A theory of my own...

[catlady_de_los_angeles]

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No: HPFGUIDX C3475
From: catlady_de_los_angeles
Subject: Re: A theory of my own...
Reply To: [Yahoo! #3433] A theory of my own...
Date: 7/7/00 12:02 am  (ET)

> and it could also explain why the Potters were so wealthy. Family money.

I think the Potters were not *that* wealthy. They just saved their money
carefully, and the resulting sum *looked* large to 1) a child who 2)
had never had any money. I suppose a mere couple of hundred dollars
would make a huge pile if it were in pennies, I mean Knuts.

I suppose it would be repetitive if I once again repeated my theory
about wizard money, "which probably *does* grow on trees. Very heavily
guarded trees." To which Lee replied that maybe a money tree is given
to each couple at their wedding. When young, it grows only enough money
to support two healthy young people with an economical lifestyle, but
when it reaches maturity (ten years or so), it bears enough to support
a family of four in a middle-class lifestyle (but not a family of nine,
which is why the Weaselys are so poor). And the tree dies if the couple
gets divorced, which (says Lee) is as good an explanation of why no one
gets divorced as my theory about putting love spells on themselves.

IIRC Hagrid explained that wizard money was right easy: twenty nine Knuts
(bronze) to a Sickle (silver) and seventeen (or was it nineteen?) Sickles
to a Galleon (gold). Of course, those are prime numbers, so nothing can
cost half a Sickle or one-third of a Galleon. I wonder if that is a parody
on pre-decimalization British money like guineas and shillings. However,
I think it should be 13 Sickles to the Galleon, to fit the calendar. 29
bronzes to a silver for 29 1/2 days to a lunar month. 13 silvers to a
gold for 12 1/3 lunar month to a solar year.