Thursday, January 12, 2017

Random Thoughts: Is Hogwarts Handicapped Accessible?


The weather's cold, I'm huddling under blankets, so I've decided it's time for my annual Harry Potter reread. I'm only up to Chamber of Secrets, and it hit me: Hogwarts is huge and old and full of stairs. How does someone with a physical limitation, like a wheelchair, leg braces, a cane, muscular issues, get around? Seriously, look at all those stairs. Those would be rough for an able-bodied person. What accommodations are there for the physically-challenged?

Sure, Firenze was able to teach Astronomy on the ground floor, but what about students? Yes, a simple glisseo spell could be used, but even that's a problem, because the school is tall. Ramps/slides would be steep. The student who needs it would probably have to work twice as hard to get up them. So what do they do? Are there special schools for them? Wouldn't that be kind of messed up if they did? Or are there spells to fix disabilities? Is that ethically questionable? Why do I now have all these questions? I feel like I need to tweet JK Rowling and ask for her thoughts.


Has this been answered in the other books? If not, how do you think they compensate?

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