V's house - Drive times - Knuts - Nonmagical studies

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 14633

Stacy speculated:

>Interestingly enough, what house was Tom Riddle in? We assume he was 
>in Slytherin, of course, but recently I was rereading CoS and came 
>upon a reference to how "brave" (it was in italics) TR was. Bravery 
>is the main Gryffindor virtue. So was he Slytherin . . . or could he 
>have been Gryffindor?

I had been wondering about TR's house myself, but just reread in PS/SS 
that he was in Slytherin, according to Ron, who says so when he and 
Harry are discussing the different houses on the train.  (Hagrid's 
assertion that every bad wizard was in Slytherin isn't trustworthy; we 
know that when he said that, he believed Sirius was V's right-hand 
man, and he was in Gryffindor...we think.)

I also noticed on this reading that it takes Harry & the Dursleys **3 
1/2 hours** to get from Little Whinging to King's Cross.  ??  Is this 
really possible, or is JKR making a wry joke about London traffic?

Gaynor wrote:
>I also pronounce Knut with a "K". However, when Daniel Radcliffe 
>presented the cheque on Comic Relief last Friday he pronounced it 
>with a silent K - i.e. "nut". 

Harry Has Spoken.  I prefer a sounded "k" and short "u," myself.

Doreen wrote:
>(question to JKR) How do students at Hogwarts get educated in Muggle 
subjects? Do they even need
>to know other things besides magic?

>(JKR response) They can choose to study Muggle subjects. In the third 
book, Hermione takes the
>class Muggles Studies, and that's where they learn about Muggles in 
school.

I always thought JKR misunderstood the question (perhaps 
deliberately?).  Muggle Studies is the study of Muggle society.  I 
think the questioner meant, do they study literature, foreign 
languages, math, biology, etc.?  History might be covered in Muggle 
Studies, but it seems that most other subjects one studies in a Muggle 
school would not be.  So the question remains, how do kids from wizard 
families learn math & such?  I plump for homeschooling, but that's 
just my educational bias speaking.

Amy Z
Secretary, MUU! (Magical Unschoolers United!)

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 "Very haunted up here, isn't it?" said Ron, 
 with the air of one commenting on the weather.
                 -HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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