House points and Dumbledore

[Tom Wall <thomasmwall@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51257

HEIDI WROTE:
I think that canon actually supports a conclusion that Slytherin 
*had* won the house cup, as in the end of GoF, in the Leaving Feast 
scene, Harry entered the Great Hall noting that instead of the house 
colours that usually filled the hall for the Leaving Feast, there 
were black banners, in Cedric's memory. 
<snip>
In fact GoF says that the Hall was "usually decorated" with such 
colours for the leaving feast - which to my mind cannot mean 
anything but a conclusion that upon entering the Hall for a Leaving 
Feast, the victorious house's colours were hanging.
<snip>
So any allegation that the Slytherins were somehow jumping the gun, 
upon my read of the book, cannot be considered based in canon.
END QUOTE.

I REPLY:
"Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The 
points are all in and Slytherin won, of course -" <snip>
[Ron to Harry] PS/SS 302

It seems to be that canon defnitely suggests that everyone 
intuitively knew that Slytherin had won the House Cup. Of course, 
Scott (I think it was Scott) pointed out that Dumbledore technically 
hadn't announced it, so there's that to support the notion that no-
one wins the Cup until it is formally announced at the Leaving Feast.

<sighs>

Still, no one seemed to have any doubts that the Slyths had won - so 
whatever the case, Dumbledore's last minute overturning of the 
results was unorthodox, to say the least.

Not to mention, totally, completely, radically unfair. ;-)

-Tom