[HPforGrownups] JKR did not always appear to think things through

[Lynda Cordova]

No: HPFGUIDX 189434

Bart:

there
are numerous references to playing/practicing Q (I'm too lazy to look up
how many d's there are in it) during off-season. But this is clearly the
practice of magic by underagers. The explanation is given that it is
magic practiced in the household, not the student. But that means that
students who come from wizarding families have a huge advantage over
those who don't; notably, an opportunity to practice skills over the
holidays.

Lynda:

I get your point, but I have to ask, is this not normal? For instance, I'm
an amateur musician. I sing and play several instruments, at varying levels,
some fairly close to professional. The reason I'm as good as I am is because
I have access to instruments and make it a habit. There was a time, however,
when I had neither and during those years my skill degenerated to an extent,
because I had neither access nor opportunity.  To further the story I have a
younger relative who loves baseball. As a child he played in the leagues
that were available, which, in the area he lived in limited his play to 3
months of the year. So not much practice or progress for him, but when his
family moved to another area of the states, he was able to play in differing
leagues and clubs for much of the year, every year and he improved markedly.

As for the whole usage of magic thing, I have a sneaky feeling that there
would have been exceptions made for the rules for the practice of games, as
well as for home schooling families. Let's face it. Most parents were
probably not as diligent in as the Weasleys in keeping their kids from using
magic outside of school and even they didn't catch every usage of magic by
their kids..

Lynda


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