PS/SS Chapter 8 Summary and Discussion Q's

[Vanessa]

No: HPFGUIDX 28048

[I'm just answering selected Qs today!]
> 
> 2. How does Hagrid know Harry and Ron have Friday afternoons off?  
Perhaps > all students, or all first-years, do….?

At British Universities, most leave Wednesday afternoons free from 
lectures for undergraduates, for the purposes of inter-university 
sporting events - it's not unusual for boarding schools to have 
scheduled 'free afternoons' for similar purposes - sporting, or 
amateur dramatics, etc.  Sometimes they are in place in order to 
allow pupils to travel home for the weekend; children at boarding 
school often start earlier, and finish later than those at day 
schools - hence the need for extra space for relaxation in the 
shcedule.  It makes sense to try and co-ordinate these free periods 
within a year, or even within a whole school.
> 
> 3. Why is there such enmity between Hagrid and Filch?  Why does 
Filch put Mrs. Norris up to following Hagrid everywhere inside the 
castle?

Because Hagrid is a student that never left!  He hasn't quite the 
authority of a teacher, but he still gets to drag christmas trees 
through the place, dropping pine needles everywhere, and tramp about 
in his muddy boots - not to mention his habit of bringing in dead 
animals (a cockrel [CoS] and a pole cat [PoA] at least), and Filtch 
can't touch him...no wonder he sets Mrs Norris to keep an eye on him.
On a deeper level, of course, Hagrid 'threw away' an opportunity that 
Filtch would probably give his right arm to have had.  Hagrid was 
expelled, but instead of being sent away in disgrace, he got to stay 
on the grounds, with a job of equal, if not more seniority than 
Filtch's.  To a bitter caretaker, this is probably just another 
example of the inherent prejudice against him...