[HPforGrownups] Dursleys and Memory Charms

[manawydan]

No: HPFGUIDX 88925

Christy wrote:
>It would seem that this applies to any person who is brought into the
>wizard world, so to speak. Hermione's parents must know where their
>daughter is... they've been to Diagon Alley, in fact. And there are
>several parents of students who are either muggle-born or half and
>half. I can't imagine that the MoM goes around and modifies the
>memories of all those people. I find it more likely that perhaps
>people who are against the idea (can you see a family like the
>Dursley's getting a letter from Hogwarts if they didn't have any
>previous connections to it? They'd probably laugh it out of the house)
>or really don't need to know (like extended family: aunts, uncles,
>etc.). Remember Petunia knows all about the WW, because of Lily.

The one overarching thing which determines the way the WW behaves towards
Muggles, is that the _Muggles_ _mustn't_ _find_ _out_.

Now there are two types of scenario in which a Muggle _might_ find out about
the WW. The first one is where there's an isolated or a one-off occurrence
(Peter's confrontation with Sirius, or the World Cup, for example). In those
circumstances, all that's got to be done is to round up any Muggle witnesses
and wipe their memories of the specific event - the spell is put on the
Muggle and that's that. All memory of those few minutes is gone and all the
victim gets is a headache if they try to remember.

But there's another scenario in which a Muggle has a _constant_ reminder of
the WW. A relative at Hogwarts would be an example, or possibly a wizard
family as neighbours. Canon tells us that Hogwarts itself is magically
protected to look like something different if a Muggle chances by, and it's
fair to assume that that sort of "don't notice me" spell is also built into
other WW buildings - the Leaky Cauldron, St Mungo's, and the rest all look
like somewhere that your eyes just slide across.

I wonder if there's something similar for _people_. A member of the WW (like
a Hogwarts student, but possibly also the MoM officials who are in touch
with the Muggle PM) also has a spell put on them by the Ministry so that the
Muggles around them don't notice the fact that there's anything remarkable
going on. A very easy way to hide someone in plain sight.

Cheers

Ffred

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