Of Owls and Newts

One of the unresolved issues at the conclusion of The Deathly Hallows is how do Harry, Ron and Hermione cope with missing their final year at Hogwarts. Mind you, the quality of education at the school had suffered rather badly what with Dumbledore being yanked out mid-year, in The Prisoner of Azkaban, Umbridge taking over in Order of the Phoenix and the distress of Dumbledore’s death in The Half-blood Prince.

Even as long ago as The Chamber of Secrets, exams were cancelled, so one wonders exactly how good a school Hogwarts was. However, next to Drumstrang and Beaubatons Academy, Hogwarts appears to be pretty good. Drumstrang seems to be rather too stoic to be appealing, while the girls of Beaubatons display little of the wit, wisdom and fortitude of the Hogwarts girls. I doubt either of the Delacour girls ever went near a quidditch pitch. Indeed, the Beaubatons’ cheerleading was pretty feeble, too.

Achievement?
While there is no doubt that Harry, Ron and Hermione distinguished themselves in The Deathly Hallows, they did miss their final year at Hogwarts and failed to take their N.E.W.T.s The three had good sets of O.W.L.s (Ron and Harry had 7, while Hermione had 11), one wonders what they did between the time of the vanquishing of Voldemort and the time they, presumably, got married. Calculating from the ages of the children, and assuming they did things in the conventional order, Harry would have been 23 when he married Ginny. Ron and Hermione would have been a similar age.

J K Rowling has given hints that Hermione went into Magical Law, which she could not have done had she not resumed her studies. It can also be assumed that Ginny remained at Hogwarts until she completed her N.E.W.T.s, as she was certainly more studious than George and Fred, who only managed to scrape 3 O.W.L.s each.

I suspect that Harry, Ron and Hermione all attended Knight School, so they were able to do some work during the day. Harry had a considerable amount of money (no doubt, part of the attraction for Ginny, who as the youngest child probably never had anything new), and might have added to it by giving special lessons in Defence Against the Dark Arts, which he had done so successfully to Dumbledore’s Army.

However, with Voldemort defeated, the demand for DADA lessons probably collapsed.

Given the state of 12, Grimmauld Place, Harry would have been well advised to learn some DIY skills to bring that 18th century house up to standard. He could have done worse than training as a plasterer.

It’s not likely, though. I think the trio found a way to complete their education. Yes, Ron, too. Hermione wouldn’t marry someone who only had 7 O.W.L.s. Her parents were dentists, remember, and she knew the value of education and professional training. Similarly, Harry wouldn’t be comfortable with a wife who had more education than he did. He had professional ambitions, too, and even though he might never become an Auror, he was clever enough – and smart enough – to want to make the most of his abilities.