Google

Google is a real-world Muggle technology company, most famous for its internet search engine. It serves as a digital tool that allows users to search for and access vast amounts of information on the World Wide Web. In the Muggle world, it functions as a primary resource for research, fact-checking, and general knowledge, analogous to a constantly updating, non-magical, and universally accessible library.

Despite a common belief within the fan community, the term “Google” is never mentioned in any of the seven original Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling. The wizarding world is consistently portrayed as being largely separate from and uninterested in modern Muggle technology. Instead of using computers or the internet, wizards and witches rely on magic, personal knowledge, and traditional information sources like books, newspapers such as the Daily Prophet, and extensive libraries like the Hogwarts Library. Hermione Granger, despite her Muggle upbringing and familiarity with the non-magical world, consistently turns to book research to solve problems and find information, never once referring to or using an internet search engine.

A popular and persistent misconception in the *Harry Potter* fandom is that Hermione Granger mentions Google in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The apocryphal line is typically quoted during a discussion about how she protected her parents by modifying their memories. In this false memory, Ron Weasley suggests she could have simply told her parents they had spattergroit to convince them to go into hiding, to which Hermione supposedly replies, “They're dentists, they've got Google.” This line, or any variation of it, does not appear in the book or the corresponding film adaptation. In the novel, when Ron suggests the spattergroit excuse, Hermione refutes the idea by explaining that, as dentists, her parents have an expert understanding of Muggle ailments and would know it wasn't a real disease. She does not, however, specify the method they would use to verify this information. The persistence of this false memory is likely due to the logic of the statement; using Google would be a very modern and plausible way for a Muggle to debunk such a claim, making the fabricated quote feel authentic to the character and the situation.