6

I read the article on Harry Potter Wikia, but does it work on Muggles? If an invisibility cloak somehow found its way to Muggle hands, won't the whole cover of the Magical World be blown away? Are there charms such that Muggles can't see invisibility cloaks?

Kevin
  • 30,824
  • 13
  • 124
  • 163
Dharini Chandrasekaran
  • 5,955
  • 7
  • 35
  • 54
  • 8
    Charms? Like casting invisibility on an invisibility cloak to make it really, really invisible? – Jason Berkan Mar 01 '12 at 20:22
  • 1
    The question is ambiguous. What does "work on muggles" mean? Does it mean "will Harry's invisibility cloak prevent muggles from seeing him?" – user14111 Apr 08 '17 at 22:12
  • A parallel is another magical artefact that Muggles can interact with: Portkeys. It might only be in Rowling's writings (e.g. Pottermore) but it has happened anyway and it's also explained (GoF?) why they have to be seemingly useless items which suggests that it has happened or can happen. – Pryftan Jun 06 '18 at 21:16

5 Answers5

12

It works on inanimate objects, so there's obviously nothing very specific to "only magical beings inside".

DVK-on-Ahch-To
  • 342,451
  • 162
  • 1,520
  • 2,066
6

The invisibility cloak would work on Muggles, exactly like it works on everything else. It makes anything underneath it invisible.

Muggles finding an invisibility cloak would cause no bigger a problem than Muggles seeing a dragon, or Muggles seeing a wizard Apparate. If there was a danger of Muggles learning something about the magical world from finding the invisibility cloak, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes would step in and deal with the problem, likely by removing the cloak and modifying the memories of all the Muggles involved.

Jason Berkan
  • 275
  • 1
  • 10
  • What really dampens the danger is that there is only one Invisibility Cloak in existence. – vsz Mar 02 '12 at 07:24
  • @vsz - There is only one invisibility cloak that is a Deathly Hallow. There are other invisibility cloaks mentioned in the series. – Jason Berkan Mar 02 '12 at 16:27
  • Yep. Mad-Eye Moody has two in his possession; he gives Mundungus one (and we never know if he gets it back). – KeithS Mar 02 '12 at 23:36
2

I thought the whole concept of Muggles and the magical world was that Muggles do see magic they just ignore or rationalize it away. The invisibility cloak being that it's a magical object would work on anyone magical or non as long as they could fit underneath it.

Kevin Howell
  • 11,634
  • 13
  • 54
  • 81
1

It works on human beings, so, in particular, it works on muggles.

Janoma
  • 7,052
  • 5
  • 39
  • 45
-1

Yes, the invisibility cloak would work on muggles. It is like the killing curse worked on muggles when Peter Pettigrew or he-who-shall-not-be-named used it on a muggle. If you have read the books, you would know that wizards and witches can modify memories. If a cloak was discovered, they would find the muggles that have used it, and others they have told, and modified thier memories.

  • Would they find them? How would they know if they couldn't see them? What if it was kept secret? If they had told others (I somehow doubt it and the more devious they are the less likely) how would they know who was told to wipe their memories of that? – Pryftan Jun 06 '18 at 21:15