Muggle

From Hpwiki

Muggle (plural Muggles) is the term used in the wizarding world for ordinary people without any magical power. The Muggle world has cars, telephones, video etc. but no magic. However, the two worlds are not as separated as you might think:

A Muggle couple may have a child with magical powers any time. This child will eventually be educated at Hogwarts like any other wizard or witch. These children are called Muggle-born, and right-wing wizards and witches with bad ideas about races and 'pure blood' despise them.
Conversely, even if both parents are witch and wizard, the child does not necessarily have magical power. If they do not, they are called Squibs and pitied by everybody in the wizarding world. However, Squibs are much rarer than Muggle-born wizards.

This absence of magical power may be total, as is the case with Filch, the caretaker at Hogwarts.

Over the years the Wizarding world has taken measures to ensure they are not accidentally discovered by Muggles. The most important of these is the International Statute of Secrecy. The most common way to dealing with breached of the statute is the use of Memory Charms, although on many occasions his is not necessary as Muggles tend to dismiss report of magical events as 'crazy' or 'drunken' talk. For a more indepth study of this phenomenon see The Philosophy of the Mundane: Why the Muggles Prefer Not to Know by Mordicus Egg.

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