To get to Hogwarts, the students had to:
Travel many hours by regular (seemingly non-magical, and fairly slow) train
Then get into magical conveyances in Hogsmeade.
The latter makes sense - you can't apparate in Hogwarts.
But WHY oh WHY did they need a regular train?
Why not:
A magic school bus (like Knight one) to Hogsmeade
A magic flying dis-illusioned train
A bunch of portkeys (heck, they used them to transport the wizards to Quidditch cup in 1994, and IIRC there were a LOT more attendees than students at Hogwarts)!
And, at worst, for a couple of Muggle-born students who for some reason can't get to any of the above, arrange something much smaller than a train.
Answer
According to the article, "Hogwarts Express" on Pottermore (Or, "Potterless" :-), for a long time parents were responsible for transportation to and from the school. Of course apparating and flue powder were out of the question in order to get directly into the school (because of protective security measures), but other than that there were an assortment of forms of transportation used.
Some rode broomsticks (a difficult feat when carrying trunks and pets); others commandeered enchanted carts and, later, carriages; some attempted to Apparate (often with disastrous effects, as the castle and grounds have always been protected with Anti-Apparition Charms), others rode a variety of magical creatures.
This posed a problem in drawing the attention of Muggles when witches were seen on brooms and, or in flying carriages and the like (pre- "International Secrecy Act" and also pre-"Misuse of Muggle Artifacts" law). The article does not address how transportation was planned out for Muggle-borns at this time (or at any other time really).
Despite Muggle sightings of vast numbers of airborne wizards travelling northwards, it remained the responsibility of parents to convey their children to school, right up until the imposition of the International Statute of Secrecy in 1692. At this point, it became a matter of urgency to find some more discreet method of transporting hundreds of wizarding children from all over Britain to their secret school in the Highlands of Scotland.
Rowling goes on to say that portkeys were arranged and tried but many children got "portkey sick" and the first few days of school were spent in the infirmary for many students. Additionally, Portkeys posed problems because the keys were hard to find and many kids would miss them.
While admitting that Portkeys were not an ideal solution to the problem of school transportation, the Ministry of Magic failed to find an acceptable alternative. A return to the unregulated travel of the past was impossible, and yet a more secure route into the school (for instance, permitting a fireplace that might be officially entered by Floo powder) was strongly resisted by successive Headmasters, who did not wish the security of the castle to be breached.
Eventually the train was established - Muggles were even used in its building and then their memories of the years spent building it, erased.
Where exactly the Hogwarts Express came from has never been conclusively proven, although it is a fact that there are secret records at the Ministry of Magic detailing a mass operation involving one hundred and sixty-seven Memory Charms and the largest ever mass Concealment Charm performed in Britain.
This solution was highly controversial, but proved to solve the problem and has been maintained ever since.
Many pure-blood families were outraged at the idea of their children using Muggle transport, which they claimed was unsafe, insanitary and demeaning; however, as the Ministry decreed that students either rode the train or did not attend school, the objections were swiftly silenced.
She does not discuss why some form of a "knight bus" like apparatus or magic flying train was not used, however, I'd bet that despite the long hours, its a great deal more comfortable than long hours on a broom and perhaps no one minds that part. :-)
A rare event like the World Quiddich cup that will bring in revenue from tourists is likely to be seen as a one-time and worthwhile imposition on the ministry, whereas repeated yearly requirements would seem more like drudgery. I do remember getting the feeling that it was quite a challenge getting all the keys arranged - lots of "magical red tape" so to speak. If the Ministry was going to all that trouble back in the day for Hogwarts only to have a large percentage of the kids miss their times, I'd bet they didn't care if the solution was quick and easy for the students, so long as it was quicker and easier for ministry officials.
The quotes here come from snippets of the article by Rowling herself on Pottermore titled, "Hogwart's Express."
Comments
Post a Comment