[HPforGrownups] Re: House points and Dumbledore

[Catherine Coleman]

No: HPFGUIDX 51243


>--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "firekat482 <firekat482 at y...>"
><firekat482 at y...> wrote:

>> ... This awful, obvious show of  favoritism really grates on my
>> nerves. By awarding the points this way Dumbledore shows a total
>> lack of respect for the Slytherin house and Snape as well. I would
>> imagine that it was a few weeks before Snape felt like talking to
>> the Headmaster again.
>>
>> What Dumbledore should have done IMHO (as the impartial Headmaster
>> that he is supposed to be) was award those points as soon he became
>> aware of what the Trio had done. By waiting until the last second
>> the only thing he accomplished was the further alienation of the
>> Slytherin house. And these are the people he cannot afford to
>> estrange.
>>
>> ...EDITED...
>>
>> ~Jean

I'm wondering whether there was a much more practical reason for 
Dumbledore awarding the points in the way he did.   The fact is, that if 
the points had been awarded immediately after the events, what is the 
betting that Slytherin would still have won the cup?  We have seen 
blatant examples of favouritism on Snape's part regarding Slytherin and 
Gryffindor rivalries, and I would have thought that over the next few 
days Snape would have taken every opportunity to award points to 
Slytherin and take them away from Gryffindor.

Perhaps Dumbledore wanted to be 100% certain of the Gryffindor win, 
besides showing everyone that HRH *and* Neville were behind setting to 
rights the appalling loss of points over the Norbert incident.

I also think that publicly commenting on Neville's bravery was a very 
kind thing to do, considering the fact that he had been enduring taunts 
about his lack of Gryffindor qualities all year.  Not only would this be 
a huge boost to Neville's esteem, but it also shows the other 
Gryffindors that after being one of the first years responsible for a 
huge point loss, that he proved himself loyal to the house and its 
reputation.

Just a thought,

Catherine