Quote:Hmm. Well, the Malfoys have shown time and again that they aren't above taking cheap shots, and Mr. Weasley and Lucius Malfoy both work for the Ministry of Magic Affairs, where they, no doubt, come into competition with each other (proving once again the old joke, "Why are bureaucratic office politics so cutthroat? Because the stakes are so small."). Mr. Weasley (who has a first name, at least by Goblet of Fire, but it escapes me. Edgar?) seems to be pretty good at his job, so I would guess that he and Malfoy have something of a stiff rivalry over funding, recognition, etc. In a limited sense, their rivalry probably parallels Draco and Harry's (and Ron's by extension, although I doubt Draco's arrogance allows him to consider Ron worth anything, despite his obvious work ethic, sense of loyalty, and keen mind (one does not get to be skilled at any type of chess without some smarts)), although Mr. Weasley's lower middle-class manner probably gives Lucius absolute fits when he succeeds.
That had occurred to me as I was writing the initial response, but it still seems that they are relatively impoverished even so. If you can trust Lucius Malfoy's comments at the beginning of "Chamber of Secrets", they are noticeably poor.
Quote:Hmm. I suppose. I got more of a private school feel from it, but I suppose that's colored by the traditional image of the hermetic mage squirrelled away teaching magic to his apprentices. That and Hogwart's notified Harry of his acceptance in the first book, something that I don't think public schools generally do (my recollection, at least in my academic career, was that I didn't apply to attend my high school, I just went).
Well, it doesn't seem that Hogwart's actually costs anything, at least not to the families of students. Perhaps its the wizarding equivalent of public school. It may well be that the older boys in the Weasley family are getting cost breaks on college-level education, though.
Ebony the Black Dragon
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Ebony the Black Dragon
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