Work Text:
Still uneasy about Rin's recently revealed heritage as a Son of Satan, his exwire class watches Harry and Rin talk easily together about something Rin plans to do after class.
"Hey, Mr. Okumura? Do you have any idea why Potter isn't bothered by the whole half-demon, blue flames deal?"
Yukio looked over at Renzo and noticed the rest of the class waiting on his answer. He adjusted his glasses before replying. "You need to remember that Mr. Potter is a wizard. He holds no prejudice towards what wizards refer to as 'half-breeds.' I understand he's good friends with a half-giant and a werewolf. While not everyone is so open minded in Wizard Society, people of non-human ancestory are common enough. It's a matter of cultural differences."
Konekomaru's disbelief was painted large across his face as blurted out, "How in the name of Assiah can a 'cultural difference' dismiss the danger of Satan's flames? He doesn't find Okumura threatening even if he starts to flare up in the middle of an argument!"
Yukio couldn't stop the laugh that escaped, nor the amused smile that lingered as he responded. "No, he wouldn't. Not without my brother doing something aggressive. Simply having a few flames sparking around him is only a sign of poor emotional control, not an act of violence."
Not understanding the joke, Ryuji grew frustrated and when he spoke he caught Rin and Harry's attention. "Why wouldn't he see blue flames as dangerous and what's so funny about it?"
Rin's face became red with embarrasment and Harry smiled apologeticly at the half-demon. "Yukio! Don't you dare!"
Yukio grew visibly more amused. "Sorry Brother, but I'm a teacher and they asked." The surrounding students grew even more interested in what was to be said. Clearly there was something they had completely missed about the situation.
"The first thing you need to understand," Yukio began explaining, "is that for wizards, magical flames can come in all sorts of colours. Green and blue are the most common and hardly worth noting. Flames being blue does not automaticly announce additional danger to Mr. Potter. I understand that to a wizard's senses, fire, magical fire and hell fire all feel different, so he can tell the difference between a fire he'd sit beside reading a book and demonic power in use, but the colour blue doesn't alarm him.
"As for flames flickering around my brother when he's angry enough, Mr. Potter's lack of fear has it's roots in wizarding child development. Magic schooling begins at eleven for two reasons. The children are old enough to be held responsible for what they do, and more importantly, their magic has finally stablized. Trying to cast spells too young gets unreliable results and can risk life long damage to the child's health.
"However, just because kids are not taught to draw on their magic before they are eleven years old, does not mean the magic isn't there. Wizarding children experience 'accidental' magic. Sometimes it's useful, summoning the out of reach cookie jar into their hands or causing them to bounce and avoid injury after falling from a tree. Other times it's more random, such as turning a bully's hair purple - which doesn't make the bully go away or treat them better - or things catch fire. Accidental magic is something wizarding parents talk about the same way non-magical parents tell stories of how fast their children can crawl or how they keep escaping the crib. It something children grow out of as their magic stablizes. In the case of the unusually powerful, it can take a few years longer to stop. Something that is embarassing for the kids in question."
Yukio's humor is in no way dimmed as he wrapped up his explanation. "In short, when my brother flares up, Mr. Potter's first thought isn't 'Satan! Danger!', it's the wizarding equivalent to 'teenager who still wets his bed.'"
