And ya when I heard about the lessons at first thats what I thought. They were still, of course, very interesting, but it would have been very cool to see DD teaching Harry more!

Casey, I disagree, I think Harry certainly does show power and strength. I mean, how many people could do those things he did at the end? He walked right into the forest and gave himself up, and when he faces Tom at the end, he does so without any kind of fear or hesitation. He may not be able to do the kind of wizardry that Tom or DD can do, but when would he have learned to do all that between classes and trying not to get killed? He certainly, however, does show the potential to become as powerful as those two eventually though. He has time for this after he saves the world, I’m sure.

One thing I disliked about DH was how anti-climactic everything seemed toward the end. I was waiting with bated breath on some miraculous display of magic from Harry, and it just ended so lame, in my opinion. I guess I was just reaching, because I know he’s supposed to be seen as no more special than anyone else, really, just ended up having this life thrust upon him, but in these kinds of stories, I always like to see the main characters show up so powerful in the end. He does a few things throughout the books that show power, but as he says in the next chapter, most of it was being helped and flukes from Time-Turners and stuff. This is why I’d love to see Harry in action as the Chief of Kingsley’s new Auror Division, just to see how much farther he’s come as a powerful wizard. I guess it would be reaching to say I wish he could be the next Dumbledore, but a boy can have his hopes x]

The quote from JKR makes me laugh, just because she completely avoids answering the question, and just comments on how good of a question it is. She seems to do that a lot in her interviews. Probably to keep imagination alive, but sometimes it *is* infuriating.

Wednesday and Thursday: 
0900 – 0945 – First Year Slytherins
1000 – 1045 – First Year Hufflepuffs
1045 – 1130 – Second Year Slytherins
1145 – 1245 – Lunch and Break
1300 – 1345 – Third Year Hufflepuffs
1400 – 1445 – Third Year Slytherins
1545 – 1630 – Second Year Hufflepuffs
1630 – 1715 – Fourth Year Slytherins and Hufflepuffs
1700 – ? – Dinner

Friday:
Breakfast until 0845
0900 – 1000 –Slytherins – Years 1 through 4 rotating weekly
1015 – 1115 – Gryffindors – Years 1 through 4 rotating weekly
1130 – 1200 – Lunch
1200 – 1300 – Seventh Years All Houses (NEWTs)
1300 – 1400 –Ravenclaws – Years 1 through 4 rotating weekly
1415 – 1515 –Hufflepuffs – Years 1 through 4 rotating weekly
1530 – 1630 – Fifth Years all Houses (OWLs)
1630 –  1730 – Sixth Years all Houses

This schedule looks pretty solid as well.

Okay, this is a geeky, former teacher thing to think about but, how exactly to class schedules at Hogwarts work? I’m actually thinking of this more from the staff perspective, but this is how I understand it.

First and Second Year: Students have a set specific schedule of classes and do not seem to have an electives. They all seem to take, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic and Astronomy. And the schedule is somewhat rotating. They don’t have every class every day, but class sessions appear be to about three hours per week sometimes with two-hour “double sessions.” I’m just estimating on that last part, because I don’t really know. Also, class sessions seem to be shared with another House (for example, the Trio has Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Potions with the Slytherins.)

Third Through Fifth Year:  Here electives seem to be added and students can take Care of Magical Creatures, Muggle Studies, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Divination as well as Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defense against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, and Astronomy. However, they still seem to have shared class sessions with other Houses. Is that true?

Sixth and Seventh Year: After they’ve sat their N.E.W.T.S. it appears that students take only the classes for which they are going to sit for O.W.L.s and that the staff has some say in who their students will be. Also, classes appear to be mixed with all four houses.
Am I mostly correct in this? BTW, this is based on Harry’s generation because Divination was not taught before then.
So here is the thing from the staff perspective. That’s a hell of a lot of preps! Prep being educators jargon for individual classes for which you need to prepare. For example, I taught three sections of Freshman English and that’s one prep, plus Drama (another Prep), plus IB Sophomore English (Third Prep) for Three preps and five classes.

Granted, some teachers would have less preps because they only teach subjects Third Year and above, but others (like Snape, Flitwick, McGonagall, and the ever-changing DADA teacher would have insane schedules!) So, let’s look at McGonagall. She would have:
First Year Transfiguration: Two sections for all four Houses.
Second Year Transfiguration: Two sections for all four Houses.
Year Transfiguration: Two sections for all four Houses.
Fourth Year Transfiguration: Two sections for all four Houses.
Fifth Year Transfiguration: Two sections for all four Houses.
Sixth Year Advanced Transfiguration.: Let’s assume one class for her own sanity.
Seventh Year Advanced Transfiguration: Ditto

That is seven preps and twelve class sections. Is that even possible? And if I’m correct about the three hours of each class a week, that’s thirty-six hours of teaching! In America secondary teachers are actually instructing students for about twenty-five to thirty hours per week and the rest is planning, meetings, supervision, and extra-curricular.  Granted, I worked about fifty-hour (plus) weeks, but there was not that much classroom time or different preps.
Granted, some subjects (like Astronomy) are taught only at night, but that still makes for a crowded week.
Or am I just figuring this wrong?

Transfiguration

Monday 1st year
9-10 Hufflepuff 1st Year
10-11 Ravenclaw 1st year
11-12 Gryffindor 1st year
12-1 Lunch
1-2 Slytherin 1st year

Tuesday 2nd year
9-10 Hufflepuff 2nd year
10-11 Ravenclaw 2nd year 
11-12 Gryffindor 2nd year
12-1 Lunch
1-2 Slytherin 2nd year
2-3 Newt 6

Wednesday 3rd year
9-10 Hufflepuff 3rd year
10-11 Ravenclaw 3rd year
11-12 Gryffindor 3rd year
12-1 Lunch
1-2 Slytherin 3rd year

Thursday 4th year
9-10 Hufflepuff 4th year
10-11 Ravenclaw 4th year
11-12 Gryffindor 4th year
12-1 Lunch
1-2 Slytherin 4th year
2-3 Newt 7
 
Friday 5th year
9-10 Hufflepuff 5th year
10-11 Ravenclaw 5th year
11-12 Gryffindor 5th year
12-1 Lunch
1-2 Slytherin 5th year