Two things

Not sure about the first, but it's possible that Voldy wasnt ready to do the spell that required Harry's presence until then.

As for the goings-on at Hogwarts... Let's say that educating kids was NOT Dumbledore's top priority. He hired sub-par teachers for political reasons, accepted physical dangers as normal, but I think the parents were okay with theatter because that's how things had always been for wizards. But IMHO the reason that D. chose to spend his life as headmaster of Hogwarts rather than Minister of Magic, is that the headmaster job lower him to form a personal demi-parental bond with generation after generation of Brit wizards, and because of that they supported his fight against Vold and let him get away with all the *beep* you mmentioned. Aspiring dictators have done similar thing, like Chiang Kai Shek, who became headmaster of the national military academy, to win the loyalty of a generation of officers.

“Seventy-seven courses and a regicide, never a wedding like it!

The plan (as explained over both GOF and OotP books) was that the portkey would take harry to voldemort, voldemort would use harry to resurrect himself, kill harry to show how ordinary he is and reassert his own superiority to his followers, then send Harry's dead body back to the start of the maze. People would then assume harry had died in the maze, and no one would be aware Voldemort was back. Voldemort could then, in secret, rebuild his army and regain his shadowy influence without anyone fighting him. This was thwarted when Harry made it back alive and informed Dumbledore that Voldemort was back. It ruined Volde's plan and led to the reformation of the OotP. It would have helped had the ministry been less scared of what it would mean for voldemort to be back and thus preferring to view it as Dumbledore trying to take over.

If some random object was a portkey, Harry's disappearance would be unexplained. Dumbledore/The Ministry would have investigated, Voldemort's return would have been discovered and the fight against Voldemort would have started sooner.


As to Hogwarts - firstly, and most importantly, it's worth remembering how many students don't get injured. How most of the dangerous events in the books only impact a tiny fraction of the student body, and those are the ones seeking trouble in the most part.

The more wide ranging dangers only come into play when the wizarding world at large is at war, and then there is no safe place.

Secondly, there's a prestige in the magic community to certain schools. In Britain Hogwarts is seen as the best, the dangers there are manageable. A door that won't open because students aren't supposed to go to the other side of it, is a safety precaution, not a hazard. The Whomping Willow is an avoidable hazard. The dementors were put in place by the ministry because of an escaped convict, not a fixture of the school. Without a dark wizard to rally around, slytherin is no worse than some fraternities/sororities at US colleges. Some see these things as character building, some as an honour and a legacy - kids following in their footsteps, etc.

Thirdly, Hogwarts is somewhat of a fortress. Even at his previous peak, Voldemort was too scared to attack Hogwarts. In large part because of Dumbledore.

"You'll find it's a very small universe when I'm angry with you"