Seventh year

A seventh year is a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry who is in their seventh and final year of formal magical education. Seventh years are usually seventeen to eighteen years of age.

Hogwarts school

During the seventh year

The seventh year contains the most important exams given at Hogwarts — the N.E.W.T.s. Students conclude their N.E.W.T. level studies in the seventh year, at the end of which they sit the N.E.W.T. exam pertaining to each of their subjects. A student in the seventh year would have the same schedule he or she had in the sixth year, and would sit only those classes in which they received O.W.L.s meeting the minimum requirement of the professor for that subject. However, not all students take N.E.W.T.s as some occupations require only O.W.L.s.

Every year, a male and female seventh year student are appointed Head Boy and Head Girl respectively by the Headmaster (or Headmistress).

Timetable

1994-1995 school year

Monday
- Charms (first period)^[1]
Tuesday
- Unknown
Wednesday
- Unknown
Thursday
- Unknown
Friday
- Unknown

1995-1996 school year

Monday
- Herbology (first period)^[2]
- Charms (third period)^[2]
Tuesday
- Unknown
Wednesday
- Unknown
Thursday
- Unknown
Friday
- Unknown

Defence Against the Dark Arts is known not to be on Mondays. ^[3]

Behind the scenes

J. K. Rowling said in an interview that there is some form of graduation ceremony for seventh years that includes riding the Hogwarts boats back across the lake as they leave, but that she chose not to include it in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, as "to have a graduation scene on top of what just happened would've been an absurd bit of anti-climax."^[4]
J. K. Rowling also stated in the same interview that although Harry, Ron, and Hermione skipped their seventh year to hunt for Voldemort's Horcruxes, Hermione went back to Hogwarts to get her N.E.W.T.s and properly graduate. Harry and Ron, however, did not return, and instead worked with Kingsley Shacklebolt to round up stray Death Eaters.
In another interview, J. K. Rowling has stated that Marcus Flint had to repeat his seventh year, due to failing his N.E.W.T.s the first time around^[5]^[6]..
By Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Chapter 26, Gringotts, the Gryffindor 7th Year Boys dormitory was empty; Harry and Ron were out searching for Horcruxes, Dean was in hiding, and Neville and Seamus were in the Room of Requirement.^[7]
Sixth and seventh years in Hogwarts bear a strong resemblance to Sixth Form in England or 5th and 6th Year in Scotland, although sixth and seventh years in Hogwarts appears to be compulsory, whereas Sixth Form is not.

Appearances

Hogwarts years
1st · 2nd · 3rd · 4th · 5th · 6th · 7th

Notes and references

↑ Harry catches Cedric on his way to Charms in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Mentioned by Fred and George in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
↑ Fred and George mention, on the first day, that they had not yet had D.A.D.A. with Umbridge.
↑ PotterCast Interviews J.K. Rowling, December 2007
↑ Online chat transcript, Scholastic.com, 3 February 2000
↑ Rowling's Official Site (text only), accessed 25th July 2011
↑ J.K.Rowling Official Site F.A.Q.

[1] Harry catches Cedric on his way to Charms in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

[OP-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Mentioned by Fred and George in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

[3] Fred and George mention, on the first day, that they had not yet had D.A.D.A. with Umbridge.

[4] PotterCast Interviews J.K. Rowling, December 2007

[5] Online chat transcript, Scholastic.com, 3 February 2000

[Official_Site-6] Rowling's Official Site (text only), accessed 25th July 2011

[7] J.K.Rowling Official Site F.A.Q.

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