Hogwarts: A tight schedule

[Olivia]

No: HPFGUIDX 43546

Amy Z said:

"Good thought.  We have to work out the timetable based on scattered clues,
and though there is no statement anywhere that there are no classes on
weekends, there are various canon indications that lead to that conclusion.
Grey Wolf has pointed out the Saturday Quidditch matches and visits to
Hagrid; Saturday is also the day of Hogsmeade visits (the first one in PoA
seems to be on a Sunday:
http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/calendar_pa.html); Sundays we see in
detail seem to be lesson-free (cf GF 28)."

Actually I didn't say what you're responding to, Amy. (A paragraph starting
with "My question is... and ending with ...teaching even more classes.") But
it is still possible that they have some Saturday classes. True, Quidditch
is on Saturday, but I get the impression from canon that they aren't every
Saturday. Although if it says somewhere that it is every Saturday morning,
by all means, correct me. I find it unlikely that they have classes on a
Sunday, but it's possible that they go to class every other Saturday or
there's some sort of rotating schedule of the like. I, personally, tend to
think that they only have five days of classes. Evidence from canon seems to
say that they have long days. From 9 o'clock in the morning right up until
dinner time.

Grey Wolf said:

"Sinistra is a woman in my translated edition, if that helps."

And Amy Z responded:

"Sorry, would that it did, but to the purist mind it resolves nothing.
Translators have to make their best guess, same as we do, and AFAWK have no
secret information from JKR."

I'd have to agree with Amy. Other discrepancies have been found between
translations. And if we're all going to be as vehement about canon as you
are, GW, I'd say, rule out anything that isn't in the English version as
it's unknown whether it's JK's doing, or a translator's guess. The English
language obviously doesn't require a feminine or masculine version of a
word, while most other languages do. I'm not sure what language your edition
is, but that kind of thing could definitely be the work of a translator,
unless -- going out on a limb here -- the translators consulted JK for
discrepancies like that.

Grey Wolf said:

"Other people have suggested that the teachers we know of are only heads of
departments and that the classes are given out by lesser teachers so they
can find time. However, this clashes directly with the fact that Harry has
NEVER been teached by any other teacher than the ones attending the parties
and ceremonies."

Like I mentioned before, we have a very, very limited view of Hogwarts.
Harry is just one point of view of many. We know for a fact that he doesn't
take every class available to him. And it's very possible that just because
he goes to a particular class, doesn't mean he describes it to us. He took
at least one year of Astronomy, but we have only very brief mentions of it
and it's never been described to us in as much detail as, say, Potions.
Maybe there's more classes he goes to that don't interest him enough to give
us a description. I'm just saying that just because something isn't directly
referenced, doesn't mean it isn't there. I do agree that my (and others,
apparently) theory on the teachers who are at meals are the heads of
departments is a little weak, it may not be entirely untrue. Or maybe there
are teachers who simply choose not to eat at the staff table. We know that
Professor Trelawney chooses not to, for one. Maybe there are others who
don't. Or maybe there are teachers there who Harry doesn't know because he
doesn't have them in class, therefore doesn't mention them in his
descriptions.

Question: Do Professor Sprout and Madam Hooch eat at the staff table? I have
neither my books nor my notes in front of me and can't remember if they've
been mentioned at meals before or not.

Amy Z also said:

"Well, the clash isn't as direct as all that.  The only teachers *mentioned*
in the descriptions of dinners, etc. are the ones who have taught Harry.
This doesn't mean there are no other teachers, any more than Pansy's "gang
of Slytherin girls" must consist of only Millicent Bulstrode just because
she's the only Slytherin girl in that year we know by name (setting aside
the androgynous Blaise Zabini).

Also, we know for a fact that not all teachers get a mention. Professor
Vector was never mentioned until PoA, when one of the Trio had her for a
class; ditto Trelawney; Professor Kettleburn was probably at the head table
for the first two years, without JKR seeing fit to tell us about him; the
Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes
professors have never been mentioned, though they presumably exist."

I think I should have just used Amy's argument. She's far more succinct than
I was, and expresses her self much better. :)

All this talk has definitely inspired me into trying to come up with some
more definitive notes on the subject. It's a very interesting and
thought-provoking topic you brought up, Grey Wolf. (I think you're the one
who started it. So many messages coming and going, it's hard to remember.)

Olivia