House points and Dumbledore

[ssk7882 <skelkins@attbi.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51073

Ah, the Ever So Contentious PS/SS Point Award!

Steve/Bboy (which do you prefer?) wrote a summary of the last-minute 
points awarded to Gryffindor at the end of PS/SS, and then demanded:

> And people think Dumbledore was being overly generous? 

Er, no.  The problem that many people have cited in the past, at any 
rate, with the infamous "Dissing the Slyths" scene is not their 
feeling that the point award was unduly generous.  

Rather, the objection is usually that the Trio and Neville earned 
those points long in advance of the Leaving Feast.  This meant that 
Dumbledore had ample time to award them *before* the very last 
minute.  Instead, however, by allowing Slytherin colors to be 
displayed in the hall, he chose to convey the impression that the 
contest was already closed and that House Slytherin was in possession 
of the Cup, before pulling what I must say has always come across to 
me as a rather childish and unwarranted "nanny-nanny-boo-boo" on a 
group of students whose House already has a long-standing enmity to 
Dumbledore's own, and who therefore already likely had strong reason 
to suspect their Headmaster of bias against them.

Those who object to 'Dissing the Slyths' feel that even aside from 
all questions of fairness or maturity, this was also rather a serious 
tactical error on Dumbledore's part, as it seems so very likely to 
encourage Slytherin students to turn against Dumbledore and all he 
represents, which in turn means *towards* Dark Magic and Voldemort.

This has, however, been a somewhat contentious issue in the past.  :->


Maria wrote:

> But I am not sure it's wise to compare academic success to 
> the displays of courage, bravery, etc (you list 'em in full). 
> Tom Riddle got a trophy (or whatever that was, my memory has 
> just stopped functioning) for exposing the Heir of Slytherin, 
> so why not do the same for HHR&N? But instead, Dumbledore
> just jumbles it all together with rewards for good behavior 
> and good grades.

Yes, but the point system is just completely <expleted deleted>
anyway, isn't it?

The points are allocated for athletic prowess (winning the Quidditch 
Cup is also worth House Points), for academic prowess, for 
comportment issues, and sometimes just for annoying Snape <g>.  
Furthermore, even the *Prefects* are allowed to mess around with the 
house points: in CoS, fifteen-year-old Percy is taking points off 
from Gryffindor and threatening to penalize Draco, Crabbe and Goyle 
with them.

So no, they're not fair in the slightest.  The entire system is 
completely arbitrary, which is one of the reasons that I always find 
it so very amusing that the students seem to be taking that silly 
House Cup so very seriously.  To Harry's credit, he rejects its 
importance altogether at the end of PS/SS.  A nice moment, that.

And then he's rewarded by winning it anyway.  

Something that not only the Trio and Neville, but also we the 
readers, do indeed seem to be expected to read as a terribly exciting 
victory.  

<groans and rolls eyes dramatically>

But I digress.  When it comes to the point system *itself,* I don't 
know to what extent I feel we can really lay that one at Dumbledore's 
feet (although I confess that I'm often tempted to do it as well).  I 
tend to put it in the same mental category as the House system 
itself: something that Dumbledore probably couldn't get rid of even 
if he wanted to.  I doubt that even Dumbledore could get away with 
mucking about *too* much with wizarding Britain's hoary, venerable, 
and amazingly self-destructive old traditions.  


Elkins

who believes that it is the author's *choices,* not her intentions, 
that make her works what they are