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The fictional universe of the Harry Potter series of novels contains two distinct societies: the "wizarding world" and the "Muggle world". [1] The term "Muggle world" refers to a society inhabited by non-magical people ("Muggles"), while the term "wizarding world" refers to a society of wizards that live parallel to Muggles. [2]
- Overview
- Origins
- Performing magic
- Heredity
- Physiology
- Sub-types
- Society
- Behind the scenes
- Appearances
"Wizards represent all that the true 'Muggle' most fears: They are plainly outcasts and comfortable with being so. Nothing is more unnerving to the truly conventional than the unashamed misfit!"
— Overview of wizardkind
Wizardkind were humans that were born with the ability to perform magic. An individual male human with magical ability was known as a wizard (plural: wizards), and an individual female human with magical ability was known as a witch (plural: witches), though "wizard" was sometimes used as a gender-neutral singular noun like "man" is to refer to humans. There were three statues of wizardkind: pure-blood, half-blood and Muggle-borns, and they were relative to half-breeds, Squibs, and Muggles.
It was said that most of the greatest wizards did not have an ounce of logic, suggesting their complete reliance of powerful magic led them to be able neglect other aspects of their mind.
The origins of wizardkind is unknown. Whether, in ancient times, some humans randomly discovered they had magic, some extraterrestrial beings or objects came with magic, or there was some sort of ritual or potion or pact, their origins remained a mystery.
However, if it was the first, then some Muggle-borns may not have been the descendants of Squibs (as was most often theorised) but entirely new wizards, like the very first members of wizardkind.
In childhood, wizards and witches may have exhibited random bursts of magic, called accidental magic, which were honed and controlled as they progress to maturity.
To perform controlled magic, almost all wizards/witches needed to use a wand, although the advanced skill of wandless magic may have been mastered in later life. A few highly advanced wizards could do controlled magical feats without a wand, such as Albus Dumbledore, who demonstrated the ability at the close of Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and Lord Voldemort, who once demonstrated this ability during the Battle of the Seven Potters in 1997.
"Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn't married Muggles we'd've died out."
— Ron Weasley discussing blood purity
Magical ability was an inherited trait passed genetically from one's ancestry. Witches and wizards were classified by blood status according to their relation to these ancestors, which were usually their parents.
Pure-bloods were born of two wizarding parents and at the very least, four wizarding grandparents. Pure-blood supremacists believed that a good wizarding family tree should have no Muggle ancestors; however, every family tree had at least one Muggle ancestor by the 1990s.
Half-bloods were mainly born of one wizard and one Muggle or Muggle-born parent.
Muggle-born wizards and witches were distantly descended from a Squib who had married into a Muggle family. Magical genes resurfaced many years later in a Muggle-born descendant when that branch of the wizarding family had usually lost all traces of its wizarding legacy.
"Barry Wee Willie Winkle celebrates his 755th birthday in style tonight by throwing a huge party for all the wizards and witches he has ever known. 30 million are expected to attend tonight."
— The Daily Prophet, 14 August, 1991
The physiology of wizards was subtly different from that of non-wizards. As such, wizards would react differently to the effects of contact with a magical creature, such as being attacked by a Murtlap. Wizards also by nature could not be fooled by certain types of magic or magical barriers. It was, for example, possible to hide certain magic from Muggles via Muggle-Repelling Charms, which naturally would have no effect on wizards.
Wizards had the power to cure 'mundane' illnesses and injuries, and contact with non-magical creatures that Muggles could not. However, they could struggle to repair any damage caused by magical means such as the Memory Charm and Unforgivable Curses.
Inborn attributes
These often hereditary traits marked subdivisions within wizardkind.
"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort."
— Draco Malfoy to Harry Potter in their first year at Hogwarts
As decreed by the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, wizards maintained a society entirely separate from Muggle society, with their own culture and traditions. Wizards populated areas all over the globe. At the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, over 100,000 wizards were in attendance. At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there were several hundred students in residence at any given time. About 30 million wizards attended Barry Winkle's 755th birthday party in 1991.
It is not clear how many witches and wizards were in the entire world, but some hints are given. It was stated that there were ten times more Muggles than wizards in the world. If the global Muggle population was about five billion in the 1990s, it would mean that the wizard population was 500 million. However, it is also said that the British wizard population was about 3,000, one third being Hogwarts students. This would indicate a very low birth rate (although wizarding families are big, they live more than their Muggle counterparts) and mean that other countries were much more populous than Britain or that there was somewhere in the world where a very large concentration of wizards occurred (one much larger than Britain's). In all likelihood, however, the former is a dramatic overestimate, the latter something of an underestimate.
Wizards might live together in communities such as Godric's Hollow or Hogsmeade. Other wizards lived in solitary locations such as Spinner's End or 12 Grimmauld Place. Most wizards maintained little if no contact with Muggle society and found Muggles strange and unpleasant. They were somewhat ignorant to the Muggle world but in a different manner than Muggles as of the Wizarding World.
While Muggles were completely unaware of wizards, wizards appeared to be ignorant of certain aspects of the Muggle world, such as electricity and other modern technologies that became redundant and, at times, nonsensical when one was able to use magic. While certain aspects of Muggle society were evident in the wizarding one, wizards seemed to be a number of decades if not centuries behind Muggles in other areas. In addition, wizards were sometimes just as progressive, if not more, on certain issues than their Muggle counterparts, such as women's rights.
•Wizards are mentioned to be male members of wizardkind, while witches are mentioned to be female members (although the word "wizard" can be used to generalise). This is technically incorrect, as the male version of a witch is called a warlock and the female version of a wizard is called a wizardess.
•Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
•Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
•Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
••Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
•Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
••Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
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The Harry Potter universe, created by author J. K. Rowling, is a fictional reality that resembles our own but includes the existence of magic, which is hidden from most Muggles, along with some minor geographical and historical variations. The Harry Potter universe was originally showcased in the form of the Harry Potter books, but several companion books, as well as the Harry Potter films and ...
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Jul 17, 2024 · Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) 1992-1993. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) 1993-1994. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) 1994-1995. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) 1995-1996. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) 1996-1997. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) 1997-1998
