Why Study History?
Chapter 2
Why Study History?
Magic is the unspoken reason for everything, as any schooling witch and wizard would know. Following the introduction of the 1692 International Statue of Secrecy, which sent Wizardkind into hiding and forced us to adapt to the Muggle way of life, our place in the history of mankind has been hidden from the Muggle historians, who did not even witness the celebrations following the Second Wizarding War and whose history books explain the “unexplainable”—those things of which magic is the real cause—by citing unseen forces that can manipulate the natural balance of life. The magical community has succumbed to the dire fact that, despite our memorable and very influential contribution to mankind, it would be best that we keep it a secret from our non-magic counterparts. Although human effort is still very important, magic has played its part in shaping human society.
But then, what is magic? Young wizarding children know about magic even before they mutter a word. Magic is a term used to describe both the good and the bad.
According to renowned magical historian Augustus Racscol, magic is actually
‘…nature’s ability to provide humans with the power to manipulate and modify conditions accordingly. It is a gift blessed to witches and wizards alone for they hold the knowledge and wisdom to use it to aid and not to destroy.’
It is upon this statement that wizard historians and researchers base all their premises and discoveries about magic. The primary goal of every witch and wizard is to promote the continuity of the human race by ‘tweaking’ the balance of nature in an effort to give non-magic beings the chance to survive and propagate their society.
Magical historians believe that magic has its roots long before the documentation of human existence. Wizard scholars have devoted their lives to the search and rescue of our ancient lineage. Quite a number of discoveries have been made in mountain ranges in the Himalayas and the Canadian mountains where wizard archaeologists have uncovered cave dwellings that depict signs of magical influence in the lives of the dwellers that used to live there. It was believed that the caves dated back to the time of the Great Lizards, a time when man first emerged on earth. Magic always leaves traces, and the caves were full of magical presence. In Professor Utoipius Black’s book Uncovering Magic, he shares an instance during his excavations in a Russian mountainside, where one of the necklaces that were left inside the caves attempted to strangle the wizard who touched it. It appeared to have been bewitched with an Anti-Thievery spell, so that only the owner could touch it. Magic was present long before man, but it needed man to be harnessed into something useful and practical.
Wizards have always been an influence to society-building. In the country of Vietnam in 1975, when the Vietnam war ended, a group of Vietnamese wizards, known to magical history as the ‘Viet năm,’ who sought sanctuary in the country of India returned and helped stabilize the crippled government, making reforms and assisting the populace with their uncanny and almost impossible feats. They do not appear in any Vietnamese history books because they went against the government’s decision to install a single-party state. They were exiled back to India where they are currently residing.
As future society-builders, young wizards must immerse themselves in our history and enhance the development of Wizarding kind. Our success as a society lies in our ability to promote our good values and hinder the growth of our bad beings. Indeed, the magical community, like any other community, is prone to success and failure, but knowledge of our past will prepare us for future endeavours. An example of this would be the Wand Wars during the 1500s. Many witches and wizards died in an effort to protect the ancient secrets of wandlore from the Muggles who sought to acquire it. Witch-hunting was rampant then, and the fate of our treasured wands was left to the hands of our able wizard ancestors who ran into hiding, while their wives, sisters, daughters sacrificed their lives for their escape.
