The Hogwarts Quill

[dfrankiswork at netscape.net]

No: HPFGUIDX 28590

Of all the things stated by JKR outside of the books, I think the Hogwarts Quill has the most implications for things we discuss here.

1) The nature of wizards.  The quill implies that one either is, or is not, magical.  There is plenty of other evidence to support this general idea, but I feel the quill is the most decisive.  This has implications for Filch and his Kwikspell course in particular, as well as debates about what Muggles would achieve by following a potion recipe.  Incidentally, it also defines Hagrid as a wizard rather than a Giant, as I assume Giants don't go to Hogwarts.

2) Neville.  If his family had known that Neville's name was in the book, they needn't have gone to the trouble of dropping him out of a window, etc.  This implies that the names in the list are kept confidential, or at least, no effort is made to let people know.  (There is a possibility that Neville's parents were told before they went mad, but I can't imagine his formidable gran not insisting on her rights as guardian with McGonagall.)

3) Hermione and other Muggle-borns.  The quill constrains the debate about Hermione's age, without excluding either option.  Firstly, nobody would have known Hermione was a witch until her letter was sent out, at some point after her tenth birthday but not later than her twelfth.  This effectively precludes arguments predicated on a possible early start at primary school etc - the Hogwarts system just ignores previous educational decisions and attainments.  Likewise, Hermione would have meant nothing to McGonagall until that time - she would just be a name in a book.

4) Baby Voldemort the orphan.  It's possible that nobody in the WW knew of his existence, particularly if his mother had no relatives, though the then deputy head of Hogwarts would in theory have had access to the information.  In effect Neville's case shows that the WW is very bad at basic record keeping about who is and is not a wizard.  The name Tom Riddle would have meant nothing as they were not married. As a baby with apparently no relatives, he was swept up in the Muggle system, with the WW probably just not knowing.

5) What Harry got from Voldemort.  We know that Dumbledore suspects (it's not actually certain) that Harry got his Parseltongue gift from Voldemort.  He may have got more, for example his ability to see Voldemort in dreams.  However, he really is a wizard, because he wouldn't have got a Hogwarts letter if his name hadn't appeared in the book at birth.  Harry isn't a Squib.  (It's possible that what the quill does is to detect, and maintain a list of, all wizards in the UK and Ireland rather than register at birth.  This would make understanding how immigrants and emigrants are dealt with by the system easier.  In which case Harry's name might have appeared at the time of 'acquiring' wizard powers from Voldemort.  I still think this unlikely because it equates something 'grafted on' with something innate.)

6) Mubdlood prejudice.  The quill affirms that there is a solid magical basis for rejecting prejudice against Mudbloods, as all are treated equally.  However, it could be used as a basis for anti-Muggle prejudice, as it could be interpreted as a rather Calvinistic 'Book of Life', instead of the administrative tool it is.  The same goes for Giants and other Beings not counted.

David


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