The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (a thread for Potterheads)

I've always thought the canonically named wizarding schools were sort of like the Ivy League - the big names, the prestigious schools. There is also mention of most/a lot of wizarding families choosing to homeschool, and correspondence stuff. We don't have great numbers on the actual wizarding population, so it's kind of hard to tell what sort of density you'd need - and also long-distance travel is pretty damn easy, with Apparation, the Floo Network, etc. Distance is less of an issue for education.

It could also be that Ilvermorny (what a name) is, like, the Old Guard wizarding school of European North America. i.e., established around European colonial era, serves/d mainly that population, etc. And now/since/before there have been other schools. Immigrant centers probably have/are fighting for special programs, Native American magic is still in small communities, etc.

I dunno i'm just spitballing.

 

Nah, JK Rowling tweeted that Ugh Ilvermorny had stuff to do with indigenous magic -

Which... ehhhh if the name of the school is ILVERMORNY then I kind of doubt 'important in' means 'was completely accepted and is still taught.' And there's another tweet which could be read as 'the American school has houses' or 'I know which Hogwarts houses the main characters of Fantastic Beasts would be sorted into.'

And like... yeah I do feel like JK Rowling is falling into a hole of The Whole World Is Like Where I Am. Death of the author is probably a good idea.

 

Oh right, I'd forgotten that bit about Ilvermorny.

And while I do respect that it is JKR's world and she can do whatever she likes in it, and I really admire that she's cool with fandom and all our thoughts ... I do think that the scope of the world is such that at some point, not only her ideas will become canon. Sort of in the same vein as the Star Wars/Star Trek Extended Universes, etc etc etc. And of course those IPs weren't really entirely created by one person, so it's a little easier to get more canon authors in there, but, hey.

 

Well still, the problem with 11 schools isn't just distance- it's culture, language (which of Africa's approx 2000 languages do they speak at Uagadou? Are there translation spells? I feel like with differences between languages, even the best spells would have trouble with some idioms, or complex ideas expressed in single words, or differences in how tenses are handled, ect, and that could have bad effects when you are learning literal magic), tensions between peoples. Even if they are the elite of the elite, the 8 Ivy League schools are in the Northeastern US, and you can find a list of the top 100 universities that are the elite of the elite.
Like, it's my personal headcanon that there are 5 big wizarding schools in the US alone, and a bunch of other smaller ones, some of which are in ways more prestigious then some of the big ones but that have a very selective student population. I would personally put the number of "elite wizarding schools" at around 50, and have them be relatively small, with a number of other schools that are perhaps more day schools, or small ancestral schools, and then, of course, homeschooling.
Also it is very wtf that none of the six places where agriculture was first independently developed and state level societies first came about have a school? Like the Middle East, China, Mesoamerica, the Andes, Egypt, India- those would all be so interesting to set a school in, and would be the first places I would think to put them.

 

Yeah, language and cultural barriers would be a Thing, and whichever language or cultural traditions the teachers used would be an actual, political choice that would have a significant effect on the experiences at the school!

 

Did the revamped quiz. still got hufflepuff.

Well then. :l

 

I got Slytherin again, but wand is Rowan with Unicorn Hair, which is apparently the Least Evil wand. It fills me with glee.

 

augh, i very strongly dislike the new style of the quizzes. just let me see all the options at once, or at least scroll through them, don't make me click every damn time.

still

Ravenclaw again, no surprise.
hornbeam, unicorn hair, 12 inches, slightly springy.

 

I got resorted and I got Slytherin this time. :-( I'm not happy. I got hufflepuff last time, and I wasn't happy with that either, but I'd gotten over that. I just don't feel like a Slytherin AT ALL!

 

I got gryffindor this time

just

what

 

holy shit i thought ilvermorny was only for the USA, is word of god that it's for the entire north american continent? i sort of understand the laziness of thought involved in 'africa is a country right' but like i was under the impression that american media dominance had made it clear that canada and mexico are different places.

also like goddamn having every single african country sending their kids to the same school would result in about the same level of bloodshed as every single european country sending their kids to the same school. which is to say: lots. what the fuck language do they use? is there a 201st african language that's only for the wizards?

on a related note, considering how england and scotland and ireland and wales have historically not gotten along so great all the time, i'd be interested in hearing how hogwarts handled that. while the pureblood families might remain totally insulated from national politics— or even a sense of national identity— i feel like asking every student, especially the muggleborns, to leave their politics at the door is a pretty tall order.

 

ON ANOTHER NOTE ABOUT THE LANGUAGES and all, a harry potter AU where there's only 1 wizarding school for the entirety of europe and eurasia because the author is from senegal and doesn't give a fuck would be pretty interesting. like, congratulations, harry, you're a wizard, and you're going to have to learn german, spanish, dutch, and russian pretty fucking fast.

 

i was about to suggest that the african wizards all communicated in parseltongue, and then i was like, "oh right, they can't. parseltongue is rare. dammit."

 

ok i definitely just thought about a situation where some hogwarts teacher is like 'and this is our guest lecturer from ethiopia' and the guy walks up to the podium and goes 'SSSS SHHS SSTHTH SSSSSS hSiiSSHiss SSSSS'

 

omfg
and all the students are like, "wtf" and harry probably has to translate or something

 

the guy from ethiopia is like 'wait don't you guys have snakes here' and harry is like 'uh not very many no'

ethiopia guy stuffs all the hogwarts breadsticks into his purse and leaves

 

omfg yeeeeeeesss

that even explains why parseltongue is rare in europe, too. nice. :D

 

Huh. Sudden thought about sorting. Depression in Slytherin. The house of the ambitious, except what happens when there's that disconnect between what one wants and the motivation/spoons for making it happen? Sad, ashamed, unfilfilled snakes, right?

 

oh yes, i totally know that feel. i mean, for me it's anxiety and adhd, not depression, stopping me, but yeah... it does bother me. there are a million things i haven't done, and i just can't work up the spoons to do them all or to beat my fear.

 

new sorting took me from ravenclaw to hufflepuff. i like ravenclaw but i'm somehow unsurprised about being in hufflpuff. wand is maple wood with a dragon heartstring core, 14 inches and supple flexibility which sounds like an awesome wand.

edit:okay a quick look at the wiki tells me my wand is suited towards big flashy magic and ambitious people who can't stay put. well, okay then. i dunno if i'd say that describes me.