"I don't think they're really the same niche as owls."

"Sure, but at least to talk to people who have Patronuses—Patroni?—they're probably useful. Especially if they're tiny and not too obtrusive."

"Except it'll interrupt whatever they're doing and if they weren't listening there isn't a way to hear the message again without casting a separate spell..."

"Yeah, fair enough I guess. Maybe we could invent a wix internet, one that doesn't need dial up and is, like, super fast."

"Ooh!"

"We should probably invent magical computers first. I wonder why regular muggle tech breaks down around magic..."

"I think it's to do with electricity in particular. Other technology works fine."

"Hmm... That sounds like an interesting avenue of research. Maybe there's a fundamental particle for magic? A magical electron?" Pause. "Thaumion. That's totally gonna be its name."

"You're assuming there's only one."

"Magicon? I'm taking away your naming things license!"

"It's Latin!"

"It is not!"

"It is too! Magicae, that's how you say magic in Latin!"

"Magicon isn't! And it sounds dumb in English."

"Ffffiiiine, how would you name one, then?"

"Your other three names are good. And... hm, charm is already a kind of quark... hexon, maybe."

Beat. "Drat. How did I not think of that?"

"You were busy thinking of 'phlogiston', which is great."

He grins. "Well, that name already existed so it wasn't that hard."

"Yeah, but it ends in -on and it's got all the right meaning and it's just really good."

"Well thanks! But hexon is really awesome too and sounds all science-fictiony and you made it up, so kudos for you. Would jinxon and curson work, do you think? Curson sounds kinda science-fictiony too."

"Curson does sound science-fictiony. Jinxon is maybe too much consonant in a row but it's okay otherwise. Of course, it'd depend if there were actually special particles that mostly showed up for those kinds of spells."

"There's probably some particle that just kinda exists there, in the background, when a lot of magic is practiced in a place, though, otherwise electricity would only stop working when spells were actually cast."

"Maybe. That's one explanation, anyway."