numbers again

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 13052

Penny:"Actually, someone (sorry I can't remember who) made the very 
good point that we're getting Harry's POV of how many tables there 
are & how many people they seat.  He could just be overwhelmed when 
he makes this observation (or just inaccurate).  What GoF says in any 
case is: "there were *about* a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, 
each seating *about* a dozen people"

That's very convenient. It allows any undesirable evidence to be 
discounted.  It's perfectly possible to tell the difference between 
something Harry is seeing and may be wrong about (Example:[Cedric] 
was just a useless pretty boy...) and something the omniscient 
narrator is telling us.  I can't see any colorable argument around 
seating for 1200 at the Yule Ball.

We are closer to one another than we are to JKR, but I cannot be 
convinced there are less students at Hogwarts than there are at Roger 
Sherman Elementary. That creates problems there are no solutions for. 
Actually, that's even true about the 450-500 number I favor.