

to think Hogwarts is actually a really small school?

(224 Posts)
FlutteringButterflie Fri 30-Aug-13 19:57:05

I watch the film earlier and realised in Griffindor in Harry's year there were only 5 boys and 3 girls. There are 4 houses so probably about 40 pupils per year.

7 years, so about 280 pupils - not really that many when you think about it.


nomore: There are things with dates to reference throughout the series and people ahve worked out timelines for everything. I remember sitting and working out the exact ages of the Weasley brothers when I was younger, Bill had left Hogwarts just after Ginny was born iirc.

You have to be careful when working out dates for them all though as JK admitted that she did mess up some dates which is annoying!

iismum Sun 01-Sep-13 13:20:58

The real problem with numbers is not how big Hogwarts is, but the fact that it is the only wizarding school in the country. So effectively that means that every person you ever encounter in your life - your partners, friends, everyone you work with, everyone who sells something to you in a shop, who runs the country, etc.,etc - will have been to the same school as you. Which makes no sense at all even if your school is huge!

For example, how can they have a professional quidditch league when only one school on the country plays quidditch? How do the economics of that work. And if you have more than four teams in the league then you have to have people playing for them who weren't even good enough to make their house team, and yet can be professional players. There's no way in a community that small that professional sport is feasible. Am I over-thinking this ...?

Lottiedoubtie Sun 01-Sep-13 16:34:47

Iismum, I think you widen the pool of potential players when you consider that wizards probably stay fitter for longer than muggles and so they can play professional sport for a longer period of time.

Also some British wizards are educated abroad.

NuggetofPurestGreen Sun 01-Sep-13 16:46:34

And we don't know that Hogwarts is the only wizarding school do we? Or do we?

There's also Ms Cackle's Academy for one wink

FreyaFridays Sun 01-Sep-13 17:20:00

Yes, Snape would have been around 31 at the start of PS... I think I will personally allow an exception for the casting of Alan Rickman, as he's just so damn good!... (And hot...)

Sirius and Lupin would have been 33-34 during the events of POA. Both casting disappointments to me, they should have been much hotter! (Not shallow at all...)

I'm not sure that the ages of Lily and James' set are actually stated through the books at all. Can't remember if dates of birth and death are mentioned on their graves in DH. Lupin is often described as "though still young, his hair was already streaked with grey". And Lily and James are stated several times to have "married straight out of Hogwarts", implying they were 18-19, and Harry was born soon after.

iismum Sun 01-Sep-13 19:57:48

That's a good point, lottie, but still it would only increase the potential field by a factor of, what, 2? 3? Surely not more than 4. So still tiny.

I'm not sure if its explicitly stated that Hogwarts is the only school, but it's heavily implied. Everything centres on Hogwarts, and no other school is ever mentioned.

Good point about Quidditch teams. Where did the Ireland the spring from?

And yes, by the time our generation have grown up there'll be absolutely nobody to do any commercial jobs and the whole economy will collapse...

Lottiedoubtie Sun 01-Sep-13 21:41:16

Very true that no other uk school is mentioned.

It's plausible however that there are more wizards abroad? And many more foreign schools. (Tri-wizard schools are specifically called the largest I think, suggesting others).

Maybe the England league is flooded with foreign players there's a precedent in the muggle world after all

NuggetofPurestGreen Sun 01-Sep-13 21:50:13

Yeah Mermaid cos Irish wizards seem to go to Hogwarts don't they? Well Seamus anyway grin. So there might not be an Irish wizard school.

DiseasesOfTheSheep Sun 01-Sep-13 21:52:37

Seamus may well have been an Irish boy living in Britain though...

NuggetofPurestGreen Sun 01-Sep-13 22:23:28

Yeah Diseases was thinking that but for some reason I think he wasn't? Could be wrong though. Luna and Xenophilius (film versions) are Irish people living in Britain alright.

DiseasesOfTheSheep Sun 01-Sep-13 22:27:45

I always assumed he lived in Britain but I don't think I have any basis for that belief. Interesting point.

olidusUrsus Mon 02-Sep-13 00:21:42

Hagrid called Hogwarts "the best wizarding school in Britain", or words to that effect, but J.K. does really heavily imply that it's the only wizarding school in Britain. However she does mention that it's not the only way to be educated in magic in the UK (I think she's referring to homeschooling there though, rather than other schools...).

ModeratelyObvious Mon 02-Sep-13 00:39:48

In Chamber of secrets, it says something about the five gryffindor second years (in the context ofthe boys' dormitory). So that backs up the 40 per year (though presumably the sorting isn't totally equal on house or gender splits)

BellaTheGooseIsDead Mon 02-Sep-13 00:52:03

ModeratelyObvious that's true.

I read your name as ModeratelyObliviate though. I need to stop reading these threads.

YoniBottsBumgina Mon 02-Sep-13 08:59:49

There is a list of the quidditch teams in "quidditch through the ages" although the number does seem unfeasibly large.

Mermaid I don't think they are supposed to but if she was in the company of adult wizards then she could have got away with it. It was explained once that the trace (the enchantment which detects underage magic) isn't very accurate and in wizarding families the ministry depend on the parents to control their offspring.

Or it could have been a once off, or involuntary magic which petunia remembered as particularly sour.

I'm not 100% sure either on thethe aunt Marge point - would have to double.check, but either the ministry were out to get Harry at that point or he was panicking that he had been expelled when actually he.hadn't.

DiseasesOfTheSheep Mon 02-Sep-13 10:04:59

The aunt Marge instance, Harry left before the ministry spoke to him and the matter was dismissed out of hand when he met Fudge at the leaky cauldron "we don't expel people for simple matters of blowing up aunts!"

However, when dobby dropped the hideous cake thing on the dursley's dinner party guests, they sent him a howler threatening to expel him if he used magic again outside of Hogwarts.

MortifiedAdams Mon 02-Sep-13 10:18:33

Re; Aunt Marge, Sirius Black was on the run. Harry,.terrified they would expel.him or worse, took flight so that he didnt have to surrender his wand.

Fudge was waiting for him and, relieved that he hadnt been murdered by Black, kept him safe in Diagon Alley and refused to punish him.

Had Black.not been on the run,he would have faced the usual sanctions.

Sparklymommy Mon 02-Sep-13 12:03:33

There does seem to be an awful lot of inconsistency in the ministry.

Another point that has bugged me for years is that in the chamber o secrets, lucius Malfoy says to mr Weasley that he will see him at work. However where does it say ANYWHERE that Lucius works at the ministry? He always seems to be there, bribing/paying for info etc, but never WORKING.

FreyaFridays Mon 02-Sep-13 14:34:01

The one that gets me (and what a perfect day to mention this) is the dates for the start of the school year: the Hogwarts Express always leaves King's Cross on September 1st. The next day, Harry & Co. always start their lessons... and that day is ALWAYS a Monday! Does Hogwarts operate on a different calendar to us, whereby September 2nd is a Tuesday eternally? Granted, for the 2013 calendar, it is quite accurate!

MrsGeologist Mon 02-Sep-13 16:35:13

Wasn't Lucius a school governor briefly?

No idea what his actual job was though.

MrsGeologist Mon 02-Sep-13 16:52:30

Harry potter wiki implies that his position as school governor was his job at the ministry.

AintNobodyGotTimeFurThat Tue 03-Sep-13 18:47:42

<<joins in with Harry Potter obsession>>

Some great answers to some great questions here.

I think as far as the Hagrid comment goes that Hagrid was implying that every wizard who has turned bad has been a Slytherin, not that there is never a bad wizard from another house. I think I read somewhere that some of Voldemort's supporters were in different houses, so this would ring true.

Plus weren't all the Marauder's in Gryffindor? If that is the case, then Wormtail (Peter) was a Gryffindor so therefore that would go again with the 'bad wizards are from Slytherin' camp.

You're right - I was remembering him getting a letter saying he was expelled, but I think I'm thinking of OOTP when he's "expelled" for summoning a patronus in front of Dud.

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