Queen For A Day

I was seven years old and on a trip to San Francisco, California when, as often happens on such trips, my whole life changed. At the time, my brother and I were having a massive row; the kind of row that spans weeks and which rears its multitude of heads at inopportune moments, spitting venom all the while. We were constantly going back and forth, arguing about who was bothering whom more all summer but on that particular day, we were evenly matched. That morning, I'd accidentally spilled part of his breakfast as I moved it to the table. He retaliated by putting some scrambled egg on my skirt when Mum and Dad weren't looking. This escalated throughout the day in a series of tantrums and fights that our exasperated parents kept breaking up. Eventually, after what I would consider an uncalled for pinch on the arm, I ran. My footsteps pounded the linoleum floor of the museum we were supposed to be admiring. Thudding past fossilized dinosaur bones, pinned butterflies, and through a miniature rainforest, I ran from my brother and all of our problems. I embodied every parent's worst nightmare as I ran into the front lobby of the museum and headed for the front doors; determined to escape. Before I could run out and into the blazing hot summer afternoon, the doors before me opened and a man stepped through. He wore a soldier's uniform, complete with a saber that he was obliged to relinquish at the front desk, and looked down upon me with a broad smile, slightly unkempt hair, and the bushiest beard and mustache I had ever seen. Although he towered over me, I was only slightly intimidated because his motions were slow and almost imperial. When he asked me where I was going, I felt obliged to tell him the truth. "I'm running away," I said, almost defiantly. He chuckled a little and then quickly stopped when my brows furrowed. Kneeling down until our eyes were level, the man asked what my name was. In return for this information, he informed me that he was the Emperor of the United States. "I didn't know the United States had an Emperor. What is it that you do?" Despite my desperate need to vacate the premises, my curiosity got the better of me and I allowed myself to be led to a table near the front desk. We both sat before he answered me. The Emperor, as it turned out, was here on business. Although he would also spend a good deal of time enjoying the museum for all of its natural wonders, his primary reason for visiting was to discuss potential future exhibits as well as preservation standards and historical representation with the museum director. Equal representation, the Emperor told me, affects the living even as we apply it to the dead. We spoke for what felt like hours, the Emperor kindly and patiently answering my various questions. It seemed to me, in all my wisdom as a seven year-old, that he needed someone to talk with; someone who would understand the types of policies he intended to enact during his tenure as Emperor. Although it was a lifetime appointment, the Emperor acknowledged that he was no longer a young man and could not assume that the rigors of the position would not hasten the end of his reign. Just as we were beginning to discuss the importance of remaining open-minded and restoring rights to those who had lost them, I heard my name being shouted. My parents, having scoured the rest of the museum, had finally found us after having been informed by the front desk as to my whereabouts. Mum rushed forward and hugged me while Dad shook the Emperor's hand. My brother, looking sheepish and a little disgruntled, pretended not to be interested and studied something in his hand. Before the Emperor took his leave, he brought out a small paper crown from one of his many pockets. Unfolding it, he placed it solemnly on my head and declared me Queen of San Francisco for the day. Bowing slightly, he told me to rule wisely before nodding to my family and heading off in search of the museum director. Although my reign as Queen lasted only a day and I spent most of it eating sweets and, I'm only a little ashamed to admit, lording it over my brother, the things the Emperor and I talked about stuck with me into my adult life. After I was sent to Hogwarts, I took an interest in History of Magic and eventually had the resources to learn all sorts of languages including Gobbledegook. During the 1890 Goblin Rebellion, I was one of the few witches whom the then Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures chose to negotiate with the Goblins. Although we were ultimately unsuccessful in bringing fair terms to the table, we were able to broker a peace of sorts. I can only hope that these talks, and subsequently the legacy of the Emperor, paved the way for more equality for more magical folk in the future. The Emperor in this passage, found hidden between the pages of a third-hand History of Magic textbook, refers to the first and only Emperor of the United States: Emperor Norton I. Born in 1818, Emperor Norton I ascended to the throne in 1859 and passed away in 1880 having ruled for twenty-one years. Throughout his reign, the Emperor advocated for equal rights and wrote various proclamations in an attempt to bring visibility to the various injustices he saw in the world around him. The witch who is speculated to have written this piece was instrumental in the peace talks with Ranrok, the leader of the 1890 Goblin Rebellion, and is said to have been an inspiration to modern-day Magical Rights Activists (including some famous names like Hermione Granger). While her name is lost to history, her work lives on.