Divination & Arithmancy, Malfoy & Pansy

[saintbacchus]

No: HPFGUIDX 36423

Porphyria writes:

<<
Still the fact that it's taught at Hogwarts at all
must be an indication of something. I suspect it's a
little like the real world -- some individuals believe
in it, but many don't.

About a month ago in post #35373 Elkins suggested that
there might be something problematic, Dark, or even
corrupting about powerful divination, judging by
Trelawney's flustered denial of her 2nd authentic
prophecy, and the fact that it seemed to involve
possession by a not-too-friendly spirit.
>>


I agree with what Elkins wrote. To be a "medium"
involves opening oneself to spirits that may or may not
be good. I imagine it's a rare person who can do that
(either for metaphysical reasons or because it takes a
certain frame of mind), and I also suspect it's nigh
impossible to be unaffected by it.

OTOH, if Divination really is a quack subject, then I
believe that Dumbledore's reason for including it in
the curriculum is to avoid students getting
misconceptions about it. If they see it firsthand, they
can decide for themselves whether it's real or not
(hopefully, they'll choose correctly). If they only hear
about it, they may get the wrong idea about its
methodology and accuracy.

Now I've got two questions:
How much does Trelawney believe? She's such a charletan,
I somehow can't see her buying into her own crap. Yet
she's apparently spent years and years teaching it.

What's the difference between Arithmancy and Divination?
Hermione claims Arithmancy is somehow better, but
numerology is really no more a predictor of the future
than astrology or divination. Is Hermione - gasp! - just
being dumb here?


Mr. Boregard:
<<
In GoF, Malfoy escorts Pansy Parkinson to the Yule Ball.
You would think that a person of such lofty self worth
would escort someone other than the hard faced Pansy.
Are there any girls in the Slytherin house worthy of
Malfoy's ideals or did he limit himself to the stock of
Slytherin girls suitable to his personality?
>>

Maybe he was afraid of being turned down (I'm not
talking in a squishy way, I mean afraid of losing face)
and knew Pansy wouldn't.

Malfoy strikes me as the kind of person who would put a
lot of stock in looks. However, his *family* would put
more stock in breeding. If Pansy is "pug-faced" but
well-bred, he may just have felt he needed to do the
right thing and go with her. In which case I also
postulate that he got a big self-righteous kick out of it.

--Anna