Picking a Valentine nit (was Ginny/Girl Harry, yada, ...

[Kimberly]

No: HPFGUIDX 15337

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Amanda Lewanski <editor at t...> wrote:

> Kimberly wrote:
> 
> > But why would Draco say it?  He and everyone present would know 
it to
> > be untrue, so it wouldn't even be a good tease.
> 
> What abnormally civilized country, or unusually polite siblings, or
> whatever, did you grow up with, to allow you to say something like 
this?
> Public tormenting has nothing to do with the truth--it has to do 
with
> timing, delivery, and audience. Draco had all three, *and* a target 
that
> was almost guaranteed to react for maximum effect and not and not
> challenge what he'd said. It's a *perfect* tease.

Oh believe me, my sister's 5 years older, and was an expert kid 
sister torturer for years before I caught on to the game and could 
even dish back - I do know a good tease when I see one, and Draco's a 
master.  My point was, the effect *shouldn't*, and in my opinion 
*wouldn't* be as good if everyone knew it was really from Lockhart, 
and if students had been getting these silly valentines all day. 
I just think the effect makes more sense if Ginny sent the 
valentine.  Sure Ginny'd be somewhat embarrassed if Draco said that, 
even if everyone there knew it wasn't true, but wouldn't she be far 
*more* embarrassed if it were true?  As embarrassed as she was, I was 
sure it must've been true.  The cupid didn't say who it was from, so 
I'm guessing (if it was her) she didn't intend for even Harry to know 
it was from her, so for Draco to say that in front of all those 
people would be far more mortifying in that case, and Draco would 
relish it all the more.  It just seems like a better, more sensible 
scene if she did send it.

> 
> >  And it still doesn't make sense that Harry, if he knew everyone 
was
> > getting them, would feel the need to run away from one of these
> > valentines.
> 
> I sure would. If it were in a hallway in front of younger students 
than
> me, who will therefore be around for the entire rest of my time at
> school, and might remember this for that whole time....

But if kids all over school were getting silly valentines like the 
one he got all day long, I'd think he'd just shrug and get it over 
with instead of trying to run away and making things worse.  It'd be 
annoying, but not so horrible that he would need to flee.  The fact 
that it's unique to him is sort of key, in my mind.
He is capable of laughing at himself.  In the same book, he doesn't 
mind at all when Fred and George preceed him down the hallways 
yelling 'Make way for the heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard 
coming through'.  In fact, he's grateful, under the circumstances.  
And he hasn't shown signs of being particularly mortified by Ginny's 
crush in the past.
And there's no mention of the same sort of valentine going to 
*anyone* else, so I figured this one was fairly unique.  Surely if it 
was Lockhart's little game only, other students would have had 
similar experiences all day long, and Harry'd have seen it happen and 
been less freaked out when it happened to him.  I think Lockart set 
it up for the students to send them, and few took him up on his 
offer, and even fewer of those came up with 'singing valentines', and 
even fewer with such cute verse, so when all of that came together, 
it was especially embarrassing.

kimberly
who still wishes she hadn't told her sister about her first crush