A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 720 The Charter of the Federation and Alliance

A law with a long name but short length, but of great significance and far-reaching influence, has been circulated. Its full name is "Charter of the International Federation of Wizards and the International Pan-Magic Alliance".

This law, born under special circumstances, has its own unique charm. In addition to regulating the responsibilities, rights and obligations of all wizards, it also stipulates a series of issues such as handling the relationship between the magical and non-magical worlds, short-, medium- and long-term goals, and clarifying the management boundaries between the two sides.

This is also the first time that the "International Pan-Magic Alliance" has officially appeared in legal texts.

Its impact is far-reaching, signifying that the Pan-Magic Alliance branches spontaneously established by various countries are no longer loose regional organizations, and almost revealing to the world that the International Pan-Magic Alliance will play a pivotal role in the future.

Along with the Charter of the Federation and Alliance, an order was issued from the Federation headquarters: every wizard should receive a copy. Even those wizards hidden in obscure corners of the world received copies through friends or local Ministry of Magic staff.

At school, Harry held a club event before Halloween, where they ate, drank, and talked about the topic.

"A lot of dark wizards have suffered," Ron said with a grin. "They've been really unlucky lately, being sifted through like lice."

"My mother said they have to study even in prison." Neville's eyes gleamed with excitement, which Harry mistook for schadenfreude, but it was so rare to see such a reaction from Neville.

"It's true, and the requirements are even stricter." Susan Burns smiled.

"Reliving the hectic days of the OWLs exams is truly depressing." Compared to Neville, Daphne Grindelwald smiled brightly.

"Dad is thinking of putting illustrations on every law," Luna said.

“I’ll buy it for my collection, Luna,” Hermione said, reading aloud from the booklet: “Apart from the preface and conclusion, the Charter of the Federation and Alliance is divided into seven chapters, each corresponding to a major theme. These seven chapters are—”

General conventions of the magical world;

Principles governing interactions between individuals (families) in the magical and non-magical worlds;

Rights, responsibilities, and obligations of the Ministry of Magic and its social organizations;

Regulations governing magical creatures, ghosts, and magical phenomena;

Human rights, responsibilities, and obligations;

Draft proposal for cooperation with the non-magical world;

The resolution of disputes and conflicts, and necessary measures—concise and to the point, covering almost every aspect. Furthermore, I noticed that the new law incorporates some provisions from the secrecy law…”

This is natural; the complete exposure of wizards does not mean that all existing laws no longer apply. For example, regarding the requirements for wizards' attire, wizards no longer need to be as completely concealed as before (although most wizards have never actually done so; since the enactment of the Secret Law, inappropriate attire has been one of the most common violations). This part has been greatly reduced, retaining only two provisions: prohibition of exposing the genitals in public; and prohibition of wearing clothing or accessories that could easily cause misunderstandings.

Harry stared, bewildered as to who had suggested keeping the first rule—did wizards have a penchant for nudity? But then he couldn't help but recall the old wizard in a skirt he'd encountered during the Quidditch World Cup…

"What clothes and accessories are likely to cause misunderstandings?" Justin asked, somewhat puzzled.

Hermione was about to speak when Ernie Macmillan interrupted, "Wait—I seem to recall something. My uncle mentioned it in a letter… Last week, a wizard was being interviewed on the street, and when asked if his pumpkin hat was some kind of strange hobby, he said it was for Halloween preparation—"

"That sounds pretty normal," Justin said, puzzled.

"It's not over yet—" Ernie said, suppressing a laugh. "That guy demonstrated it for the reporters, and a bunch of live bats flew out of the goblin pumpkin's mouth, scaring the reporters and photographers half to death." Several students burst into laughter, but Hermione said with a straight face, "The follow-up is going to be quite troublesome. Muggle animal rights organizations are suing the wizard for animal abuse."

At this point, Hannah Abbott stared at the pamphlet and asked, "But Chapter Two, Article Thirteen mentions that you can demonstrate magic to Muggles."

"—Only when invited, or in special locations, such as New Diagon Alley. Otherwise, wizards should try to avoid attracting attention when casting spells near Muggle communities," Hermione added, shrugging as she spoke. "Actually, I've found that many wizarding laws aren't that strict. They're based on the specific circumstances and the severity of the problem. If I'm performing magic tricks for my parents at home, there's definitely no problem."

But the students present were all drawn to another word she uttered. Luna hummed a quirky tune and said, "New Diagon Alley, I really want to see it."

……

Back in her office, Amelia Borns stared wide-eyed at the mountain of documents piled on her desk—there wasn't even a tiny piece of tabletop to be seen. She froze, and Felix thought she was suffocating. Luckily, Mr. Weasley came in with some documents, telling her that only a small portion of the files needed processing.

"The rest are things I feel it's necessary for you to know," Mr. Weasley explained.

Ms. Burns rolled up her sleeves, pulled a monocle from her pocket, and seemed ready to get down to business.

"A few hours won't make a difference, Amelia. Nothing terrible should happen, right?" Felix looked at Mr. Weasley, who immediately understood and said, "No, not at all. Besides, the Minister even came back briefly. We'll report any particularly urgent matters."

"Let's have a drink together." Felix conjured a bottle of wine from thin air, and they sat on the guest sofa, chatting and drinking. Mr. Weasley took off his glasses and rubbed his shiny forehead; Felix noticed that his hair was noticeably thinner.

Borns sat on the sofa, took a small sip of wine, swirled his glass, and said, "Arthur, how's your new department going?"

"Everything's going well," Mr. Weasley said, perking up. "Not counting Scrimgeour, we've had several collaborations with the Muggle government alone. The Muggle Prime Minister even allocated a small plot of land in the city, and my new colleagues and I worked for three days to transform it into a mini-Diagon Alley, which is now bustling with tourists. Some events—like book giveaways and freebies—are being held there, and several companies have responded to the Ministry's call, such as the Daily Prophet and The Contrarian, who have given away thousands of newspapers and magazines to tourists for free—"

Felix guessed from the lingering fear on Mr. Weasley's face that he had probably met more people in this period than he had in the previous half of his life.

"You mean they're being given away to tourists for free? No money involved?" Ms. Burns asked curiously. "I don't know much about Lovegood, the editor-in-chief of the 'Dissenting' newspaper, but the Daily Prophet..."

"These are all unsold past issues of newspapers or magazines, so they don't have much impact on them," Mr. Weasley explained.

"Are there any businesses moving into the new Diagon Alley?" Felix asked.

"Not yet, but we've already made some preparations," Mr. Weasley said. "We've contacted the parents of Muggle-born wizards to ask if they'd be interested in opening a shop in New Diagon Alley. Actually, many of them are Squibs—or something similar, as Mr. Ollivander told me—at least they can use their own wands, and with a little training they can start working."

"Has anyone from the Squid Rights Association contacted you?" Ms. Burns asked. "They might be interested."

Mr. Weasley nodded first, then shook his head. "We've made contact, but their interest isn't very strong." Seeing the slightly surprised looks on Felix and Ms. Burns's faces, he smiled for the first time. "Most of the people who know they're Squibs have relatives still alive, and many families are willing to find their children who have gone abroad."

"Any other news?"

"Let me think... After the contract was signed, there were more than a dozen anti-wizard demonstrations, but they weren't very big. Our protective magic can ensure that people with malicious intent can't get in, and Muggle firearms will also be ineffective."

"The situation is very good," Ms. Burns said with some excitement.

"There were also some unexpected incidents," Mr. Weasley said, slightly embarrassed, as he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat. "Two of our personal wands were accidentally lost during the event."

"What happened?" Ms. Burns sat up from the sofa and asked with a serious expression.

"Wasn't the previous plan to roughly estimate the number of Squibs? Three days ago, we held an event for tourists to experience the custom wands. Mr. Ollivander further improved the custom wands. I don't quite understand the principle he explained, but it's probably about using materials from magical creatures to increase the sensitivity of the custom wands... Anyway, we got a rather rough result, with the data being around 200 to 1."

Felix nodded slightly, stroking his chin as he said, "So, there are probably 300,000 Squibs in all of Britain? No, that's not quite accurate. Most of them probably have even worse magical perception; they can't even see common magical phenomena, like ghosts and Dementors."

“That’s right,” Mr. Weasley agreed. “Mr. Ollivander believes that even with a special wand, only a few people can successfully cast spells. The Silent Ones of the Department of Mysteries have proposed a possibility: magic power is like the rising tide, gradually declining from the first generation of Squibs, then reaching a turning point in a certain generation, becoming increasingly apparent…”

"That's quite an interesting hypothesis," Felix said with interest.

If this idea holds true, then the parents and immediate family members of a Muggle-born wizard might all use their own wands. However, they are older after all, and the meager magical power in their bodies (or souls) is almost impossible to mobilize, so they can only use their own wands to release pre-set magical tricks.

"However, during the event, a Muggle suddenly rushed out and snatched two exclusive wands from the staff—the Muggle government's law enforcement officers couldn't catch him, and our people were hesitant to use powerful spells, so the culprit escaped to a residential area," Mr. Weasley said. "The Scrimgeour and Muggle government personnel are working together to investigate this matter."

"Isn't the special wand we brought for testing equipped with tethering magic?" Ms. Burns asked.

"Not yet."

Unlike Ms. Burns' serious expression, Felix didn't seem to care. "Let them investigate slowly. There will be more and more of these kinds of things in the future. We just need to plug the loopholes one by one. Whether it's tracking or location magic, these kinds of problems can be avoided."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Burns' expression softened. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Scrimgeour entered; his thick, brown hair was streaked with gray, and the wrinkles on his face were deeper, making him look considerably older. Ms. Burns invited him to sit down. Sure enough, he had come to report on his personal wand.

"The person has been found, and it has been preliminarily confirmed that it was just an accident. The trial will be held in two weeks, and I will personally attend the court hearing," Scrinker said. This is the 132nd case he has handled involving both wizards and Muggles—ranging from minor complaints about pranks and magical tricks to flooding an entire house or setting off fireworks in an unauthorized location and burning a tree—the final result is usually a fine. However, because it is a joint enforcement operation, the first judgment may become a precedent for future trials, so he always appears dutifully.

"Rufus, you can delegate some of the work to others," Ms. Burns advised him.

"Things will be fine once this busy period is over," Scrimgeour said hastily. "Amelia, I've copied every judgment for you, along with comments from the other Wizengamo members. You'd better take a look. As agreed by both parties, if there are no objections, the new law will be approved and take effect the following year. It will be increased as appropriate each year."

"So the documents on the desk—"

"Ah, two of them are mine."

"Rufus, you need rest or help, or you'll break down," Ms. Burns said softly.

"Someone has to do the work; I don't trust anyone else to do it," Scrinker said coldly.

Ms. Burns tried to persuade him further, but Felix said a name: "Barty Crouch."

The three of them looked at him at the same time.

“As far as I know, Barty Crouch is very skilled in legal jargon. He’s been out of the public eye for almost three years. If he’s willing—” Felix said slowly, “well—I think he might be a little disheartened by the past, but he’s a man of strong will. If someone tells him the Ministry of Magic needs him, I think he’ll agree without hesitation… The best person to act as a lobbyist is someone he has a good relationship with, perhaps a former subordinate or a good friend, but they must be stern, stubborn, and a little crazy…”

Ms. Burns's lips twitched, and she turned to look at Scrimgeour with Mr. Weasley. There seemed to be someone suitable.

"Barty Crouch is still in prison," Scrimgeour said sharply, staring intently at Felix.

Their gazes met in mid-air. For them, the past conflicts were long gone, and no one would bring up old grievances—Felix had even killed Crouch Jr. with his own hands, yet he still recommended Barty Crouch—but ideological differences still existed. Scrimgeour was a seasoned veteran, and to some extent, he had inherited Crouch Sr.'s ideals.

"It's only two months," Felix said. "A different place to serve his sentence, or a solitary confinement... the effect is about the same. Oh, and I can recommend someone to take care of him... a house-elf named Sparkle, do you remember him?"

The people present stared wide-eyed, considering the feasibility of this approach.

"...In what name?" Mr. Weasley asked in a low voice after a while.

"The consultant," Felix said without hesitation. Ms. Burns rolled her eyes.

Finally, Scrimgeour said dryly, "I can try to persuade Barty—"

"Actually, my ideal person is Moody," Felix said in a strange tone.

Scrimgeour's hair and beard trembled, and his knuckles cracked as he seemed to be using immense willpower to resist lunging at Felix and shaking him by the neck. After a long pause, he spoke coldly, "It's settled then." With that, he stormed off.

“Rufus is happy, I can sense it,” Ms. Burns said. After Mr. Weasley left, she asked curiously, “Felix, you really don’t mind Buddy’s early release—I mean, well,” she sighed, “working from the cell?”

"It's just a month or two earlier. Besides, will his release from prison affect me? Obviously not."

……

The release of the Charter of the Federation and Alliance is not the end, but the beginning of a new round of negotiations. This time, however, it will not be a small-scale affair. With the Charter and the successful case of the British Ministry of Magic, negotiations will be carried out simultaneously in dozens of countries.

Meanwhile, in the United States, more than half a month had passed, and the Magical Congress of the United States had found nothing. They even risked rummaging through top-secret government documents, but to no avail. Horace Greenstinch, the president of the Magical Congress of the United States, vaguely mentioned a method during a meeting, but it could only be implemented after he returned. Felix hoped that nothing would go wrong.

For the rest of the magical world, the most popular topic right now is the "Constitution and Alliance Charter," which is constantly being broadcast in newspapers, on the radio, and on Muggle television programs, with various experts taking turns to analyze its contents.

This fundamental law, resembling a wizarding constitution, extends to a wealth of related content while clearly defining its bottom line. And considering the series of ambitious long-term plans mentioned in the penultimate chapter—such as magical technology, joint hospitals, rapid implantation, interstellar travel, alien colonization, and limb regeneration—the final conclusion can be summarized in one word: utterly sincere.

Although Felix could implement the plan right now, he would prefer to extend the timeframe to thirty, fifty, or even longer.

(End of this chapter)