"I did mean the original," he agrees. "Bloody stupid of a deity, exiling half his children for a touch of sibling rivalry." He shrugs. "Unless the Ministry gets its head out of its collective basement and relaxes its policy on purity of humanity in bloodlines as a qualification for education in education, no, I don't. When they do, they will be given the same chance as everyone else. Except they won't," he adds after a moment, looking as though this is a mixed blessing, "because I'm not working there anymore."
"Fortunately," he agrees acerbically. "He's been in the heads of most, Quin. Not in the same way, of course, or for longer than a few minutes at a time. A sufficient mastery of Occlumency makes secrets safe, but it doesn't keep him out." He nods. "To be honest, I thought most of it was nonsense at the time," he admits, "although I would never have said so. But he was leading the only faction that even admitted there was a problem with the current method of integrating muggleborn children into wizarding society and with the treatment of squibs and various sentient dark species. I was much concerned with those problems at the time, and, as I said, why fight the current when the shore is even less inviting?"
His eyebrows raise in amusement. "The Blacks, for the Dark Lord?" he inquires. "Oh, no. The Blacks, as a family, are much concerned with blood purity, class distinctions, and lineage, and while they were under the impression that their goals and the Dark Lord's were as one, some of them were inclined to give him more and less involved levels of support, even if he was a mudblood. Many of them, for that reason, disdained him as a social climber but were tolerant if their relations thought he offered their ideals enough practical support to be worth slumming with. Potter and Black were both wealthy purebloods, and behaved as such. It's nothing to do with what side they were on."
He raises an eyebrow. "Arthur, Malasintha, Bilius Arcturus, Charles Septimus, Percival Ignatious, Frederick Gideon, George Fabian, Ronald Bilius, and Ginevra Molly?" he asks pointedly.
"No, it's just... not a good word," he finishes lamely. "I think." Moving on quickly, "Pennyroyal has other properties. It eases chest congestion, headaches, dizziness, disorders of the digestive system, and, topically, is clearing for wounds other than contusions, such as burns, bruises, gout, and ulcers including the leprous. Strawberries are known as 'the barren fruit,' being essentially flavorful rosehips. Antler velvet has myriad properties, and when I tell you it will be prepared in a copper implement--well. Which is most likely to be evoked from it, prepared in copper in April: its anti-inflammatory, stress-relieving, bone and joint-reinforcing, wound healing, immunity strenthening, toxin supressing, or small-vessel circulating properties?"