The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is complicated, even when J.K. Rowling isn't randomly spewing out factoids about it. So much so that if one watches the movies enough times, a lot of questions start to pop up, which leads to weird conclusions we just tend to accept.
We do it out of love, or blind fandom, and that's okay. Still, there will come a time in all of our futures when we show a movie from the Wizarding World universe to loved ones, future children or even grandchildren, and a question we never pondered will get asked. Feel free to get ahead of it by looking at some of these curiosities I've had over the years, and how we never really drill down on some of these things in this franchise.
Hogwarts Is 'Well Protected', But Not Really
Hogwarts is touted as one of the most magically protected locations in the Harry Potter movies, but as those same movies show, that doesn't mean much. Dumbledore personally hired a handful of men directly affiliated with Voldemort, and for all the protective measures the school had in place, none of them ever really prevented students from grave injury or even death. Hell, even Ron and Harry were able to fly a car onto campus, and only the Whomping Willow tried to stop them. That's not to safe if you ask me.
People Take Potions To Trick Others Into Love Or Impersonate Other People, And That's Fine?
Identity theft and consent are taken pretty seriously in the Muggle world, but things are a bit different in the world of magic. One would imagine the problematic nature of enchanting someone to feel love for you would be morally frowned upon, and yet, it doesn't appear to have any legal ramifications in the magic world. It's problematic, and yet, not even Hermione had objections to impersonating their peers after knocking them out.
Owls Are An Insanely Inefficient Means Of Communication
Owls are the most common form of sending messages in the Wizarding World, but even when we consider that the books were originally set in the '90s, this is remarkably inefficient. Floo Networks (talking through a fire) are a far faster means of communication, as are enchanted mirrors. Owls can take days to deliver messages, they need to be cared for and they could be killed in transit! I just find it hard to believe such an inefficient system persevered while Muggles were adopting the internet and email.
Young Witches And Wizards Presumably End Conventional Learning At Age 11
Of all the things we see taught at Hogwarts, math and science don't seem to be one of them. Granted, a lot of science probably ceases to hold up given some of the crazy stuff one can do with magic, but one would still think math is something that would come in handy for some of these people as they go forward in life. Ending primary schooling at 11 seems far too young, even if you can use spells to make food.
There Aren't A Lot Of Job Options For Wizards
If a witch or wizard wasn't born into the Muggle world, and never completed traditional Muggle schooling past age 11, they don't have a lot of career options. There's a seemingly endless supply of jobs at the Ministry of Magic, or they can open up a shop where they sell magical goods or food. Neither seem like they have a lot of earning potential, so I guess the only way to be obscenely wealthy in this universe is to have both of your parents murdered.
Magic Cures A Lot Of Things, But Not All Things
Magic can reform bones, pull any object from any distance away to the user and even multiply food. Somehow, though, it can only fix Harry's glasses and not his eyesight. Mind you, Muggles have Lasik at this point, but the Wizarding World is still screwing around with bifocals and using "reparo" to fix them for the umpteenth time. Harry's eyes aren't the only things damaged in this universe that remain unfixed either, and one has to wonder why that is.
Portraits Can Retain The Full Personality Of Their Subjects
It's weird that the portraits and pictures of the Wizarding World can have a mind of their own, but even weirder they can take on the personality and knowledge of their subjects. This seems like a terrible thing for newspapers, whose enchanted selves could express the wrong thoughts to the wrong people and mess up the lives of the actual individual. It's just not worth the risk in my opinion, but hey, I'm not a magical person.
Wizards Are Shockingly Ignorant Of Muggle Life
Wizards are vastly outnumbered and forced to share their world with the Muggles, and yet, they have learned very little about Muggle culture in general. I'm not saying they have to, of course, but even taking a class on how to properly use a telephone would significantly improve their way of living. Not to mention that living amongst Muggles with a magical edge would almost assuredly put someone well ahead in life! Perhaps the fact that only pure blood families are truly shut out of the culture is why the ignorance persists, and why relying on anything Muggle related is considered less than ideal.
Dementors Had No Incentive To Hang Out At Azkaban
If Dementors feast on the happiness of individuals and extinguish their will to live, it just doesn't track that a majority of them would flock to a prison. If I'm a Dementor looking to get my fill on sucking happiness out of people, I'm heading to Disney World or Hogsmeade at the very least! It's no wonder they all left the prison midway through the series, though honestly, there was some poor planning on that decision too, considering that things were already going south in the magic world.
There are many other things that don't make sense about the world of Harry Potter, so feel free to list them down in the comments below. As always, be sure to stick with CinemaBlend to keep track of the latest and greatest news happening in television and movies.
