In our reading, “Why the Statute of Secrecy, Real Historical Oppression of Witches and Wizards” Birgit Wiedl highlights the abundance of accusations against people supposedly practicing witchcraft in seventeenth-century Europe, and the severity of this crime. While reading the Harry Potter series it’s common for us to think, why wouldn’t these people with magical powers that give them the ability to cure disease and sickness use their magic to help the non-magical, muggle folk of the world? Surely, they have the ability to better the world in its entirety to a certain degree, so why keep this magic a secret?

            Birgit Wiedl is able to provide us with an answer to this exact question, witches and wizards of the world have to remain in hiding for their own protection, and for the protection of magic in the world. Wiedl immediately gives us an idea of the severity of these punishable offenses and how many innocent people died in tragedy from them. “…the leading politician of the territory and the wealthiest citizen of Bamber were burned at the stake together with Junius, along with clerics, councilors, and members of the regional government: altogether six hundred witches, sorcerers, and black magicians had gotten their just deserts, or so claimed a pamphlet that circulated from 1629 onward.” This quote alone shows us why the magical people in Harry Potter’s world would never even think twice about stepping out of their bubble.

            If the magic folk had truly considered stepping into the light and revealing their powers to better the world, it would have had more destruction than they may have even realized. Not only would the magic folk be subjecting themselves to mass destruction due to lack of understanding of their powers, but they would be subjecting any muggles involved with magic folk to being “burned at the stake”, or innocent muggles that had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Wiedl goes on to say, “Witchcraft was not an accusation to be bandied about lightly: accusing someone of being a sorcerer was considered an offense in itself, if the accusation could not be proved… the accuser was fined if he or she wasn’t able to prove the other person’s magical abilities.” Wiedl is able to show in this quote how the realization of magic in the muggle world wouldn’t affect magic folk alone, but innocent muggles as well.

            It is hard to say if the magical people in Harry Potter coming out into the open with their abilities would have the exact same result as it did in the seventeenth-century due to the magical people having actual abilities to protect themselves, whereas the victims being accused in seventeenth-century Europe had no abilities to fight off being burned at the stake. Wiedl mentions, “whether herbs could be used to magically heal humans and animals; and whether love or hate could be induced by use of magic” in reference to the possible positive effects that could result in the magical people sharing their abilities to better the world. It is an unsolved controversy, if magical people withhold their abilities is considered injustice, or if it is entirely practical to their safety. I personally believe that the magical folk went through so much prosecution and acts of violence pinned against them, that it is understandable and reasonable why they would stay in hiding permanently.