[HPforGrownups] Re: OoP: Abused!Draco, Hermione, Snape

[Mary]

No: HPFGUIDX 67703

-- Sherrie --

Having it come from a teacher isn't the same as having it come from a
parent.  For one thing, a teacher (generally) is someone you only have
to deal with a few hours a day, for a few months; a parent is someone
you have to deal with 24/7, for the whole of your life.  (Yes, she's
STILL doing it - & I'm 47 now.  I just don't let it get to me anymore.)


-- Me --

There's also the matter of phrasing. Lucius is pretty nasty about it.
It's possible to tell people helpful things in quite nasty ways: "if you
stood up straighter, you'd look better," might be a favour to a child if
you get them alone, say it gently and don't repeat it constantly.  It
doesn't imply that telling shopkeepers "if Bobby stood up straighter
then he'd look less like a petty thief, don't you agree?" is also a
favour to Bobby.

Lucius says that Draco's marks are so bad that he'll be nothing better
than a petty criminal. There is a HUGE difference between saying "son,
you're marks are bad and I'm worried about you," and telling a
shopkeeper that your son's marks are so bad that he may end up as a
thief or plunderer.

I hope the teachers here aren't reading out people's marks saying:
"Suzi, C+, sorry dear, but I'll be seeing your picture on America's Most
Wanted in a few years if that doesn't change," while the community
chuckles with them.

He's also quite racist:

'"I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizarding
family beat you in every exam," snapped Mr Malfoy.'

Comparisions between students, even on academic grounds ("I can't
believe Neville Longbottom beat you in Potions") is surely risky, let
alone comparisions based on non-academic grounds like pure-bloodedness.

I don't think of the foregoing sentence as abusive, but it isn't model
parenting.

-Mary