Chapter 5
"All right economic of the magical world. The main economic entity in Britain is Gringotts Wizarding Bank, which is run by goblins and has an intense magical security system and Hogwarts are the safest places in the entire world both magical and muggle no one can enter without premonition. There are hundreds of thousands of vaults, each with a unique key. Wizarding currency in the UK has three types of coins and no decimal system. The coins are Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts."
"How do they work?"
"Well one Sickles is 29 Knuts while a Galleon is 493 knuts, a knut is 0.03448... Sickles while to make a galleon you need 17 Sickles." at the confused looks he chuckled and said" Don't worry you will learn with time. And last but not least to make a knut is 0.002028... Galleons while a sickle 0.05882... Galleons. The goblins of Gringotts Wizarding Bank have devised a way to exchange wizarding currency for Muggle currency and vice versa, to allow wizards to use either, as needed. Something that is pretty common because Muggle-borns pay for Hogwarts school supplies in wizarding currency every year. The biggest employer in the Wizarding World is the Ministry of Magic. Just like in the Muggle world, wizards and witches can be rich or poor, employed or unemployed. Wealth is usually the result of inheritance rather than business acumen or magical ability. For example, my father's godfather was one of the richest men in England because he was not only the heir to his family's fortune but also the last male of his line despite him not working one day of his life."
What about other countries?" asked one of the children
"Well other countries use a different currency, for example, The Dragot is the wizarding currency used in the United States of America., The Bezant is the wizarding currency used in France, etc."
"What about technology?" asked the sister of one of the wizards
The wizard chuckled and said" Wizards have no need for objects such as dishwashers or vacuum cleaners, some members of the magical community are amused by Muggle television, and a few firebrand wizards even went so far, in the early eighties, as to start a British Wizarding Broadcasting Corporation, in the hope that they would be able to have their own television channel. The project foundered at an early stage, as the Ministry of Magic refused to countenance the broadcasting of wizarding material on a Muggle device, which would (it was felt) almost guarantee serious breaches of the International Statute of Secrecy. Some felt, and with justification, that this decision was inconsistent and unfair, as many radios have been legally modified by the wizarding community for their own use, which broadcast regular wizarding programs."
"Well that is slightly unfair." said one of the parents
James Sirius chuckled again and said "Yes I guess but The Ministry conceded that Muggles frequently catch snippets of advice on, for instance, how to prune a Venomous Tentacula, or how best to remove gnomes from a cabbage bed, but argued that the radio-listening Muggle population seems altogether more tolerant, gullible," The Muggles frowned at that" or less convinced of their own good sense, than Muggle TV viewers."
'Well, they were right about that.' thought everyone
"Reasons for this anomaly are examined at length in Professor Mordicus Egg's The Philosophy of the Mundane: Why the Muggles Prefer Not to Know which any of you can buy and read for themselves. But the main argument is that Muggles are much more likely to believe they have misheard something than that they are hallucinating.
"He's right." said one of the parents.
"But there is another reason for most wizards' avoidance of Muggle devices and that is cultural. The magical community prides itself on the fact that it does not need the many (admittedly ingenious) devices that Muggles have created to enable them to do what can be so easily done by magic. To fill one's house with tumble dryers and telephones would be seen as an admission of magical inadequacy."
'That makes sense.' Thought everyone it was like the national pride many people had.
"There is one major exception to the general magical aversion to Muggle technology, and that is the car (and, to a lesser extent, motorbikes, and trains). Actually, my dad owns a motorbike and my grandfather used to own a car." the younger one's eyes widened at that
"Prior to the introduction of the International Statute of Secrecy, wizards, and Muggles used the same kind of everyday transport: horse-drawn carts and sailing ships among them. The magical community was forced to abandon horse-drawn vehicles when they became glaringly outmoded. The wizard kind did like the speedy and comfortable automobiles that began filling the roads in the twentieth century" Vernon Dudley had a very odd look on his face he had always thought they were freaks and not having those things only enforced that then he shook his head he couldn't think that his granddaughter was one of them" and eventually even the Ministry of Magic bought a fleet of cars, modifying them with various useful charms and enjoying them very much indeed. Many wizards love cars with a child-like passion, and there have been cases of pure-bloods who claim never to touch a Muggle artifact, and yet are discovered to have a flying Rolls Royce in their garage." everyone chuckled at that" Water pipes, faucets, and toilets are also standard in the wizarding world."
"Well thank god for that." Said the girls
"What about medicine?" asked a mother they had learned about illness and the fact that they had doctors but they hadn't heard anything about medicine
"Well while the Muggle medicine first attempts to stimulate the body's own healing and defense systems, magic can simply impose well-being or create healing from a source other than the body's own system. Potions, spells, and magical bandages are administered by trained Healers which are the doctors in our world. For example, a potion called Pepper up Potion relieves the symptoms of colds and flu and while Cheering Charms provide a rudimentary mood stimulation. Where home remedies and ordinary wizard skills fail, St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries employs Healers who attend to everything from fixing conventional ailments to long-term care for victims of severe neurological damage."
"Wow," said, everyone
"What about architecture?" asked a father he was an architect and was curious about it
The wizard looked curious apparently no one had asked something like that before" Wizarding architecture in Great Britain is mostly gothic and medieval-styled. Formal estuary includes usually long, dark robes combined with 19th century-resembling clothes. An informal estuary is a bit more similar to modern shirts and trousers, and modern formal wear and business attire. Magically moving paints are also popular in the wizarding world. Also, Wizards at large in the Muggle community may reveal themselves to each other by wearing the colors of purple and green, often in combination. However, this is no more than an unwritten code, and there is no obligation to conform to it. Plenty of members of the magical community prefer to wear their favorite colors when out and about in the Muggle world or adopt black as a practical color, especially when traveling by night. In spite of these clear instructions, clothing misdemeanors have been one of the most common infractions of the International Statute of Secrecy since its inception. Younger generations have always tended to be better informed about Muggle culture in general because as children, they mingle freely with their Muggle counterparts but later when they enter magical careers, it becomes more difficult to keep in touch with normal Muggle dress. As I said before Older witches and wizards are often hopelessly out of touch with how quickly fashions in the Muggle world change mostly having purchased a pair of psychedelic loon pants in their youth, they are indignant to be hauled up in front of the Wizengamot fifty years later for arousing widespread offense at a Muggle funeral. The Ministry of Magic is not always so strict though."
Everyone was laughing at that and many were remembering times they had seen people wearing similar things now realizing they were witches and wizards that making more sense.
"By and large, wizard clothing has remained outside of fashion, although small alterations have been made to such garments as dress robes. Standard wizard clothing comprises plain robes, worn with or without the traditional pointed hat most of the younger generation not wearing them except for very formal events such formal occasions as christenings, weddings, and funerals. Women's dresses tend to belong. You may say that Wizards' clothing is frozen in time, harking back to the seventeenth century, when they went into hiding. Their nostalgic adherence to this old-fashioned form of dress may be seen as a clinging to old ways and old times and is a matter of cultural pride. Day to Day, however, even those who detest Muggles wear a version of Muggle clothing, which is undeniably practical compared with robes. Anti-Muggles will often attempt to demonstrate their superiority by adopting a deliberately flamboyant, out-of-date, or dandyish style in public."
Everyone snorted at that it sounded something that people would do especially those who disliked some other people.
