harry potter - Why wasn't Restricted Section of the library better protected?

The Restricted Section of the library of Hogwarts contained dangerous books. Why wasn't it locked or protected by some kind of spell? Certainly, Filtch (or Madam Pince,) wasn't a good protection against a rogue wizard who could easily stun or kill him before he could call skilled wizards.

Answer

If you mean protection against a kid (like Harry) picking up a dangerous book - and doing some damage to themselves, like Harry did in the Christmas of First year - then it's the same reason there's no electric fence around Forbidden Forest, despite dangerous animals living there. All you got was Dumbledore's warning at the starting feast.

If someone is bound and determined to do damage to themselves in a Wizarding world, they easily can. This means that mollycoddling children and nannying them is beyond useless - you need to teach them to follow the rules if those rules are clear about the danger.

Also, remember that Wizarding society is modeled after late medieval/early modern Muggle society. Back then, kids were treated more like small adults than the way they are in modern societies.

If you mean dangerous wizards outside school, the school has multiple wards. No stranger danger there. And if a dangerous skilled wizard enters the school, they probably are already at a level where needing some book from a school library is well beneath their knowledge.

Comments

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