Hogwarts prep school/Clothing/language/Muggle Interface

[bystardust]

No: HPFGUIDX 38574

aldrea279 wrote:
> But then again, it seems to me as though parts of the WW are 
somewhat 
> old-fashioned.  And that -is- how people used to educate their 
> children, by either homeschooling them themselves or hiring a 
> governess.  I wonder if they do have primary schools just for 
> wizarding children, but I can't help but doubt that...

It's true--the WW does seem to have held on better than muggles to 
old-fashioned ways of life (for example, quills and parchment), but 
that's what I find confusing: in some ways, the WW seems very 
separated from ours, but in other ways the line between the two 
worlds is blurred.

aldrea279 again:
> I always sort of thought that the reason they wore Muggle clothes 
was 
> because they were kids.  Sort of like...well, like it's a becoming 
a 
> wizard privelage/honor to be able to wear robes and look all 
magical 
> and mystical all the time.  Didn't Ron's older brothers wear 
robes?  
> And I don't think the books have ever mentioned any adult wizard 
> wearing Muggle clothes unless they were trying to go in disguise. 
And 
> perhaps that's why the slightly older generations can't quite get 
the 
> hang of dressing "normaly", because it's been so long since they've 
> had to and the styles have changed- and perhaps they just find it 
> slightly insulting to have to do so?  

That's an interesting and plausible theory. In GoF, when Harry first 
meets Bill Weasley, he says, "His [Bill's] clothes would not have 
looked out of place at a rock concert..." (European Edition, 50), so 
I'm assuming Bill is wearing muggle clothing, but I think that's 
because they're more or less of Harry's generation. (But there's been 
some debate about their ages, hasn't there?)

I also agree with draco382's points and think the theory is probably 
true, but I still can't figure out why some wizard-muggle rules and 
boundaries are so loose and casual while others are rigid and strict. 
I guess it's because, like you said, it's only recently become more 
common for wizards and muggles to do things together, and that some 
people have trouble getting used to it. It seems like a lot of the 
older magical folk are bothered by the idea and that it's a 
widespread opinion that muggles are petty and uninteresting. Makes me 
think of the elves in _Lord_of_the_Rings_, but I won't get into that.

--Doldra