Thanks for the review!

Don't worry, I don't intend to make it so horrific that I write myself into a corner I can't get out of.

As far as it being rumors, though...sorry, can't say that it's rumors. Government entities throughout history have actually gone this far, though perhaps not with the general focus on babies. As one reviewer pointed out, there is a historical correlation with this situation vis a vis the edict of King Herod's mandate to kill all baby boys below a certain age, in an attempt to kill the one who would grow up to overthrow him. (Hmm...sounds suspicously like Voldemort going after Harry as a baby, doesn't it?).

There are other instances in history that are confirmed in the Bible's accounting, too, such as the plague that took only the first born sons of the Egyptians, etc.

But, despite my referring to two specific places in the Bible, please don't confuse this with some sort of religious angle. It's just the most widely-read source I could think of off the top of my head. Most of the history books I've used in my research very few people outside of academic circles have ever heard of, and they're not really something you can just check out from the public library.

As far as it not ringing true...why not? When Fudge was in office, he did a great number of vastly idiotic things, like stationing Dementors outside of a boarding school. When Voldemort was in control of the Ministry, there were trials of muggleborns and half-bloods where they were accused of stealing the magic they were born with.

How is it any less believable that the so-called Light side might go to extremes in an attempt to purge the Darkness from their population?

There are instances in history where people were executed by the hundreds just for the mere accusation of practicing witchcraft, with absolutely no proof other than what the one who accused them said they did (flying on a broom at midnight, really?)

Not to mention when the Black Death was going on, plenty of people who were still in the first stages of the disease, not even close to death yet, were heaped onto the corpse wagons to be thrown into mass graves or funeral pyres along with those who had already succumbed. Monty Python was being a bit tongue-in-cheek with their sketch, but there really were plenty of people whose protestations of "I'm not dead!" went ignored because they showed signs of having the Plague.

I think it's perfectly logical that after years of terror under the threat of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, that usually-reasonable people might react in a type of mass-hysteria and overcorrect in an attempt to prevent something similar from happening in the future.

Besides which, there's an old adage that plainly states, "Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups".

So...while I don't agree with your opinion that the situation is unrealistic, I do promise that it's not going to derail the story. It's a plot twist with a reason, and trust me, it will all make sense in the end.