When watching or reading a fantasy series, it’s natural to think about what it would be like to live in those worlds. This is especially true when reading Harry Potter. It’s easy to want to live in a world filled with magic and wonder. While things for Harry Potter aren’t always easy, being able to do magic would make many tasks simpler. Plus, being in a world inhabited by magical creatures, spells, and potions would be fascinating. However, there are many things about the Harry Potter universe that are much worse than our own.
We’ve collected a list of why we’d love to live in Harry’s world and also why we wouldn’t.
Wouldn't: They Carry Messages By Owl
While there is something whimsical about having a pet owl to carry your letters back and forth, this isn’t very practical at all. While the wizarding world does have some other methods of communicating that are faster, owls are their main form of correspondence.
This is definitely way worse than having email, telephone, and text messages. This is one big instance where wizarding magic isn’t near as good as muggle technology.
Would: Magic Comes In Handy In So Many Ways
One of the biggest reasons to want to live in the world of Harry Potter is because of what magic would help you do. We see in the series that magic can be used for basic tasks like cleaning and cooking. If you mastered these kinds of spells, doing regular chores and errands would be much simpler. You wouldn’t even have to get up from the couch if you wanted something as you could just say Accio and have it appear in your hand.
Wouldn't: They Don't Use Modern Muggle Technology
If you were a Muggle-born student who was then immersed in the world of magic, you might find you missed many things about the Muggle world. Things such as computers, smartphones, and video games would be absent.
Of course, as a Muggle-born you could likely get the best of both worlds, but Muggle technology is sadly looked down on. It also seems like witches and wizards don’t use other kinds of technology such as television and even household appliances.
Would: Traveling Would Be So Much Easier
One of the biggest advantages of living in the Potter universe would be getting around. Getting from place to place in our world can be a huge pain and take a lot of time. With options such as broomsticks, Floo powder, and apparating, getting from place to place would be a breeze. Apparating is especially useful as you can just pop in and out of different places as long as they are within a certain radius. No more buses, cars, or biking to get around.
Wouldn't: Dementors And Other Dark Creatures
There are a lot of things in Harry’s world that are quite terrifying. Of course, Voldemort and his followers are scary, but the Muggle world has evil people, too. But, looking outside of people, there are dark forces in the wizarding world that always exist. Dementors are probably one of the scariest dark creatures that exist. Knowing that dark magic and dark creatures are in the world would definitely be scary.
Would: Going To Hogwarts
When watching or reading the series for the first time, many people get the feeling that they would love to be at Hogwarts. The idea of going to school somewhere where you learn spells and feasts appear magically on plates is definitely fantastical.
Compared to many of the things that Muggles learn in school, the courses at Hogwarts are much more appealing, too.
Wouldn't: Hogwarts Doesn't Seem To Have A Lot Of Safety Checks In Place
While Hogwarts is an exciting place to go to a school that’s much more interesting than your average high school, there are also some things about it that are pretty messed up. First of all, the school is surrounded by a dark forest that is dangerous. Secondly, the way that professors are allowed to treat their students is pretty shocking at times. The entire school feels very old fashioned and not a safe place for students mentally or physically.
Would: Magic Can Be Used To Fix Serious Illnesses And Injuries
This point is kind of a mix because in some ways our modern medicine probably offers benefits that wizard medicine does not. However, for many things, magic would allow you to heal faster. It’s shown in the series that magic can mend bones overnight and quickly heal wounds. This would mean that average injuries and illnesses wouldn’t be as much of an issue. Of course, however, there are also many injuries and illness you’d have to worry about that don’t even exist for Muggles.
Wouldn't: You'd Have To Hide So Many Things From The Muggle World
One of the worst things about being a wizard or witch would be having to hide everything from the Muggles. While magic would be great to have, there are so many ways you’d have to hide or be separate in order to not let Muggles discover magic.
On the other hand, if you were a Muggle in Harry’s world, it would be ignorant that an entire world exists that you could never know about. The strict separation of Muggles and the magic community is somewhat depressing.
Would: Having Magical Creatures As Pets
If you’re an animal person, the world of Harry Potter would be amazing to inhabit. There are so many magical creatures to learn about and study. The best part of this is that many of these creatures make for great pets. From magic rats to extremely smart owls to pygmy puffs, there are a variety of creatures you could make your companion. While many magical creatures aren’t suitable to be a pet, the wildlife of the wizarding world is full of wonder and excitement.