The Problem: Discovering Magic
Co-written by Finnigan Frazer and Eamon Frazer
Last summer, I helped a friend out with a problem. She is a muggleborn, and when she received her Hogwarts letter her parents were horrified at the idea of having a witch in the family, although probably not as horrified as I was when I found out that they had tried to exorcise the magic from her. She ran away to her kind-hearted aunt’s house, where she has kept refuge ever since while her parents made no sign of budging on their hatred of her. They proclaimed her no longer their daughter, and kept her from seeing her younger brother, who they blindly refused to believe was also a wizard. Last summer, he turned eleven, and their determination that he was a muggle was shattered.
Both of them now live happily with their aunt during holidays, and their parents have no contact with them. The situation, however, is not uncommon. Muggle parents terrified of something new and strange, and having next to no explanation to cancel out an abundance of false notions, may resist their children going to Hogwarts at best, or attempt to hurt or disown them at worst. Not only do these eleven year olds not always have anywhere to turn, but they, too, are likely terrified in finding out about a new world which scares their parents so much.
This is a problem which may easily be resolved with a better explanation to families on first discovering magic. Information can calm nerves and dispel worries, enabling parents to feel more comfortable about sending their children to a faraway boarding school. The muggleborn witches and wizards can also feel more relaxed in starting at their strange new school, when rather than going into an environment where they know nothing of what to expect, they have already had all their questions answered.