Why Are Some Wizards POOR? - Harry Potter Explained

Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today we’re discussing wizarding economics- specifically, why and how a MAGICAL world would still have impoverished people. With the advent of magical capabilities, how can there possibly be witches and wizards living derelict lifestyles? At the very least, shouldn’t every witch / wizard be able to source clean clothes?

In Harry Potter, there are many passages alluding to the lack of economic stability in certain wizarding families- with a particular focus on the Weasley’s.

From their house to their to their hand-me-down robes, it’s certainly no secret that the Weasley’s were financially stretched. Draco Malfoy even makes a comment towards Ron where he suggests that the Weasley family name is synonymous with this sort of thing.

“Think my name's funny, do you? Well, no need to ask yours. Red hair, and a hand-me-down-robe? You must be a Weasley.”

And when Harry first witnesses the Weasley Family vault, he’s at a loss for words:

“Harry enjoyed the breakneck journey down to the Weasleys’ vault, but felt dreadful, far worse than he had in Knockturn Alley, when it was opened. There was a very small pile of silver Sickles inside, and just one gold Galleon. Mrs.Weasley felt right into the corners before sweeping the whole lot into her bag.”

But the Weasleys weren’t the only characters in the Harry Potter story that were lacking in funds. In fact, in my opinion one of the most EXTREME examples of poverty in Harry Potter is Remus Lupin. It’s reinforced over and over and over that his clothes are tatty and that he looked sickly.

The first time that we’re introduced to Lupin’s character, he’s described as follows:

“The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard’s robes that had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with gray. [...]

“It’s on his case,” she replied, pointing at the luggage rack over the man’s head, where there was a small, battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The name Professor R. J. Lupin was stamped across one corner in peeling letters.”

Then, again at the sorting ceremony:

“Professor Lupin looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes.”

When Harry encounters Lupin for the second time, after their arrival at Hogwarts, the passage even suggests that Lupin had eaten properly for the first time in a while:

“Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old briefcase on the teacher’s desk. He was as shabby as ever but looked healthier than he had on the train, as though he had had a few square meals.”

Was Lupin SO POOR that he couldn’t afford FOOD? How can this be a reality in Wizarding Society?

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[pjschmid]

But if there were spells that could repair glasses for instance why would there not be spells that could repair clothing so that it didn’t look shabby. Also if you can change a rat into a teacup why couldn’t you change a torn robes into new shiny robes? To me these are still a huge plot holes and make no sense.

[harvestmoon_autumnsky]

I think Lupin was just truly depressed. So he didn't have the energy needed or the desire to take care of himself. Maybe he rebuffed any of Dumbledore's earlier attempts to help him, since he was so emotionally ravaged by all the death around him, and the changes his body underwent every month. Only when Dumbledore played the Harry needs you card, was he willing to step back into Hogwarts and receive help.

[aeonmccrary]

When you mentioned that hungry wizards shouldn't be starving if they can multiply food, it made me remember in the Deathly Hallows that Hermione was multiplying fish and bread when they couldn't forage any other food while in their quest for the Horcruxes. The problem that was raised with that is whenever she cast Gemino to copy the food, it only produced a lesser copy with little to no nutritional value, so although they had full bellies, they were still very much starving which severely hindered Ron's recovery and lead to them all being irritable, pale and malnutritioned on top of the corruption of the Horcruxes. I do not believe it is a plot hole that Lupin would be as hungry as he was even if he was using Gemino to multiply his meals with that in mind.

[katholmes]

Honestly, I wonder if the Weasleys weren't just really bad at money management. Instead of putting some aside, they spent all 700 galleons from the lottery on one single trip. And, in first year for Ron, they bought Percy both an owl and there brand new pairs of school robes as a reward for being made prefect. If they'd just gifted him the owl, they would have enough money to buy Ron a brand new wand. So, were they actually poor, or just really REALLY bad at money management and budgeting? 😕

[dennisreynolds]

I think that Lupin being hungry is a misdirect. We learn later that he had been a werewolf the night before he went on the train and Harry doesn't know that when he thinks about how it looks like he's starved. Maybe being a werewolf and not feeding even creates a deeper more ravaging hunger, that remains even when you turn back to a human. As for the state of his clothes, I think that's in part due to his isolation. No need to look good if you live all alone. Don't get me wrong, he was probably pretty poor by wizarding standards, but poverty was not his main problem.

[draviteh]

I always assumed that Lupin looked so shabby, tired and worn out not because he hadn't been eating, but because the transformations took so much out of him. And that Harry, not knowing that Lupin was a werewolf throughout most of the 3rd book, just assumed it was the lack of meals that made him look so worn out.
I also assumed that the quality of the food lessened for every time you multiplied or enlarged it.. Like the energy/callories/nutrition it contained remained the same, it just got divided/watered down in a way every time you multiplied the food, so you'd have to eat twice as much of it, if that makes sense? I don't know why I've always assumed this, maybe I read it in a fanfic or something..

[LaDyLuCk]

I always thought wizards from Muggle families would still have so much to learn after leaving Hogwarts and integrate more into wizarding society. For example there are no classes for Culinary magic so anyone not from a wizard family who had not cooked with magic before would be at a disadvantage. I often thought of Mrs Weasley teaching Harry and Hermione in the Burrow how to cook via magic.

[danyf.]

I always thought Lupin looked sickly and emaciated just because of his condition, not because he couldn't even afford food. But yes, he couldn't keep jobs too so money must have been pretty tight. To what extent it is not clear.

[TechDiveAVCLUB]

I feel like I remember Hermione explaining multiplying left the food less filling and nutritious. Which is why Ron had trouble healing in book 7, because they were all malnourished. Rowling tended to equate magic to technology, like it was an alternative. The wizards thought they were superior, and had great advantages, but are often met with limitations just the same. Many were not very good at magic too. This is why Fred and George were so surprised their joke shop turned into government contracts. Author has a wound that magically won't clot or heal, so they resort to muggle bandages. The more muggle friendly wizards remark several times through the series that muggers were starting to have some impressive solutions to thing. I remember gold couldn't be made. Nifflelers were an expensive animal because they could find gold. But Hagrid used a fake gold that vanished overtime to demonstrate. They still have basic needs, magic is difficult, and resources are limited in some regards. Therfore, economy and stratification of it follow.

[markbrown]

Tonks mentioned not being adept at certain domestic type spells. This was in Order of the Phoenix, when she was helping Harry pack.

Harry and Hermione only got practical exposure to domestic spells for a couple of weeks during the holidays and Molly was a stickler on under age use of magic.

Conclusion: Hogwarts needs a Home Economics program.

[princesscharis]

I have a theory as to why some wizards didn't took good care of themselves, Lupin might be hungry because he was sick and he simply couldn't eat. When he arrived at Hogwarts his appetize change and he wanted to eat. My guess is that living with the werewolf condition someone might feel depressed and not want to eat or to use magic to fix clothing. I experienced a really bad C PTSD the last month and I can tell you, I didn't want to eat, I was forcing myself, and I had all day nausea. I felt better 2 days ago and suddenly my appetite change like magic, I eat normally now. The psycho physical effects of a sickness are major, I don't think those are necessary plot holes if one can theorize that wizards might be suggestable to psychological issues like muggles.

[fredkrawczun]

I have another thing that makes it weird for Lupin to be living hand to mouth.
At one point in the books, it makes a statement about Hermines parents exchanging their muggle currency for wizard currency. If so, couldn't Lupin just worked a muggle job, had a schedule where he was always off those "special" days, no matter the cost.
He could just exchange the currency or even better, just buy muggle food. Besides certain items, ingredients or treats, the magical and non-magical world seem to eat the same food.

[themixican]

If Molly had Etsy, the Weasleys would be the richest family in the story

[TalonSky]

I think the general understanding is that you can multiply the food you have, but it gets progressively less nutritious and flavorful the more you do so. If I remember correctly in DH, the trio does extend the physical amount of food they have, but they aren't getting enough nutrition despite their bellies being full.

In reality, Rowling didn't make that rule until DH and it was solely to increase the tension between the trio while they had the locket. There was zero indication in previous books of this; the Weasleys were always very well fed, and Ron's mom in fact makes a sauce sprout from her wand at one point. As for making money with magic, I imagine it's like real life: you technically can do it, but it's illegal and there's probably ways of magically detecting counterfeit coins.

[estefanolivares]

Multiplying money would lead to hyperinflation. Likely goblins had a method of checking if an item had been magically created or just manipulated to prevent this and as such, they became the bankers of the wizarding world

[CrazyBunnyGuy]

There is a LOT we don't know, despite all the canon :D Firstly of course, and the easiest, is the Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration concerning food. Probably everyone's familiar with it, and as others have pointed out in the comments even though Hermione tried multiplying the food they already had it was of poorer quality, and that's coming from Hermione who's an exceptional witch. And sometimes we did witness, I think, Mrs Weasley pouring some kind of sauce right out of the tip of her wand, but we don't know the details.

We know that you can make stuff disappear and make them reappear and I always imagined that stuff goes in some freak dimension, Star Trek would say it's shifted out of phase :P so perhaps Mrs Weasley was simply resummoning the sauce she already made and stashed away. That would not violate Gamp's Law. And I guess their currency is protected by magical means just like ours is protected by UV stuff, watermarks and whatnots.

And also, not everyone's good at every spell. Mending, fixing, sewing, cleaning, scrubbing, cooking; most certainly takes skill, I mean they were able to mess up Wingardium Leviosa, imagine how much easier it is to mess up a spell that sews your tattered clothes back together? It's literally like asking someone in your family why they don't pick up a needle and a thread and fix the holes in their socks :) Takes will, time, effort, skill...

To us Muggles magic seems like the universal answer to every problem, but to wizards it introduces different kinds of struggles.

[jeffreybeckham]

House Elves and Goblins could probably do more within the limitations of Gamp's Law, too. After all they have their own innate form of magic that doesn't involve the use of wands, and probably relates to things involving food/cooking and crafstmanship, respectively

[lewisbull]

Travelling in the wizard world sounds a lot more interesting considering you can expand the inside of a suitcase that you create another universe.

[pegasster]

To be fair about Lupin, I believe he was recovering from a full moon transformation not long before the train journey. He looked better not just from the abundant food but also because he was recovering and gaining strength back after becoming a werewolf that month.

[baystated]

I have friends and family with a wide range of economic situation, ages, and importantly: abilities to care for themselves. Sometimes it is not wealth that decides how well you eat or dress or look. And one person might be accepting of a standard of living that would leave another person aghast. Lupin might have had masterful magical abilities but he also showed signs of chronic depression, anxiety, and resistance to interpersonal relationships Those all take their toll on him alongside and related to his werewolf illness.