Why Can't Hagrid Do Magic?

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 43911

Heather mused whimsically in message #43836:
> ...slight snip...
> Why, exactly, is Hagrid not allowed to do magic? 
> Canon tells us that he's "not supposed ter do magic, 
> strictly speakin'" and the reason is because of the 
> CoS incident, ...snip...
>
><HEDGE CLIPERS SNIP>
>
>Heather, who thinks that keeping Hagrid from doing
>magic after his innocence is revealed is appalling.

Animagi_Raven Replied:
IIRC Hagrid was expelled from Hogwarts for raising dangerous 
animals in secret. ...snip... The student death was probably 
blamed on the spider (but how did a spider turn someone to 
stone?), *some* ...snip... - knew that the spider was not 
responsible. And did suspect that the Chamber had been opened. 
...snip...
- end- Animagi_Raven 

bboy_mn Adds:
I've been wanting to reply to this thread but have had a hard time
compiling enough thoughts to form a full paragraph and didn't have a
real direct response to any one particular person. But, I'm going to
try and interject a few thoughts now.

The Crime-
First, as Animagi_Raven pointed out, Hagrid's alleged crime was not
minor. Someone suggested it was comparable to a misdemeanor or gross
misdemeanor, however, Hagrid's alleged actions resulted in injury to
several students and the death of one, so this was more along the line
of gross negligence, criminal negligence or even homicidal negligence.
Legally those may not be the right terms but they are still sufficient
to make my point. Hagrid was accused of a felon in connection with the
death of a student.

Considering the felony nature of his alleged crime, he was very lucky
to have not spent an extended stretch in prison. So, having his wand
snap, being drummed out of school, and forbidden to do magic is an
extremely mild sentence compared to what it could have been.

Obviously, Dumbledore, being thoroughly convinced of both Hagrid's and
the spider's innocents, pulled in some very big favors to keep Hagrid
out of prison, and allow him to train as the gamekeeper. I'm guessing
that the 'no magic' was one of the alternatives to prison that was
intended to make the punishment fit the crime. 

The Magic-
Certainly, within the boundaries of the school, Hagrid exits in a
somewhat isolated world. Any breach of the 'no magic' rule is not
likely to be detected by the wizard world at large. Since Dumbledore
and the rest of the school staff know Hagrid, know that he is
generally harmless, and are probably convinced that he is innocent,
they conveniently look the other way when Hagrid performs magic.

Now that there is some evidence that Hagrid really was not responsible
for these injuries and death, I suspect the staff doesn't even bother
to look the other way. It is accepted that Hagrid is unofficially
allowed to do magic. 

The Training-
Hagrid has had 50 years of practical experience and demonstrated
magical skill to verify his ability as a wizard. I would think, with
this demonstrated ability and life experience, he should be able to
establish the minimum skill level to qualify as a wizard. While a
little official tutoring wouldn't hurt, I think he has sufficient
skill to qualify.

The Wand-
*A* wand was snapped, and the understanding is that it was Hagrid's
wand, but given how poorly Ron's 'snapped' wand worked and how well
Hagrid's umbrella works, I have to wonder if the wand inside that
umbrella is really broken. Perhaps, in the official wand snapping
ceremony, a substitute wand was used. 

The Resolution-
Since Hagrid has been officially convicted of a crime and has
officially documented sanctions against him, he can't be 'free' until
that conviction is set aside, and the sanctions officially lifted. 

I agree that they are moving very slow in getting Hagrid's name
officially cleared. I would think that Hermione at least would be
kicking down the Ministry of Magic's door demanding that Hagrid be
allowed to have a wand and do magic again. Personally, I think they
have enough evidence even without the Riddle Diary to make this
happen. Given that Hagrid has lived a clean productive life for over
50 years, is generally well known and well liked by the wizard world,
and to some extent, well known and well like by high Ministry
officials; I would think that with Dumbledore's explanation and
Harry's testimony, they should be able to get the conviction set
aside. Although, I can't, for the life of me, come up with a reason
why they are not doing this. 

Perhaps' Dumbledore and Hagrid don't feel the need to make it
official. Maybe they are content with the way things are; Hagrid has
always done magic, and continues to do so, so he is functionally able
to do what needs to be done, even if he is not officially able to do
these things. As far as why Harry and friends haven't made a bigger
issue of this, about all I can conclude is that they are kids, and
assume that it is up to the adults to deal with this.

In addition to all this, as Animagi_Raven pointed out, there is the
one glaring inconsistency in the events that took place, and that is,
the students turned to stone. Giant spiders are certainly dangerous
and could easily kill people, but they don't petrify them (to my
knowledge). This inconsistence could also be used to help clear
Hagrid's name. 

The Circle-
Now this brings us full circle, back to the question 'Why, exactly, is
Hagrid not allowed to do magic?'. The only conclusions I can come up
with are that JKR see this as an insignificant plot point, or she has
bigger and more interesting plans for it's resolution in future books. 

As far as insignificant plot point, how hard would it be to clear this
issue? A new school term starts and Hagrid says 'Harry, they cleared
my name over the summer, look at my cool new wand.'; end of issue.
Which only leaves, bigger and more interesting resolution in future books.

No conclusions; just some thoughts.

bboy_mn