[HPforGrownups] Re: Number of Students

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 8159

Hi --

Amanda Lewanski wrote:

> Aberforth's Goat wrote:
>
> > Hmmmm. What if HWMNBM heard about Trewlany's first prediction and
> pulled a king Herod on Harry's generation of baby wizards? Ron and the
> other full-blooded wizards in his age group are the survivors. Thus,
> Harry's year is about a forth the size of all the other years. And
> presumably Harry hasn't noticed yet ...

So .... is this theory just that it was only Harry's year that was
marked for rampaging murder of baby boys (and girls??)?  Are you
suggesting that Trelawney's first prediction was merely that a child (of
either gender) born in 1980 would one day be Voldemort's downfall, and
therefore, he was out to kill all the children born that year?
Voldemort had apparently been powerful for 10 yrs prior to Harry's birth
("precious little to celebrate in 11 years").

Intriguing theory, although one wonders how some of the other families
with babies born that year (Weasleys, Finnegan, Brown, etc.) survived if
they hadn't done a Fidelius charm themselves?  I would think that the
prediction was more specific and that Harry in particular was Voldie's
target, although this explanation helps to explain why Harry's class
appears to be so small (given that there are supposed to be 1000
students at Hogwarts).

> Oh, excellent thought! A purpose, albeit twisted, behind the great
> numbers of killings. Has anyone in the books ever said *why* Voldemort
> was murdering? It sounded like he kind of was rampaging, and usually
> there's a reason.....
>
> So Harry's class is small, perhaps unusually so, and the reason is
> that some of the population their age was murdered. I wonder, did the
> Muggles that Voldemort killed have past wizarding progeny?

So .... under this theory, are there still roughly 1000 students at
Hogwarts -- but only 40 or so make up the students for Harry's year
(where there should be 142 or so)?

I still say JKR screwed up with the off-the-cuff comment about 1000
students.

BTW Amanda -- thanks for the spelling correction on
stationery/stationary.  I .... ahem .... "usually" don't make those
sorts of errors.  <vbg>

Penny



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