Non-magic people
Non-magic people, commonly known as Muggles in Great Britain, No-Maj(e)s in the United States, among other names (see below), are humans who are born to two non-magical parents and are incapable of performing magic. Muggles are not to be confused with Squibs, who also lack magic but are born to at least one magical parent.
Most Muggles have been unaware that magic and the wizarding world exist since the establishment of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692, as wixes have organised their own society largely separate from the Muggle world. Exceptions include close relatives of wizards and witches and heads of government (such as the British Prime Minister).
, More exhaustive information about Wixkind can be found at the HP wiki and the HP Lexicon.Naming
Non-magic people are known by different denominations and nicknames across nations.
- In the British wizarding world, the term "Muggle" is widely used to refer to a non-magic person. Some may consider it derogatory, but it is in fact often used affectionately.
- "Mudblood" is an extremely offensive and derogatory term referring to Muggle-borns and Muggles.
- In the United States, they are known by the clipping No-maj, whose plural may be either No-majs or No-majes.
- Other English-language terms for non-magic people include Can't-Spells and Non-Wizards.
- In France, they are known as Non-Magiques, which is a simple translation of the term "non-magic".
The Muggle and wizarding worlds
Wizarding law
Since the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was enacted in 1692, wizards and witches have hidden the existence of magic from Muggles. Thus, in the modern age, most Muggles believe magic 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.
The Muggle Liaison Office is a division of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes presumably responsible for wizard-Muggle relations. Given the lack of Muggle awareness of the wizarding world, in accordance with the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy of 1692, it can be presumed that the Muggle Liaison Office fulfils its duties in a very one-sided manner. Those who work in Muggle Relations work with this office.
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 do not appear to be 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. It's generally believed that this occurs due to a squib having married into the family at some point in the past, thus introducing the potential for magic into the bloodline. This potential often surfaces many generations later.
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.
The Muggle 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 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 they are 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.
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. 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.
Magical creatures left the Muggle world too, as many of them were extinguished, probably because of over-hunting and ecosystem destruction. In addition to Muggles being a threat to magical creatures it was also vise versa, with magical creatures being a threat to Muggles as well. Giants for example were responsible for some of the First Wizarding War's worst atrocities against the Muggle community. Also Muggles believe that dragons are a mere myth, but have been known on occasion to glimpse these beasts. To prevent dragons from being seen by Muggles the beasts are kept on dragon reserves around the world, most of which are far from human habitation.
In the modern world, few Muggles believe in magic to actually know of its existence and are rather ambivalent with that knowledge. Some who are aware of the wizarding world are accepting of and even fascinated by it. Others, however, respond negatively.
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 views
Negative views
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.
The Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald originally intended to conquer the world and make Muggles subservient to wizards.
Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters had a far more extreme ideology. They tortured and 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. In 1997 during the height of the Second Wizarding War a statue was created that illustrated Muggles in their "rightful place", crushed by the might that is magic. This statue resided in the Ministry atrium and acted as a symbol of Lord Voldemort's new regime.
Pure-bloods who have such prejudices consider those sympathetic to muggles "blood traitors" for their belief in Muggle equality and attempts to protect them.
Muggle-baiting
Muggle-baiting is activity which uses magic to confuse or humiliate Muggles without the Muggles realising that magic was involved. When Willy Widdershins rigged up regurgitating toilets, he and others were referred to as “Anti-Muggle pranksters”.
Shrinking keys are an example of a mundane object enchanted by unscrupulous wizards for “Muggle-baiting.” The keys are sold to unsuspecting Muggles, who then can’t find them and, being unaware of magic, believe that they keep misplacing them. Similarly, a biting kettle is an enchanted object which looks like an ordinary teakettle until an unwary person attempts to use it, in which case it bites the user.
In more serious cases, such objects may cause serious harm to their victims. In 1995 two muggles had to be admitted to St Mungo's after losing fingers to biting doorknobs that they had purchased from Widdershins. Their bones were regrown and their memories were modified, after which they were presumably released.
Positive views
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, 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 lemons. Some elements of Muggle pop culture have also bled over into wizarding culture, such as rock and roll music which is performed by groups such as the Weird Sisters.
Studying Muggles
The Institute of Muggle Studies is a wizarding institute that studies and researches about Muggles. Recently, the Institute of Muggle Studies has made research about Muggle-born wizards' wizarding ancestry and Muggles' knowledge and perception of magic.
Published works
There have been various pieces of media that revolves around Muggle studies. For example there have been many different published works and there is an entire class of the same name at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that devolves into the subject.
Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles is a book written by Wilhelm Wigworthy and a guide to Muggle life. It is also A required textbook for third-year Muggle Studies. The book was published by Little Red Books in 1987 and among other things it explains what electricity is.
A Study into Muggle Suspicions about Magic is a Ministry of Magic report warning against the dangers of underestimating how much magic Muggles notice. Professor Phoebus Penrose headed a committee which produced this report about Muggle suspicions about magic. Among other magical examples, it notes that Muggles have noticed, and had suspicions about, mysterious flying objects, the Loch Ness monster, and crop circles left behind after the Contorting Cereals class of the Annual Wizard Gardening Competition. The report concludes that Muggles are more observant than wizards think.
Other works
- My Life as a Muggle by Daisy Hookum
- Cooking the Muggle Way by Professor Mordicus Egg
- [[hp:The Muggle Conspiracy]| The Muggle Conspiracy] ]] ] by [[Sinistra Lowe
- When Muggles Attack by Barrett Fay
- Moronic Muggles
- Muggles Who Notice by Blenheim Stalk
Hogwarts elective
Muggle Studies is a course in the history, culture, science, technology and psychology of non-magical people. The class attempts to help young witches and wizards understand the difference between the way Muggles think and the way wizards think. Students typically begin taking Muggle Studies in their third year. Muggle Studies is a prerequisite for jobs in Muggle relations.
