"Mr. Lewis! Are you listening? Mr. Lewis."
Jim jerked up "Yes, of course I have. I was just thinking about it."
"Okay, so you won't mind telling us about The Unveiling than." his teacher Ms. Edison said.
Jim was in luck, he had not listened at all, but he knew about the Unveiling, it was actually what he had daydreamed about. "Of course. The Unveiling took place in 1981, almost 10 years ago. It marks the day when the Wizards revealed their existence to us and claimed sovereignty over Great Britain and their, I mean our, leader Emperor Voldemort was declared Emperor. It was followed by the division of society in different castes. The lowest caste of subhuman sapient lifeforms, short SSLs, us Muggles, followed by Muggleborn Wizards, Halfblood Wizards, Pureblood Wizards and lastly Nobles."
Ms. Edison squinted at him but couldn't do anything else as he had answered her question. "Very well, Mr. Lewis. Now can anyone tell me how the nobles that lead our great Empire are divided? Yes, Maisie."
"The noble wizards are divided by their ranks, which are Baron, Count, Duke, King and lastly the Emperor. The Barons have the lowest standing and are in charge of the Baronies, which are mostly towns cities or a collection of villages. The Counts are the direct superiors of the Barons and have authority over a County which contains multiple Baronies. After that come the Dukes who rule over the Duchies and the Counts in their territory. The duchies are grouped into four kingdoms, Scotland, Wales, North- and South-England which are each ruled by a noble family, though three of the four families are extinct. Leaving the title of king to be almost superfluous. Over the kings is only the Emperor." Maisie finished.
"Great job, Maisie. Now most of you probably don't know what influence the Nobles have on our real life though. The Nobles have seats inside the Wizengamot, a parliament of sorts, in which they decide on laws for our empire. The higher the title the higher their influence. But don't confuse the Wizengamot with the Parliament of us Muggles. Our parliament consists of elected representatives and decides on politics regarding muggles, though every decision has to go through the approval of the Wizengamot. While the decision on a local level have to..." Ms. Edison was interrupted by the school bell.
Jim along with most students started packing their stuff back into their backpack to go home but Ms. Edison was not finished yet. "The school bell doesn't end the class, I do." she exclaimed "Now where was I. Ah yes, the decision on the local level..." But she was interrupted again as the headmaster opened the door.
"Ms. Edison, may I speak to James Lewin." the middle aged man said. Ms. Edison sighed "Oh well, I wish you all a good summer break. Mr. Lewis, stay a moment please."
While all the students were storming out of the classroom chattering what they planned to do in the summer Jim had to stay behind and watch his friends leave. "Mr. Lewin please accompany me to my office." headmaster Morris said.
Mr. Lewin tried to make some small talk on the way to his office but Jim couldn't shake the feeling that the man was nervous, he was tripping over his own words. This made Jim even more nervous, as the situation to be called in to the headmasters office on the last day of school was bad enough but something weirder seemed to be going on.
Mr. Morris opened the door for Jim, and he stepped into the office. He was curious as to how it would look, he had never been to the headmasters office before. But he eyes didn't wander very far as there was a man siting in the chair behind the desk, he was laid back and had his feet on the desk. Jim immediately noticed the black robe with the sign of the Emperor on the chest, a skull with a snake coming out of it.
The man looked up as Jim entered, then he directed his gaze at Mr. Morris. "Get out." he ordered.
Headmaster Morris closed the door and now it was only Jim and the Ministry official left in the office.
"Are you James Lewin?" the wizard asked. Jim only nodded his head. "Speak up, boy."
"Yes, sir!" Jim replied.
"I'm here to deliver these." the man said and pulled two envelopes out of his pocket. On one of them he recognized the sign of the ministry and on the other the sign of Hogwarts, the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He accepted the envelopes with shacking hands and opened the letter from Hogwarts first.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Severus Snape
Dear Mr. Lewin,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. The Ministry of Magic will contact you soon for an ancestry check to sort you into the proper caste, please comply with all measures take by the Ministry. The term begins on the first of september.
Yours sincerely,
Narcissa Malfoy.
It took a while to process what he just read. He had always dreamed of being a wizard and learn magic and now it had actually happened. Even though he would probably be the lowest level of wizard as his parents were muggles. He opened the second letter.
Dear Mr. Lewin,
On order of the Wizengamot and Emperor Voldemort, you are to undertake an ancestry check in the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible. As a wizard without magical parents a Ministry Official will be dispatched to accompany you to the Ministry.
Yours sincerely,
Dolores Umbridge, Head of the Department of Bloodpurity.
As he finished the second letter he looked up to the man sitting across from him. "Okay then let's go to the ministry." the man said as noticed his glance.
Jim winced as the wizard put his hand on Jims head but he hadn't much time to wonder why as the world suddenly shifted, it felt like he was turning inside out and in the next moment he found himself in front of a huge black gate. But Jim couldn't focus on where he was as severe nausea started to set in. "Take this." somebody handed Jim a bucket and he didn't hold back anymore and vomited in the bucket.
Feeling much better Jim looked up, the man that had handed him the bucket was gigantic, he looked to be about 3m tall and had a collar around his neck. Jim recognized the slave collar from what they had learned in school. "Thank you."
The man just nodded politely and handed him a cup of water to rinse his mouth. As he was finished he looked up to see where they were exactly. The black gate was guarded by two wizards, behind it was a long street leading up a hill on which stood a big white castle-like building.
Jim was led up the hill and into the ministry building. People were hurrying about and paperplanes were flying above their heads. Chimneys connected to the floo network were built along the sides of the entrance hall, green flames appeared every few second as wizards and witches came in or left. The ministry worker pulled on Jims sleeve as he stood there to observe the most important place in Great Britain. "We have to get to the Department of Bloodpurity, I don't have all day, boy."
Jim followed the man, but his eyes wandered all over the place. After taking a few turns they reached the elevator which took them further up until the voice announced "Department of Bloodpurity". The doors opened and they got out. They followed a hallway until they stopped in front of a double-winged door.
The man pushed the door open and gave sight on a big lobby. Massive marble counters stood on the other side of the room, manned by people in ministry uniforms. In front of the counters were long lines of parents with kids around Jims age. Except for two on the right side, where lines of adults stood. Not all there by their own will it seemed, as some had their hands cuffed behind their back.
Another man that had been waiting at the door greeted them. "Hey Stephens, great to see ya. Haven't seen you in a while, everything alright?"
The man that had brought Jim here, apparently Stephens, answered "Just back from vacation with my wife, and straight back to work. This boy here, James Lewis, has to undergo the check. Can I leave him with you?"
"Sure, have a great day and greetings to your wife."
Stephens left the building and the new guy turned to Jim and held his hands out. "I'm Travis Miller, nice to meet you." Jim shook the hand "James Lewis."
"Lets get in line, this can take forever better not waste time."
The two waited in time for what felt like eternity, Mr. Miller tried to make smalltalk but Jim was too nervous to talk about the weather or his favorite Quidditch Team. The line proceeded forward slowly until finally they reached the front.
A young woman sat behind the counter, she didn't even look up as she handed them a form. "Fill this out." Jim took the form and a pen from the counter and started to fill it out.
Name: James Lewin
Age: 11
...
Parents Bloodpurity: Muggles
And on it went. After filling out two pages, Jim handed the form back in. The woman took the paperwork back and handed them a vial and a small knife. "Please put a bit of your blood inside, to be tested."
This time Mr. Miller took it. "Okay James, I have to make a little cut in your palm. Don't worry it doesn't hurt much." Jim braced himself and clenched his teeth as Mr. Miller cut his hands and let the blood drip into the vial. After a few drops went inside he closed it with a cork, pulled out his wand and put it above his wound. "Episkey" The cut vanished and with it the pain as well.
He handed the vial back in. "You will get a letter in a few days. Next!" the woman said and Mr. Miller pulled him to the side.
"Lets get you home."