Remember what Ron saw in the mirror?

[gecko]

Well, as we disagree on the amount of students the school has, this is kind of a hard discussion ! I believe that there are more or less 300 students. 24 in 300 would be quite enough I think (is there a place where one can find the police - people ratio in counties?), 76 would be too much. That's 1 in 4!

Sure, for most years the HB/HG will be ex-prefects, for the reasons you gave, being exceptional students and stuff, but if there is a student who has suddenly changed his/her ways, I don't see why the Headmaster couldn't choose that student!

Oh, by the way, how do you get to 72 prefects?! The 24 I can calculate, but the other one not! Thanks :Þ

[Holly Golightly]

The 72 was if two new prefects were chosen from each house yeach yr... 24x3=72... I know that it's unlikely, but it's jsut a theory! I come up with lot of them! (and strangely enough, most are wrong!!! )

And I'm not really sure whta to think on the number of students at the school... I have never heard/read it (I dont' really see/read alot of HP interviews by JK Rowling) but someone int his forum(I forget who) said that in an interview or whatever, JK said that there were aproxx 1000 students attending Hogwarts...

(Dont' you just love facts like that... he said thst she said that my her boyfriend's aunt knew someone who once talked to someone who... )

[highsorcerer]

I've stated it before, but I'll do it again. 1000 students means 500 of each gender. 4 houses means 125 students, per gender, per house. 7 years means 14-15 people, per house, per year, per gender.

Gryffindor is nowhere near that (only 5 boys are in it as far as we know; Seamus, Dean, Ron, Neville, and Harry). We know of only 3 Slytherin's (Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle) in that year, plus only three Gryffindor girls (Hermoine, Lavendar, and Patril).

[Holly Golightly]

I know, which is what I mean by if you calculate it out...

Also, the Griffindor boys is the only one that we know for sure about how many people are in the gender/yr... with the other ones, there might be more, it's neither been confuirmed/denied...

But, look at the house tables in the Great hall during the movies.. (I know, noting is fact till it's in a book) but JK was supervising the movies...
there could be 250 people at each table, no?
If you work it out from the Griffindor boys in Harry's grade (the only one we know for certain) that's 5 by gender = 10, by grade = 70... I woud saw that there certainly more than 70 at each table, no?

But as I've stated, I've never said that I am definately right... I can't remember who posted about JK Rowling saying 1000 students, and havent' looked it up for myself... so yeah! Who knows really!

Holly

[Eol]

I also worked out the pupil population to be around 300. But i made the assumption that there are 10 pupils per house per year, and less than that after 5th year as they can leave school.

As for Ron not being prefect material, think of the choices left: Harry was out of the running, Seamus and Dean haven't exerted themselves as special in any way. I suppose Dumbledore could have chosen Neville as a show of confidence but Ron would make a better prefect than he would anyway.

Finally, about the mirror in PS (SS) the inscription on the mirror was : Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi, which is "i show not your face but your hearts desire" backwards and dumbledore says "However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth." so anything it shows that comes true is coincidence or caused by the abition of the person to get what they've seen in it.

[AccioNiffler]

I dont know, I think I see HB/HG as a totally separate institution from the Prefects. I kind of see it like the prefects are like the hall monitors and HB/HG is like valedictorians (spelling?).

[Holly Golightly]

well, we know that both Percy and Bill were HB, and they were also Prefects, but then again, James aparently was too, and he wasn't a Prefect??

I do still think that they are related tho...

[Hermy]

Maybe the mirror is a bit like The Witches in "Macbeth". I personally believe that in Mackbeth the witches aren't making predictions, but because Macbeth believes that they are he makes them happen himself.

I don't think that Ron is actually told what the mirror actually is - although Harry says it can't predict the future as he sees his family. I know that Ron doesn't expect to be prefect, nor would he have much influence over it, but maybe what he has seen in the mirror has given him confidence in his own ability, and that is why he tried out for the Quiddich team.

Harry doesn't just see his parents does he? Maybe seeing lots of other relatives is a metaphor for him tro develop his own family (erm, not as in procreation) but a network of close friends who are like a family - maybe what he is kind of achieving via the DA.

What do you think?