Who's more out of line? (WAS: Snape and respect)

[Scott Northrup]

No: HPFGUIDX 51149

Jo Serenadust:
> Yes, I find that if a character is as amusing and entertaining as
> Moody/Crouch, and the target is a despicable little bully, somehow
> I'm going to be a lot less bothered when said bully is on the
> receiving end. I even considered it a much-needed educational moment
> for Draco. Some deep-seated personality flaw on my part, I guess,
> but there it is :--).

I totally agree.

Look, the facts are

Snape is cruel to Hermione for no real reason.

Crouch!Moody is cruel to Draco because he was in violation of school rules,
in a very serious manner.

Draco /missed/ Harry.  There's no telling what he had actually aimed at him;
all we know is that Harry felt his cheek burn.  To me, suggesting that Draco
had intended great bodily harm upon Harry wouldn't be outrageous in the
least.  So, Crouch!Moody punishes him in a way that will make a difference.
Look at it this way: If McGonagall had been there instead,  and given Draco
a detention, would Draco have learned anything?  Sure- he would have learned
that trying to curse other students is only punished by a slap on the wrist,
and thus, he can curse anyone he wants, without any real fear.  Having been
punished by Crouch!Moody, Draco will seriously think twice before pointing
his wand at another student.

Here's an example of why Moody's punishment is effective, compared to giving
a detention:

In the scene involving Hermione's teeth, Harry has cursed another student,
Goyle (or Crabbe, I forget, and they're basically the same person).  He gets
a detention for it, and house points are taken away.  I'm not really even
sure that he was punished for cursing Goyle; he may have been punished for
his diatribe on Snape afterwards.  So now, Harry will go on to curse the
moron!trio once again.   However, after Moody punishes Draco, Draco doesn't
curse anyone throughout the rest of the book (I might have a selective
memory, feel free to call me out on it if I'm wrong), and the mention of
Moody's name causes him to look over his shoulder.

Look, if you really think the punishment exceeded the crime, think of it as
punishment for 3-4 for years of crimes that had probably gone unpunished.

-Scott
(who laughed so hard he fell off of the couch when Draco was turned into the
amazing bouncing ferret.  Not everyone can be an idealist, I guess)