The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (a thread for Potterheads)

I still like the idea that to America and the rest of the world, Magical Britain's governing system seems outdated at best and borderline-dystopic at worst. Considering that we have no idea how the Minister or the governing bodies are chosen, and how the legal system seems incredibly rigged...

 

At this point I almost wish she'd just made up some horseshit about Europe having a specific magical aura because it makes more sense than her bizarre revisionist take on literally every other culture.

Also if we ever did want to do that collaboration, I've got a rough understanding of the Iroquois Nation with a little more focus on the Mohawk specifically, and I'm more than happy to dig into it for the sake of debunking stupid fucking magic handwaves.

 

I really want to do this collaboration.

 

^^ tru, honestly
how do u think they managed to get shit working to go to the moon so fast? ;0

 

!!!!!!!!!!! omgggg

literal tech wizards

 

The idea that Britain has the most broken and fucked up wizarding system in the world that everyone looks at and goes "wow that's shit" to pleases me. Greatly. But then I like to kick Britain at any opportunity.

THOSE ARE COOKIES AND JAPAN AGREES IT IS SOCCER. SO HAH.

Moving away from that...In terms of weird knowledge in regards to history, religion, culture and what not I could help with the wizarding world in Asian countries? Particularly southeast Asia or Japan. I can also help out with the Arab wizarding world some! That or needlessly flesh out the skeletal frame of Ireland. Like how did wizarding Ireland take Cromwell's shit. Did it even care? Where are my fili. JKR stop failing me.

 

...And now I need the AU where everything people think is aliens is actually American Tech Wizard/Witch sightings. Bonus points if North American technology-magic is so weird and different from magic on the other continents that even other magic-users think it's aliens.

 

omg yes

 

Auuugh.

I made a rantpost.

 

At this point I am cheerfully throwing my hands up and declaring this all noncanon for my purposes. At least she has the thin veneer (maybe) of claiming that this is just what BRITISH wizards think, but I don't buy it.

This is just a fundamental misunderstanding of how the things she herself wrote would actually work together.

 

tbqh i am beyond frustrated with jkr rn >B( agreed, declaring this noncanon, it has the rats noncanon seal of disapproval, [AGGRESSIVELY STAMPS]

 

Thinking about this thing more, Ireland was one of the least witchhunt happy countries during the time. The witchhunt happy areas of the country were also mostly Protestant areas from what I recall. That and I really, really, REALLY want to know what magical Ireland thinks of this whole being governed by the Ministry of Magic thing. ESPECIALLY the muggleborns. And what are magical Ireland's thoughts on the Irish diaspora? Also how in the fuck do things like Irish folklore and folk religion relate to magic in its reality? Like I REALLY want to know if Ireland has like a tradition of magic cursing via poetry given how big a fucking thing that is in myth and folklore. There were lots of various kinds of magical practice we know about through mentions but how do they manifest in Potterland? Like the kinds of divination like nelodecht, the cloud art. Poetry was also used for divination. Bird augury. There's also a class of magic that was called Crane Magic, which I can only guess is related to the so called crane position. Standing on one leg. So again that might relate to divination, but crane position is also utilized during blessings and warding off evil and what not.

Are there grumpy Irish students at Hogwarts who want a Crane Magic course. Or at least some representation of their craft.

We could also bring up the cleasa I guess. Cleasa being various sorts of martial art. Some of them are pretty fucking out there and magical in how they work.

 

somehow i can't imagine hermione not badgering seamus about various irish magic things, i firmly headcanon that different cultures have really different magic, bite me jkr

 

God that would be the most annoying thing to deal with. Fuck. Imagine her with the Patils. They aren't even on the same fucking continent magical culture wise in terms of origin. Hermione hounding down the French. Hermione hounding down and interviewing everyone.

reveal to me the wonders of your things dammit

 

I am considering assuming that MACUSA is politically in control of only the land that was colonized in the 1690s, by which I mean literally just the parts that had buildings on them. And that basically the rest of the country ignores them and they don't get much of a say in the rest of the governing (secession about a generation after the secrecy laws went most of the muggleborns went 'ok this is bullshit' or somesuch?) and because MACUSA had a close connection with the Ministry it's the one that the Ministry treats as the actual government of the country.

 

Yes. Yes it did. It was already racist before and now we just have more examples of them being racist.

 

That's basically one of the only ways to make it work, because Harry Potter nominally takes place in our world but it doesn't work because magic. If the wizards actually gave a damn they could have magically retaliated against slavery, the genocide of native peoples, segregation, japanese internment camps, and every other sundry horror that America perpetuated. So we have to have a magical society that just doesn't give a fuck, or where a majority just don't give a fuck, because otherwise it breaks this history she is appearently trying to keep to.

 

I keep trying to think about how to square 'majority muggle-born population' and 'incredibly strict segregation laws' and just. The only possible way I can see both of those happening is, well, if as soon as muggleborn children start showing magic then the Wizard Police show up, take them, mindwipe their family, and pass the kid off to some 'proper' wizarding family who had the same thing happen to them. And that is very obviously not what JKR meant but I can't see any other way to make it work.

If ANYONE has a better idea please tell me, I want to unruin my childhood.

 

Oh hey and it's funny you mention that, given the tendency of Christian Missionary adopters doing exactly that to Native and non-American children, ripping them from their families and often abusing the shit out of them while raising them to be 'proper' (with the underlying message that they will never be proper because a proper child is white and Christian) and patting themselves on the back as they did.

I take it back, I don't want to know how Rowling would deal with the Red Scare.

 

Well actually that is more or less what I was intending to imply... So yeah. I don't want magical America to be a dystopia but UGH.