed because someone didn't like their house. You musta heard about those werewolf killers in the paper, or people killing muggleborns in history class, or whatever. This isn't a meeting about house unity, we're talking about social prejudices."

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose's fifth year felt off-balance, and while her talk with Professor Kingsley had made her feel a lot better, she still felt a bit strange. The responsibilities of being a prefect as well as her mother's campaign were making Rose feel like her every move was being watched and judged. Like she would disappoint someone with any false step she might make. Her loyalty to her friends was unwavering, but Rose couldn't lie to herself. She was nervous about being a part of Hayley's revolution. Would it seem like she was making a political statement on her mother's behalf? Would Professor Kingsley be against it? Rose didn't know, but she had her arms crossed across her chest uneasily as she waited for this to begin. She was proud of Hayley and how she stood for what she believed in, but Rose wasn't sure if she really shared those beliefs. Rose decided she would keep herself a little quiet, hoping that her physical presence was enough to support Hayley.

Hopefully, this meeting wouldn't go like the last one. Hayley had taken precautions this time, and a lot of the troublemakers had graduated. Rose shifted in her seat as Hayley started to talk, looking at the other people in attendance. One day, maybe, Hayley would run for Minister the way Rose's mother was doing. She certainly had a vision for how she wanted things to be. Hayley let others start, and a younger Hufflepuff girl started speaking. She didn't seem on board with the idea of repealing the Statute of Secrecy, but Hayley had already shifted the focus off that part of her vision for this particular meeting. As the girl started speaking about houses, Rose thought she understood what she was doing. The problem of prejudice was a big and somewhat touchy subject, and maybe making a comparison to something else felt safer. She also understood where Harley was coming from, but her instinct to smooth over any conflict kicked in. "I think everyone here knows prejudice against a certain house isn't the same as prejudice against muggleborns and other groups." She said, nodding at both Harley and the girl. "But the principle of immediately judging someone based on something they can't help is the same. But maybe using an example about something else rather than talking about the actual issue would muddle the discussion a little. So we should probably focus on the problem of muggleborns at school being bullied." She said, hoping she had sounded neutral enough.She gave the Hufflepuff a friendly smile. They didn't want to scare anyone off, and Rose wasn't even entirely on board with Hayley's ideas. She just wanted to help the discussion flow in a positive way. Her earlier decision to stay quiet in the discussion was quickly forgotten.

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory had turned up to Hayley's meeting with the other girls, but she didn't think she would have much to contribute to the discussion herself. She was mainly here to support Hayley, and she made sure to stick close to her friend after they had all set the room up. Rory sat backwards on the chair she'd claimed, her arms folded over the back and her chin resting on top of those. Sitting around and talking about things wasn't always her most favourite way of dealing with an issue, but this was Hayley's thing, and she figured Hayley knew best. Rory was content to just listen and hear what other people had to say about it for now, but she knew she wouldn't hesitate to jump in and argue with anyone who needed it.

 

[Frankie Tillington]

Frankie hadn't actually been at the so-called 'revolution' meeting that had happened last year, but she had heard all about it afterwards – and wished she had been. For ages, she hadn't been able to figure out what the meeting had actually been about – only that someone had punched someone else – until she had finally tracked down the girl who'd been at the centre of it all. Upon learning what Hayley Elridge was proposing to fight against, Frankie had expressed her interest in the next meeting on the spot, and she was glad the time had finally come around. Frankie entered the designated abandoned classroom as one of the first few people there, and made sure to get a good seat. Once the meeting began, she listened with interest to the first girl to speak, who she recognised from Quidditch. Her ideas seemed to be more hypothetical than concrete, however. Frankie's mind was already beginning to kick into gear to discuss some of the specific realities of what the Hufflepuff girl had brought up, but she also saw the points the older Gryffindors were bringing up. She recognised one of them as a new prefect; she was glad that someone in such a position was here to hear the discussion going on.

Not wanting to waste time, Frankie leapt into the gap in the conversation the older girls had left. "Firstly, I want to say that I'm not a muggleborn, so I'd really appreciate anyone who is to correct me if I start saying stuff that's not going to help. Basically, I think the bullying starts with us, so it should end with us as well. As in, it's students doing the bullying, and we're students. We're letting it happen." Frankie kept her eyes up and looking around the circle, although she tried not to make eye contact with anyone specific, in case they thought she was singling them out. "Even if you don't personally know a muggleborn, you know that it's happening. And I don't think it's an excuse to say that someone else will take care of it and it's not your problem. I, personally, wouldn't want to just let something happen if I could so something to stop it. So, let's start going to the professors. We should tell them when we see or hear that bullying is going on. And we shouldn't let bullies think what they're doing is okay. Basically, if you let a bully continue what they're doing, you're a bully as well." Frankie leaned back in her chair and lifted her upturned hands. "That's just what I think. Is that helpful? Or are there better plans? I'm not actually the brains in my family," she finished with a grin.