Why did Mrs. Weasley say that? & other mysteries

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 22450

morsethanatos wrote:

> > I was reading Sorcerer's Stone over and I like began to seem very 
> > strange to me:
> > '"Now what's the platform number?" said the boys' 
mother.'(Chapter 
> > six pg 92 of the Scholastic paperback)
> > 
> > This seems extremely peculiar. Would she not know what the 
station 
> > was and where to go? Or is there actually another magic platform?

Mothers and others have spoken up before to say that she asked it to 
make Ginny feel included in the whole process (very tough, last 
brother going off to school and all), and also as one of those fun 
quiz kinds of questions parents like to ask young children.  I agree 
but think 10 is old for this, which only feeds my suspicion that  
Ginny may have started off much younger and Jo didn't plan on having 
her at Hogwarts for a few more years.  She could have plotted CoS 
quite thoroughly without having the culprit/victim be Ron's little 
sister.  That's a wild and unfounded speculation of my own, however, 
that will not be confirmed or refuted until the publication of the 
Rowling Notebooks (edited by Steve van der Ark, with assistance from 
yours truly and many, many other listies who are lining up, sending 
resumes, sending bribes, etc.).  <---joke!  There are no publication 
plans for the Rowling Notebooks!  But don't you think Steve should be 
the editor anyway?

JKR didn't need this question as a plot point--Harry already knew 
they were a wizarding family from the owl.

Prefectmarcus wrote:
 
> Just chalk it up to be another mystery along the lines of:
> (1) What happened to the school song in the books following HP1?

The rest of the staff threatened to force-feed Dumbledore earwax-
flavored BBEFBs if he ever made them sing it again.

> (2) How come none of the first year candidates in HP1 knew about 
the 
> Sorting Hat?  It's hardly a big secret yet nobody seemed to know 
> about.  Ron had his two parents and five older brothers before 
him.  
> Nobody spilled the beans or mentioned it in his presence?  

School tradition says to keep it secret?  I dunno, I can buy this.  
Can someone who went to a school that was loaded with tradition speak 
to this?  Okay, here's an example:  no one ever told me that there 
was a secret Phi Beta Kappa handshake, much less revealed it.  Not as 
exciting as a Sorting Hat, I grant you, but it's the same basic idea.

Amy Z