[HPforGrownups] Student Population, SOLVED (sort of) WAS Re: MuggleNet - Godrics Hollow Theory.

[Jordan Abel]

No: HPFGUIDX 163685

> Carol responds:
> The number of students in
> Harry's year (and Hogwarts) also seems to increase significantly in
> GoF and especially OoP from the 40 for Harry's year (or roughly 280
> for the school) in earlier books.

Actually, there's a perfectly good explanation. Check out this page:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ElaborateUniversityHigh

Note in particular the sentence "Although a story may only follow a
few characters, backgrounds and wide angle shots clearly show that the
student body is quite large."

Now, consider the students named in the sorting ceremonies, even JKR's
notebook, to be loosely equated with which "few characters" we
"follow"* while the seating for thousands etc are the "backgrounds and
wide angle shots".

*or, rather, as a sort of 'sketch' of a cross-section of notable and
typical students in each house, since a great many of those sorted are
never mentioned again, and some of the notebook names aren't even
shown sorted.

It's telling that _everything_ that goes to numbers at all, from the
seating arrangements to the crowded hallways in a seven-story castle,
points to there being many more students, teachers, elves, etc, than
are ever shown by name or face.