Yeah I dunno, I would have thought it's kind of self explanatory. If he's talking to snakes he's obviously using parseltongue, you can use italics if you want to make it seem magical. If it's speech it's obviously using " and ". If it's thoughts ' and ' are used (I'm not sure if that's actually a standard, but it is in fanfiction, you need not tell us).

Spells are just speech so... Unless they are silent, in which case they are just thoughts so...
And again, you can use italics to make it seem magical if you really want.

 

For more word count I imagine since they put that up in every single chapter.

 

I don't know if this was already mentioned, it probably was but I will say it anyway.

I hate the whole Lord Potter, Longbottom, Malfoy, Pumkintoes, whatever. The only Lord mentioned was Voldemort. It is mostly because of how simplified and naive their poltics are. And no, Harry is not some diplomatic genius, he is a angsty, stubborn teen with anger issues. He ain't achieving world peace any time soon. I admit it was interesting the first dozen times I read it though, but now it is an instant rage quit.

 

I think part of the reason nothing like that ever came up was because it wasn't important. The general political climate was important to canon, but who does what (apart from the large and in charge guys) was unnecessary information.

Personally I'm ok with expanding on wizarding politics, and Lords of Houses DO make sense given the era the wizarding world seems to live in.

But I also think sometimes it's done really badly. I understand the idea of pureblood raised children being ready for that kind of role (thinking Neville here), but Harry wouldn't have any idea, and more importantly, I don't think he would care.

I'm...ok, with him getting a title, but the problem is he would be given it for either no real reason (no impact to the story) or he becomes a political god.

I guess the only way I see it really working is if you use it as a way to explain emancipation.


Frankly I think if he tried to walk into the wizarding gamot he'd be crushed by Malfoy, who has been playing that game for a LONG time.

 

The only form of government mentioned in all 7 books were only the ministry and they behaved like the modern one, elected prime minister and all so I don't think they had any lords or ladies at all.

 

We got more than that there was just "the ministry" we know there is a thing called the Wizengamot, and it features members from prominent families. We know that they are lead by 3 or so people, the Minister, the Chief Warlock and we can assume the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (though this may be for crime related meetings only).

EDIT: It also appears the Minister's power is next to meaningless in this court. No more than any other member anyway.

 

Where is that mentioned? I have never heard about any the Wizengamot featuring any prominent families.

 

I'll be honest, I was somewhat guessing with that one, I haven't read the fifth book in quite some time so I don't really remember. It is possible, perhaps probable, that I am wrong about it being mentioned. However it would make sense, there are not a lot of people in the wizarding world and I'm pretty sure that, at least for the most part, random ministry workers are not part of it. There really aren't many others left that would fit into an important role BUT prominent families.

The wizarding world DOES respect blood. I totally buy hereditary seats.

 

You're aware that there are many Lords in the modern British government, right? I approve of the HP world including Lords and Ladies, because it is after all still part of Britain, and we know that certain families (e.g. the Malfoys) used to be part of the King's court, but there are some provisos that almost all fanfics ignore:

1. The number of wizarding nobles should be very low, because the wizarding population is low and only a small percentage should be nobles. Certainly there shouldn't be enough nobles to fill up the entire Wizengamot.

2. Noble titles are connected with land. You're not just "Lord Potter". You're the Lord of a specific place, and are generally referred to by the name of that place.

3. The political power of nobles comes from two places: their ownership of land and their proximity to royal institutions (all noble titles are within the power of the monarch to give and revoke). Land isn't really that important to wizards, and with the Statute of Secrecy the wizarding world was separated from the Muggle one (and thus royalty). That means that wizarding nobles should be nothing more than empty titles after the Statute comes into effect. Those empty titles might command respect, and by coincidence prominent nobles may have carved out a place for themselves in the early Ministry, but they don't carry any official power.

That's the way I approached it in Alexandra Potter, but I've yet to see it done that way elsewhere. Most often you see nobility used in HP as a way for Harry to trump Dumbledore's magical power with an absurd level of legal authority which for some reason the adults just respect. History is full of young people with legal authority who get sent to bed by their "regent".

It's worth noting that the Anglo-Saxon witenagemot was an early predecessor of Parliament: irregular meetings of the great and the good called by royalty or other prominent individuals, normally to discuss a specific issues. From the name similarity, it seems that the Wizengamot is based on this idea - a kind of parallel development, diverging from the Muggle Parliament as the wizarding world diverged from the Muggle world.

It's likely, from the Anglo-Saxon name, that the Wizengamot predated the Ministry (possible also known as the Warlock's Council, though that might have been a separate group) and was then incorporated into it, possibly as a power-sharing compromise. It also means that the Wizengamot should be populated by the most prominent individuals of wizarding society. Since wizards care little for land and probably don't have too many nobles anyway, that means wizards who have gained acclaim on their own.

I've linked it before, but people might be interested in the history of the Ministry of Magic I created for Alexandra Potter.

 

I do get that the percentage of prominent family will be higher just like it is everywhere. I don't think the seats are hereditary at all though, and definitely no one there that gets called Lord or Lady. Can't it be possible that the wizengamot is simply filled with high-ranking Ministry officials?

Edit: Ok, I guess that some on the wizengamot may be lords, but not all. Black is mentioned as a very prominent family but there weren't any lords mentioned on the tapestry. Lucius Malfoy (really rich and very powerful) never gets called a Lord, etc.

 

I always considered "the noble and most ancient house" of black to be bragging on the black part. Nobody else cares. Hence why saying you're a member of a "noble and most ancient house" gets you weird looks and not much else.

Sure, there might be nobility from centuries ago, but they arn't calling themselves "noble and most ancient house".

 

I wasn't under the impression the ministry HAD many high ranking officials. The way I pictured it, there are at least 40 members on the Wizengamot. I can't think of more than 10 high ranking ministry officials.

No one was called Lord or Lady because no one was called upon. I'm pretty sure in the 5th book all discussion was between Harry and his defense, and Fudge, Bones and Umbridge.

Considering the wizarding world seems to be similar to what the muggle world was in Britain a few 100 years ago I see no reason why they wouldn't call people Lords or Ladies.


EDIT:

Perhaps, but I guess you can interpret it however you wish to. Just because no one else mentions it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Like I said in an earlier post, the author only writes important information (or should, I'M LOOKING AT YOU FANON). That sort of thing is not important to the canon story line.

 

No one is ever called a lord at all, not in passing not in any of the articles, not in any conversation with anybody about the wizengamot or the ministry or just anywhere.

You can make up a system for fanon but you can't call it canon.

Edit:

Or they could have all died out, or have their titles dropped. I don't think any prominent family, especially the dark ones, will be very proud of a title handed to them by a muggle leader.

 

No one called it canon. I just defended the fact that it wasn't a great leap to use in fanon.

 

Except for a woman Minister for Magic as far back as 1798. And children at Hogwarts not having to face corporal punishment. And teenagers dating each other in a modern way. And sharing a unisex changing room for Quidditch. And the wizarding world enjoying free socialised healthcare. And free education for all.

Really, I have no idea what basis people make for this "wizarding world is the Muggle world in the past" claim. The only thing I can think of is the fact that they wear robes, but robes weren't really everyday wear at any point in Muggle history, and certainly not in the Victorian period.

 

Hm, that's a good point. Fanon influences me too much, I guess it's too easy to remember the things that ARE old (oil lamp, old buildings, clothes etc). I suppose they are just different then, and any similarities between the two, new or old, are simply coincidence. Or were stolen ideas when they were actually deemed superior.


Regardless, I still say that it's not far fetched there MAY be Lords or Ladies. Though it is not canon.

 

Robes sound much more "magical" than denim, I guess. People like making their life easier, so they would evolve to do just that. They don't need electricity because of their charms, and I am sure that their quills, for instance, have charms that make them more comfortable to use, just like the cushioning charms on brooms.

It is a title given by a muggle. That is all I have to say about this matter.

 

Yes, I never intended to say that they LACKED electricity. Just that it could symbolise an older way of life. Though of course, it probably doesn't. Electricity is probably almost useless to them. Paper vs parchment on the other hand...

 

I have no idea why either. I think it is similar to robes though, "if it isn't broken don't fix it".

 

Frankly, that's a surprisingly good attitude to have. If it works, does it really matter? I do hate it when fics try to tell us that the wizarding world sucks compared to the muggle world because they haven't changed as much over their history. Why, why do they need to?

I swear it's almost like most FF writers are bigots towards the wizarding world unintentionally.