Hogwarts classes and textbooks

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 182651

Jerri:
<snip> Carol made some excellent points.  If HRH were taking an
Astronomy class at midnight or thereabouts one night a week, surely it
would have interfered with a detention or late night homework or
running around under the invisibility cloak or at least had them
sleepy the next day.  It appears to me that she intended them to be
taking Astronomy, scheduled the classes for late at night so it
wouldn't interfere with the day time schedule (and so that the stars
would be out), then never gave it another thought till she needed it
for a plot point. <snip>

Carol:

Thanks. Zanooda's quote pretty conclusively proves that you're
right--they've been taking Astronomy all along even though it's hardly
ever mentioned and there's no textbook--but I agree completely that
Astronomy only comes into the plot when JKR needs it and that it would
have disrupted their sleep schedule, among other things. Why not make
it one of the classes added during third year, at least, since it
plays no role in the first two books? And why not at least mention
having to stay up late on Wednesday nights? And why not a more
reasonable hour than midnight? (I'm tempted to look for a reference to
staying up or studying in the common room on a Wednesday night that
conflicts with this idea, but I don't think it would be worth the effort.)

It just occurred to me that students taking a midnight class would be
violating curfew. First-years wandering the corridors at midnight, or
at one o'clock when the class was over? And, of course, there would
have to be at least five separate classes, one per year for first
through fifth years, plus two more if there were any sixth- and
seventh-year NEWT Astronomy students. And students from all four
Houses would have to take the classes together or they couldn't fit
into the schedule. Clearly, it's one of those details that JKR didn't
really think about.

I think that the only reason JKR put Astronomy in the HP books at all
is so that she could have HRH witness Umbridge trying to evict Hagrid
during the Astronomy OWL and so that Dumbledore's body could fall off
the Astronomy Tower (which, besides being much more dramatic than
falling to the floor, prevents Greyback from ravaging DD's body and
Snape or Draco from snatching up DD's wand).

Carol, pretty sure that JKR was too concerned with the various plots
and subplots to consider the problems posed by including Astronomy in
the curriculum

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