a lot of Names, interrupted with a lot of Traitors, Lily's Crush, McG/Hooch

[Ken Hutchinson]

No: HPFGUIDX 154805

> Carol responds:
> In which case, why was the Statute of Secrecy passed in 1692? 

This may, or may not be the answer Rowling would give if asked. It is 
the real reason the WW would pass such a Statute at about that time.
In 1687 Isaac Newton published his Principia. That along with the 
mathematical tool, calculus, that he and Leibnitz indpendently 
invented loosed the flood of Muggle science and technology. The 
WW world would have had to have had an unusually perceptive
witch or wizard to have realized the implications at such an early 
date but the Potterverse as written would be impossible without
such an individual.

All creatures live in the same universe, or Potterverse in this case.
A witch may have an innate ability to control and direct whatever
force is postulated to account for "magic" just as birds have an
innate ability to fly and fish an innate ability to breathe under 
water. Any natural force that exists is open to exploitation by any 
natural creature though. If the existance of the WW continued to 
be common knowledge much beyond 1700 this magical force 
would have been one of the things that Muggle scientists studied.

We know of no natural creatures that can modulate the force of
gravity, or the weak or strong nuclear forces, even though we 
know that all those forces exist. If we had such creatures to 
study we would be much farther along than we are in mastering
them just as we have managed to duplicate the feats of fish and 
fowl. The mere fact that human wizards can control this magic 
force indicates that other humans could use it as well by 
artificial means. If Muggle scientists knew that such humans 
existed magical technology would soon begin to appear in  
Muggle society and the WW would lose their monopoly on magic.

LV does not know this but if he were to succeed with his plan to rule 
the WW and wreak havoc on the Muggles he would not need Harry 
Potter to do him in. He would reveal the magical world to the rest of 
humankind. Muggle scientists would then take care of him in short 
order and Muggle society would take its revenge on the WW.

Ken