The Last Slytherin - Chapter 22

On the morning of Saturday, the Great Hall was decorated with all kinds of colorful banners, A rainbow between the small clouds here and there bewitched on the ceiling. The festival started with a song by Prof. Flitwick and a few students in the back.

As everyone applauded the performance, Dumbledore stood up and spoke a few words and a Huge feast from all over the world appeared on the table surprising everyone.

After trying different dishes from the east, a delight appeared on everyone’s faces. A couple of hours later, the Annual festival officially began with the Broom racing.

Daphne and Harry who were in different groups easily passed through the next round; After lunch, Neal went to the south tower to participate in debate while wondering who will be his teammates.

Neal was surprised to see Hermoine’s name in his team along with Cho Chang, a 2nd-year Ravenclaw student who is also a genius seeker for the team, Percy Weasley, a fifth-year “Prefect”, brother of Ron, Eddie, a fourth-year Hufflepuff and lastly Cedric Diggory, a third-year Hufflepuff”.

As he stepped inside the classroom, he saw Percy was explaining something to Cedric and Eddie. upon seeing him, few people from the other groups started whispering to each other.

He walked inside the class and sat beside Percy while introducing himself, “Hello. I’m Neal Slytherin”. Cedric replied, “of course, everyone knows you. Killing a Troll is a big-time achievement”. Percy replied, “I hear you from Ron’s complaints from time to time. I have no issue with you as long as you don’t break the rules. So, you don’t need to worry about me”.

Later, Cho Chang and Hermoine entered one after another. Percy looked her a bit unpleasantly as she lost house points a while ago. As it’s a bit awkward to have a conversation with him, Neal just stayed silent until everyone gathered.

In the class, a whole of 30 people divided into 5 teams gathered. Almost half of the members belong to Ravenclaw and aside from him, he can see only one from Slytherin in this group. While a few students gathered outside of the classroom to see how it goes, Prof. McGonagall entered the classroom and started the event as in the entire Hogwarts, it is believed that she is the most knowledgable in theories more than even Dumbledore himself.

“Okay, students, before starting the debate, let me remind you that swearing, intentional personal attacks or bad words are prohibited. I don’t wish to hear anything else other than words related to the topic.

Without wasting time, let’s start the debate right away. The topic for the first round is one of the most common ones, relations between Muggles and Wizards/Witches. The time limit is one hour.

Only one person from each team must raise their hand and present their views. So, who’s going to start”.

As all the teams are discussing among themselves, Eddie said, “I’ll go first”. Percy looked at everyone and Neal too nodded with them. Along with him, each one from other teams too raised their hands. The debate started with someone explaining the history of Muggles and Wizards when both used to coexist together.

As the debate started heating up, Hermoine argued, “Legendary Wizard Merlin believed that wizardkind should help Muggles and live peacefully with them. He founded the Order of Merlin, an organization that promoted Muggle rights, creating rules against using magic on them.

But after his death, the Order of Merlin switched from a Muggle rights organization to an award bestowed upon witches and wizards who performed a great deed at personal risk or contributed to the betterment of wizarding society in some way, a sign of the estrangement of the Muggle community from the Wizarding one”.

Then someone countered with the witch/wizard hunts era where Muggles put many Wizards to death and burnt them with fire. After all, not everyone can perform wandless magic. Without a wand, a wizard is the same as any other Muggle and not every Wizard is also capable of killing or knowing high-level spells to protect himself.

As the one-hour time limit is going to be reached, Neal finally raised his hand and spoke, “In my view, it is impossible for Muggles and Wizards to coexist as they aren’t of the same kind at all.

Doesn’t matter whether you are a muggle-born, half-blood, pureblood or one of sacred 28. Once the magic has chosen you, from that moment, you cease to exist as the same kind as Muggles, even though we belong to the same species, humans.

Now, everyone knows what humans would do to a different kind than them. They will use them for cattle, hunting, food, business, security, etc. In one word, tools. If one may argue that’s because, they are different species or survive or whatever excuse, it is the Muggle governments under the kings and Queens that treated Black race people as slaves back during their glory period.

Wizards are much better in that opinion as they never treat their kind like that. Black people from the Africa continent were treated much worse than how Wizards treat their House-elves. This is the cruel reality of Muggles’ nature. Although Slavery has been abolished later, racism exists in the different parts of the world, even now.

If the Muggles treated their fellow Muggles like that in the past, do you think they will coexist with an entirely different kind than them who can do spells and harm them at any time?

Even if the muggles develop much greater destruction weapons than a nuclear bomb, they can never coexist with the Wizarding community even if they want to. Not because they are powerful or fearing Wizards. Because Wizards are a different kind from them. And the same rule applies vice versa.

You can see squibs are often bullied by the ones who have magic even if they are related by blood. Even at our school, many students from the other houses think the ones sorted into Slytherin will become bad because of the past where a man who must not be named tainted our house like that.

So, if the Wizards ourselves will bully and look down on their own family because of their magic ability, do you think they can coexist with those people who don’t have the slightest idea about magic?

Even if they somehow coexist together, there will be more restrictions upon the Wizards who have to live in such a world and Wizards won’t compromise and in the end, either a war will occur or Wizards have to go into hiding and live like how we’re now.

That’s why the relations between the Muggle community and the Wizard community will be much better if we can never interfere with each other. It is the reason we have all magic charms around the castles and places so that Muggles don’t see.

I think it also might be the reason why Salazar Slytherin doesn’t want muggles in Hogwarts not because he hates them or unworthy or something and probably got misunderstood by the other three founders.

Considering the Legendary Wizard Merlin, who was the student of Salazar Slytherin founded Order of merlin which is for Muggles benefit just like Hermoine said, there’s no way he might have considered Muggle-born unworthy.

He probably foresaw the future where Wizards influencing Muggles wars and Muggles going against the Wizards like the witch hunt etc… Anyway, anymore continuation and I will stray from the topic. I’ll stop here”.

Then she looked at the pocket watch, “Oh, ten minutes have already been crossed. Ok, everyone. Your opinions all recorded. We will post later who won the debate later in the evening and going into finals tomorrow”.

As the debate completed, everyone came out while some purebloods from the other teams congratulated Neal. Some of the first years standing outside mumbled, “I didn’t know that Merlin was in Slytherin”. “There’s such thing as Slavery against fellow humans?”. “How disgracing to live a life worse than a house-elf”.