Wow, Wendy, I didn't know that about UK/European schools. So you mean that at the end of the 12 or 13 years of education that are considered pre-university (what we call grade/grammar school, junior high, and then high school) there is no graduation ceremony? No handing out of diplomas and wearing of caps and gowns? For us it is so much a right of passage, a formal moving into adult-hood. And since getting a job is so dependent on having at the very minimum a high school diploma, graduating is indeed an accomplishment that people strive for.
If a person "leaves" school, which at age 16 they are legally allowed to do, it is considered a very bad thing. So even though I know the context is different for how you use it, in the case of Harry leaving Hogwarts, I see it as him not having finished his formal education and not being qualified for whatever comes next. For example, he couldn't go to wizarding university without having completed his 7th year at Hogwarts. In the US, he'd be called a high school drop-out and he'd be looking at a job where he'd have to wear a polyester uniform and ask "Do you want fries with that?"
So interesting!
And thanks for the Fanfic recommendations! I can't wait to dive into some of them.
Lynn
