Hagrid, Dumbledore, & Second Chances (WAS Hagrid the Betr...

[elfundeb at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 40256

Caroline, quoting Cindy:

You summed up my problems with Hagrid in one wonderful sentence:

<< I'm asked to believe that Dumbledore thinks Hagrid's weaknesses 
are to be tolerated.>>

Yes.  You see, this actually sums up my problems with Dumbledore as 
well.  Second chances are all very good, imho, but when you give 
them, don't you expect some repentance in return?  Shouldn't
the 
forgiven one make a good faith effort to turn away from whatever he 
(and so far it's always a he in the Potterverse) did to screw
things 
up so royally in the first place?

I can excuse Dumbledore's actions, sort of, on the basis that he has a dual 
role - he's both headmaster and leader of the anti-Voldemort resistance - and 
that Hagrid's position is exclusively in furtherance of the latter.  
Dumbledore knew all along he would never be able to count on the Ministry for 
support, and that Hogwarts would ultimately become headquarters of the 
resistance, so he's been quietly assembling the best team he can muster for 
Voldemort's next reign of terror. Look what he's assembled so far:

He's got the Oracle at Delphi (or perhaps Mrs. Rochester, depending on how 
you look at it) locked up in the North Tower making predictions about the 
Dark Lord.

He's got a former DE and spy, who just also happens to be one of the WW's 
best potion brewers (PoA, ch. 8) who ensures a constant supply of Veritaserum 
when needed to question suspects.  Who cares if he teaches by intimidation 
and has a vendetta against Harry?

He's got a tiny wizard (a half-goblin?) who just happens to be a duelling 
champion.  He could be very useful one of these days.

He's got a certified Animagus.

Some of these people even know how to teach.  Which is a good thing, because 
Resistance Headquarters does double as the best school of magical education 
in Europe.

And he's got Hagrid. There are good strategic arguments for having him 
around.  Dumbledore probably has been contemplating for a long time that he 
may need an emissary to the giants.  And he doesn't have anyone else 
available who might be able to make contact with them.  But Hagrid is not 
prepared for any such job - he's never been asked to think for himself or 
develop any judgment or even use his wizard powers.  He's not fit for any job 
at all other than gamekeeper.

Dumbledore's also got a couple of job openings, and he can't afford to make 
any more hiring mistakes like Quirrell and Lockhart.  The number one 
qualification for a job at Hogwarts these days has got to be loyalty.  Just 
look at who else he hires - Lupin, one of the "old crowd" for DADA, and after 
Lupin resigns (Dumbledore did *not* sack him) he hires a retired Auror.  And 
for the Magical Creatures job, well, no one is more steadfastly loyal than 
Hagrid.  Whatever else I think about Hagrid (for a summary, read Jenny from 
Ravenclaw's posts, to which I give a loud "me too"), I never suspect his 
loyalty (even if it is blind loyalty).  

Caroline again:

What 
message is JKR trying to send about second chances?  That they should 
be handed about like candy?  I hope not.  And I guess that's why
I'm 
sort of pulling for a Hagrid screw-up down the pipe.  

I think Dumbledore believes in giving those who are loyal to him as many 
chances as they need to get it right.  Dumbledore has a long history of 
favoring on-the-job apprenticeships to classroom lessons. He's rather a Deist 
in his strategy: Instead of intricately worked out plans with specific 
outcomes, Dumbledore just makes available the tools they will need to train 
themselves.  He knows they will screw up sometimes, and the results may be 
very bad.  But he's going to rely on them to learn to make good decisions - 
and believes they will learn best from their mistakes, no matter how many 
they make.

And he has no qualms whatsoever about letting someone tackle a problem 
they're not ready for; after all, he let Harry deal with the Philosopher's 
Stone. But Hagrid fails so spectacularly and so often that it's hard to 
accept Dumbledore's patience.

Hagrid's curriculum does get better after Rita Skeeter's article (a year and 
a half after he begins teaching). He teaches a class on Nifflers.  (Maybe 
Professor Grubbly-Plank left him some lesson plans.)  It's pretty good, 
possibly his best class ever.  It looks like he's got some confidence.  And 
IIRC, we don't see him drinking after the Yule Ball. 

But then he slams Karkaroff into a tree and embarks on some xenophobic 
ranting.  Two steps forward and one step back.  Maybe Hagrid did inherit just 
a little bit of the giants' viciousness after all.  It doesn't seem like his 
judgment has improved at all.

And Dumbledore's going to send Hagrid on a diplomatic mission?  He must be 
really desperate.  I don't have a good feeling about this mission. 

Well, I've almost talked myself into the 
Dumbledore-is-desperate-and-has-to-keep-Hagrid theory, except for one thing.  
What about all those testimonial letters Dumbledore gets from parents after 
Rita Skeeter's article?  Are we supposed to believe that everyone loves 
Hagrid so much they don't care if he can teach, or if he drinks too much?  
Are they ignorant of everything he's done?  Or do they all just feel sorry 
for him, that great enormous guileless child?  And maybe that's why I don't 
like Hagrid, if the best thing I can say is that I feel sorry for him.

>  Hagrid endangered the 
> students by bringing a Hippogriff to class.
> 
> Bull! Hagrid gave very clear instructions on how to deal with a 
> hippogriff. Draco chose to disregard them. As I have said before, 
> blaming Hagrid for Draco's idiocy is exactly what creates little 
> jerks like Draco in the first place.  [snip]
> 
> Buckbeak seemed perfectly tame IF he was respected and not insulted. 
> Draco instead did the ONE thing to set him off, and that one thing 
> was adequately covered by Hagrid.
> 
You are right about Draco, of course, but as a lawyer I can't help adding two 
more words to the analysis:  contributory negligence.  Hippogriffs *could* be 
dangerous if not handled properly; Draco was dripping blood along the ground 
as Hagrid took him away.  Hagrid gave Harry very clear step-by-step 
instructions that took into account the temperament of this particular 
hippogriff.  Draco wasn't listening and was clearly at fault.  But letting 
the entire rest of the class tackle the hippogriffs at the same time was not 
a smart move.  Wouldn't it have made more sense for Hagrid to have let each 
student come up in turn so he could guide them through the process?  Of 
course it would, but Hagrid has no sense that others aren't as comfortable 
with "interestin' creatures" as he is.  He has no judgment.

Debbie, wondering if the real reason she doesn't like Hagrid is that she 
can't handle any pets bigger than a hamster



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