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I've been thinking about some of the inconsistencies in the Harry Potter canon, and think I may have come up with a possible solution for at least one.
How many students are there at Hogwarts?
Steve Vander Ark posts a thoughtful response here, which lists two conflicting sets of facts:
1. For the most part, in all the countable evidence about Harry's own year, there seem to be more or less 10 students per house. For two-house lessons, there are 20 brooms, cauldrons, sets of earmuffs, and so on. This would, if extrapolated, give us 10 students/house/year x 4 houses = 40 students/year, x 7 years = 280 students, total.
2. However, he cites three things that seem to suggest more students, which I'd like to address here.
a) In Prisoner of Azkaban, there are about 100 carriages to transport students from the train to Hogwarts.
Well, the question here would be how many students fit in a carriage. If four students would fit in a carriage, then this would be enough for 400 students-- but some students might wish to carry their owls with them, or perhaps a bag of some sort, and this might make it a little bit of a tight fit. It might be more reasonable to put 3 students in a carriage, which would make it almost exactly right. It would be better to bring a few more carriages than needed, rather than cram all the students into the minimum number. When my high school took the band to various events, even though technically they could have put 3 students in a bus seat, they would usually allow for 2 students per seat and take three buses, even though that sometimes meant that some students would get a seat to themselves. I don't think that 100 carriages proves there are 1000 students at Hogwarts, or even more than 200-300.
b) He mentions the 1200 or so seats at the Yule Ball, although we already know that some attendees were not students at Hogwarts. Again, this could have simply been allowing more than necessary seating.
c) During a quidditch match in Prisoner, there were "about 200" supporters of Slytherin in the stands. However, it's entirely possible that this could have been the 70 or so house members (minus the ones playing) plus parents and friends and alumni.
It's been pointed out that during the time of Voldemort's terrorist acts-- meaning, the acts leading up to his defeat at Harry's and his mother's hands when Harry was just over a year old-- people might have chosen to put off having children. I think a more sinister answer might have been that Voldemort killed some families off entirely, meaning that if it had not been a time of war, there might have been twice as many students.
However, the best solution I've come up with is this. While it's possible to say that JK is just bad at math (and she herself admits this) I think a reasonable answer might be this: Hogwarts itself is designed for about 1000 students as its full capacity. This would explain the numbers of empty classrooms, unused and dusty hallways, and so on. Hogwarts as a school designed for 1000 students, but currently supporting a third that number (given that the classes two years after Harry might be more full)-- it explains a lot.
This actually suggests the idea of some perfectly lovely fanfiction exploring the past of Hogwarts-- was it originally built to hold so many students? Were the original dormitories in all four of the main towers, and the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins moved downstairs for some reason? Might there be secret passages, or leftover artifacts, in some rooms based on their original purposes?
So, does the idea of solving mysterious inconsistencies in fiction make you think, or just get annoyed with the author?
How many students are there at Hogwarts?
Steve Vander Ark posts a thoughtful response here, which lists two conflicting sets of facts:
1. For the most part, in all the countable evidence about Harry's own year, there seem to be more or less 10 students per house. For two-house lessons, there are 20 brooms, cauldrons, sets of earmuffs, and so on. This would, if extrapolated, give us 10 students/house/year x 4 houses = 40 students/year, x 7 years = 280 students, total.
2. However, he cites three things that seem to suggest more students, which I'd like to address here.
a) In Prisoner of Azkaban, there are about 100 carriages to transport students from the train to Hogwarts.
Well, the question here would be how many students fit in a carriage. If four students would fit in a carriage, then this would be enough for 400 students-- but some students might wish to carry their owls with them, or perhaps a bag of some sort, and this might make it a little bit of a tight fit. It might be more reasonable to put 3 students in a carriage, which would make it almost exactly right. It would be better to bring a few more carriages than needed, rather than cram all the students into the minimum number. When my high school took the band to various events, even though technically they could have put 3 students in a bus seat, they would usually allow for 2 students per seat and take three buses, even though that sometimes meant that some students would get a seat to themselves. I don't think that 100 carriages proves there are 1000 students at Hogwarts, or even more than 200-300.
b) He mentions the 1200 or so seats at the Yule Ball, although we already know that some attendees were not students at Hogwarts. Again, this could have simply been allowing more than necessary seating.
c) During a quidditch match in Prisoner, there were "about 200" supporters of Slytherin in the stands. However, it's entirely possible that this could have been the 70 or so house members (minus the ones playing) plus parents and friends and alumni.
It's been pointed out that during the time of Voldemort's terrorist acts-- meaning, the acts leading up to his defeat at Harry's and his mother's hands when Harry was just over a year old-- people might have chosen to put off having children. I think a more sinister answer might have been that Voldemort killed some families off entirely, meaning that if it had not been a time of war, there might have been twice as many students.
However, the best solution I've come up with is this. While it's possible to say that JK is just bad at math (and she herself admits this) I think a reasonable answer might be this: Hogwarts itself is designed for about 1000 students as its full capacity. This would explain the numbers of empty classrooms, unused and dusty hallways, and so on. Hogwarts as a school designed for 1000 students, but currently supporting a third that number (given that the classes two years after Harry might be more full)-- it explains a lot.
This actually suggests the idea of some perfectly lovely fanfiction exploring the past of Hogwarts-- was it originally built to hold so many students? Were the original dormitories in all four of the main towers, and the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins moved downstairs for some reason? Might there be secret passages, or leftover artifacts, in some rooms based on their original purposes?
So, does the idea of solving mysterious inconsistencies in fiction make you think, or just get annoyed with the author?
