# of Students

[Steve Vander Ark]

No: HPFGUIDX 3906


> The sorting process probably does take a quite a bit of time. Ron 
was 
> impatient to get the ceremony over with in GoF. But in SS/PS, the 
> Sorting Hat sometimes decided quickly (Malfoy barely had the hat on 
> his head and the Hat called out "Slytherin!") or it took a while to 
> sort (the Hat took a "long time" with Neville and about a minute 
with 
> Dean or Seamus)

There is no way that all statements in all the books make sense with 
either the 1000 number or the 300 number. They just don't. But in 
Harry's third year, the sorting was over in the time it took Harry 
and Hermione to have a relatively short chat with McGonagall, twenty 
minutes tops, so it's not just Harry's year that's short students. 
There must be a very disproportionally large group of older kids to 
make up for the very low numbers in the lower classes. Sorting 150 
kids at the rate we see in the books would take at least an hour, 
probably quite a bit more. That works, I guess. But I can't imagine a 
group of kids the age of the kids I teach (5th - 8th grades) looking 
forward to sitting through it.

Let's face it, JKR simply didn't work it all out to the degree we 
are. So there is no way it will ever all fit. She said a thousand, 
it's a thousand. I don't like it, I can tell you all sorts of reasons 
why it doesn't make sense, but it is what it is. I'll valiantly try 
to create some twisted logic to make it work because hey, that's what 
I do, I'm Mr. Obsession. But there's no way it will ever really work 
out.

My impression from reading her responses is that while she does make 
an effort to create a whole world and she does like to hide surprises 
for us to find, she doesn't take the whole think as seriously as we 
do (okay, as *I* do). Her response about which house people were in 
was telling: Gryffindor, of course! As if there was no question. 
Lily's maiden name? Evans. No big deal. She maybe even made that up 
on the spot. I think we can take it a little more at face value than 
we have been, in other words. It seems like the Marauders were all in 
Gryffindor? She'd probably say "Of course they were! They're the good 
guys!"

Anyway, I'm updating the Lexicon as I get time. Can't wait to see 
what else I learn this week...

Steve "Delighted Mrs. Figg is Arabella" Vander Ark
The Harry Potter Lexicon
http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon