#silverdragonfrost

Courtesy of AVPM, you are in fact not the only one who gets bad vibes from Slughorn

I mean, to be fair, I wouldn't even call that one a heretical meta.

We're far from the first people to think it and it's something I see coming up, god, even in fics ten to twenty years ago.

I suppose we can take a break to deviate into headcanon land.

I too have difficulty imagining Caius and Marcus bothering with this. Too perfectionist, meticulous, and something both would probably see as unnecessary and more effort than it's worth. But if Aro is doing this secret thing he's doing it right, dammit!

I imagine Caius as being the military brains of the operation, in the age before even Demetri and Chelsea, when they had to fight with only five vampires and win against very powerful covens. I see Caius as devising the strategy as well as being the best warrior among them.

Marcus, I imagine as being intelligence/psychological warfare. He's the one who finds the perosn who will become their informant/agent, who is the weakest link, and where the united front isn't so united after all. I also, purely headcanon mind you, see him as the voice of mercy in the vote who tends on the side of "we should spare them".

Then, of course, Didyme died and now Marcus tries his best to do nothing. Aro has taken his place by using both his and Marcus's gift.

Thoughts on the Cullen relationship.

For those two? Those two have hope. They're a normal dysfunctional couple where their largest issues are miscommunication, differing goals and expectations, and a lack of understanding who the other is.

They do love each other and care for one another. If both realize they have problems, realize they have to work through them together, then perhaps they have a future. Emmett can realize that Rosalie isn't a collection of easily offended nerves that he has to explain away to Edward and the family. He can realize that it's important that he have her back. And Rosalie needs to learn what it is Emmett really wants in this life and support him being who he is.

Finally, who do you think is more corrupt ? The wizarding world or the USSR ?

Nobody even knows, man, but I'm sure it's wild.

Well, we do know a few things.

What Do We Know About Wizards and Money?

One is that they're on the gold standard by using literal gold as well as copper and silver for the minting of their coins. Based on Bill's entire job (curse breaking ancient tombs) they cannot create these metals from nothing nor transfigure them permanently from a different substance (probably why these are used to prevent counterfeiting). It also allows goblins to control the currency, which is a very very very good thing for them and one of the few means of leverage they have.

However, given that, I have a distinct feeling that inflation/monetary controls are poorly understood. The goblins search for gold, in part, by grave robbing and introduce it into the economy. Whenever this happens, there's going to be inflation and your wizards will be very confused on why a galleon suddenly seems to buy them less than it did not so long ago. Though, goblins controlling distribution, they may have controls in place for inflation/deflation like any central bank.

We also know they don't use credit. We have no hint of credit being used throughout the books. Harry has to carry a sack which carries his money. People always have to visit the bank before shopping.

We know there are some substances that a wizard cannot point blank create from nothing. They can summon water out of thin air: they cannot create nor reproduce food. Food is always going to be an issue even for a competent wizards.

And also, wizards are humans and specialize in fields. Everyone gets their basic Hogwarts education (some... uh... better at it than others) but just as in real life people specialize into certain fields based on their ability. Most wizards are not self-sufficient or else could find someone better at a task than themselves.

I mean that, fundamentally, wizards and witches trade goods and services, the underpinning of any economic system.

Which is why, tellingly, Arthur Weasley seems to take home a paycheck and we see people with jobs where they are presumably paid some amount of money. Fred and George also needing money to purchase the building, materials, etc. for their shop in Diagon Alley.

So, What is It?

I think we can safely say that Gringotts acts as the central bank. Now, we don't know if they give out loans or not, but what they do is hold the money hostage, mint the coins, and presumably control distribution of gold into the market.

They perform the vast majority of the functions of a central bank and control much of the wizard economy (without the wizards realizing it).

It's also unclear if wizards actually accrue any interest on the gold in Gringotts or if it just... sits there... and devalues over time as more gold enters the market... guarded by dragons so they can't access it directly when they wish. (If another goblin war breaks out--guess who has all the money? Literally guarded by dragons?)

There seems to be a clear lack of a centralized economy, so we can rule that out, and socialism doesn't seem to be the name of the game in that we see no orphanages, no financial aid to those like Ron whose family can't afford a wand, no economic systems of any kind. You're kind of on your own as a wizard.

Beyond that though, it's hard to say.

How is Malfoy so Rich?

His ancestors probably beat up other wizard families/muggles ages ago, stole all their money, and have been sitting on it passing it down to a single child for generations. They then marry into other wealth to keep the fortune alive.

The Potters, through Pottermore at least, made their fortune by Harry's grandfather making miracle hair gel. Some families seem to specialize in fields and publish the standardized textbooks used in Hogwarts. You can get rich with people paying for a good or service from you.

Do They Buy from Muggles?

All signs point to the house elves working in farming collectives. We even canonically have "elf wine". Gee. I wonder how that got made. Basic farming materials may be bought from Muggles but based on the food we hear about they're produced in wizard kitchens/factories. Wizards love magic in their food... perhaps to prove it's not muggle.

Do They Pay Taxes?

Actually unclear. One would think so, especially as the Ministry has employees who have to get paid somehow. However, I don't remember mention of taxation in the books. Could be I've totally forgotten.

I imagine it'd be to the ministry, though, which effectively is the state for wizarding britain as it doesn't seem divided up into regions or any other kind of government.

Which is More Corrupt?

What is this, the Corruption Olympics. I mean... I can't say I'd put any government necessarily as more corrupt than the USSR. There are contenders, certainly. But more?

"I have no memory of this place" - Me after leaving this in my inbox for months.

I believe this ask was referring to Monkey's Paw scenario where the Cullens got wishes from the venom god and it all went sideways.

I don't think the Volturi would go for it. After Didyme, I imagine Aro's wary of anything he can't get for himself/be careful what you wish for scenarios. Would it be nice if vampires didn't have to eat, sure, but no thank you monkey paw the Volturi have got this covered.

It's the magical answer of: JKR wanted color coded families. Or else that people in the wizarding world have an eerie tendency to marry people who look like they could be their sibling.

All the Malfoy's are blonde and look the same, even Narcissa and Lucius, it's amazing!

All the Weasleys look the same, even Moly and Arthur, it's amazing!

Harry marries a woman who has red hair just like his mother, it's amazing!

Draco marries a woman who, at least per descriptions of Daphne assuming Astoria looks similar, looks exactly like him/his mother. It's amazing!