He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
Okay, so Harry Potter was about to go to Hogwarts - as an exchange student. That’s because he was actually born in New York state, not Godrics Hollow, y’see. (A/N: relax, this is not a badfic, just a badblog. I’m borrowing the Potters to use as an example.)
So Harry had to get a US passport, and he applied to New York state for a certified copy of his birth certificate.
A nice typed report came back, stating his full name was Harry James Potter, sex Male, and listing his birthplace, birth date and the names of both parents.
That was 1991. Let's leap ahead to the present day, in the era of computers and social awareness.
James Sirius Potter, modern New Yorker, was about to go to Hogwarts, etc., etc.
A nice computer printout came back from the state, twice as big as the old report form; the printers these days have such trouble with forms that are anything but 8½ by 11 inches. Sure enough, it had his birthplace, birth date, parents’ names, and...
“Huh?”
FULL NAME: POTTER
Lily looked over his shoulder, reading. “How come it doesn’t say James Sirius?”
“I don’t know,” answered her puzzled brother. “Dad? Did you guys name me at birth, or what? It not on my birth certificate.”
Harry blushed. “Yes, of course we named you. I guess they just don’t put full names on the certificate any more.”
“That’s dumb. Why would they leave it off?”
“Um... ask me when you’re a little older.”
James paused about three seconds. “Okay, I’m a little older. What?”
“Umm... I think it’s in case, let's say, when Joseph grows up, he decides to change his name to Josephine because he... he transfigures as a... well, he...”
“Okay, got it. He does the extreme makeover thing 'cos he wants to be a girl, and they don’t want to make him feel bad.”
“Can I borrow this in a few years?" asked Lily. "I can get my driver’s license real early if I use your age. Do I have to dress up as a boy?”
“You do anyway. Besides, it doesn’t even say I’m a boy.”
“We always wondered about that.”
“Yeah, and how would you like a Bat-Bogey hex, shorty?”
“Okay, I'll be nice -- if you promise to lend it to me."
"How am I s’posed to use this for ID if it doesn’t have my whole name?”
“Hey. let's scan this into the computer and I can change your name to Josephine.”
“Hey, I’m serious!”
“I thought you were James.”
Yes, friends, in a time of high security, and amid cries to stem the presence of illegal persons in the US, New York state now issues copies of birth certificates that have neither a given name nor gender. Yes, they can be used to obtain passports and other ID. The natural reaction is that this is totally loony politics... but what isn’t these days?