Hogwarts Open Day

[MillicentMargaretAmanda]

If you were a Muggle parent, wouldn't you be concerned that you literally never get to visit your kid's school? I mean, you'd had them all prepped to go to the local good Ofsted rated comp, whose catchment area you had carefully researched before moving in year 4. You'd been to two open evenings, and gone on a separate day visit, and then at some point in Year 6, a weirdo with an owl turns up and tells you your child is magic and is going to a boarding school you've never heard of in the wilds of Scotland...
Your requests to visit are refused, there don't seem to be any open days, parents evenings or speech days to attend. You don't even get asked to come when your little darling is lying petrified in the San....

All seems very unfair given that certain parents seem to be there every other week (looking at you Malfoy senior.)

[IceRebel]

I've had similar thoughts about Hermionie's parents. They're highly educated themselves, and seem like the type who care greatly about their daughter's education. Yet send her to a school they've never been to, or even heard of until she got the letter.

[IceRebel]

Hermione Not Hermionie

[MillicentMargaretAmanda]

And she basically never comes home again after about Year 2! Poor Mr and Mrs Granger

[Heratnumber7]

Didn't the Granger parents get charmed so that they'd forget about Hermione? Or not ask about her studies or something? I thought they didn't know she was a witch.

[NewYoiker]

@Heratnumber7 no hermione charmed them to forget her when she left to help Harry find horcruxes. They knew she was a witch up to that point as they came with her to get her school things in the third book

[HulksPurplePanties]

Very true. I can't imagine their trip to Diagon Alley and meeting the Weasley's would have done much to make them feel more comfortable either. Maybe McGonagall casts a charm on all Muggle parents to make them not ask questions.

[IceRebel]

I find Hermione's story much more intriguing than Harry's, there are just so many questions.

• Did she ever show any obvious signs of magical ability? (like Harry with the haircuts, roof and snake glass)
  

• What did her parents tell other family members / friends about her sudden disappearance?
  

• How did she and her parents know where to get the items on the school supplies list?
  

• How did she find platform 9 3/4?

[Heratnumber7]

Also - I though muggles weren't supposed to know about the wizarding world. So how does it work when your child is one?

[JassyRadlett]

I’m just reading Order of the Phoenix to DS1, and suddenly felt desperately sad for the Grangers when Hermione ditched them on the first day of the holidays to go to Grimmauld Place instead.

Imagine them - haven’t seen her since September, building up to Christmas, shelled out vast sums to go skiing over the break, and they get a message on the last day of term saying ‘not coming, staying at school to study instead’.

The memory charm was kinder, really.

[PyongyangKipperbang]

Yeah....she loved them enough to keep them safe in the last book but never to spend any time with them in the earlier ones!

And I have often wondered about sending kids away to a school I have never heard of, much less visited. Also, I would want my kids home every weekend, I would want to visit them. No way would I be sending them away for 3 months at a time.

[knittedjest]

I don't know just because Harry is SO self-centered he really doesn't seem to know what goes on with other students. I do remember some throw away lines about students (we never/rarely hear of again) going home sometimes in the school term. and I think I recall the books or JK saying that a teacher visits the families of muggle borns and explains to them how to do DA and platform 9 and three quarter etc.

[knittedjest]

Also family must be able to visit. They go to the school Quiddich games after all. Again, because annoying self-centred Harry is the protagonist and he has no family we just never hear about it.

[Hungrypuffin]

Also....what primary schools do wizarding children go to? Or are they just homeschooled up to that point?

And at Hogwarts, they only learn magical subjects. So presumably witches and wizards are shit at Maths and Science, having never progressed beyond the KS2 equivalent of these subjects.

[darkriver19886]

I believe for non-magical families a teacher goes to explain it to them.

[RaiderOfTheKitchenCupboard]

It must be a bit shit for Scottish Muggle parents having to get their kids down to London by non-magical means just to catch the Hogwarts Express back up to Scotland. Hogwarts students can’t all come from the Home Counties.

[JassyRadlett]

Raider, have you met Wanda from My Life as a Background Slytherin?

[JassyRadlett]

Oh no, the link isn’t working.

Here’s Wanda:

[RaiderOfTheKitchenCupboard]

Lol, thanks Jassy

[IceRebel]

That gave me a good laugh Jassy, thank you.

[MillicentMargaretAmanda]

I do follow "My Life" but I'd missed that one. Thanks!

[CountessVonBoobs]

AIBU to think whichever teacher goes to "explain" things to Muggle parents Confunds them into not asking too many questions?

I too feel for the Grangers. The occasional package of Toothflossing Stringmints is totally not sufficient compensation.

[MrsMcW]

But there is an Ofsted report for Hogwarts! Not sure they'd be thrilled with it though...

petewharmby.blogspot.com/2013/02/ofsted-report-hogwarts-school-of.html?m=1

[steppemum]

I ma just half way through the first book with dd, re-reading it for the 4th ish time (other kids etc) , but there are loads of things I had forgotten, and it raises so many questions.

Muggle born wizards, but the muggles aren't allowed ot know about th ewizarding world. just doesn't make sense, there must be dozens of muggle famililes who are now suddenly introduced to the wizarding world.
What if they say no? Do their little wizards and witches grow up never becoming true wizards, or what?

Same for those who are expelled. there is so much talk of being chucked out for doing something wrong, but then what? You can still do magic, but untrained and you are not supposed to. How does that work? A sort of second class group of wizards who exist where exactly? In the wizard world or the muggle world?

And the wizards are so stupod about muggle things, but they co-exist with the muggle world. How have they not noticed all the things which are different, or how they work, and, if so many of them are muggle born, then they would know about that stuff anyway.

[RomanyRoots]

This is very similar to my dd school, we aren't a muggle family though.
The muggles ask us questions when they don't find out from the school.
It's a big responsibility helping the muggles. The teachers never give them the right information, or the bare minimum. I feel sorry for them and I've heard that even now they favour the none muggle families.

[Knittedfairies]

I have to confess that I've only read the first book, so my query may be addressed elsewhere - but what do the graduates of Hogwarts do when they leave? They can't all work for the Ministry of Magic, surely?