Harry "always gets away with stuff" (Was Re: Defending Ron ?...)

[C M]

No: HPFGUIDX 77808

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" <annemehr at y...> 
wrote:
>>>Harry could no more help blowing up Aunt Marge, as hard as he 
tried, than Ron could ever help his ears turning red when he's 
upset.<<<

Me: I don't think that's necessarily true. Harry *was* responsible 
for Aunt Marge blowing up; he failed to control his temper. He seemed 
fully aware that he had done something wrong, too. My impression has 
always been that any emotion-produced Magic a child does pre-Hogwarts 
is overlooked by the MoM, but once the child is aware of who/what 
they are, they have a responsibility to keep their powers in check. 
In PoA, Harry didn't do that. Honestly, of all the Restriction-
breaking he's gotten in trouble for (CoS's pudding, OOP's Patronus), 
blowing up Aunt Marge is the only one that's valid and he *did* "get 
away with it." It was blown off completely due to the Sirius Black 
situation.

>>>annemehr: In justice, uncontrolled magic should never be 
punished.<<<

Me: I disagree. If Harry had started punching or kicking Aunt Marge 
when he lost his temper, it would have been just as wrong as what he 
did. Not holding him responsible for Magic he does in the heat of 
anger would send the message that it's "okay," that because he's a 
wizard, he deserves preferential treatment. And while many in the WW 
would agree, the prevailing attitude of their government seems to be 
on the other side of that fence.

I personally don't think there was anything sinister in Ron's remark. 
Harry *does* get away with stuff (Aunt Marge, flying when Madame 
Hooch left in SS), but that's not a bad thing, is it? I assume that 
most of us cheer for him at those moments (as Ron and the rest of 
Weasleys did in OOP). He's the hero, we want things to go his way.

CM, who loves it when things work out in Harry's favor.