Hogwarts Student Population

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 45446

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., GulPlum <hpfgu at p...> wrote:
> At 15:34 16/10/02 +0000, Steve wrote:
> 
> <snip>
> bboy_mn originally said:
>
> >Clearly, there are other dorm *rooms* in this dormitory.
> 

GulPlum replied in part:
>
> Point of British English usage (as it happens, the American 
> definition appears to be  broader) : a "dormitory" (or "dorm", 
> which is the word I'll use to save typing) without qualification 
> is a single room with (usually) several beds which serves as a 
> communal sleeping area. 
> 
> ...eidted...

bboy_mn replies:
According to the American Heritage Dictionary*, you are wrong. 

HOWEVER, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, you are right.

Oxford makes NO mention of- 

*Dormitory - 2. A building for housing a number of persons, as at a
school or resort. 

Not even in reference to it as a secondary or minor definition. Of
course, the main Oxford Dictionary on-line is by subscription only, so
I has to use askoxford.com which may not be as comprehensive.
-end this part-

GulPlum continues:
> CoS (p. 67, UK ed): "They hurried up it,  right to the top, and at 
> last reached the door of their old dormitory, which now had a sign 
> on it saying SECOND YEARS."
> 
> It doesn't say "second years room 1" or "Finnigan, Longbottom,
>  Potter, Weasley, Thomas". It simply says "second years". 
> 

bboy_mn replies:
You would emphasize the words "Second Years". I would emphasize the
words "OLD DORMITORY". Harry went back to the same room he had the
previous year; his OLD DORMITORY, which is the same room he goes back
to every year. He doesn't have to search for a sign to know which one
it is. So *IF* there are others in his year, they do the same thing.
They go back to the same room that they've had since the beginning,
and find the sign changed to indicate their current year. "SECOND
YEARS" proves nothing other than Harry is one year farther along in
school.
-end this part-

Bboy_mn org:
> >We know there are more boys in Colin Creevey's year but have any 
> >of them been names? Occassionally, you will hear about Colin and 
> >his friends, but those friends are never identified. Unless I've 
> >forgotten a lot of details, the story seems to imply that Colin is
> > the only boy in his year. But that doesn't seem logical.

GulPlum:
> 
> All it implies is that Colin is the only boy in his year who shows an 
> interest in Harry, and therefore is the only one Harry notices. (It's 
> normal not to pay attention to kids in classes junior to one's own.)
> 

Bboy_mn replies:
Exactly my point, we only see the obvious; the things that are
prominent in Harry's life. Other students in other dorm rooms, don't
get mentioned because they have insignificant interaction with Harry.
It is pretty much confirmed that there are two additional girls in
Harry's class year. They have never been named and have only been
referenced in indirect ways (fighting the bogart). So there are
student that Harry stands side by side with every single day who have
only gotten the few very smallest drops on ink. Plus, many others that
we know are there but who have gotten ZERO ink time. All I'm saying is
that among the 'zero ink time' students, there could be some in
Harry's year that have no significants to Harry's daily life. 
-end this part-

** bboy_mn & GulPlum ....blah blah blah 20 this and 20 that. **

bboy_mn replies:
Actually there was something that made me suspect this number, but I
haven't been able to find it again. I'll keep looking. It's not
'proof', but it did make the number 20 seem suspect.
-end this part-

GulPlum:
> 
> I see the "second years" label as quite conclusive, ...
> 
 bboy_mn:
And obviously, I don't.

bboy_mn