Just about every Harry Potter fan has wished to receive a Hogwarts School letter at some point because the chance of being a magical person sounds too good to pass up. Still, while wizards sound all-powerful compared to Muggles, a deeper look might just reveal that a non-magical person could still trump their magical rivals.
In the case of a theoretical war or conflict between wizards and Muggles, both sides have distinct advantages that can enable them to win. It includes the level of skill, knowledge, and attitude that both factions carry and it’s interesting to see the options they have to make use of against each other.
Wizards
Faster Travel
Wizards have no trouble accessing different locations and can get the drop on unsuspecting Muggles easily. This was seen in the sixth Harry Potter film’s opening scene, where Death Eaters descended upon a bridge and destroyed it, then escaped within a matter of moments.
With other items like Portkeys, broomsticks, the Floo network, and the fact that adult wizards can apparate into different locations within seconds, wizards most definitely have the travel advantage over Muggles should the two come into conflict.
Can Conjure Up Resources For Themselves
Fans have long questioned wizarding laws in the Harry Potter series since there are many ambiguities over this matter. However, the official explanation is that Gamp’s Law states that, aside from a few exceptions, wizards can conjure resources for themselves in addition to multiplying the quantity they already have.
It has been seen in practice, as food has been doubled and sometimes tripled in quantity, which has enabled wizards to be free of starvation. Wizards can also extend the spaces they have to live in, meaning they can guarantee to have places to be secured in and avoid homelessness.
Mind Control Is An Option
There have been times where the Harry Potter heroes have been dark as villains, such as when they have used the Unforgivable Curses. In a potential war with Muggles, wizards would have a huge advantage with the mind control that comes with the Imperius Curse.
Muggles wouldn’t be able to tell of their allies are under the control of wizards and would also be unaware of how to snap the people under the Imperius Curse back to reality. Wizards could potentially finish off Muggles from within by placing important people in authority under mind control.
Variety Of Magical Creatures At Their Disposal
While wizards are hopelessly outgunned when it comes to weaponry, they do have magical creatures that have destructive potential. Magical people have been shown possessing beasts like dragons, sphinxes, elves, and many more that they can sic onto Muggles.
Magical beasts such as Hippogriffs and Thestrals offer additional flying alternatives along with the natural threat they pose should they want to attack. Wizards are left with many options with the creatures at their disposal and can make for a deadly combination with the magical powers they possess themselves.
Ability To Alter The Nature Of Things
Transfiguration is essentially the practice of defying the laws of physics, as wizards change the very nature of an object or a person into something else. Powerful characters like Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore have turned inanimate objects into weapons or beings in their control, which can provide them with small armies.
Moreover, wizards could easily turn Muggles into animals and deny them from turning back into their true forms. They can also turn Muggles’ resources into other things entirely, which will deny the non-magical folk the means to sustain themselves.
Muggles
Strengths In Numbers
Even the most powerful Muggle-born witches and wizards are the exceptions in their families, while pure-blood magical families are rare. It places the ratio of wizards and Muggles heavily in the latter’s favor, and Muggles can overwhelm their enemies purely in numbers.
According to the books, it’s exactly what happened in the past, as Muggles frequently captured witches and wizards in Medieval times and burned them at stake. Should a conflict brew in modern times, Muggles will have an extremely huge advantage that will give them an edge.
Much Faster Communication Channels
The fast travel aspect is a big point in wizards’ favor, but their communication channels are a joke compared to Muggles. Wizards generally rely on birds to send their messages, meaning a normal correspondence will take days while Muggles can have their communication instantaneously and extensively without issues.
Muggles also have the internet, text messaging, and the television to relay their news and information, all of which are things that wizards have no idea how to access. Should Muggles want to plan against wizards, they could easily communicate their strategies and have a huge headstart over their enemies.
Knowledge & Tactics
It’s pretty clear that wizards have an isolationist mentality and have difficulties co-existing amongst themselves even if they are from the same country. The Ministry of Magic had no idea how to fight off Voldemort’s threat despite being the magical government, whereas Muggles don’t have anywhere near such issues.
Muggles have intelligence agencies that specifically look into matters of importance in case of conflict and will use whatever knowledge they have of wizards against them. Since prime ministers and presidents know about wizards, they can relay this information to their delegates. Things like invisibility cloaks will be rendered useless through thermal cameras, while Muggles can target wizarding settlements through systematic attacks that should decisively win them the conflict.
Highly Advanced Technology For Spying Purposes
Spying on wizards should be an easy venture for Muggles because magical people are in the dark about things like cameras and bugs. Muggles could use drones to discreetly spy over entire wizarding settlements while tapping into their conversations could be done by spies that don wizarding robes.
Wizards are easily distinguishable since they don’t wear standard clothing like Muggles and Harry notes how wizarding peoples’ attire basically comprises long black cloaks. Infiltrating Muggles only need to blend in enough to plant their bugs on wizarding settlements, which shouldn’t be difficult.
Weaponry That Wizards Are Clueless Against
Although wizards can do magic without wands, the majority of them are rendered useless when they don’t have them. Muggles will catch on to this quick and look to destroy wizards’ main mode of offense. Meanwhile, their own weapons have far too much variety of magical people to understand.
Harry noted how wizards referred to a gun as a “Muggle wand” and pure-bloods like Ron can’t comprehend them. With other weapons like jets, tanks, destructive artillery, among others, Muggles have extreme levels of firepowers that means they don’t even have to physically face wizards to harm them.