[HPforGrownups] Who goes to Hogwarts

[manawydan]

No: HPFGUIDX 119950

Yb speculated:
> So maybe Professor Sprout, or McGonnagall, or even Dumbledore
> himself would go to these Muggleborns to explain what Hogwarts is
> and other things. Perhaps they provide directions to Diagon Alley.
> Note that no directions were provided to any of these places were
> provided in Harry's letter. We can make a few guesses about this.
> This means that:
>
> a. The letter-writer (presumably McGonnagall, though just because
> she signed it doesn't she wrote it; it read a lot like a form letter)
> assumed that Harry knew about these things, and therefore assumed
> Petunia knew how to get to these places, and had told Harry.
>
> b. The letter-writer knew that Hagrid was taking the letter to
> Harry, and as such, would tell him all these things. This means that
> the contents of the letter were altered /specifically/ for Harry,
> and that most letters to Muggleborns include directions, etc.
>
> c. Directions to Diagon Alley and the platform, and other bits of
> information are /never/ distributed in letters. The ambassador is
> expected to tell the Muggleborns about these things. Where Harry
> would fit in this one is not known, since Petunia should probably
> have only limited knowledge of this stuff.
>
> I think (c) is the most likely scenario, just because that's how I
> feel today.

There's an enormous potential for culture shock, isn't there, for an 11 year
old with two Muggle parents, suddenly arriving in the WW where absolutely
nothing works the same way that it did at home. And yet the ones we've seen,
like Hermione and the Creeveys, seem not to be falling into the kind of
traps that you'd expect, even when they first arrive.

Maybe, as well as the usual reading list, there's a special "Welcome to the
Wizarding World" book for people in this category which explains what to
expect.

Harry of course, having wizarding parents, wouldn't be directed to this.
(Also for plot reasons we, the readers, have to have the same questions
answered so just shuffling Harry off to read a book offstage wouldn't be
very satisfying!)

Cheers

Ffred

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