How long are the classes?

[eloiseherisson at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 79651


Anna:

>I'm not sure about class length, but I think that a 'single period' 
>refers to just Gryffindors (or Ravenclaws/Slytherins/Hufflepuffs.. 
>one house) while a 'double period' refers to having a class with two 
>houses such as Gryffindors and Slytherin together (potions, for 
>example).

Whilst this makes some sense, I'd have to point out that at least in British 
English, a 'double' period or lesson is the usual way to refer to a lesson 
which takes up two standard length lesson slots on the timetable. If JKR is using 
it as you suggest, to imply a combined lesson with another house, then she is 
using a standard English term to mean something non-standard and at variance 
with its received sense.

I also think that DADA is taught in single house groups (I do not recall 
mixed DADA lessons, but I may be wrong) and on their first day back at Hogwarts in 
OoP, Harry's class have "double" DADA.

I think I am not alone in suspecting that whilst JKR is obsessive about some 
details of her writing, there are other details (frequently to do with time) 
about which she simply does not care. For instance, way back I tried to fit 
Lupin's werewolf transformations to a lunar calendar and failed miserably. It 
just didn't work. 

~Eloise

    



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