Minister rules out new Decree on Part-Humans
Minister for Magic embroiled in fresh controversy; opposes Register of Magical Part-Humans proposed by Adinamus Malfoy
26-08-2021
Rita Skeeter
Special Correspondent
Still dripping from the deluge of criticism that greeted his failed Wizard-Giant summit, the Minister of Magic, Seamus Haupington, waded into fresh controversy today by declaring that he would not support any attempt to extend recognition of Magical Part-Humans.
"We already recognise Centaurs and Sphinxes as part-Humans," said Adinamus Malfoy, a member of the leading wizard family. "Why would we not recognise other part-Humans, and attempt to register them if they happen to live in wizarding society?"
However, the Minister brushed aside these arguments, saying that any attempt to recognise part-goblins, also known as Schmuts, as a separate sub-species of humans "would likely cause havoc and play into the hands of mischievous elements."
Asked by reporters as he set out on a new diplomatic mission to Sweden, whether the Ministry feared the goblin reaction, the Minister responded, "Well, no one wants more dealings with the goblins than are necessary, this is poking the wounded goblin pride just when they have accepted defeat."
The comments were seized upon by the Minister's opponents as evidence of weakness.
"The Minister does not want to tackle the issue of part-goblins, because he is frightened of the goblin response," said Adinamus Malfoy. "If this how policy is made, we may as well hand the next crisis to the goblins."
Ministry officials speaking after the Minister had left denied the charges, pushing back by claiming that questions remained over the scope of the definition of a Schmut.
"Is a part-goblin with a quarter goblin ancestry, goblin or human? Those proposing a Registry of part-Goblins do not seem to be too clear themselves though they talk of unique goblin abilities. If every trace of goblin ancestry makes one a Schmut, then what of those who had a goblin ancestor twenty generations back? Whose family line is purer than pure?" challenged one official.
Despite the robust public defence of the Minister's position however, privately Ministry officials concede that the issue of a Register was not likely to go away.
"It is being supported by Harry Potter, that is the problem. The Ministry won't be able to dismiss this easily. Potter or Hans Geister as he is known in Germany has struck up a friendship with parts of the Malfoy clan who are not associated with Lucius Malfoy, the convicted Death Eater. That makes this issue very tricky for the Minister," one official confided only on condition of anonymity.
While privately the Ministry is blaming the Chosen One for this pressure, outwardly the Minister and his officials continue to insist that they are on good terms with Harry Potter. Yet the bitter notes of being used and thrown aside were hard to miss in statements by officials.
"The Minister went to some trouble to engage the French over the Giant issue, after speaking to Harry Potter, who believes the Giants can be integrated into civilised wizarding society. But there was no willingness to act on the part of the Andorrans or the French Giants," said Alisdair Cambrun, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister.
The controversy over the fallout from Haupington's failed trip to Paris will continue to rumble on, and calls for his resignation over what opponents have labelled "an ineffectual and half-hearted mission," to press the French over the Giant issue will now likely be added to by discontent on part-goblin rights.
The news that the Ministry was distancing itself from Harry Potter's publicly stated stance on Schmuts as part-Humans will in all likelihood cause more consternation in a Ministry that is riven by factions and divided on policy direction.
None of that is new, of course. The Ministry has struggled to get its act together since its takeover by Death Eaters working for You Know Who over two decades ago. Ten Ministers of Magic have come and gone in that interval, most lasting no more than a year. The recent evidence of infighting points to a growing crisis of authority for the current Minister.
©️ Daily Prophet
(Pic shows an approximate depiction of the current Ministry of Magic logo, which is partly handwritten, the word magic slants and is topped by a 6, and the zeros in the date are shown as 6's too. Here the Muggle Gregorian date is shown rather than the Wizarding Year (WY) which has 2 '6's'. Note 666 is the number of the Mede though in some Muggle cultures it is misrepresented as the number of the 'beast')