01-02-2016, 12:28 PM
Hogwarts: A Guide
Hogwarts has its own particular policies and guidelines to be followed both in and out of character. To make them easier to find, we’ve condensed them below. Further questions can be directed to our help forum. The school calendar for the current year can be found here. Classes
The courses that your character will take depends on their age, and, in some cases, on their interests. OWL-level students are considered to be those in years 3-5, and NEWT-level students are those in years 6-7. All students are required to take etiquette. There is no OWL or NEWT in this subject. It does not count against the maximum number of classes a student can take. All students may take art and/or music. There are no OWLs or NEWTs in these subjects. They may be dropped and picked up again at any point in a student’s career. They never count against the maximum number of classes a student may take. First year students will take Astronomy, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Magical Theory, and Flying. Second year students will take the same courses as those in first year, less Magical Theory and Flying. OWL-level students will take the same courses as second year students. In addition, they are required to add one to three of the following: Muggle Studies, Ghoul Studies, Earth Magic, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, Ancient Studies, and Ancient Runes. NEWT-level students have true choice for the first time. In order to be enrolled at Hogwarts, they must take three NEWT courses. Their timetable does not allow for more than seven, with five being the average enrollment. The courses they take depend on their interests/career aspirations and how well they did on their OWLs In addition, NEWT-level students, as appropriate, may choose to take apparition classes. Coming & Going
Hogwarts is not a place intended to be “guest friendly”. In addition to educating students, it is the school’s job to protect, them, and that means strict guidelines on coming to and going from Hogwarts’ grounds. The grounds are considered to consist of anything above the Headmaster’s Barrier. STUDENTS arrive at the castle on the first day of term, unless they have permission from the current headmaster (@'Phineas Black') to delay their arrival. Once there, they may only leave under the following circumstances:
PROFESSORS, in addition to Hogsmeade day, are given one weekend off each month during which they may leave the school and do whatever it is they do in their free time. Other departures can be arranged with the headmaster. VISITORS can come only under certain circumstances. Parents/guardians might arrive briefly to sign out their charges. Guests may enter grounds for things such as the careers day or quidditch matches, provided they inform the headmaster in advance. However, roving the grounds for the lulz is generally prohibited, and humans may not cross the Headmaster’s Barrier. NON-HUMANS depend entirely on the species. Centaurs have access to school grounds but don’t enter them out of respect; they may interact with students in the forest, however, and as beasts are immune to the barrier. The same is true for mers: they can interact with students along the water, but cannot leave it. Anything classified as a being is unable to cross the barrier and so vampires etc. that reside in Hogsmeade or in the vampire caverns cannot access Hogwarts grounds or the schools’ share of the forest. Spirits of all kinds can come and go as they please. Hogsmeade Weekends
Students who are in their third year and above, who have parental permission, and who have not had this permission revoked by the school for bad behaviour may spend one Saturday a month in Hogsmeade—the dates are indicated both in the monthly events thread and on the detailed school calendar. To ensure “good behaviour”, there is a chaperone assigned to each location—and several along the way to and from the village—to make sure students remain in check. Those that wish to visit friends or family instead of the park and shops may be “signed out” by parents/guardians—or adult individuals that their parents/guardians indicate as “acceptable”. As an example, Hamish Darrow can sign out his children, and gives permission for Ramsay Darrow and Casper Darrow to do the same. The sign out procedure transfers responsibility for the students (and their actions) from the school to the trustee. All students are required to be back at Hogwarts by curfew on the Saturday night, except those who have been signed out. Those who have been signed out are not required back until curfew on Sunday night. School Policies
Students are expected to adhere to the following rules or risk the loss of house points:
Prefects, Etc.
Prefects are chosen each year by their Head of House and the Headmaster—one female and one male from each of that house’s recent fourth years. Head Boy and Girl are chosen in a similar fashion—often from the recent sixth year prefects, but not always. Quidditch captains are appointed by their Head of House. All are informed by owl at the end of July. OOC, heads and prefects are chosen via a selection process that begins in June (more info here), and quidditch captains are chosen based on experience. The ideal prefect exemplifies the traits of his or her house, in addition to being an academic and moral role model to his or her peers. They may, in extreme cases, have their position revoked if they disappoint in either regard. Prefects aid the school staff in keeping watch over their peers. In addition to enforcing school rules as necessary during the day, they are assigned weekly nighttime watches. Prefects can deduct house points, but not from other prefects. They may also issue detentions, with that same caveat. The Head Boy/Girl fulfills a similar role to the prefects in addition to leading them. The Head Girl also leads the procession of debutantes at the Coming Out Ball, followed by the prefects in order of house points. They are then followed by the rest of their year in alphabetical order. The quidditch captain for a given house is responsible for choosing and training new recruits, as well as leading team practices. If a captain is indisposed for a quidditch match, the team must forfeit. All such student positions are permitted to use the prefects’ bathroom on the fifth floor. The password-protected room features a swimming pool sized bath with all sorts of scented bubbles. It is spelled to prevent males from entering when females are present and vice versa. Money Matters
Hogwarts charges a tuition of 25G per year. This covers teaching, housing, and food, however first year students will pay an additional 3-5G in supplies, and subsequent years 2-3G in supplies (this may be lessened with second-hand goods or hand-me-downs from older siblings). A family can reasonably budget twelve weeks’ wages on school tuition and supplies—meaning that a single-parent household at the high end of pay level seven can’t afford to send one child, but a regular Ministry employee can generally send 2-4 at once without having to deal with partial scholarships and hand-me-downs. But what if the money isn’t there? While students will always have to find their own supplies, there are several scholarships available to help brighter students fund their education:
A major question that many characters will face is when to leave school. As long as the grades are there, almost all upper class children attend for the full seven years. Middle class students will typically attend as long as the family can afford it. Lower class students, though, are another matter: unless they have a full scholarship, the family will lose money by having them in school after year five—the students cannot earn money while away from home, and tuition and supplies aren’t cheap. Lower class students without a full scholarship should only remain at school after their OWLs if their future career requires it. Professors & Other Staff
Professors are required to be 21 years of age or older, and of good moral character/reputation. In addition to their wages, each professor is given—at no cost—small living quarters adjacent to their classrooms. The headmaster, heads of houses, the caretaker, the groundskeeper, and the school nurse are required to live on premises. All other professors are expected to as well, however may request to live in Hogsmeade if married with young children. Those that do not live at Hogwarts must walk or take a carriage to and from school each day. In addition to teaching, professors patrol the corridors, may volunteer with clubs, and at their discretion may tutor students. They are also granted one weekend each month during which they may go where they will as long as they stay out of trouble. Special thanks to the HP Wiki and various board members for their consolidation and input on various topics herein. |
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