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[thebreakingwave]

Back home, I'm a police officer, and the other day I was reminded about something a good friend said and I liked the sound of it and it seemed right, but it didn't really seem possible or plausible.

[Harry wrinkles his nose, well aware that he's starting to stray off topic.]

What he'd said was that as an auror, my kind of officer, that listening to the Law, as a sort of fuzzy idea, was more important than following the laws. He said a whole lot more about it, but that was the general idea. What do you think? How does it work where you're from?

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[raisedontolkien]

[Charlie is not going to freak out. She isn't. She is going to stay perfectly calm, not squeal or scream or shriek or do any of the other things she did when she met the roughly four hundred and seventy-two folks from the Tolkienverse wandering about. No, this time she will be mature, act responsibly, and try not to acknowledge the fact that she's having a conversation with Harry freaking Potter.

She's also only going to say five words because she's pretty sure that's all she can manage before breaking every single promise she made to herself and falling apart like the rabid, obsessive fangirl she happens to be.]

It depends on the law.

[And that's it. Seriously, Harry, be grateful she's managed this much.]

[thebreakingwave]

From what I recall, it's best if the little-L law lines up with the big-L.

[Harry has seen the controlled non-freak out expression on a few faces and he's gotten used to just ploughing ever onwards in the conversation and hoping for the best.]

[raisedontolkien]

[And hey, what do you know? Confusing Charlie is apparently a quick way to snap her out of her fangirl haze.]

Okay, you lost me. The who lines up with the what now?

[thebreakingwave]

There's the laws on parchment, the little-l sort, and there's the big, sort of squashy idea of what the laws should be like, the big-L sort.

[mindtricks]

Follow the spirit of the law rather than its letter. [ it's said with a slight smile; this is a topic that anderson has thought long and hard on and where she disagrees with judges like dredd who see the black-letter law rather than its purpose as final. anderson just wants to make a difference for the better and if that means upholding the spirit but not the letter of the law? so be it. she'll dispense justice even if justice and the law are not the same thing. ]

[thebreakingwave]

That sounds about right.

[Harry's smile is tinged with relief. He didn't have the words to really express the idea as well as he would've liked and he's glad the point got through.]

The question then is, what's the spirit of the law and how can you tell when the letters are off?

[mindtricks]

I think the law should always aim to make a difference in peoples' lives, change them for the better.

[thebreakingwave]

Can you give me an example of a law that would change someone's life?

[faithfulservant]

I was one to have followed the law faithfully and believe myself to be the law. When the law is forcing you to change yourself in a way you don't feel is right--that's when you should use it as a guideline and listen to your own instincts. I only wish I had learned this earlier.

[thebreakingwave]

Thank you and, for what it's worth, I'm sorry.

[Harry had been involved in the rounding up of the last remaining Death Eaters, and that wasn't an overly troubling exercise in morality; however, sorting out the mess of the Ministry and who had been complicit in some of their more outrageous crimes, that was a problem.]

[faithfulservant]

What's happened, happened. There is nothing to apologize for.

What is the law like in your world?

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[unionjackass]

[Oh hello, what have we here?

England looks thoughtful and chooses his words carefully before speaking in a serious but more or less conversational tone.]

We're from the --relatively--same place lad, but as for what I think... One ought to think for oneself and live as well as one can. Unfortunately there's a bloody lot of different standards in every culture on Earth and in other worlds. 'Living well' could even mean something entirely different to you and your co-workers.

I've been 'round the mortal sphere a very long time and I've followed my duties to the best of my abilities. You though, you've got the freedom to think and feel and then act on those thoughts and feelings, all of your own devices. If a law is unjust, there are ways you can fight that injustice. Some of those ways might not be very good ones, and others better...

What I mean to say is, I think your friend may be right. There's consequences to actions though, and as an officer of the law I'm sure you understand part of that job is to accept those consequences. Sometimes, you have to break the law of the land to do what you believe is well and truly right, and other times it is the right thing, however unpleasant, to just bloody accept downright rotten circumstances.

In a position of authority, I personally believe it's one's responsibility to uphold the just laws, and the unjust ones, but in such a way that's mindful of making a decent difference in the world around you.

Chatty fellow, aren't I?

[thebreakingwave]

I don't mind the chattiness.

[Harry listens to the whole speech, making note of the things he agrees with, dislikes, and that he thinks he ought to get clarification on.]

Can you give me an example of how to uphold an unjust law that makes a difference?

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[atent_dead]

Sounds like the Vimes bloke in Ankh-Morpork. Mostly we just worry on what's Right in Lancre.

[thebreakingwave]

I'm sorry, but I don't know him or those places. Although, ideally, both the laws and what's Right would be the same, but ...

[But he's slowly beginning to suspect that might not always be the case back home and he's not sure how to deal with it.]

[atent_dead]

Ought to be. But if there's one thing folk are good at, it's muddlin' things.

[but_civilization]

I think we must consider laws and re-evaluate them as things progress and time goes on. What was fair yesterday may not be fair tomorrow based on other circumstances or changes that have come to pass. What we once thought to be good may need to be changed and require that we have the courage to speak up for it and take those steps. The law is not something we should see set in stone, but rather changed, with everyone's input as is needed.

[thebreakingwave]

That makes a good deal of sense and, I must admit, I'd been hoping you'd weigh in here.

[Harry's smile is wan, but sincere.]

I've also been thinking about laws that are old, traditional really, and are still popular, but that are probably wrong.

[but_civilization]

[And Combeferre's smile in return is also genuine, though a little tired, given what he's been going over in his mind since the memory hit.]

Have you? I...that's rather flattering to hear, actually.

Ah that sort of law. Yes, I can think of a few of those myself. There are some that made sense, perhaps, when things were different, and others that were likely always wrong. What causes them to become popular and stay that way? Fear, do you suppose?

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[51stcentury]

I've always been more of a fan of using them as a general guideline than an absolute rule of thumb.

[To put it mildly.]

[thebreakingwave]

[Harry smiles and, in many ways, agrees with Jack.]

Which works for the most part, but I don't know if I ought to do that when I get back.

[He huffs and makes a face of frustration.]

I'm just not very good at getting out the words I want here.

[51stcentury]

[Jack shifts and makes himself comfortable, making it clear that he's settling in to listen.]

Try me. Why wouldn't it be something you should do back home?

[untamedantinous]

Perhaps not the law, but what is right and just, I think. Sometimes one must overlook the laws of a government in favor of the law of mankind.

[thebreakingwave]

Which seems to be the general consensus here.

[Harry frowns, a bit surprised by it.]

I really thought there'd be at least someone who'd stand-up for the law as a necessary thing.

[untamedantinous]

It is necessary, of course, but the laws must be put into place and acted upon justly.