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harry potter - Why do first years cross the lake to get to the castle?


It makes sense to keep them together, and to have them arrive in the Great Hall separately from the rest of the school for the Sorting. But why the boats? The lake crossing is dramatic, but inefficient - as we see in book 4 when Dennis Creevey falls in the lake during the storm.


Is there a canon (books/movies or JKR) explanation for why the first years come up from the train in boats instead of carriages?



Answer



One explanation (not QUITE canon but based on it) is the thestrals.



You probably do NOT want any first-years who are already traumatized by having seen a death to be even further spooked by seeing a rather frightening animal pulling the carriages.


This line of thought is actually somewhat backed up by JKR. In an Pottercast interview, when discussing the (obviously unwritten) possible graduation rituals/ceremonies at Hogwarts, she said:



JN: Did you have ideas for what kind of traditions that they would do? Like ride the boats back out of Hogwarts, obviously, I think it's the cutest thing...


JKR: Oh yeah, definitely. No, I think the boats would've been the most poetic and beautiful way to get-- for them to leave. And symbolic in that they-- Harry wouldn't have seen the thestrals again, you know what I mean? It would've been a return to innocence, really. And passage over water is so symbolic, you know, in the history of magic, so, yeah. That would've been great.


(src: Anelli, Melissa, John Noe and Sue Upton. "PotterCast Interviews J.K. Rowling, part one." PotterCast #130, 17 December 2007.)




Note the last bolded sentence too. Apparently, the passage over water has special magical significance (I am not sure of what kind) - it may also play part in first-years arrival.


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