Dissin' the Slyths

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 38417

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "pippin_999" <foxmoth at q...> wrote:

> Dumbledore rewards Gryffindor in front of the whole school 
> because Harry, Hermione and Ron risked their lives for the sake 
> of the whole school, Slytherins included. As for Neville, if there
is 
> one thing the Slytherins need to know, it's that it's okay to stand 
> against your housemates. 

All of which could've been done without the bait-and-switch maneuver.

> Marina:
> >>>  But he could just as easily have announced the winning 
> house before the feast and still given credit during the feast.  A 
> quick "congrats to Gryffindor, and let me explain why they won" 
> speech would've done the job just fine without the handwaving 
> and changing banner colors half-way through.  <<<<
> 
> ::scratches head::  Are you perchance thinking of That Which 
> Shall Not Be Named? It wasn't half-way through, it was right at 
> the start, before the food is served. There was a quick congrats 
> to Slytherin and let me explain why they lost.  There was no hand 
> waving, it was a clap. 

It's possible I'm conflating the book and movie details in my memory. 
I don't see how it's relevant, however. I think that the switch was
wrong regardless of whether it happened at the beginning, middle, or
end of the feast; and I think it was wrong regardless of whether
Dumbledore did it by waving, clapping, or dancing the Macarena on top
of the staff table.

>  Consider: if  Gryffindor won fairly,  as Snape acknowledges with 
> that hand shake, then what Dumbledore gave Slytherin  was a 
> moment of recognition and an acknowledgement that they came 
> closer to winning than the final point totals would indicate. The 
> *only*  reason the Slytherins have to feel humiliated is that they 
> had been gloating. That's hardly Dumbledore's fault.

No, the Slytherins have reason to feel humiliated because they got
publically jerked around by their Headmaster.  "Congrats, guys, you
won!  Come into the hall and sit down, look at all the pretty green
and silver banners, get ready to celebrate... Whoops, just kidding! 
You lose after all.  Surprise!"  Other houses don't get that sort of
thing pulled on them when they lose.  I don't see how the Slyths could
interpret it as anything other than a slap in the face.

> 
> Any sort of tactful behind the scenes maneuver to spare their 
> feelings would only have come across as weakness.

Announcing the final standings before the feast and decorating the
Hall in Gryffindor colors to begin with would not have been "tactful
behind the scenes maneuvering" -- it would've been regular procedure. 
That's how it's done in all the other years.  

 
> Marina again:
> >>Reaching the Slytherins is a difficult task. <<
> 
> Switching the banners is a show of force, and that is the way to 
> reach Slytherins. 

I don't understand.  How is it a show of force?  What power is
Dumbledore demonstrating that would not have been demonstrated without
the switch?

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com