Upon the Existence of Muggles

[terri_testing]

“Any woman can weep without tears, and most can heal with their hands.  It depends on the wound.” Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn

If there is anything certain about the Potterverse, it is that there is an absolute gulf between Us and Them.  There are Muggles and their opposites:  Witches and Wizards.

Comments

[vermouth1991]

Putting the “fun” in “dysfunctional,” right. Or at least, if not fun, a strong and immediate reward.

Great article, as usual, but if nothing else, anyone who could fittingly incorporate a Harley Quinn quote gets an immediate Bronze Medal in my eyes. :)

[spongebending]

This essay reminded me of something I saw on Pottermore, from Rowling's writing on ghosts:

"Witches and wizards are much more susceptible to what Muggles call paranormal activity, and will see (and hear) ghosts plainly where a Muggle might only feel that a haunted place is cold or 'creepy'. Muggles who insist that they see ghosts in perfect focus are either a) lying or b) wizards showing off - and in flagrant breach of the International Statute of Secrecy.

Even Rowling admits Muggles aren't immune to paranormal activity! We DO sense it, we just have a weaker sense than the more magically powerful WW.

[oryx_leucoryx]

I'm going to bet kids whose magic is of the persistent, non-dramatic kind are more likely to end up in Hufflepuff than in Gryffindor. For some families that might not be acceptable.

[jana_ch]

Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Scholarship is not flashy, either. Learning and studying and theorizing is as accessible to a squib or a muggle as it is to an Albus Dumbledore a Tom Riddle. It requires focus, persistance, and introspection, not bright lights and explosions.

[danajsparks]

Love, love, this essay. I was hoping that you'd respond to the pottermore stuff, since I knew you'd been giving these issues a lot of thought. So thanks!

---And… the old Pureblood families have had a millennium to LEARN this. The Hogwarts Quill and Book have been training them: if your kids don’t show up on the Registry at birth, ABUSE ‘em. That’ll force ‘em to prove themselves magic (if anything can)….I was under the impression that families aren't told anything about a child's status on the registry until it's the appropriate time for the child to receive hir Hogwarts letter. For instance, even though Neville's name was added when he was eight, his family didn't know for certain that he'd been accepted until he received his letter three years later

The Quill and Book and Pureblood Squibs....

[terri_testing]

If we accept Pottermore that the Book is always available to the current headmaster (c.f. them watching it to try to catch someone being added), then either it has to be under something like a Fidelius, or the policy has to have varied by headmaster. (Since the headmasters all know if they choose to

Re: The Quill and Book and Pureblood Squibs....

[danajsparks]

JKR did post something about the Prewett cousin on her old old website. I think you can take it or leave it as canon. Also, ugh, I can't stand the tone of this thing.....

MalfaldaI have spoken before now about the Weasley cousin who made it quite a long way into 'Goblet of Fire' before I cut her. I really liked her as a character and did not want to sacrifice her, but she just wasn't doing the job she was supposed to do so she had to go

Re: The Quill and Book and Pureblood Squibs....

[spongebending]

Mafalda was supposed to convey certain information about the Death Eaters to Harry, Ron and Hermione, because as a nosy, eavesdropping Slytherin who likes to impress, she does not keep her mouth shut when she overhears their sons and daughters talking.

Wait a second, wouldn't that make her a Muggleborn Slytherin? And a Weasley Slytherin too! I guess her Dad's a Squib technically, but she's still got two magicless parents and would've been raised Muggle (which is the main complaint against Muggleborns; "they don't know our ways").
I wonder how Mafalda would've done in Slytherin, considering her background, her peers are comfortable enough around her to talk to her at least. Maybe the Slyths aren't as awful as we've been led to believe by Harry's narration!

[danajsparks]

A few years ago, I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out wizarding genetics. The model I came up with is much simpler than what you're describing here. Nevertheless, after a lot big assumptions, rough estimates, and fuzzy math, I reached the conclusion that about .63% of the "Muggle" population were actually genetically squibs - meaning that, if they reproduced with the right person, they had the potential to produce a full-fledged witch or wizard. That would work out to around 400,000 people in the U.K. today.