Hogwarts classes/House Elves/Remus/Tonks/Secret Sorting Hat

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 181054

Aceworker/DA Jones wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/180796>:

<< For instance in Transfiguration they are taught that human
transfiguration is prohibited. >>

When the kids in GoF are planning for Harry to do the underwater Task,
Hermione said: <<"Of course, the ideal solution would be for you to
Transfigure yourself into a submarine or something," she said. "If
only we'd done human Transfiguration already! But I don't think we
start that until sixth year, and it can go badly wrong if you don't
know what you're doing ...">> Human Transfiguration being taught in
sixth year doesn't sound to me like Human Transfiguration being
forbidden. Were you thinking of the Unforgiveable Curses, also
explained in GoF?

Aceworker/DA Jones wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/180796>:

<< There doesn't seem to be much need for household spells. As most
witches and wizards eventually acquire house-elves to do all that for
them anyway. >>

CoS says:
<<"I don't know whether the Malfoys own a house-elf" said harry.

"Well, whoever owns him will be an old wizarding family, and they'll
be rich," said Fred.

"Yeah, Mum's always wishing we had a house-elf to do the ironing,"
said George. "But all we've got is a lousy old ghoul in the attic and
gnomes all over the garden. House-elves come with big old manors
and castles and places like that; you wouldn't catch one in our house
. . ." >>

That doesn't sound to me like most witches and wizards eventually
acquire a House Elf.

Pippin quote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/180809>:

<< "I have had it *all* tested for posion," he assured Harry, pouring
most of the first bottle into one of Hagrid's bucket-sized mugs and
handing it to Hagrid. "Had a house-elf taste every bottle after what
happened to your poor friend Rupert." >>

That's what Hermione said after hearing Kreachy's story: it's
perfectly normal for wizards who aren't even Death Eaters to test
potions on House Elves.

However, there is a wizarding world inconsistency here. Humans can
test poisons on dogs because dogs are abundant and relatively
inexpensive.  House Elf are abundant at Hogwarts, but canon doesn't
suggest they're abundant anywhere else ... Kreachy appears to have
been the *only* House Elf belonging to the toujours pur Blacks at the
time, so if LV's green potion had killed him, the Blacks would have
had to do all the housework themselves. Voldemort wouldn't care about
the Blacks' housework, but Who would risk killing their own only servant?

Jayne wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/180805>:

<< my favorite character in the series is killed off at the end. That
is Remus Lupin. >>

Remus is my favorite character, too, and Rowling did a lot worse to
him in DH than killing him. We have this allegedly happy ending to
HBP, where all Remus's surviving friends and acquaintances bully him
into marrying Tonks even tho' he doesn't want to. Then he spends DH
running around being miserable and hysterical because of the marriage
and the child. Dying in battle probably was a relief for him, as it
was the only honorable way for him to escape those burdens.

I don't know why he didn't want to marry Tonks, who seemed quite
likeable in OoP to me. Of course he loves her only as a sister or a
daughter, but romance is not necessary for marriage. I'm sure there's
something about living with her that totally gets on his nerves. I'm a
total Sirius/Remus shipper, but merely not being Sirius shouldn't be
*that* annoying. (To me, a person who can put up with Sirius can put
up with a lot.)

Maybe she spends all her off-page time babbling about her favorite
boy-bands until he's out of his mind with boredom. I don't remember if
canon ever presented Remus as a neat freak, but if he could put up
with Sirius being a slob, he could put up with Tonks beings a slob.
Maybe it has something to do with her clumsiness, altho' it seems to
me that even if she breaks treasured mementos from his past, objects
that he loves more than he loves her, he can fix them with Reparo.
Maybe it's that he has a psychological need to spend a lot of time
alone, when he can complain and be bad-tempered as much as he wants
without witnesses, but one'd think he'd get that while she's at work
-- was she fired from the Aurors for marrying him, I mean back before
the Dark Side took over the Ministry?

Dave Hardenbrook wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/180813>:

<< So I'd like to take this opportunity to propose a new Theory Club
called "R-NUDGE" ("Rumors of Nymphadora's Untimely Death are 'Greatly
Exaggerated'"). I think there is hope because:

1. Tonks does *not* appear in the Resurrection Stone scene.
2. Harry didn't see *how* she was killed, so there's no proof she was.
(Maybe she took the Draught of Living Death?)
3. No reference is made to Teddy's upbringing (aside from his frequent
visits to his godparents) in the Epilogue.

Note that I'm not suggesting any of the above as direct evidence of
Dora still living, only as evidence of a possible loophole for ardent
Tonks fans like me. >>

I'll join your theory, not as a Tonks fan, but because I think it's a
terrible mess for Tonks to spend her eternal afterlife moping over
Remus while Remus is happy with his friends.

But if she stays alive, that's a load off Remus's afterlife. I mean,
if she stays alive, she has time to 'get over it'. She wouldn't be
much use to her baby or anyone else moping like she did in HBP, but
maybe her baby will cheer her up some. Then she maybe could go back to
work as an Auror and be useful to the wizarding community and
eventually fall in love and marry again. 
 
Zanooda wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/181005>:

<< I could never understand how Ron could *not* know about the Sorting
Hat and the Sorting ceremony. Come on! This is so unrealistic! The boy
is from an old wizarding family, where everyone went to Hogwarts, and
he has no idea how the new students are Sorted? >>

I went to a college which had a lot of Traditions, including one which
was a surprise for the freshmen. The other years prepared this
surprise, but it was very important to keep it secret so it would be a
surprise. For decades, not only students and teachers, but also the
alumnae, kept it secret. So I never doubted that Hogswarts could keep
the Sorting Hat secret from incoming students.