When J.K. Rowling published her "Harry Potter" books, several fans couldn't get enough of the little boy wizard who defeated a megalomaniacal sorcerer. To this day, fans are still coming up with theories about the world of Harry Potter but a new fan theory might explain why Hogwarts only had a few students while Harry Potter was in attendance. Is Voldemort responsible for the small number of students when Harry Potter attended Hogwarts?
The (Possible) Reason Behind Harry Potter's Tiny Class
According to J.K. Rowling, Hogwarts would normally have around 1,000 students each year (via io9). However, the Harry Potter books and films only show a few students attending classes. Buzzfeed even tried to do the math and calculated that there should be around 35 students in each class if Hogwarts has 1,000 children in attendance. So did J.K Rowling simply miscalculate the correct number? Or is there a darker reason behind the small number of students during Harry Potter's years in Hogwarts?
This theory about Harry Potter seems plausible, but it's a total bummer https://t.co/YB7IrtAsvC pic.twitter.com/kQtOfSjlEH
— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) May 27, 2016
Tumblr user marauders4evr has just come up with a rather depressing explanation. The post considers the possibility that less children were conceived around the time that Harry Potter was born because it was the period when "Voldemort's rein of power" was strongest. Voldemort terrorized people from 1979 to 1981 and was only stopped when he tried to kill Harry Potter as a baby.
Although J.K. Rowling has yet to confirm whether the fan theory is right, it certainly makes sense that there would be less students in attendance in Hogwarts during the same year as Harry Potter. The magic born people would have been too busy trying to get away from Voldemort during that period and having kids would not be the top priority. The only positive note that comes from the theory is that a baby (Harry Potter) had put an end to Voldemort's reign of terror and Hogwarts would get more students in the future.
Do you think the fan theory is right about the lack of Hogwarts students during Harry Potter's year? Let us know in the comments.
