Dissin' the Slyths, PS on Rights and Wrongs

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 38434

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

> Announcing the final standings before the feast and decorating 
> the Hall in Gryffindor colors to begin with would not have been 
> "tactfulbehind the scenes maneuvering" -- it would've been 
> regular procedure. That's how it's done in all the other years. 
> <<<<
> 
> Okay, now I am confused.  So far, we've had four years.
> 
> Year One: Dumbledore pulls his switcheroo
> 
> Year Two: no leaving feast mentioned. There is a special feast 
> where Ron and Harry's four hundred points secure the House 
> Cup for Gryffindor. There is  no mention of decorations or who 
> was in the lead beforehand.
> 
> Year Three: Gryffindor takes the lead by winning the Quidditch 
> Cup. The hall is decorated in scarlet and gold. No mention of 
> last minute points.
> 
> Year Four: the hall is draped in black. No House Cup is 
> awarded. The House Point totals are not given.
> 
> The only thing I can conclude from this about the standard 
> procedure is that there isn't one. <g> Maybe in Year 7, 
> Dumbledore *will* announce a four way tie, stand on the table 
> and dance the Macarena. <g> For all we know, last minute 
> points are handed out all the time. It's happened twice so far.

When everyone walked into the hall and saw the Slytherin banners in
Year One, everyone -- not just the Slyths -- assumed it meant a
Slytherin victory.  They wouldn't have assumed it if last-minute
changes were the norm before then.  It's possible that Dumbledore has
changed the SOP since, but since none of the Slyths appear to be
Seers, that wouldn't have affected their reaction at the time.

Also, the points awarded Gryffindor that year were *not* last minute
points.  A fair chunk of time passed between Harry's confrontation
with Quirrell, and the leaving feast.  In fact, the confrontation took
place before the Quidditch Cup final (Ravenclaw beat Gryffindor
because Harry was in the infirmary and couldn't play.)  So the final
standings in Year One were actually determined *earlier* than they
were in Year Three, yet Dumbledore held back the information in order
to perform the switch at the feast.


> I said:
> > 
> > Switching the banners is a show of force, and that is the way to 
> > reach Slytherins. 
> 
> Marina:
> >>>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?<<<
> 
> The message being given to the reader, and what Slytherins had 
> to be shown, is that no matter how certain they are that they've 
> won, everything they have can be snatched away when they least 
> expect it, maybe because the powers-that-be are capricious or 
> maybe because they had it coming, but mostly because that's 
> the way the world works.  The Slytherins boast and cheat 
> because they get a feeling of power from doing it. They need to 
> understand that the sense of security they get when they feel 
> powerful is meaningless. 

Whoo boy, do I think that's a wrong and dangerous thing to be telling
the Slytherins!  The last message you want to send to these guys is
that their position is insecure because they don't have enough power. 
That'll only make them scramble for more, and if a convenient Dark
Lord shows up and says, "join me and I'll make so you so powerful that
no one will ever capriciously snatch victory from you again," their
reaction will be pretty predictable.

It was an especially dangerous message to sent that particular year,
because it was the first Slytherin loss in a while.  The conclusion
they'll most likely draw from this is, "When we win it's business as
usual and when we lose we the powers that be go out of their way to
publically humiliate us.  Better make sure we win at any cost, then."

What the Slytherins need to learn is that they don't need to be the
biggest bully in the playground in order to have respect.  Instead,
the get shown that they do need to be the biggest bully, otherwise a
bigger one can come along and take it all away from under their nose.
Very counterproductive.  You will *not* reach the Slytherins by going
"Ha-ha, I'm more powerful than you are."

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com