History Headscratchers / HarryPotterHogwarts

** I'm talking ''canon'', though: In ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'', Bellatrix Lestrange regards Harry as "filthy" because he's a half-blood (I believe her exact line was, "You dare speak his name? Besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue?" Or very, very close to it.) So obviously, blood status isn't as simple as fanon would have it; not to mention just how many fans, especially in RP and fanfic communities, [[CompletelyMissingThePoint think that being a pure-blood is better.]]

*** There's also the fact that in Hogwarts, it is somewhat difficult to do things when no one is around. There are spy-animals, a teacher could be just around the corner and virtually anyone else could be watching. One can also safe to assume that the teachers will be punished for their actions, as Dumble has stated only certain members of the staff can punish students, meaning that there are rules that they have to follow.

*** There's also the fact that it in Hogwarts, it is somewhat difficult to do things when no one is around. There are spy-animals, a teacher could be just around the corner and virtually anyone else could be watching. One can also safe to assume that the teachers will be punished for their actions, as Dumble has stated only certain members of the staff can punish students, meaning that there are rules that they have to follow.

*** An excerpt from the official [[https://www.hp-lexicon.org/thing/hogwarts-classes/ Hogwarts Schedule]]: "In this class, they learn the names of stars and constellations, of planets and their moons. They study the motions of the stars and planets through the heavens. They learn how to use telescopes, observe the night skies through them, and make labeled star charts. They even learn current Muggle knowledge about the solar system, such as the sizes and surface features of Jupiter’s moons (knowledge unknown until the Muggle spacecraft Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, and Galileo flew past them and radioed back detailed images)." TL;DR it's literally a normal astronomy class, plus it's compulsory. It also seems to sell itself as a "subclass" of Muggle Studies.

*** Since astronomy is basically used in studying the universe, maybe it's one of the more scientific classes. Furthermore, they probably teach astrology in that class as well. Alternatively, [[WildMassGuessing astronomy may be used in place for "astrology"]].

*** Since astronomy is basically used in studying the universe, maybe it's one of the more scientific classes. Furthermore, they probably teach astrology in the class as well. [[WildMassGuessing Astronomy may be used in place for "astrology"]].

*** Since astronomy is basically used in studying the future, maybe it's one of the more scientifical classes. Furthermore, they probably teach astrology in the class as well. [[WildMassGuessing Astronomy may be used in place for "astrology"]].

** Isn't accepting that all of Snape's students passed their OWLs a bit too convenient? It is somewhat justified that his behavior is to be taken as a life lesson, but is that lesson really what one should teach 11 year olds? Acting in the manner in which he did does not seem likely to inspire his students to be better. Someone with his attitude has no business instructing children, he is certainly a genius in his field, but that doesn't necessitate him being a good or even average professor. Someone like Snape is probably best suited teaching either upperclassmen Potions or graduate work. Using fear is fine, but he clearly crossed a line where some of the kids started to hate him - a big no-no for teachers.

** Don't forget that in ''[[HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince HBP]]'', Rowling gave us Slughorn, a Slytherin who's not evil (just ambitious), and [=McLaggen=], a Gryffindor whose courage is the bad kind (arrogance).

** Neville isn't bad at potions, he just had a shitty teacher. What's the first thing Snape did? After mocking a student for not having the textbook memorized on the first day of class that is. Make dangerous potion, not go over safety procedures, not teach how to prep ingredients, not teach how to use equipment, and not go over how ingredients react together. Nope just. "directions are on the board" now make a potion that goes caustic without having actually been taught how to make potions. For all the worry about Cauldron bottom thickness no one seems to have thought up a WHIMIS equivalent for the wizarding world. It doesn't matter if potions is closer to cooking or chemistry, I had both those classes in high school and in both we went over safety procedures and proper use of equipment before we did anything else. (To a less degree in foods to be sure but still)

** There are several reasons for why Neville is bad at Potions. Sure, he improved a lot in the last couple of books, but think about the issues he showed in the first few. He is clumsy, something that will likely cause spilled potions, broken cauldrons, improperly cut ingredients, among other things. He has an awful memory, so him losing track of how much of something he added or how many times he stirred is expected. He gets nervous easily, so his early mistakes cause even bigger ones to happen. Now, maybe he could deal with all of that if he gave his all and focused on his stuff, but his last issue is the last nail in the coffin. His teacher is an asshole who hates him for no good reason (he has reasons, but they just make him look worse) and is basically breathing down his neck looking for a reason to flunk him. Just one of those could cause a fair bit of trouble on a class that requires as much precision as Potions, but with all of them together, and things look pretty bleak.

** Cedric told Harry to go to the Hufflepuff Prefects bathroom to take a bath. Yes, Harry could have used Gryffindor's bathroom, but he didn't know how taking a bath with the egg would help him. For all he knew, there was something of special help in that particular bathroom (which it turns out, there was, in the form of Myrtle).
** Only problem is, that wasn't the Hufflepuff Prefect's bathroom. It was for all the prefects, and Hermione even tells Harry he'll be able to use it when he gets promoted to Quidditch Captain.

** George mentions something in the third book about Wood being "still in the showers" - though he could also be referring to the rain outside - so presumably yes there are bathing facilities.
** IIRC, there was a portrait of a mermaid in the prefects' washroom, which helped Harry figure out that the second task would take place beneath the Hogwarts lake.

** You're forgetting skill. The absolute best Quidditch equipment in the world means nothing if it's being used by a baboon. I don't recall exactly which book, but there was one match (I want to say when Malfoy was on a Nimbus 2001 but Harry still had his inferior Nimbus 2000) where Malfoy failed to notice the Snitch fluttering right next to his ear and Harry ended up getting it. Equipment quality had nothing to do with that. Also recall the World Cup, where Krum got the Snitch, but Ireland's Chasers were so good that even the bonus 150 points wasn't enough for his team to win.

** My answer to the the first question is; go back to school. My school is roughly the same size of Hogwarts and she has actually gotten the ratio of good and bad teachers quite well. The three worst teachers all represent real terrible teachers; one who torments, one who is too kind and friendly to be a teacher, and one who just doesn't understand the subject. At first I thought she missed one of the teacher archetypes, the one that doesn't do anything and tells you to "do your work" and then Umbridge came to the school. Well done.

3. Have a three-stage curriculum. The first stage is the "intrigue them stage", which will focus on all the Muggle things kids would be interested in, such as radio-controlled toy cars, TV, computers (when they start appearing), etc.; the class will mostly consist of going to places where technology works. The second stage, the "reason with them stage", will be more academic and will feature things like calculating the number of Muggles for every wizard on the planet, in Great Britain/your region/town/neighborhood, and the more advanced stuff like "these are the births and deaths in the magical community: now calculate from 1668 if we only married pure-bloods when would we have gone extinct". The third stage, for the last two years, is the the "[[ScareEmStraight scare them straight]] stage". First thing, a recap using the numbers from last year; ask them "If we allowed only pure-bloods to marry, how many kids would the average woman have to conceive to maintain our population?" End the essay with a interview off a female relative asking her if she would do this. In the next weeks, we will be studying A-bombs, H-Bombs, AK-47s, and how untrained Muggle-borns can break our Masquerade, etc.

* Why on earth was Percy sorted into Gryffindor? If you stop and think about he's really seriously Hufflepuff (I'm sure there are people who would say Slytherin, but he really seemed like he was perfectly happy to be a low-level worker as long as he felt like he was doing real practical work, though he was still glad to be bumped up of course); his defining characteristic from book four onward is his loyalty, the major problem being that he gave it to the wrong people until it reached a point where it was clear the the ministry didn't deserve that loyalty.

[[folder: Syltherin half-bloods]]