death to capslock

In a recent comment about Pottermore, penguinsuzie wrote:

Reading the one about the Hogwarts Acceptance was actually making me annoyed.

The book refusing baby Neville. How great it is that Squibs are successfully kept out of Hogwarts. The fact that they are still using the same system a thousand years later because the wizarding world's lack of innovation is staggering. Though if she'd tried to tell us otherwise it wouldn't be believable because the magical community is so backwards already.

I had yet to read this note, so I checked it out. Here's what it says:

( The Quill of Acceptance and The Book of Admittance )

The Hogwarts acceptance process works similarly to how I imagined. However, in addition to what penguinsuzie has already said, there are a few things I find rather disturbing about this entry.

1. The Book may be "perfect" at keeping squibs out, but is it truly perfect at admitting everyone who may be eligible? What if it continues to mistake low levels of magical output for  "residual aura," as it almost did with Neville?

2. The Book didn't admit Neville until he survived a fall, but Neville didn't simply "fall;" he was "accidently" dropped out the window by his Great Uncle Algie. So, does the Book's "sternness" therefore justify the abuse of potential squibs?

3. Hagrid says that Harry's "name's been down ever since he was born." Dumbledore must have known that Neville's name wasn't initially inscribed in the Book, which leads me to question whether he ever seriously considered Neville as a candidate for the prophecy. And did Tom ever find out that Neville's name wasn't in the Book?


P.S. The Pottermore website has been completely redesigned, and you no longer need an account to view the content.

P.P.S. But good luck finding anything in particular because the site is completely disorganized right now. There's a search tool in the upper-left corner that's somewhat helpful.

P.P.P.S. I want to add that some of the issues being raised here are also addressed in terri_testing's essay, Parenting in Pureblood Culture, especially in Part IV.

I have a few things floating around in my head, none of which really warrants its own post....

Swythyv
Is anyone in touch with her? If so, could you please let her know that we're thinking of her? I know she's had some ups and downs with her health, so I hope she's ok. I'm missing her essays. Most of her older ones are still available on hp-essays, but the newer ones were on her own LJ, and it looks like she's taken them down or made them private.

Pottermore
For several reasons, I generally dislike the new content on Pottermore, but there are enough nuggets of useful information here and there that I'm reluctant to completely disregard the site. I've decided to deal with this by treating many of the notes as though they were written by in-universe characters, rather than as "Word of God."  For instance, in Lupin's biography, I can pretend that the syrupy story about Remus and Tonks  — which basically shoots down any theories about Remus being queer ("He had never fallen in love before.") — was written posthumously by an oblivious Molly Weasley who never realized that Remus had previously dated men. In fact, Molly Weasley works as the author for much of the content. We even have a long entry on Celestina Warbeck.

Wizarding World Geography
What territories are under the jurisdiction of Wizarding Britain? Certainly England, Scotland and Wales. Almost certainly Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man. Probably all of Ireland, though that isn't entirely clear. But what about the 14 British Overseas Territories that are still under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom, such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands? Or what of other countries and territories that were formerly part of the British Empire? Did any magical populations choose to remain part of Wizarding Britian, even if their Muggle counterparts became independent countries? I could see a small country like Barbados going that route. Did wizarding British governance expand along with the British Empire, or did it only include colonies established before the Statute of Secrecy?  Could Wizarding Britain have territories in places that were never part of the Muggle British Empire? These questions are mostly rhetorical. I've just been pondering what actually constitutes Wizarding Britain.