A plot parallel: Playing dirty

[serenadust <jmmears@comcast.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 47983

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Porphyria <porphyria at m...> 
wrote:
> I've been pondering the issue of certain HP characters with a 
fondness for 
> applying rules to other people but deftly avoiding them 
personally. 
> Consider the following, and let me know what you think:

<snip description of situational parallel with Snape/Lupin's secret 
and Hermione/Rita's secret>

 Hermione, however, didn't seem to consult 
> anyone before imprisoning and blackmailing Rita Skeeter, and this 
has 
> struck me as a very reckless decision which I'm worried will come 
back to 
> haunt her.

Yes, I agree entirely Porphyria.  When I finished GoF I immediately 
thought that Hermione was making a huge mistake in not blowing the 
whistle on Skeeter (turning her in to Dumbledore, not the Daily 
Prophet).  I definately think that this bomb will be exploding in 
book 5, and that Harry will be hurt badly, along with Sirius and 
Dumbledore.


> Yes, blackmailing. Am I wrong, or is that exactly what Hermione 
does by 
> telling Rita she'll narc her out to the Ministry if she publishes 
another 
> article within a year? "Rita Skeeter isn't going to be writing 
anything at 
> all for a while. Not unless she wants me to spill the beans on 
her." 

This is classic blackmail on Hermione's part.  However, her 
softhearted intention to let Rita go, as long as she promises not to 
write any more nasty articles shows a shocking naivete on her part.  
I think that she is gravely underestimating Rita's vindictiveness 
and resourcefulness.  Rita may be tacky and coarse, but she's not 
stupid and she may be more than a match for Hermione once she is out 
of her grasp.


<snip description of F&G flirting with blackmail of Bagman>

> So I ask, do you agree that Hermione's treatment of Skeeter is 
oddly 
> similar to Snape's treatment of Lupin? Are their more contrasts 
that I'm 
> forgetting? Does the twin's temptation to blackmail Bagman factor 
into 
> this theme? How does it relate to the overall motif of Harry 
operating on 
> his own for 'good' reasons? And what constitutes 'playing dirty' 
in the 
> Potterverse?

These are all very interesting points, which I don't recall having 
been discussed recently.  I see a strong parallel between the 
Hermione/Skeeter and Snape/Lupin situations.  Snape's "outing" Lupin
had sad consequences for Lupin and Harry.  I fear the consequences 
from Hermione's failure to "out" Skeeter will be very dire indeed.
As far as the twins vs Bagman, I think that the blackmail angle 
serves more to highlight the growing ugliness that all the kids 
(even the clownish Weasley twins) will be dealing with from now on, 
rather than as a parallel to the other examples of blackmail.

As far as 'playing dirty' in the Potterverse, it seems clear that as 
the books grow darker, the trio's rule-breaking (for lack of a 
better term) for their own good reasons, will at some point become 
less easily justified.  This seems to be foreshadowing the fact that 
the choices will be getting more difficult and morally ambiguous.  
The good guys will be getting their hands dirtier than they would 
like.

Jo Serenadust