And we all know how much respect Muggles and Muggle-Borns had in the wizarding world pre-DH. Tons of it, right? Oh wait....

Even blood-traitors like the Weasleys looked down on them.

I think that the Wizarding world would look down on muggle technology because even the tolerant ones couldn't understand why you should do things without magic when you had it.

Why would you need telephones and emails when you have the Floo network? Why would you need space shuttles when you have a bubble head charm and a broom? Though to us, they seem integral, I'd think magical people would find them useless.

 

I like this one. It could make a good basis for a political!Harry fic. Only problem is...all the Weasley children DID attend.

I suppose if you are going manipulative Dumbledore he wrangle it that Ron and Ginny and maybe even the twins attend, in an effort to ensure that he has Harry under his thumb. As for the other 3...perhaps Bill and Charlie were each awarded scholarships because they were seen to have some sort of inborn talent...though this might have to lead down the road of automatic testing for talents, at least amongst the purebloods. As for Percy, I could see him being the sort of person who wanted to join the MoM since he was a little boy. Perhaps because his father works there, he was able to get a scholarship to Hogwarts in exchange for promising to work for the MoM for the next 40-50 years or something.

 

Maybe the Weasleys are allowed to attend because they still are a pureblood family, and, even if they are bloodtraitors and all, they still do look down on them. Maybe Ministry personnel (or at least, some) are given free tuition. Or maybe the Weasleys don't have that much money because they have to pay the tuition.

 

Or they were able to pay for the first three kids fine, but in between Percy and the Twins they had a financial crisis. I could see them running themselves bankrupt (or close to it) to keep the younger Weasleys in school in an attempt to save face. Second-hand robes and hand-me-down books and wands at Hogwarts are better than new supplies and going to the local academy or apprenticeship.

 

God though, it's become second nature by now (hundreds of iterations later). Every time someone gives them different names I think, "Wait, who are these people and why is Hermione getting into their car?"

Actually, in all fairness, if you're looking to assign credit/blame for this oddly persistent cliche, I think Kinsfire started it (re: being nudists).

Consider this: Maybe the Weasleys aren't poor and their children still attend Hogwarts, they're poor because their children attend Hogwarts. Maybe if they were home schooled, they wouldn't have to use hand-me-down familiars and clothing. Considering the way Ron acts, they must still eat well. He doesn't eat like that because he's starved; he expects to be able to pig out.
[Edit: Oops, looks like World covered this one.]
In a world where only a few can attend Hogwarts, and there is a (moreso than canon) manipulative Dumbledore, I like the idea that he'd foot the bill for the Weasley's education in order to get a light-prejudiced family who is loyal to him close to Harry. If they eventually balk at his requests/orders, he has them under his thumb. He can whip out a receipt for their schooling and watch them cave like a spelunker.

Don't go too crazy now, galleons are worth 5 pounds. That's it. The value of gold has nothing to do with it so don't stress yourself trying to make sense of it. It's still a lot of money, though. People that have Harry spending 100 galleons on stupid little shit or getting 500 million galleons inheritance are smoking the rock. Sirius leaving 20 million galleons to each fucking Weasley is simply ludicrous. WTF is Ron Weasley going to do with 100 million pounds that doesn't end in a case of magical herpes?

 

I agree. and more to the point, Why would we care?

 

I don't doubt you're right, but I'm curious where the 5/1 exchange ratio is written and where you get that they peg their currency to the muggle pound. (If they do, it seems the wizards might be strongly encouraged to influence muggle politics directly, with issues such as whether the UK ever joins the EU coming to the fore. More political!Harry fodder perhaps?)

 

It probably hasn't, but maybe it should. Back in the day, their value probably was determined by their material (why else would there be bronze, silver and gold?), and it would be pretty ludicrous if you could just buy some galleons, melt them, sell them and them buy even more galleons...

Though now I do wonder: Who has the monopoly on money in the Wizarding World (that is, who is allowed to create money out of nothing)? Can the Ministry of Magic create money, or Gringotts (which I don't believe)?
KingOfCurrency!Harry ... now there's an idea that's hardly usable...

 

This subject of how the wizarding economy works probably deserves its own thread if it hasn't one already--I haven't checked.

That's actually my point. If there is a peg, then the ability to print Wizarding World money rests with both wizards and muggles. Either could run the presses or use various machinations that are functionally equivalent and inject money into the economy. Provided there is liquidity, an ability to move money from one economy to another, with a peg there is effectively only a single, muggle-wizard economy. A currency collapse with a fiat currency, e.g., the USD, would wipe out corresponding wizarding economies as well since their coins would have only the intrinsic value of the constituent metals. (This vulnerability of the wizarding monetary system could be a plot device to explain the rise of Grindewald back in WW2 days).

I was under the impression that the Wizarding World still used the monetary value of the physical coins since in canon one is continually subjected to physical piles of coins: people have to take cart rides down to their vaults and load their pouches with coins to make a withdrawal, Harry gets a bag of money after the Tri-Wizard tournament rather than a cheque or bank notes, etc. If the coins are only representative of galleons, then why not use paper currency dispensed at the counters, since paper is so much easier to handle?

I suspect that if there is no peg, but rather the two currencies float relative to one another, then the ability to mint currency rests with the goblins and is monitored and authorized by the Ministry, much like the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank system works, but with less feedback from the Ministry since the Wizarding economy has far less complexity, based on a gold or silver standard as it is.