The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Harry Potter

by Tere Stouffer

  Derwent is actually a first name for boys, derived from the Old English name Derwin, which means “dear friend” or “gifted friend.” That would make Dilys Derwent a genuine, gifted friend; quite appropriate for a reputable healer. The Derwent River exists in both North Yorkshire, England, and Tasmania, Australia (the Tasmanian river is named for the British one). And the Derwent Hospital in Tasmania, Australia, was the oldest mental hospital in Australia when it closed in 2001.

  Chapter 8

  Hogwarts School and Hogsmeade

  In This Chapter • Getting the lowdown on Hogwarts School

  • Comparing the wizard school to British boarding schools

  • Understanding the houses within boarding schools

  • Reviewing common boarding-school curricula

  • Discussing forbidden forests

  • Visiting Hogsmeade, the only all-wizard city

  Pigs (or hogs) and witches go way back. During the 1600s and 1700s, when witch hysteria peaked in the United States, the general public accepted without hesitation that witches flew through the air on the backs of rams or pigs; that witches were harming the pigs, cows, and crops of innocent neighbors; that a witch would steal a plump pig for a midday meal if she were passing by your farm; and that witches themselves had cloven hooves (a hoof split into two toes).

  Witches were thought to have made a pact with the devil; it is not surprising, then, that pigs, goats, and rams (any animal with a cloven hoof) were thought to be Satanic. In the New Testament, Jesus sent demons into a herd of pigs, which then leapt to their deaths in a frenzy.

  Hence we’re given the names of two prominent places in the wizarding world: Hogwarts School and Hogsmeade, the only all-wizard town in England. “Hogwarts” is especially inventive because it also uses the imagery of warts, which is how we historically picture witches, with prominent warts on their chins or noses.

  Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

  Each year, the staff at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry selects a new class of potential students, drawing children from established wizarding families and Muggle children who show a penchant for wizardry. How the staff is aware of the talents of these children is unknown, but they just know, starting from the day children with wizard abilities are born.

  Invited students are sent letters the summer after Level 6 in the British education system, which is the equivalent to fifth grade in the United States. Letters tell candidates that they have been admitted (no one applies to Hogwarts; you’re either invited or you’re not), and students have to appear on September 1, bringing with them the required robes (plus a cloak and a hat), equipment (such as a cauldron, telescope, scale, and phials), work gloves, books, and a wand. Students are also allowed to bring a pet, but the only allowable pets are owls, cats, toads, and rats.

  Other than the unique class offerings, ghosts, magical creatures, secret rooms, talking portraits, moving staircases, and a variety of other oddities discussed in this chapter, Hogwarts is strikingly similar to British exclusive prep schools. Some such schools are boarding schools just like Hogwarts, where students and teachers live on the grounds for the school year; others are day schools, in which students return home each evening. The top-tier schools, however, are boarding schools.

  Like Hogwarts, many British boarding schools divide into houses, which compete for annual inter-house prizes as Best House by earning points in athletic events, debate, artistic endeavors, and/or academic competitions; by good behavior; and by raising money for or spending time working with charitable organizations. Houses allow students of various ages to interact and feel camaraderie; something that happens in most U.S. schools only through athletic or artistic extracurriculars. Select professors serve as Head of House or Housemaster.

  KING’S ENGLISH

  British boarding schools are, oddly enough, called public schools in Great Britain. This terminology comes from the idea private schools accept all students from the general public who were willing to pay to attend, not just students from a small geographic area. The top four British public schools are Eton College, Harrow School, Charterhouse School, and Worksop College. Andover and Exeter are American equivalents.

  British public schools often start students as young as age 3, working on rudimentary reading and writing. They enter Level 1 at around age 5 or 6, which is equivalent to the U.S. kindergarten. Although students are generally grouped into classes with other students who are the same age, they are sometimes allowed to progress at their own pace, regardless of age or class. Within classrooms, students are usually subgrouped by ability, with a specialized curriculum aimed at each group. The best girls’ boarding schools admit students after Level 6 (or fifth grade); this is how Hogwarts admits students, but they admit both boys and girls at this age. Boys’ schools generally begin later, after Level 8 (seventh grade).

  As with British schools, Hogwarts has a headmaster or headmistress (sometimes called just a “Head” in British schools) who acts like a U.S. principal, but because most British public schools are boarding schools, Heads discipline 24/7 and know the students far better than do most principals.

  British boarding schools usually assign the best and brightest students to act as Prefects, House Captains, and Head of School. The term prefect (a term used at Hogwarts) comes from the Latin praefectus, which means director, chief, or governor (prae means “put in front” or “put in charge”). In Hogwarts and other British boarding schools, prefects have great authority over other students, controlling and (sometimes) punishing students so that teachers can focus on their work. When a prefect is put in charge of an entire house, he or she may be called House Captain, a term not used at Hogwarts. The senior prefect is called the Head of School, or Head Boy/Head Girl, the latter of which is also used at Hogwarts.

  Hogwarts students wear uniforms (in their case, black robes), as do all British boarding school students. The uniform varies, of course, but British students usually wear a blazer, pants or a skirt, a white shirt, and tie.

  Hogwarts also has a prominent coat of arms, as do most British boarding schools:• Hogwarts: A lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake (the four symbols of the four houses), surrounding an “H”

  • Eton: The French fleur de lys, three lilies, and a lion

  • Harrow: A lion and crossed arrows

  • Worksop: A silver cross with four lions

  • Charterhouse: A dog and several lilies surrounding the crest, which consists of three circles and three semi-circles

  Getting into the top British boarding schools is a bit different than the magical “knowing” approach that the Hogwarts staff employs. Instead, young Brits take the Common Entrance Examinations (CEE), usually at age 11 for girls and age 13 for boys. Each school has it own requirements for CEE scores, which test English, math, science, geography, history, religion, and languages. Results of this exam may also determine which classes students take for their first two or three years at the school.

  Hogwarts Four: The Houses

  Grouping students into houses is a long tradition at the best British boarding schools. Houses have names (often, as is the case with Hogwarts, houses are named for founders, but also for headmasters and significant alumni), and the names are usually shortened to the first letter of the name, like “G” or "P.” British houses, like those at Hogwarts, may have colors assigned to them, and students dress (in their ties or scarves) per their house colors.

  The top British boarding schools all have numerous houses, which can either be actual “houses” (that is, separate structures on the school grounds) or may signify wings of the school in which students live (as is the case at Hogwarts).• Eton College educates over 1,200 boys, but the houses are small: 25 houses each consist of about 50 boys. Although it is not the most expensive school by any means, Eton is considered the best of the best.

  MAGIC TALE

  If you’ve heard of Eton College, perhaps that’s because all of England’s royal boys have been educated
there. (And remember, Eton College is a high school, not a university.) Given how many young British girls hope to meet the princes of their generation, sending young princes to an all-boys school— away from all those girls—makes sense!

  • Worksop College, the smallest and newest of the elite British boarding schools (founded in 1890, when it was called St. Cuthbert’s), has just under 500 students, ages 13 to 18. The school is split into seven houses. In addition to excellent test scores, Worksop is well-known for sports, especially field hockey (which the Brits call just “hockey”) and cricket (something like American baseball, but played with a flat bat).

  • Harrow School is more than 400 years old and educates approximately 800 boys at any given time, split into 11 houses. Harrow is one of the most expensive boarding schools in Britain.

  • Charterhouse School is England’s most expensive public school, and has 11 houses—seven new that, in the 1970s, joined the original four from the school’s opening in 1611. Charterhouse admits only boys (about 400 of them) until Level 12 (the equivalent of eleventh grade; called the Sixth Form at many boarding schools), when girls (about 100 of them) are admitted, along with another 250 boys.

  Of the top four British boarding schools, two are for boys only; Worksop alone is coeducational, and Charterhouse admits girls for only the last two years. Although Great Britain boasts many girls’ boarding schools, not one all-girls school is considered even close to being in the same league as the top all-boys schools.

  At Hogwarts, students are grouped into four houses, and they compete for the House Championship, which is awarded as a House Cup. The Hogwarts House Championship is earned, as at other boarding schools, through athletic competition, prowess in the classroom, and good behavior.

  The Hogwarts houses (called the Hogwarts Four) are each named for the four founders of the school.

  MAGIC TALE

  Talking hats in literature are not common, but hats do have an important place in children’s make-believe—think of what a child can do with a pirate’s hat, magician’s hat, cowboy hat, or firefighter’s helmet. Several fairy tales are based on hats—invisible hats, magical hats, and multiplying hats. And don’t forget that Dr. Seuss made his reputation on hats (The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and The Cat in the Hat).

  Students are sorted into houses with the help of the Sorting Hat (see Chapter 3). During the Sorting Ceremony, first-year students pull on the large hat (which usually dwarfs their small heads) while sitting on a stool in front of the student body. The hat then reads the mind of (and sometimes speaks to) the student, trying to discern the personality, gifts, and ambitions of each student.

  Two noticeable differences exist between Hogwarts houses and the top British boarding schools. First, as a general rule, British boarding schools allow students to choose their own houses (which is why some houses are bigger than others). Students must be accepted by the House Master, and everyone understands that the House Master may not be the House Master the entire time that student is at the school. However, the House Master is the gatekeeper—the Sorting Hat of the Muggle world—taking applications from incoming students who would like to live in that particular house.

  Second, houses in British schools do not have personalities; at least, the schools do not officially acknowledge that one house is more intelligent, while another is more athletic, for example. Houses at British boarding schools are supposed to be diverse groups that reflect the makeup of the student body at large. Hogwarts’ houses, on the other hand, have distinct personalities that reflect those of the founders.

  The Great Hall, Towers, Dungeons, and Other Common Areas

  Hogwarts School is set in a castle, complete with towers, turrets, dungeons, on the banks of a lake. Like most castles (both those in real life and those in literature), it can be dark and cold, although eager house elves (see Chapter 2) keep the fires burning in common areas. Each house has its own section of the castle, and classrooms are either on the main floors, in dungeons, or in towers. There is also a library, overseen by Madam Irma Pince (from the French pince-nez, small glasses that pinched the nose instead of gaining stability by wrapping around the ears), which has both a Restricted Section (for which students must have special permission from professors) and an Invisibility Section, which, one presumes, is rather difficult to locate!

  The Hogwarts Great Hall is patterned after the enormous halls in both British castles and castles throughout literature (think of the many great halls mentioned in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings alone). The Great Hall has a bewitched ceiling that reflects the weather outside the castle. At the High Table sits the Hogwarts faculty; students sit at long tables—one for each house. The hall is usually decorated to match the season or other occasion; for some occasions, thousands of candles float magically above the tables.

  TOURIST TIP

  A visit to Christ Church, one of the colleges at Oxford University, is an absolute must for Harry Potter fans. (Oxford, England, is a short day trip from London.) Christ Church’s Great Hall, a grand area used for college functions, was used as the model for the Great Hall set in the Harry Potter movies, and various other college locations were used as well, including a staircase built in the 1500s. Visiting hours are from 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. daily. For more information, visit , click on Visitor Information, and click on Harry Potter.

  Students at Hogwarts are admitted to certain areas (house common rooms, the headmaster’s office) by means of a portrait, painting, or statue, which demands a password from students, rather like the electronic passkeys used at many schools. Passwords at Hogwarts are changed every few weeks and, of course, some students have trouble remembering them. (These are the same students who can never remember their locker combinations in the Muggle world.) In addition, the numerous staircases at Hogwarts move periodically, which befuddles most first-year students. The way you came up (to a classroom, for example) may not be the way you go back down.

  Although not widely discussed or even known about, a Marauder’s Map of Hogwarts shows the location of every person in the school, allowing the student(s) in possession of the map to wander the school undetected by avoiding all teachers and staff. On the other hand, if a teacher is in possession of the map, students cannot wander the halls without getting caught. The Marauder’s Map sees even a wizard who is wearing an invisibility cloak (see Chapter 3). A “marauder” is one who roves about in search of plunder, from the French maraud, meaning “vagabond” and “tomcat,” both wandering beings, so this is a map for those seeking to roam around and probably up to no good!

  Classes: From Arithmancy to Transfiguration

  Where Hogwarts does differ radically from its British boarding school counterparts is in the curriculum. To illustrate just how different they are, consider that the National Curriculum of the UK includes the following topics:

  The list may be a bit more rigorous than most American public schools, but the curriculum is similar nonetheless to what American students study. Hogwarts even has a few classes that look like they could almost fit in:• Ancient Runes: In this class, students learn to understand the significance of runes, a 24-character alphabet that’s further described in Chapter 13.

  • Arthimancy: Arithmancy comes from the Latin arithmetica (arithmatic) and the Greek- and Latin-derived suffix -mancy (divination) . This field is better known in the Muggle world by its other name, “numerology,” or deriving meaning from numbers. It is positioned as an incredibly difficult class, taught by Professor Vector (“vector” has multiple meanings in mathematics, all relating to a line denoting distance and magnitude). Professor Vector is also the name of one of the two professors in the Gryomite video game from the mid-1980s; a game J.K. Rowling could, conceivably, have played as a teenager or young adult.

  • Astronomy: Astronomy is, perhaps, the only Hogwarts class that is also taught at Muggle schools. It is taught by Professor Sinistra; “Sinistra” is, appropriately enough, a star in Ophiuchus, a large, faint constellation
in the northern sky.

  • Care of Magical Creatures: This is the equivalent of a 4-H class teaching kids how to care for cows, goats, and horses. But instead, young wizards learn how to care for many of the creatures described in Chapter 2. Most Hogwarts students will never encounter such creatures; in fact, many of the creatures discussed in class are completely foreign to Hogwarts students.

  Clearly, while British schools and Hogwarts differ in curriculum, a few similarities exist. At both Hogwarts and the top British boarding schools, students sometimes double classes; that is, the same class is taken back to back, in order to give students longer class periods in which to learn material. Many U.S. private schools also take this approach, as do some U.S. public schools that are utilizing block scheduling.

  In addition, students at both Hogwarts and all the British boarding schools take exams partway through their schooling and again near the end. The first exam is called the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in the Muggle world; Ordinary Wizarding Levels (O.W.L.s) in the wizarding world.

  The GCSEs are usually taken after Level 11, which is the equivalent to tenth grade in the U.S. system, or roughly at 16 years of age. Some schools have students take the tests a year or two earlier, but regardless, the year in which exams are taken is usually called the Remove year. Following the Remove Year is either a year called the Fifth Form (if exams are taken earlier than Level 11) or the Sixth Form (if exams are taken at Level 11). The last year in school is usually called the Upper Sixth. Grades in the exams run from A* (A-star; the best) to B, C, D, E, F, and G (the worst). Failing completely means a grade of U (for unclassified).