While it may ease collective horror at Trump's policies to compare him to the noseless, hairless Dark Lord of the wizarding world, relegating him to a laugh-it-off moment ignores the fact that he has a platform and followers who take the things he says seriously. Like Dementors, demagogues can do enormous harm with small numbers. And though the 2016 election season so far has been bizarre enough to qualify as a soap opera, it’s necessary to remember that as wild as things may get, politics are not merely entertainment.

But the comparison does have one salient point: Like Voldemort, Trump gets power from people talking about him. So maybe if everyone takes a deep breath and refuses to give He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named any more publicity, he’ll finally fade away? That would be truly magical.