Muggle
- —Excerpt from A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot
A Muggle is a person who is born into a non-magical family and is incapable of performing magic. Most Muggles are not aware that magic exists at all and that those with it have organised their own society largely separate from the Muggle world. The few Muggles that do know of the existence of the wizarding world are usually parents, or close relatives, of witches and wizards. Muggles are not to be confused with Squibs, who also lack magic but are born into magical families and are aware of the wizarding world.
The term "Muggle" is widely used in the wizarding world, and generally is not intended to be offensive; in fact, it is often used affectionately. Some of the more prejudiced members of the community, however, use the word in the same context as the epithet "Mudblood," though the term is generally associated with Muggle-borns. These wizards or witches believe that Muggle-borns have "stolen" magic and thus are actually Muggles, rather than legitimate wizards or witches.
- Page adapted from Muggle
at the Harry Potter Lexicon.
The Muggle and Wizarding World
Wizarding law
- —Clause 73 of International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy
Since the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was enacted in 1692, wizards and witches have hidden the existence of magic from Muggles. Thus, most Muggles are either afraid of magic or believe it to be nothing but a childish fantasy. Wizards and witches hide their world with Muggle-Repelling Charms, and if a Muggle witnesses a magical event or sees a magical creature such as a dragon, their memories are erased. Confundus Charms are also occasionally employed to encourage Muggles to ignore any magic they witness. Violations of the Statute of Secrecy are prosecuted by the Improper Use of Magic Office, and the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office tries to keep bewitched items away from Muggles.
Wizards and witches thus organised their own society, known as the wizarding world, distinct from that of Muggles. There are some exclusively magical settlements, such as Hogsmeade, but also magical communities hidden within largely Muggle ones, such as in Ottery St. Catchpole and even in London. Magical people also have a separate currency system and government. The Ministry of Magic maintains relations with the Muggle Prime Minister, but they are not subordinate to the Muggle government.
Overlapping of worlds
However, the Muggle and magical worlds are tied together in some ways. For instance, Muggles sometimes marry wizards or witches and thus become aware of the wizarding world. Muggles also occasionally produce a magical child. In Britain, these Muggle-born wizards and witches will often join the wizarding world when they are invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Their parents will thus be informed of the existence of the wizarding world, and may even enter it on occasion. Some Muggles are aware of the magical world but, through choice, choose to ignore it.
In addition, there are secret connections maintained between the two societies at the governmental level; for example, the Minister for Magic occasionally consults with the Prime Minister of Great Britain on issues affecting both societies, and it is clear that the Prime Minister is aware of the wizarding world. Each Prime Minister, on the day appointed to office, gets a visit from the current Minister for Magic. The visit encompasses telling the Prime Minister of the existence of magic and that they will only ever need to meet when there is something going on in the wizarding world that might affect the Muggle world.
Muggle attitude towards magic
Historically, Muggles tended to consider those who practised magic to be evil, leading to the burning of witches during the Middle Ages. In response, some wizards and witches managed to use Flame-Freezing Charms to render the fire harmless. Thus, most considered the Muggle efforts completely useless. However, such acts were part of the reason that wizards decided to go into hiding. Many wizards were killed by these incidents. Some innocent Muggles were being burned as witches, magical children born to Muggles were often persecuted when their magical abilities surfaced, and some Muggles tried to make magical people perform magic for their own ends.
In the modern world, few Muggles believe in magic. And it has been suggested by some wizards and witches that Muggles choose, on some level, not to believe in magic, since there are inevitably some occasions at which they are exposed to magic but seem to ignore it or attribute it to other causes.
Wizarding attitude towards Muggles
Many magical people, particularly pure-bloods, consider their own world superior to that of Muggles. Some consider Muggles little better than animals and hate them. For example, Araminta Meliflua once proposed that the Ministry of Magic make Muggle hunting legal.
Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald originally intended to conquer the world and make Muggles subservient to wizards. Lord Voldemort and his hp:Death Eaters killed Muggles for amusement during the First and Second Wizarding Wars. They often extend this hatred to Muggle-borns as well, considering them to be unworthy of magic and not "real" wizards or witches. During the Second Wizarding War, Muggle-borns were rounded up by the Ministry of Magic (on Voldemort's orders) and accused of stealing magic from wizards; a way of thoroughly humiliating them instead of killing them outright.
Others, however, have more favourable opinions. The Ministry also tries to protect Muggles from the Dark Arts and other potentially harmful magic things with its Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. Muggle Studies is also an optional subject at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that strives to educate magical children about the Muggle world and to foster understanding of it. One witch, hp:Carlotta Pinkstone, famously advocated for the repeal of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. She believed in the idea that Muggles should know about magic, and performed magic publicly on several occasions.
Some Muggle pastimes have also found favour with those in the wizarding world. Famously, Albus Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog Card proclaims his liking of the Muggle sport of ten-pin bowling, and he also developed a fondness for a Muggle sweet called sherbet lemon. Some elements of Muggle pop culture have also bled over into wizarding culture, such as rock and roll music. The concept of "tabloid journalism" is also alive in the wizarding world.
Such wizards and witches are considered "blood traitors" by prejudiced pure-bloods families for their belief in Muggle equality and attempts to protect them. Brutus Malfoy once claimed that it was a sign of weak magic to enjoy the company of Muggles.
Characteristics
Although Muggle have no magical abilities, they make it up for their technology. But many sophisticated muggle technology such as electricity naturally doesn't work well inside the Wizarding World, unless it is magically powered. Muggle's never understand magic, and wizards never understand technology. Even though the Muggles lack magic, they still possessed a threat to the wizarding world. Their technologies like firearms and nuclear weapons proved to be just as dangerous. Muggles flourished in territories way larger than the Magical World. As such the Minister of Magic and the Prime Minister keeps a good relationship for the safety of both worlds.
