Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil (Nel Question - LONG)

[dicentra63]

No: HPFGUIDX 38376

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "marinafrants" <rusalka at i...> wrote:
  The Slytherins deserved to 
> lose the House Cup because of Draco's actions.  They did *not* 
> deserve to have their faces rubbed in it in front of the whole 
> school.  And Snape, in particular, did not deserve to be jerked 
> around by his boss in front of all his colleagues.
> 
Hmmm.  I don't think that Snape or the Slytherins or Dumbledore would
take this position.

First: Slytherin had been winning the house cup for several years
running.  Given Snape's propensity for randomly awarding and deducting
points, and the Slytherin credo of ends justifies the means, it's
highly likely their House Cup wins didn't come about by the most
above-the-board means in the world.  Undoubtedly, the other houses
knew it, too, and had been chafing under the unfairness of it all for
years. I also doubt Snape was terribly modest about the wins,
especially in front of McGonagall. NO doubt the Slytherins had been
rubbing everyone else's face in it.

Second: Awarding the points at the final feast gives public credit to
(a) Harry, despised of Snape, Draco, and probably all those whose
parents were DEs; (b) Ron, a poverty-stricken, muggle-loving Weasley;
(c) Hermione, a "mudblood"; and (d) Neville, also despised of Snape, 
son of an Auror, and apparent incompetent. The elitist Slyths need to
know exactly who got the points and why.

Third: If the Slytherins were going to cry "foul" at this juncture,
they're certainly not going to say (or think), "Gee, Headmaster, it
was so awfully insensitive of you to make us lose at the last minute
in front of everyone. You should have been more sensitive to our
feelings."  They're more likely to protest that the points were
awarded at all, especially to Neville. (But who's going to challenge
Dumbledore?)

Fourth: The public recognition was a gift to Harry in particular and
also to Neville, who needs a pat on the back from time to time. (Not
unlike Lupin publicly telling Snape that he's using Neville to
demonstrate how to defeat Boggarts.)

Fifth: Poetic justice aside, the Slytherins and Snape undoubtedly
needed to be taken down a few pegs.  In this, Dumbledore is actually
doing them a favor, not an injustice.  Allowing the Slyths to continue
to win by cheating and then to lord it over the rest of the school
wasn't doing much good for school morale.  

Do you really think the Slytherins went home to their mommies and
cried about what a bully Dumbledore is?  Do you think parents of
Slyths sent owls protesting the humiliation of their children?  No,
the Slyths probably took it the way Slyths do: plotting how to get even.

--Dicey, who is glad Dumbledore is in charge