Spectators: All Creatures Great and Small
Vibius and Fridwulfa
Vibius was a peculiar man. Even his parents had always been befuddled by his interest in magical creatures, beasts and beings, in his uncanny knack of seeing them as absolute equals. At Hogwarts, he wandered into the Forbidden Forest with the intention of meeting the Centaurs. It did not end as well as he had hoped, and he had to be rescued by several professors, who rebuked the Centaurs for attacking a student. Vibius was remorseful, however, because he'd clearly offended them. Besides, being tied upside down in a tree had been thrilling. It certainly made him popular with the girls in Gryffindor, who gasped every time he told the story.
Vibius's parents had been alarmed, and told their son that if he wanted a future, he had to stop living in a world of fanciful ambitions. It took a few years for their words to fully set in; when OWLS approached, he realized that his parents would never be proud of him if he did poorly. So he performed well, putting aside dreams of the forest in favour of more tangible ambitions. One was to work with dragons, but his parents forbade it, so when the Head of House suggested working with them, he shook his head.
Vibius obtained a position with the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, hoping that he could work with them in a capacity that would still please his parents. For almost two and a half decades he threw himself into his work, making reforms when he could, but mostly averting his eyes to the wrongs he knew his colleagues were committing. He never married and had few friends.
Then his parents were killed in an attempt to duplicate muggle airplanes with broomsticks. Upon their deaths, Vibius realized that they had pleased each other with their own fanciful dreams - which they would never admit to having - far more than he could ever please them. So he left his job at the age of forty-two and went on a trek to find whatever he could find.
On the trek he met Fridwulfa, a giant fifteen years younger than he was. She almost killed Vibius, but was soon mollified by his promises of goodwill. Vibius loved everything about her, and didn't care one bit that she was not human. Unfortunately, Vibius knew the wizarding world would - as they headed home, Fridwulfa now pregnant, he realized they would never accept her. But it was no matter; he was tired of pleasing everyone else. So he stayed mostly hidden, hoping that someday, at least, the wizarding world's views would change enough that he would be able to boast his wonderful family.
Unfortunately, Fridwulfa went back to the giants first. Vibius was left with a three year old who was almost his height. Knowing he couldn't take care of Rubeus alone, he returned fully into the open, evading questions about his son's large size but allowing people to believe it had been some strange magical occurrence, not heritage. Fortunately, most people were just as moved by Rubeus's charm, although some were concerned that he was naive and would endanger himself with his love of all creatures.
But Vibius could only see goodness, and so he let his son be.
Filius Flitwick
It was his grandmother; everyone in Switzerland - for that was where her Goblin colony had been - knew of her. Flitwick's great grandfather all but ran the Gringotts there.
Goblin history in Switzerland was somewhat less hostile than in the United Kingdom, so the marriage between Eir and the strange Englishman Filius was not quite the scandal Filius knew it would be there. It was still frowned upon, but it was also allowed. The elder Filius still knew he could never take his family back to Scotland; the Goblins there, nor the humans, would ever accept them.
They had four children; the eldest, Fiona, was a remarkable and adventurous witch. She visited Edinburgh, Hogsmeade, London, Diagon Alley - wherever her journey took her. She met a wizard in Wales, and they soon fell in love.
But when Fiona told her husband of her true birth, he abandoned her, calling their son an abomination. Devastated, Fiona raise him with her father's name - Filius Flitwck. She refused to return home, not for lack of missing it, but because she could not let him win.
Filius never knew his father's name; he never cared to. The way he saw it, his father was the elderly man they would visit often, married to his tiny but feisty Goblin grandmother.
Once in a while, people would ask him if he had goblin blood; it was something of a joke. Filius would always smile coyly.
Fleur
As soon as Fleur saw Roger Davies in Charms, she rounded on him with anger she didn't even know she was capable of feeling.
"What did you do?" She cried, literally shoving the article in his face.
Roger looked bewildered. "I - I didn't do anything!"
"You told that Rita Skeeter, didn't you? Don't lie to me."
Roger shook his head. "No - someone else must have heard them..."
"No one else was there."
"How would we know? We were a little - ah - busy that night."
"Don't remind me of that night," Fleur spat. "How could you?"
"Fleur, I swear, I didn't say anything. Why are you so upset? You don't even know Hagrid."
Fleur thought of her mother, who could turn into a bird. Fleur couldn't as easily; she'd only managed it once. Gabrielle could not at all. Apparently, it was common for those powers to weaken over subsequent generations.
She remembered her grandmother, the magnificent woman whose singing could lull into a trance, particularly men. She had been beautiful; she had left her hair to her granddaughters, for them to use in their wands. Ziva had also been misunderstood. People liked veela, but did not see them as women so much as they saw them as quandaries. At best, she was often pestered about how a full veela was even biologically possible.
"Ah," Ziva would say with a smile. "That is the question, isn't it?"
What would Roger say if he met her?
"It is not about knowing or not knowing," Fleur said. "I think that Hagrid seems like a bit... what's the word... doofy, if we are going to be honest. But - he does not deserve humiliation for who he is."
"We deserve the truth," Roger pointed out quietly.
Fleur stared at him, not quite believing what she was hearing.
"Have you ever considered that more people might be of so-called 'inferior birth' than you realize? People who are in your life now?"
"I don't consider you inferior."
Fleur laughed coldly. "Make no mistake - I know I am often arrogant. But I don't think it's all about me, and neither should you."
"Fleur..."
But Fleur was already storming out of Charms, not even caring that she was skiving off class. At the corner of her eye, she could've sworn she saw Flitwick smiling.
Vibius was a peculiar man. Even his parents had always been befuddled by his interest in magical creatures, beasts and beings, in his uncanny knack of seeing them as absolute equals. At Hogwarts, he wandered into the Forbidden Forest with the intention of meeting the Centaurs. It did not end as well as he had hoped, and he had to be rescued by several professors, who rebuked the Centaurs for attacking a student. Vibius was remorseful, however, because he'd clearly offended them. Besides, being tied upside down in a tree had been thrilling. It certainly made him popular with the girls in Gryffindor, who gasped every time he told the story.
Vibius's parents had been alarmed, and told their son that if he wanted a future, he had to stop living in a world of fanciful ambitions. It took a few years for their words to fully set in; when OWLS approached, he realized that his parents would never be proud of him if he did poorly. So he performed well, putting aside dreams of the forest in favour of more tangible ambitions. One was to work with dragons, but his parents forbade it, so when the Head of House suggested working with them, he shook his head.
Vibius obtained a position with the Department for Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, hoping that he could work with them in a capacity that would still please his parents. For almost two and a half decades he threw himself into his work, making reforms when he could, but mostly averting his eyes to the wrongs he knew his colleagues were committing. He never married and had few friends.
Then his parents were killed in an attempt to duplicate muggle airplanes with broomsticks. Upon their deaths, Vibius realized that they had pleased each other with their own fanciful dreams - which they would never admit to having - far more than he could ever please them. So he left his job at the age of forty-two and went on a trek to find whatever he could find.
On the trek he met Fridwulfa, a giant fifteen years younger than he was. She almost killed Vibius, but was soon mollified by his promises of goodwill. Vibius loved everything about her, and didn't care one bit that she was not human. Unfortunately, Vibius knew the wizarding world would - as they headed home, Fridwulfa now pregnant, he realized they would never accept her. But it was no matter; he was tired of pleasing everyone else. So he stayed mostly hidden, hoping that someday, at least, the wizarding world's views would change enough that he would be able to boast his wonderful family.
Unfortunately, Fridwulfa went back to the giants first. Vibius was left with a three year old who was almost his height. Knowing he couldn't take care of Rubeus alone, he returned fully into the open, evading questions about his son's large size but allowing people to believe it had been some strange magical occurrence, not heritage. Fortunately, most people were just as moved by Rubeus's charm, although some were concerned that he was naive and would endanger himself with his love of all creatures.
But Vibius could only see goodness, and so he let his son be.
Filius Flitwick
It was his grandmother; everyone in Switzerland - for that was where her Goblin colony had been - knew of her. Flitwick's great grandfather all but ran the Gringotts there.
Goblin history in Switzerland was somewhat less hostile than in the United Kingdom, so the marriage between Eir and the strange Englishman Filius was not quite the scandal Filius knew it would be there. It was still frowned upon, but it was also allowed. The elder Filius still knew he could never take his family back to Scotland; the Goblins there, nor the humans, would ever accept them.
They had four children; the eldest, Fiona, was a remarkable and adventurous witch. She visited Edinburgh, Hogsmeade, London, Diagon Alley - wherever her journey took her. She met a wizard in Wales, and they soon fell in love.
But when Fiona told her husband of her true birth, he abandoned her, calling their son an abomination. Devastated, Fiona raise him with her father's name - Filius Flitwck. She refused to return home, not for lack of missing it, but because she could not let him win.
Filius never knew his father's name; he never cared to. The way he saw it, his father was the elderly man they would visit often, married to his tiny but feisty Goblin grandmother.
Once in a while, people would ask him if he had goblin blood; it was something of a joke. Filius would always smile coyly.
Fleur
As soon as Fleur saw Roger Davies in Charms, she rounded on him with anger she didn't even know she was capable of feeling.
"What did you do?" She cried, literally shoving the article in his face.
Roger looked bewildered. "I - I didn't do anything!"
"You told that Rita Skeeter, didn't you? Don't lie to me."
Roger shook his head. "No - someone else must have heard them..."
"No one else was there."
"How would we know? We were a little - ah - busy that night."
"Don't remind me of that night," Fleur spat. "How could you?"
"Fleur, I swear, I didn't say anything. Why are you so upset? You don't even know Hagrid."
Fleur thought of her mother, who could turn into a bird. Fleur couldn't as easily; she'd only managed it once. Gabrielle could not at all. Apparently, it was common for those powers to weaken over subsequent generations.
She remembered her grandmother, the magnificent woman whose singing could lull into a trance, particularly men. She had been beautiful; she had left her hair to her granddaughters, for them to use in their wands. Ziva had also been misunderstood. People liked veela, but did not see them as women so much as they saw them as quandaries. At best, she was often pestered about how a full veela was even biologically possible.
"Ah," Ziva would say with a smile. "That is the question, isn't it?"
What would Roger say if he met her?
"It is not about knowing or not knowing," Fleur said. "I think that Hagrid seems like a bit... what's the word... doofy, if we are going to be honest. But - he does not deserve humiliation for who he is."
"We deserve the truth," Roger pointed out quietly.
Fleur stared at him, not quite believing what she was hearing.
"Have you ever considered that more people might be of so-called 'inferior birth' than you realize? People who are in your life now?"
"I don't consider you inferior."
Fleur laughed coldly. "Make no mistake - I know I am often arrogant. But I don't think it's all about me, and neither should you."
"Fleur..."
But Fleur was already storming out of Charms, not even caring that she was skiving off class. At the corner of her eye, she could've sworn she saw Flitwick smiling.