Dissin' the Slyths

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 38468


Marina took a bow: 
> Thank you.  I hope I haven't been coming across as a crank on 
>the  subject.

I hope I haven't either :-) 

Marina knows better than to insult Albus Dumbledore in front of 
me:

>>>>  I'm a big fan of Dumbledore most of the time; I think he 
 does great both as a Headmaster for Hogwarts and as a 
guide/mentor  figure for Harry<snip>  Snape is great, but 
 setting him up as the token complex Slytherin just isn't enough 
for  me.<<<<<
 

That I understand. Wanting the Slytherins to be more complex 
than they're shown to be is fine with me,  but I wouldn't say 
Dumbledore's characterization is weak or misguided because it 
isn't conducive to a sentimental conception of Slytherin that JKR 
didn't put there.  I'd call that S.L.O.P.P.Y.R.E.A.D.I.N.G. :-)
(Slytherin-Lovers, Over Protecting Prideful Youngsters, Redefine 
Evil,  Asserting Dumbledore Is No Good)

Anyway, sorry to blather on, but  I absolutely don't believe the text 
implies that Dumbledore  broke the rules of the contest in any 
way whatever, sloppy writing or not. When an adult breaks or 
bends a rule in the Potterverse, it may be done wisely or 
foolishly, for good or for evil,  but it's always explicit. Further, the 
number of points  awarded to Gryffindor for their unprecedented 
heroism was  reasonable considering the number of points they 
could have won at Quidditch if their Seeker hadn't been in the 
Hospital Wing.

If we take into account that Harry lost the chance to win those 
points back through no fault of his own, we can arrive at an 
alternate reason why Slytherin's banners were left up. They still 
had a chance to win, because Dumbledore was hoping up to the 
very last moment that Slytherin would do the right thing. We 
learned in PoA and GoF  what is expected of one who wins the 
day only because of another's misfortune. But do the Slytherins 
offer to share the glory? Evidently not--so, alas, they lose it all, 
including any points Dumbledore might have awarded them  for 
good sportswizardship. 

Pippin
who thinks a WW institutional bias against  Slytherin is an 
interesting idea, but can't see any evidence of it at the Ministry or 
at Hogwarts.  Slyths won the Cup six times in a row under 
Dumbledore. If anybody should complain, it's Hufflepuff.