[HPforGrownups] Re: Skeeter

[Eric Oppen]

No: HPFGUIDX 45403


> Brian pondered:
>
> > How about the presence of a convicted murderer/Azkaban
> > escapee/unregistered animagi in the Hogwarts hospital wing
> > conspiring with the Headmaster and a former Death Eater to embark
> > upon a course of action contrary to the stated wishes of the
> > Minister of Magic?  Rita Skeeter was there at the time!
>
>     Well, I think that RS heard everything, and knows all about
Snape being
> a death eater (well, I guess that's not news), as well as Sirius
being both
> a trusted friend of Dumbledore *and* an unregisterd animagus, and
heard all
> of the argument between Fudge and Dumbledore and the group's
subsequent
> decision to mobilize against Voldemort and gain secret support in
the
> ministry. But, this also exactly why I think the truth about Sirius
will be
> revealed in the OoP (besides the fact that it will have been a
secret long
> enough!) is because as soon as Rita were to be human again, she
would break
> the story. I mean, Hermione told her she would keep her as a beetle
in the
> jar for a year, and see if after that she could stop dragging
people through
> the mud (obvoiusly not verbatim!). Well, once Hermy let her out, she
> wouldn't have to lie to tell all that good stuff that would just
rock the
> wizarding world- so I think, by the time she's allowed to regain
human form,
> the truth will already have come out

(Michelle)
Now me:
Actually the quote from Hermione is :

"I've told her that I'll let her out when we get back to London" so
she's not got to stay in the jar for a year.

I agree with Brian, I think that what Rita saw/ overheard is a time
bomb waiting to go off. I think that Rita wouldn't have taken being
imprisoned by a school girl very well,(understatement of the year I
think!).

(Eric)

Actually, if Hermione was Ever So Evil (has that theory ever been floated
here?) this might not be much of a problem.  As in:

"Yes, I said I'd let her go free when we got back to London," said Hermione
with a smile Harry didn't much like, looking with satisfaction at the big
beetle buzzing around the room, "but that was _all_ I said, wasn't it?  I
never, ever mentioned Memory Charms.  Well, in _Hogwarts, a History,_ it
mentions in one of the footnotes that if you hit a transformed Animaga with
a Memory Charm while in Animagus form, that person will forget that he or
she was ever anything but an animal."

"You mean---?"  said Harry.  A cold chill went down his back.  Hermione
smiled at him, rather patronizingly, he thought, and patted his knee.

"Yes.  When I opened the jar, I had my wand at the ready, and a quick
'Obliviate!' made sure that Miss Rita Skeeter'll never know she was ever
anything but a beetle.  She doesn't remember being a human, she doesn't know
how to turn back into a human.  Even if someone did the reverse-Animagism
charm on her...that is, if anybody but we three knew she was an
Animagus...she'd still be a drooling idiot, not fit for her former job, or
for any job."  Her evil smile suddenly changed to a gamine grin.  "Or any
job save Minister of Magic, and we already have one of _those!_"

Seriously, though, I would not be surprised to find that Hermione is a
pretty steely, ruthless character under that "good girl, gets good grades"
exterior.  When she wants something, she'll do what she has to to get it,
and consequences can take care of themselves.  She wanted to take absolutely
maximum advantage of her time at Hogwarts, to the point of nearly breaking
her health with over-use of the Time-Turner.  She stood up to Ron over
Crookshanks, instead of getting rid of him when he tried to attack
Scabbers/Pettigrew.  She stood up to the rest of the school and received
opinion of the Wizard World over house-elves, even when her _two best
friends in the whole world_ were trying to discourage her.

In fact...the books can be interpreted in a way that allows Hermione Granger
to be Ever So Evil.  Evil, after all, does _not_ have to equate to sending
Valentines to Voldemort---I would say one of the evil-er people in the canon
so far was none other than Gilderoy Lockhart, who is _not_ a DE.  Hermione
could easily reconcile being Ever So Evil and Harry Potter's Best Pal And
Right-Hand Woman---if she wants to be ruler of the Wizard World, she can't
allow Voldemort to try for the same job, can she?  She works against the
DEs, but then, the DEs are out to get her just because of who her parents
were, and they work for the guy who wants to rule the WW instead of her.
She wants to liberate the house-elves---who have powerful magic and whom we
know to be very willing to serve and to be grateful to those who do them
favors.  She could come forth as the leader of the wizards and witches who
are tired of the corrupt, inept rule of the "old wizarding families" like
the Malfoys---and the Weasleys.  I'm sure that there are Muggle-borns who're
tired of the attitude the Malfoys have, and we don't know how common being
Muggle-born is, do we?

(NB:  I would be gobsmacked if Hermione _did_ turn out to be Ever So
Evil---but then, I wasn't expecting Scabbers to be anything but a rat, and
JKR has been known to surprise us.)