Harry Potter and the Sorceress of the Stars

"Merlin's beard, it feels like we were stuck in there for weeks!" Oleandra groaned out loud. "Just how self-centred can one man be? He just kept going on and on and on about himself, about how well connected he is; and don't get me started about—"

"I wanted to leave hours ago, but you kept sitting me back down!" Daphne snapped, interrupting her sister's rant. "It's your prerogative if you want to suffer through Professor Slughorn's interminable monologues, but I'll have to ask you not to involve me if you can't take the boredom!"

With the Hogwarts Express nearing its destination, Professor Slughorn had been forced to release his guests from the endless ennui of his humble boasting, and so, the Greengrass sisters had returned to their usual compartment. Without even bothering to look through the glass panel to check if the compartment had any occupants, Oleandra slammed open the door, only to find a certain boy sitting by the window.

"Trying to make new connections, eh? I personally don't quite see the use for it," Theodore Nott commented, looking up from the thick volume he'd been reading. "So, Slughorn's to be our new teacher? If you want to make friends in high places, then he's the perfect man for the job."

Luckily for Oleandra and Daphne, Theo had already finished changing into his school robes, so they were spared from having to see him wearing nothing but his socks and his briefs.

"You've heard about him?" Oleandra asked Theo curiously.

"From my father," said Nott quietly. "Slughorn's one of the best Potions Masters in the country, though he's not quite as naturally gifted as Professor Snape."

An awkward silence fell upon the compartment, and for a few seconds, Oleandra could hear nothing but the sounds of the Hogwarts Express chugging along its tracks.

"I, er…" said Oleandra stiffly. "I see you made it out of the Department of Mysteries okay."

"What an astute observation, Oleandra," said Daphne drily. "Bravo."

Theo had accompanied them to the Ministry for the express purpose of stealing a Time-Turner. He had somehow managed to escape unharmed… though the same could not be said of his father and his godfather Rookwood, who had both got arrested and sent to Azkaban.

"I don't resent any of you for your roles in Father's and Rookwood's captures," said Theo with a sigh, snapping his book shut. "They made their beds, and now, they must lie in them— simple as."

"It doesn't sound like you disapprove," Daphne remarked. "Of having Death Eaters in the family, I mean."

Oleandra looked at her sister in surprise— was Daphne actually taking an interest in someone that wasn't in their immediate circle of friends? Or had her question some other purpose?

"The Death Eaters and their methods are distasteful, I'll freely admit it," said Theo in a measured tone. "However, I wouldn't judge them for doing the things that they do, or for believing that doing those things is necessary."

"Murdering Muggles in their beds? Persecuting the Muggle-Born?" said Oleandra coldly. "How is any of this needless cruelty necessary?"

Oleandra had used to think of Theo as a reasonable person, but she was beginning to rethink her opinion of him…

"Benefits, resources— everyone wants them, but sadly, there aren't enough to go around for everyone," said Theo matter-of-factly. "There is no magic powerful in this world that could possibly eliminate inequality."

"That has nothing to do with the murder of innocents," said Oleandra frostily. "You're just making up excuses."

Theodore stared at Oleandra with curious eyes— almost as if he were observing a particularly rare species of bug.

"Nothing? Benefits has everything to do with it," said Theo with a laugh. "Do you not remember what Rookwood told us about the Heliopaths Initiative, that night?"

The Muggle-Born weren't all descendants of Wizards or Squibs— for hundreds of years now, more and more of them were being spontaneously born, despite them having absolutely no traces of magical lineage. This type of Muggle-Born was a new breed of Wizarding humans— the next step in magical human evolution.

It had been projected that their sheer numbers would cause the Statute of Secrecy to unravel before long, so a worldwide policy had been enacted: the Muggle-Born children of undesirable Muggle parents would be taken away from them and locked away in the Department of Mysteries; to be used as human weapons, should the Muggles ever find out about magic…

"Put simply, from a Pure-Blood point of view, it's us against them," said Theo calmly. "One day, and that day will come sooner than later, they will outnumber us, and then we'll be replaced by the superior Wizarding species. It's a logical decision for Pure-Blooded Wizards like us to secure our interests before that happens— our numbers are already dwindling fast enough as it is."

As it was, the Sacred Twenty-Eight Noble Wizarding families were a relic of a past, barely holding onto the remnants of their power for dear life. Indeed, many magical bloodlines had already been extinguished, either from conflicts or from failing to produce heirs.

There had once been many more noble families than today's twenty-eight, but they had been forced to interbreed with mundane Muggles just to leave behind descendants— trading Pure-Blood Status for a chance to preserve their genes.

"These so-called Heliopaths— despite the dehumanizing codename, they're all still human just like us, aren't they?" Oleandra argued, thinking about Hermione. "Creating a scenario where it's us against them— that's just forcing their hands! If we segregate and oppress the Muggle-Born, we'd basically be forcing them to unite and rise up against us— it's a self-fulfilling prophecy of self-destruction, can't you see that!?"

But to Oleandra's surprise, Theo agreed with her.

"You misunderstand me— I don't favour one side over the other. I only care about my research and my experiments," said Theo, shaking his head. "You see, it's all about empathy— the ability to put oneself in another's shoes. It's one of humanity's greatest virtues, but it's also a two-way street."

"People like Dumbledore could never understand what it's like," said Daphne quietly. "Is that what you mean?"

Oleandra looked at her sister inquisitively— had she understood something she hadn't?

"Precisely," said Theo appreciatively. "A man like Dumbledore could look at a Death Eater and see nothing but hatred and bigotry— he could try to come up with reasons for the ways they act, try to understand why they would think this way or that way— he's very good at love, but he doesn't have the ability to empathize with his enemies."

Oleandra scoffed.

"Everyone has a right to an opinion," added Theo, "but by giving someone up as a lost cause, one loses the right to convince them of the error of their ways— even if one is objectively in the right."

"You cannot be serious— psychoanalyse them all you want, but it won't stop Voldemort and his cronies from committing atrocities in the meantime," said Oleandra flatly. "And really, why would I ever want to empathize with the sort of monsters who would kill and torture without reason?"

"And there it is again— that us against them mindset, only the other way around," said Theo, shaking his head. "If you can't put yourself in the other side's shoes, there will never be a peaceful resolution to this conflict."

Oleandra shook her head angrily— in her opinion, Theo's arguments were all disingenuous sophistry.

Theo could stay neutral all he wanted, but his blood was pure. He had nothing to fear from Dark Wizards, but not everybody had that luxury. Pacifism and mutual understanding would never reach a madman like Lord Voldemort— violence was the only thing he could understand.