OOP: Hogwarts student size new data

[sevenhundredandthirteen]

No: HPFGUIDX 63356

Spolier...
|
|
|
|


















innovan wrote:

> More evidence for the low estimate of Hogwarts student population.
> 
> OotP p196 states "100 or so horseless stagecoaches" carry the 
students 
> to school. The stagecoaches carry 4 students each, but some of the 
> stagecoaches are also used to carry luggage, not students.
<snip the estmates of carriages and students>

Me:

But what about this??

"[Harry] had hardly spoken to anyone about this, least of all thirty 
eagerly listening classmates."
(From Chapter 12 "Professor Umbridge" pg 221 Aus.)

Why this is important is firstly- there are 30 people in this class.
Secondly, it's DADA, which, acording to all other previous books is a 
*Gryffindor only* class. So, according to this new information, there 
are at least 30 Griffindors in Harry's year. According to the small 
Hogwarts rule there would be 8 students in each house- therefore only 
32 students *in total* in Harry's year. With 30 people in each house 
(and assuming that all houses are equal) there'd be 120 people in 
each year, and therefore 840 people in Hogwarts in total.

I think it's much harder to explain this away than your calculations 
based on the number of carriages, as, after all, stagecoaches could 
expand to account for the number of students, there were no first 
years in the coaches, maybe luggage is taken separately- after all, 
aren't they always instructed to leave their luggage on the train?? 
(I recall them all taking their pets, but never their trunks...) And, 
in OoP they manage to fit 5 people in one carriage (Luna, Ron, 
Hermione, Ginny, Harry).

~<(Laurasia)>~