Gallery ♦
This is something I posted on FAP and The HPN a few weeks back, I want to share it with all of you now! I hope you like it.
Almost half of the Ministry of Magic is dedicated to keeping the secret from Muggles. Underage magic detection only works for muggleborns. The Ministry keeps an eye on big muggle inventions – bathrooms, trains, cars, etc. were all taken from the Muggles and adapted for Wizarding use. The way I see it, there are two views towards Muggles. Arthur Weasley, with his 'look at what they made! Aren't they clever to come up with such things when they don't have magic!' Which always sounds like a human going 'Good boy! Did you see that new trick my dog learned?!' A pro Muggle book is called "The Philosophy of the Mundane: Why the Muggles Prefer Not to Know". That's one perception of Muggles, the pro Muggle perception. Muggles are below us but they're harmless! But then you get the Traditionalist Pureblood views of the Black's and the Malfoy's. I bet you they can tell you what their ancestor was doing in 1206, especially since the average wizard lifespan seems to be about 150-200 years. They will remember the burning times. After all, wizards went into hiding for their own protection, not the Muggles'. We're told that offering to help muggles was like offering to build your own funeral prye, and that both Nearly Headless Nick and the Fat Friar were killed during the Burning Times by Muggles. We're also told that the main target wasn't the adults, but the children, and that many of them were killed. No wonder they don't like Muggles! Add on the fact that that was in the 1400's – 1600's, and Muggles outnumber wizards by about 6,000 to 1 (depending whose you go with, I go with whitehound's members.madasafish.com/~cj_w..…). Then add in how much our technology and weapons have changed from then to today. The wizards' wouldn't stand a chance, and I think they know it. After all, nothing causes people to lash out at other like fear. Muggle hunting law? You bet they want that. It's like the pro Muggle wizards view them as harmless flies, while the people like the Malfoy's and the Black's view them as life-threatening bugs.
Something I added when I posted this at The HPN:
The word 'muggle' is derogitory in itself. The British word 'mug' means gullible, and JKR said "I was looking for a word that suggested both foolishness and loveability. The word 'mug' came to mind, for somebody gullible, and then I softened it. I think 'muggle' sounds quite cuddly. I didn't know that the word 'muggle' had been used as drug slang at that point... ah well."
And something I want add now:
Remember Arthur talking about Muggle-baiting - they found it funny to play jokes on Muggles. And look at the QWC, how they kept modifying the Muggles' memories with just a wave of the wand. This is a deeply flawed society, and when we judge the characters we have to remember this is what they grew up with.
