12 Harry Potter Theories Better Than What We Got

7. There Are Other SECRET Magical Schools In Britain

How many wizards are there in the world? By the hints established in the books, there are ten times more Muggles than wizards, which suggests something like 500 million. That would certainly explain how 30 million of them turned up to Barry Winkle's 755th birthday party in 1991, particularly as they were only people Winkle had KNOWN in his life. So basically, there's a lot.

If any population is roughly a tenth magical, then Britain in the 1990s had somewhere between 5 and 6 million wizards. How on Earth would one Wizarding school be able to cope?! It's never explained in the books and all we know is that there are roughly a few hundred students at Hogwarts at any one time. The maths does not work.

So, what if the theory that Hogwarts is not the only magical school in Britain is true? After all, Hermione refers to the school as "the very best school of witchcraft there is" and Neville suggesting that his family were surprised that he managed to get in both establish that there MUST be alternatives. You can't be the "best" of something if there is nothing to compare to and Neville being allowed in thanks to magical aptitude has to surely mean those less magically gifted or less suited must go somewhere else. Because untrained, unregulated wizards wandering around like weapons would be a national crisis.

So why suppress knowledge of the schools? Well, because Hogwarts is in the competition business for a start - they want to be the best option for gifted wizards and witches. And the idea of schools set up for less gifted individuals rather unfortunately establishes a class hierarchy based on inheritance and skill. That's not something the elitists would want anyone to know about...