Dietary Needs at Hogwarts.

[Steve Vander Ark]

No: HPFGUIDX 12605

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Doreen" <nera at r...> wrote:

> 
>   What always surprises me, is that everyone seems to be having 3rd 
and 4th
>   helpings of everything..  They sure must be low fat/calorie food, 
or some
>   really small servings.

This is true. Of course, when's the last time you watched a bunch of 
teenage boys eat? This isn't really so far out of line. 

But it also fits with a general use of exaggeration in the books. 
There are many, many examples of this. If you read carefully, you'll 
see that in Harry's reality people jump a foot off the ground when 
they're surprised, they fall from amazing heights and suffer no more 
ill effects than muddy clothes or a broken wrist, the rooms in the 
castle are big enough to hold an entire suburban house, things like 
that. It's part of JKR's writing style and it's part of what gives 
the books their flavor. 

Now shall we talk about how many students in green Harry sees at the 
Quidditch match with Slytherin? How many seconds Snape's robe is on 
fire before he notices it? I could go on and on. And frequently do ;)

Steve Vander Ark
The Harry Potter Lexicon
which contains no exaggeration at all, hardly
http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon