If Steig Larson had written Harry Potter

I found this hilarious post over about an alternate Harry Potter universe over at the Failbook… (and in case you hate clicking links)

I quickly posted it to my facebook and almost immediately Bizarrobot jumped in and gave her two cents, eventually, what started as a funny thought about a gun toting boy wizard, turned into a semi-serious discussion about how the world of H.P. could be humanized and darkened (it also showed just how nerdy I can be… a lot):Just before she left to procure some pastry- Bizarro had this to say:

So- my question to you is: How would you make Harry Potter more gritty and muggle-esque? If simple human inventions were thrown into the mix of wizardry- how would things have been different?  Discuss!