# General Harry Potter thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 10, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162 "2006-09-10T14:12:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/101 "2006-09-16T14:15:20Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] There are definitely only five Gryffindor boys in Harry’s year. I am quite certain of that, though I couldn’t say where it’s been stated for certain (I think the narrator might have mentioned the number of beds in their dormitory, or soemthing.) It’s quite clear that Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville are all the Gryffindor boys in their class. On the girls’ side, I’m not as sure - there’s Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender, but I couldn’t say for sure whether there are any others. [/QUOTE] :dubious: This seems to me like really weak logic. There are only five boys _in that room_, but do you really think an entire dormitory tower would have only one room in it? I find it much more likely that there are many more students in Harry’s year, but most of them don’t have anything to do in the story, so they’re like movie extras - visible in the wide shots, but not part of the closeups. Heck, in _HP & tOotP_, the members of Dumbledore’s Army alone number twenty-eight, and they’re surely a small fraction of the entire student body. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/102 "2006-09-16T15:34:23Z")
[QUOTE=Chef Troy] :dubious: This seems to me like really weak logic. There are only five boys _in that room_, but do you really think an entire dormitory tower would have only one room in it? I find it much more likely that there are many more students in Harry’s year, but most of them don’t have anything to do in the story, so they’re like movie extras - visible in the wide shots, but not part of the closeups. Heck, in _HP & tOotP_, the members of Dumbledore’s Army alone number twenty-eight, and they’re surely a small fraction of the entire student body. [/QUOTE] The dormitory is specifically for Gryffindor boys from Harry’s year. I’m not positive that that’s the only evidence that’s been shared that those are the only boys in Harry’s year, but they are. If you can find some other evidence to contradict me, feel free. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/103 "2006-09-16T15:44:17Z")
**Excalibre** is correct. The wall outside the door has a sign on it that says “First Years” (in the first book). In the second book, they’re in the same room, but the sign has been replaced with one that reads “Second Years.” ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/104 "2006-09-16T17:38:14Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] Another question: this Floo powder. Is it made at home? Purchased? and if so, how is it manufactured and tested? Are there standards for Floo powder? Grades-so that animals would travel slightly differently than wizards? [/QUOTE] In CoS, Molly mentions that they’re almost out of Floo powder and will need to buy more. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/105 "2006-09-16T18:27:59Z")
[QUOTE=Chef Troy] :dubious: This seems to me like really weak logic. There are only five boys _in that room_, but do you really think an entire dormitory tower would have only one room in it? I find it much more likely that there are many more students in Harry’s year, but most of them don’t have anything to do in the story, so they’re like movie extras - visible in the wide shots, but not part of the closeups. [/QUOTE] Sorry, I can’t buy that. These are the ONLY Griff boy students in that year EVER mentioned doing ANYTHING in class or elsewhere. Same with Quidditch. Plus, the signs on the doors. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/106 "2006-09-16T19:31:45Z")
[QUOTE=Apos] Sorry, I can’t buy that. These are the ONLY Griff boy students in that year EVER mentioned doing ANYTHING in class or elsewhere. Same with Quidditch. Plus, the signs on the doors. [/QUOTE] I’m with Apos on this one. In six books, you would have though that more than just the same five boys would be mentioned if there were more to choose from. Especially considering that some lessons are taken with members of other houses, too, there certainly should be other Gryffindor boys mentioned if they exist. On the other hand, we don’t know that there are five boys in _every_ house. Given that the sorting isn’t random, there could very well be 6 Slytherins and 2 Hufflepuffs and 12 Ravenclaws, or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/107 "2006-09-16T21:16:54Z")
JKR just posted on her website a [url=[http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/extrastuff\_view.cfm?id=23](http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/extrastuff_view.cfm?id=23)]“NAQ” section[/ur] – “Never Asked Question”. She’s been asked in the past “what do you wish that someone would ask you that no one ever has?” She blanked on that question when it was asked, but now she’s remembered this one: > [@](#): > > Why did Dumbledore have James’ invisibility cloak at the time of James’ death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak? In retrospect, that’s an excellent question. I’m blanking on any kind of an answer. Clearly Dumbledore wouldn’t have needed it for himself. For whom, then? And why go through Dumbledore, instead of borrowing it themselves? Perhaps it was for Snape? James certainly wouldn’t have been willing to help him. ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/108 "2006-09-16T23:59:46Z")
Somebody asked this question way back: Why have Portkeys when you can Apparate, unless Apparition is for short distances only? I assumed Portkeys are for instantly transporting those who can’t Apparate, such as underage wizards and anyone who can’t pass their test to get a license. I believe that Apparition over long distances is more difficult but possible. As for the Invisibility Cloak, I thought that James may have left it at Hogwarts for some reason. Maybe it was confiscated from him in his younger years and Dumbledore decided it should be Harry’s, just so Harry would have something of his father’s. The Marauders’ Map was confiscated and retrieved and passed down, after all. Am I forgetting something that would indicate otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/109 "2006-09-17T00:42:49Z")
Another possibility is that Hagrid retrieved it from Godric’s Hollow at the same time he collected Harry, and Dumbledore kept it until the time was right. (Can you imagine what Dudley would have done with an Invisibility Cloak? Do you really want to?) ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/110 "2006-09-17T01:02:48Z")
To me, the more salient question is what is Dumbledore doing giving Harry such a risky thing? It’s almost like he wants Harry to break school rules etc. (I am referring to AD as the Head of Hogwarts here, not as a friend to HP, who would want him to have every protection…) AD can see through invisibiltiy cloaks, no? I thought in #3 that he could. I don’t have all the details of the books down. Also, wasn’t there some controversy about Lilly being a Muggle? I mean, if she is a witch/wizard and so is James, then Harry is NOT a mudblood. Or am I confused? ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/111 "2006-09-17T03:48:58Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] AD can see through invisibiltiy cloaks, no? I thought in #3 that he could. I don’t have all the details of the books down. [/quote] Mad-Eye Moody can see through invisibility cloaks. In the scene where Hagrid is arrested in CoS, Dumbledore seems to look right at Harry and Ron who are hiding under the invisibilty cloak as he makes his “I will only truly have left this school where none here are loyal to me” speech. > [@](#): > > Also, wasn’t there some controversy about Lilly being a Muggle? I mean, if she is a witch/wizard and so is James, then Harry is NOT a mudblood. Or am I confused? Harry is not called a mudblood but a half-blood, because he had [Muggle grandparents](http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=58) on his mother’s side. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/112 "2006-09-17T16:36:47Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/113 "2006-09-17T16:40:37Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] To me, the more salient question is what is Dumbledore doing giving Harry such a risky thing? It’s almost like he wants Harry to break school rules etc. [/QUOTE] I think it’s safe to say that he wanted Harry to break school rules. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/114 "2006-09-17T17:35:41Z")
[QUOTE=Excalibre] I think it’s safe to say that he wanted Harry to break school rules. [/QUOTE] Well, other than that rule about not crashing a flying car into valuable trees on the school grounds. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/115 "2006-09-17T20:34:31Z")
Lily, like Hermione, was Muggle-born, but was a very competent witch. I don’t recall Harry ever being called a mudblood, but even so, to someone like Draco, anyone with any traceable Muggle heritage at all would be considered a mudblood (compare to the “one drop rule” concerning race in America). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/116 "2006-09-17T20:38:44Z")
[QUOTE=Rysto] Mad-Eye Moody can see through invisibility cloaks. In the scene where Hagrid is arrested in CoS, Dumbledore seems to look right at Harry and Ron who are hiding under the invisibilty cloak as he makes his “I will only truly have left this school where none here are loyal to me” speech. [/QUOTE] I wonder if that had to do with his well-practiced ability to detect the presence of magic, as demonstrated in theCave of the Inferi. 'Course, he was at Hogwarts for the scene in Hagrid’s hut; don’t know how much differentiation he would have been capable of. Still, he might have had some kind of homing beacon spell attuned to Harry’s scar. But _that’s_ pure fanwankery. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/117 "2006-09-19T17:22:00Z")
Just ducking in here to wish Hermione Granger Happy Birthday today! She’s 27 now! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2006, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/118 "2006-09-19T23:49:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Just ducking in here to wish Hermione Granger Happy Birthday today! She’s 27 now! Nitpick: Today’s her birthday, but she turned 27 a couple of weeks ago. And yes, I do consider the distinction to be important. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/119 "2006-09-20T00:22:24Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] Nitpick: Today’s her birthday, but she turned 27 a couple of weeks ago. And yes, I do consider the distinction to be important. [/QUOTE] Huh? I don’t follow you. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162/120 "2006-09-20T00:23:32Z")
Does this have something to do with the Time-Turner? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/general-harry-potter-thread/372162.md?page=7)