Ginny and Colin and student numbers

[Amy]

No: HPFGUIDX 9703

Steve wrote:

>BTW, I thought of something a little while ago. JKR tells us these 
>stories from Harry's point of view, and in that voice she frequently 
>uses exaggeration as if it's fact. For example, when Hagrid sobers up 
>enough to realize that Harry came down to his hut at night to see him 
>when Black was supposedly out to kill him, he shouts at them. The 
>books says that they jumped a foot into the air. Now we all know and 
>assume that they didn't REALLY jump a foot off the ground. In fact, 
>no one really even leaves the ground at all when they do that jump in 
>surprise thing. But JKR writes it that way be cause Harry feels it 
>like that. There are quite a few other examples of this in the books.

Very good point.  I think the comments about Hagrid's size are like 
this.  At various times he's referred to as being "twice as tall" or 
"five times as wide" as most men, but this seems sure to be 
hyperbole--I can't find any of the citations right this second, but 
they vary wildly.  So we can all stop wondering how he and Sirius 
could possibly use the same motorbike.

The Colin & Ginny comment is odd because it shows an assumption that 
Ron wouldn't have if houses are the size most of us think.  In a 
school with 10-20 kids per year per house, no one would ever say of 
two Gryffindor first-years, "you'd better hope they don't meet."  IMO 
it's just a mini-Flint on JKR's part.  Ron should've said something 
like, "You'd better watch out--once Colin and Ginny meet they'll start 
a Harry Potter fan club."

Amy Z

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Crabbe and Goyle chuckled trollishly.
             -HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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