What do Muggles Know? (Was: Re: Christmas Gifts from Dursleys)

[KathyK]

No: HPFGUIDX 77293

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "ariadnemajic" <stevejjen at e...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Wanda Sherratt" 
> <wsherratt3338 at r...> wrote:
> > Maybe Hogwarts has a Post Office box somewhere in London, where 
> > Muggle mail can be sent and then picked up by a MoM employee and 
> > forwarded by owl.  There have to be some contact points between 
the 
> > WW and Muggle world; remember in Gringott's in CoS, Arthur 
Weasley 
> > is so interested when he sees Hermione's parents exchanging money 
> > there.  Someone through the bank has to be able to transfer that 
> > Muggle money back into the outside banking system, or it would 
just 
> > sit there uselessly.  And I suspect the Goblins are intent upon 
> > getting whatever interest they can, even if they have to do 
> business with a Muggle bank.

 
Ariadne:
> I've been wondering about the Muggle/WW interaction since POA, when 
> we find out that Fudge has consulted with the Muggle Prime Minister 
> about Sirius (when he escapes from Azkaban). Yet in GOF, the WW 
takes 
> SO many precautions for the Quidditch WC, and places constant 
memory 
> charms on all the Muggles.  Can we assume the Prime Minister has 
> extensive memory work done at some point as well? Of course, Sirius 
> was supposedly an escaped convict for approximately two years--
that's 
> a lot of "Obliviates!"  It's also hard to imagine how a Goblin goes 
> about getting money changed without suspicion. Oh, well, I'll just 
> keep imagining that somehow wizards and witches are clever enough 
to 
> make it all work.  Ariadne


I always thought the Prime Minister was one of those muggles who 
*needed* to know about the WW for such instances as the one above.  A 
dangerous murderer who kills both wizards and muggles on the loose is 
just as important to the muggle world as it is to the WW, the 
difference being that the muggles (even those in the know) don't 
truly know what, in this instance, Sirius Black is capable of.  
I don't think it's necessary to "Obliviate" the Prime Minister.  
Otherwise, every time something occurred in the WW that affects the 
muggle world, the Minister of Magic would have to once again convince 
the Prime Minister that there is a such thing as magic and a 
Wizarding World.  Besides, it's not like the muggle government is 
going to spread around the existence of magic.  People might think 
they're a bit insane, especially given there's probably no proof.  
And then I think, but what if the muggle government wants to take 
advantage of the WW?  What's to stop them from exploiting the magic?  
I answer myself that the magical Ministry probably has precautions 
about that sort of thing and rules against what the muggle government 
can know.  If they learn too much, perhaps a little "obliviate" once 
in a while goes a long way?
Plus, the WW isn't completely unknown to muggles, anyway.  I doubt 
very much that the Ministry erases the Grangers' memories every time 
Hermione heads off to school.  Of course, I'm surprised they remember 
they even have a daughter, with the small amount of time she spends 
with them each year.  
The QWC was just an instance where an unmanageable number of wizards 
and witches were gathering, likely to be loud both in volume and in 
behavior.  That could not go unnoticed by the muggles, hence the many 
memory charms there.  There was a greater likelihood for exposure by 
a greater number of people.
As far as money changing goes...hmm...well, yes, someone in the 
muggle banks has to know about the WW in order to exchange money in 
the first place.  But the Goblins don't actually have to be the ones 
to do it.  Remember that Bill Weasley works for Gringott's as a curse 
breaker.  He's not a goblin.  Perhaps Goblins employ other wizards to 
interact with the muggle banking institutions.

KathyK (always eager to jump in when she can)