The Polyjuice Incident and House Identification

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 84723

One possible explanation for Ron and Harry's mistake with the Ravenclaw girl
when they, having Polyjuiced themselves into the image of the
Stones-that-Speak to gain entry into the Slytherins' sanctum, was that they
saw her from the back...and whatever House badges, emblems, and so on
Hogwarts may have are on the _front_ of the robes.

Some schools that require uniform-wear of their students may have headgear
(like the caps in House colors in Kipling's _Stalky & Co._) that permits
identification of a wearer's House affiliation at a distance.  From what
I've seen, Hogwarts students very seldom _wear_ hats...at least I can't
think of any place where they're mentioned after the shopping list in the
first book.  (Hat question:  Do their hats have brims like Gandalf's hat, or
are they more like "dunce caps?")

Most uniforms, not just school uniforms, tend to have distinguishing marks
on the front, instead of the back.  Looked at from the back, a general's
uniform wouldn't be too much different from a second-lieutenant's,
particularly at first glance in light that isn't all it might be.

So-o-o, I think it's perfectly possible for there to be House emblems (as
there were in the Celluloid Thingy That Must Not Be Mentioned On This List)
and for Harry and Ron to not have been able to tell a Ravenclaw they didn't
know from a Slytherin, when she was seen from the back.