The Harry Potter book series has been important for many people around the world. Since I was little I read the books in Spanish and watched the movies multiple times, but I have always wanted to read the books in Rowling’s original English. Currently I have just began the third book ‘Prisoner of Azkaban’ and I found a funny section which criticized how in the middle ages everyone was accused and burned for being witches.
Non-magic people (more commonly known as Muggles) were particularly afraid of magic in medieval times, but not very good at recognizing it. On the rare occasion that they did catch a real witch or wizard, burning had no effect whatsoever. The witch or wizards would perform a basic Flame-Freezing Charm and then pretend to shriek with pain while enjoying a gentle, tickling sensation. Indeed, Wendelin the Weird enjoyed being burnt so much that she allowed herself to be caught no fewer than forty-seven times in various disguises. (p. 3)
The way Rowling flipped on its head the way we viewed magic users in the past and that the witches and wizards simply humored the muggles in their attempts to burn them.