Such as threatening their families. "Hm," he utters, mouth twitching slightly.
"Even the textbooks weren't so bad, if you strayed away from the chapters on the bloody Goblin wars," he sighs.
Severus chuckles. "I confess, it hadn't really crossed my mind either. After all, you will be operating in these early stages at the sort of disadvantage that, well... If you think diplomacy alone can close the gap between a newcomer to the district whose current ties are in the business and real estate world rather than the more strictly political, whose body language and verbal mannerisms derive from what is essentially a foreign culture, and those who are native to the area, know its opinions and problems by heart, and may already have a strong and loyal constituency, then I salute you but confess to having no idea how you feel it can be managed. I think they're coming at the problem backwards; I don't think they're entirely wrong."