"I see. And the nonmagicals know this?" she asked for clarity.
"Uh, no. That's one of the things I want to change. About two to three centuries ago the muggles, the nonmagicals, would perform grand witch hunts in the name of religion. The problem is that our long established method of using magic requires a crutch. A wand typically. The most skilled or talented of us can do without but those are few. Additionally we needed almost an entire decade of schooling to master our magic to an acceptable degree." I said and she figured it out.
"And until then they were vulnerable to the muggles." she said and I nodded.
"It was not often that an adult witch or wizard were killed but it wasn't exactly uncommon either once their wand was stripped from them. At that time the magical community just flat out decided to go into seclusion and hide from the muggles entirely to protect ourselves. This agreement was known as the statute of secrecy. The problem with it became obvious once the magical community became culturally isolated and muggleborn wizards entered into pureblood controlled areas. It killed off almost all progress save the brief few sparks of genius that shine through periodically." I paused to let it sink in before continuing.
"While the muggles relegated us to fairytales and most of the magical world stagnated the muggles didn't stagnate. They kept advancing until now they are capable of feats of power that only our mightiest of living wizards are capable of matching with preparation. And as the muggles technology advances ever faster we are reaching the critical point where our outdated culture is no longer able to fully contain exposure. In no more than a decade by my reckoning if nothing changes we will start getting irrevocably exposed to the muggles. The statute is outdated and will either break from within by someone standing up or from without as the muggles find us." I finished.
"Hmm, it has been a long time since I have built anything rather than destroyed it so this should prove entertaining if nothing else. Now then I believe we should rest, tomorrow will be a full day I assume." she said before closing the door leaving me in the hallway.
I just shrugged it off and headed for the room next door to turn in for the night.
In the morning bright and early I retrieved her and showed her Diagon alley proper starting from the magical entrance behind Tom's pub.
"Remember this pattern for the future." I say tapping the five bricks in order and watching her face gain a look of interest as the bricks began to shift into themselves to reveal the way in. "Welcome to diagon alley, heart of the british wizarding community." I said grandly.
"The magic here is quite dense." she said as she was clearly feeling the difference almost immediately.
"Aye, that's what happens when there's either a lot of enchantments in one place or a lot of wizards. In this case it's both. Come along, I'll be stopping by Gringotts, the wizarding bank run by goblins. Try not to stare at the goblins or give them disgusted looks. The more polite and straightforward we are the smoother this will go. Goblins are petty creatures and can make things difficult for us if they feel slighted in any way." I explained seriously as I led the way to the bank.
"What's a..... oh." she started before seeing the subject of her question and having a very predictable reaction.
As far as first impressions went goblins were ugly evil looking things with the thin needlelike teeth and bad attitudes to go with it. For someone like Salem they were definitely something new but not very intimidating. She was the literal queen of her worlds biggest monsters for quite some time after all. Beyond the initial surprise at seeing one for the first time she easily restored her calm and noble demeanor. Since she didn't have any of this worlds clothes she was wearing one of her own outfits that stood out like a sore thumb so she was drawing a crowd of eyes.-
Add on her bearing and appearance and calling her a distraction was an understatement. Even the goblins at the entrance in armor with weapons stood a little straighter as she walked by. We walked into the nearest line ignoring this however. Once it was our turn I spoke calmly and firmly to the goblin on the podium.
"I need to speak to my accounts primary accountant, Ragkog." I said.
"Account holders name?" the goblin asked firmly.
"Alexander Drake." I replied.
"Very well. I moment please." the goblin said before ringing a bell.
A few moments later Ragkog came walking towards us and after a brief pause on spotting Salem with me smiled and motioned for me to follow him. He led the way into his office that I noticed was just a bit nicer than the last time I was there.
"Doing well for yourself I see." i said spotting the tasteful displays of wealth.
"All thanks to you. Managing your account and business has been a highly lucrative matter. Especially after the simply colossal input of wealth received from the Flamel household. I dare say you are perhaps the single most wealthy person in the entire country and as you accountant naturally much prestige for that lands on me." he said with a proud look.