Muggle things in Hogwarts

[nlpnt at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 9124

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Fefe " <fefe at f...> wrote:
> Hi all !
> 
> In GoF, Chapter 28, Hermione explained why Muggle things are 
useless 
> in Hogwarts:
> 
> "All those substitutes for magic Muggles use - electricity, 
> computers, and radar, and all those things - they all go haywire 
> around Hogwarts, there's too much magic in the air.  No, Rita's 
using 
> magic to eavesdrop, she must be."
> 
The first one was the Ford 
> Anglia, in CoS, and it DID go wrong near Hogwarts... I don't know 
how 
> much electronics are in an Anglia, but the ignition system is 
surely 
> electric (at least partially) and if it goes wrong, it should be 
> enough reason for a flying car to fall down :) 

  Like any pre-1980 car, an Anglia has NO electronics; even the 
electrical system is really all-mechanical.
 And if it won't work around Hogwarts, how come it can function in 
the Forbidden Forest? (And what does it do for fuel?) 

The other one was 
> Colin Creevey's camera, also in CoS:
> 
> "He was clutching what looked like an ordinary Muggle camera, and 
the 
> moment Harry looked at him, he went bright red."
> 
> (I think this means that it WAS a Muggle camera.)
> 
, but Colin could have 
> also used a fully mechanical camera... I think that fully 
mechanical 
> Muggle machines doesn't go wrong in Hogwarts, because i can't 
imagine 
> any reason for them to do so. When i found this, i was happy 
because 
> i just hate those automatic "soap-dish" cameras most people use 
> nowadays :) 

 I think Colin's camera is all-mechanical, and he might have already 
been used to working without a light meter; if he's a purist on a 
budget (unless British milkmen are paid much more than I think!), he 
might sooner accept well-used professional equipment, bought piece by 
piece, than an el-cheapo automatic model.  


> Btw Harry's watch was surely a magical one, but then, why did it go 
> wrong underwater ? Oh yes, it could also have been a fully 
mechanical 
> Muggle watch, although i can't imagine the Dursleys buying him such 
> an expensive thing :)
>
Harry might have had an all-mechanical one the Dursleys bought for 
Dudley, which got tossed into the second bedroom when Dudley wanted a 
watch he could play video games on.