Hogwarts population + JKR in Bazaar

[Meg]

No: HPFGUIDX 9651

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Aberforth's Goat" 
<Aberforths_Goat at Y...> wrote:

> That's about the same calculation that a lot of us made, ending up 
with a
> about 400 students. However, there is some conflicting evidence. 
One of the
> most obvious is in PoA, where Harry sees 200 slithery green 
Slytherins at
> the match. Assuming all four houses are of the same size, that 
makes 800
> students.
> 
> We were still puzzling over that one (some people suggesting a 
bunch of
> alumni had flown in for the match), when Jo gave an interview (or 
answered a
> chat question--can't remember which) saying there are *1000* 
students at
> Hogwarts.
-----------------------------------
I just wanted to put in my 2 cents with this student population 
issue.  There are 5 girls and 3 boys that we know of in Harry's year 
in Gryffindor, but how can we assume that the class sizes are 
uniform?  That would mean that every year, the British wizarding 
population has an absolutely static birthrate, with no more than X 
number of kids being born so that there are the same number of eleven 
year olds at Hogwarts as twelve year olds as thirteen year olds etc.  
Plus, if you take into account muggle wizarding births (like 
Hermione) the wizarding population birth rate gets even smaller.  
This definately doesn't make any sense, what with all we know about 
the many wizarding families and there being enough of them so that 
there are lots of completely pureblood kids running around.  Plus, if 
we assume that every class in Hogwarts is the same size, we'd also be 
saying that every year there are 10 wizarding kids born who have 
brave personalities, 10 who are studious, 10 who are devious, and 10 
who are loyal.  What are the odds of that actually happening?  What 
happens if there are 11 loyal kids born in a particular year?  Or 27 
studious ones?  Are 10 allowed to come to Hogwarts and the left-overs 
have to be home-schooled?  Class sizes at muggle schools aren't 
uniform, and personality traits definately aren't either, so I don't 
know why we should assume that the opposite is true in the wizarding 
world.  Maybe Harry's year is so small because in 1980 only 8 
wizarding kids were born with Gryffindor personalities, but there 
could be any number in the other houses.

I'm just going to tack this onto the end of my message.  I sent it 
out the other day, but it didn't get posted on egroups because of the 
technical difficulties the site was having.  Sorry about the double 
post for anyone who's already gotten this.  I just wanted to let you 
all know that in the February 2001 issue of Harper's Bazaar (the one 
with Sarah Jessica Parker on the cover) there's cover story 
called "Women in Power: 5 Leaders Who Are Shaping Your World" and on 
the first page of the story (p. 224) is a HUGE (2 page) spread of JK 
Rowling, photographed at the salt piles in New York city in one of 
the most dramatically stunning skirts I've ever seen.  Anyhow, it's a 
great portrait, she looks very pretty and stylish, and in the little 
blurb-interview she reveals, among other things, that her highest 
accolade is "when children are furious that [she hasn't] got book 
five ready," and that Ron Weasley is named in a wierd indirect way 
after Ron Wood from the Rolling Stones.  She says, "Ron was the name 
I couldn't explain, except that I've always associated it with 
friendship.  Then I remembered reading, ages ago, Keith Richards 
saying, 'Ronnie,' as in Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones, 'is always 
there when you need him.'"  I think that the fact that the name Ron 
has strong connotations of friendship and loyalty for JKR might 
influence the debate on whether Ron will ever be tempted to betray 
Harry.

I really reccommend checking out the portrait in Bazaar the next time 
you're in a supermarket line or Border's Books.  The photographer 
said that she "attempted to match the landscapes with each woman's 
field in order to create sweeping 'postcard' images.  It was fashion 
with a journalistic slant."  It's really well done; all of the images 
in the portfolio are outstanding [says the student of fashion history 
and photography].

Meg