Hogwarts Express

It should come as no surprise that Mrs. Rowling tells us that the Express is stolen.¹ On the other hand, exactly what constitutes theft is a bit more complex in this particular case than it appears at first glance. If the Express was obtained while Ottaline Gambol was Minister of Magic however, we have a rough estimate of when the … acquisition occurred. Since the rail roads appear to have been firmly private entities in the 1800s,² the fact that the railroads would later be nationalized by the non-magical government does not, however, help justify the magical government in this particular case. Had the order of events been reversed, I might well argue that one branch of the government might misappropriate but not precisely steal from another branch of government. It is admittedly a fine distinction.