(#) Theo 2010-07-12
I think 1 gallon is closer to 100 pounds than the 5 JKR said and 20 you said. Makes more sense with the prices she said throughout the story.
I wonder, if Sturnpike was a muggleborn or all of his known magical ancestors were muggleborn in origin and had no known magical relatives alive, would Rufus have been punished nearly as bad, or if at all?
Author's response
You're probably right, but then Harry's wand would have cost him over twelve hundred dollars. That's a sizable chunk of change!
I based it on the first cost actually mentioned, that being the cost of the paper in PS/SS. Hagrid told Harry to pay the owl five of the little bronze ones. In 1991, the average cost of a paper in the US was 35 cents. Divide that by five and you get 7 cents (or at the average RoE in the 90's of 1.8), 3.8 pence per knut. Multiply that by 29, and you get US$2.03 or 1.12 pounds per Sickle, and times 17 is US$34.51 or 19.17 Pounds per Galleon.
I have to see Stan as a near-squib pureblood. The bigotry in canon, is such that squibs are shunned, but most jobs go to purebloods regardless their capability. If he's a near-squib, he'd be shunted off to a position that makes little difference. What better than the conductor of the Knight Bus?
Amelia is seen in canon as being fair, impartial and absolutely unwavering in her dedication to duty. I believe had she lived in canon, she'd have been as much a force for change as Hermione wanted to be.
As for Stan, even if he had been muggle born, I believe she would have been appalled at Scumgouger's actions, and would have pressed as hard as she did, to punish him. The re-formed Wizengamot most likely would have agreed...in principle, but probably wouldn't have punished him as hard. At this point in time the purebloods still have a great deal of control.
Alorkin