Monica raised her hand again. "Professor, I believe it may be simply that muggules associate us with pointy hats. A lot of our people have them and occasionally, dispite our best efforts we are seen by muggles. And just as they associate Round Flying ships with what they call aliens, they associte Tall pointy hats and brooms with us."

She then wonked at Excelsior to let him know she understood what he had said."

"Maybe... black cones could be a simbol of power in some old culture..." Seth had no idea what the right answer would be, so he just said the first thing that he could think of.

"Yes."She said "I tried, i really wish that i could be on the team.So you had a great day.I guess" she smiled to Willow

Camira thought long and hard about the question. She didn't really see how this was that different from the first question, but she gave it a shot, none-the-less. "Well", she said slowly, "Black frequently symbolizes ambiguity, secrecy, and the unknown and I find that is a good way to describe wizarding life in relation to muggles. Pointy hoods were used by various secret orders and Catholic lay confraternities, once again conveying secrecy. Height is symbolic of power and authority, and thus tall hats on witches and wizards give off an air of power, which we clearly have in comparison to muggles." She was trying to work this all out in her head as she spoke. "Hats in general were used for and recognized for distinction, protection, and decoration, allowing for an air of elegance and comfort", she finished confidently.

"Ellie and Willow.. is there any particular reason you are chatting in my class and not answering the question? We're supposed to be earning points, not losing them. You've been warned!"

Lainey gave them both a stern look from under the brim of her hat.

"You're all thinking too deep I think. This hat holds no power.. not really... think simpler.. You can do it!"

"yes!" she said with a smile to Ellie, "you can check if you made the team on the Slythierin's Locket at the quidditch pitch" she mumbled to Ellie. Willow heard the professor's warning and said, "Sorry professor", blushing as she said this.

“Professor, I came up with one! Muggles are known for symbols, as are witches and wizards. Could the pointy Witch hat be a symbol for the wands that we carry that allow us to do our magic? A different interpretation of what we carry with us, a hat that depicts one of our greatest tools as a Witch or Wizard. I could see the pointyness of one of our wands being created in a different muggle type form.” Sini said smiling, she was enjoying this class.

Ellie looked at the professor "Sorry professor." then she tried to answer the question "Black maybe because of all the mysterious and the secrets . "she had no idea of what she was saying "I tried" she laughed to herself.

"Umm, black magic?", asked Excelsior.

"Well, it would be difficult to hide anything, like a wand or Dark magic object under hats like a baseball cap or beret. Perhaps that shape is associated with witches and wizards because it is the most useful shape for hiding things that we would want to hide?", Anita said, thinking outloud.

Monica raised her hand again. "Professor as I said before, I think it may just be a case of simple association. Muggles asscociate us with tall pointy black hats.

"Well maybe wizards don't want to be like muggles so they try to wear clothes as different from muggles' as possible. The pointy hat is one of them." Seth hoped it was right...

"You could hide a lot of things under it, like magical items. That's true," said Excelsior. "The shape would come in really handy for that kind of thing."

Whende set her chin ontop of her knees and wrinkled up her nose. Concentrated Face is was it was. "Because," she said slowly, mostly to herself, loud enough for people to hear, "that Mickey Mouse cartoon had a witch with a pointy hat in it. And people thought that it was cool." She wrinkled up her nose. Maybe she should rethink the answer...

Oh! "And... and Hocus Pocus! And Sabrina... And that Shakespeare story!" Shakespeare? That was quite a bit before Mickey Mouse. Whoops.

Hermy thought a while and smiled. "Maybe it was because when a Muggle caught sight of a witch on their broom their hair was blown back by the wind and looked a sort of cone shape?" She paused, trying to figure out any other reasons.

Astral thought hard. She had seen lots of old paintings in books about witches.
"Well, there was a very big outcry against witches in Salem in the olden days and in those days everyone used to wear a hat that had a big wide brim and a small point. So of course all the 'witches' they caught were wearing them too. So in all the paintings the witches have pointy hats and that's what people came to associate them with," she said "it's sad to think that lots of innocent muggles died, because of course a real witch wouldn't be caught with pitchforks and hoes. She could have stupified the lot of them and gotten away, or done an aguamenti charm to put out the fire," she added.

"Umm.. because witches and wizards wanted an extension of themselves.... because they had more power than the average human??" Laylee said stupidly, instantly regretting answering, she hated being wrong...

Monica raised her eyebrow at Seth's answer. It definitely reminded her of something some of her other relatives would say.

Jolie sat slightly slumped in her side by herself to the side. She sucked on her quill the while, sitting and listening quietly to everyone else throw out ideas. Jolie occasionally would write down one the professor commented on - scribbling notes on the sides of her parchment.

"Oh you two are SO close! You're so close! Go on, now. Think it out! Why do witch's wear these hats? You've basically all already answered it..." Lainey was bouncing in anticipation of someone putting it all together. "I think it's rather simple..'

"Well, it is possible that the witch's hat is an exaggeration of the tall, conical muggle "dunce's hat" that was popular in the royal courts of the 15th century or the tall but blunt-topped hats worn by Puritans and the Welsh. Pointed hats were generally frowned upon by the muggle Church, which associated then with the horns of the devil... an evil creature of muggle religion." Cassandra said, she took a deep breath and continued.

"Brimless, conical hats have long been associated with male wizards and muggle magicians. Goya painted witches with such hats. Maybe an artist added a brim to make the hats more fashionable for women... Either way, the sterotypical witch's hat came into being in Victorian times or around the turn of the century, in the illustrations of muggle children's fairy tales. The tall, black, conical hat became a symbol of wickedness, to be feared by muggles." Cassandra shook her head fighting back the thought of those horrible muggles who attacked her last term.

"The witch's hat I believe goes back to antiquity. Ancient Etruscan coins from the city of Luna have a head on one side which may be the goddess Diana, who is associated with witches. The head wears a brimless, conical hat." Cassandra sat and waited for the professor, she felt she would have made a Ravenclaw proud.

"Because you've got magic under the hat?", Excelsior asked. "You're hiding magic underneath your hat."

"Perhaps the hats were once made to hide wands" Monica muttered almost to herself, or maybe what you're hiding is the magic inside you..."

AStral frowned. Her idea was no good?
"It must be so we can hide our wand under it then," she tried.

"Could the shape be to hold a broom? We have the ability to shrink things, wecould shrink our broom and easily stow it away in our pointy hat, it would be the right shape." Sini said hoping she was close.