I *HATE* Hagrid! (kinda long)

[D.G.]

No: HPFGUIDX 69078

The Hagrid Question is an interesting one.  I, personally, have no 
problem with his drinking [nor, for that matter, do the alcohol 
references in the book bother me -- "my fellow Americans" need to 
remember that most of the world is not as prim and self-righteous 
about such things as we are (ahh, that Puritan legacy!)]-- 

But I am confounded by his poor teaching and poor judgment.  It's one 
thing to say he's got a soft spot for monsters and other unloved 
outcasts;  it's another to suggest that he's so selfish and/or 
clueless that he willingly puts students at risk in his classes, and 
potentially puts the entire school at risk by bringing Gawrp into the 
picture.  (And, for that matter, what kind of "soft-hearted 
humanitarian" carries a creature --even his own half-brother-- away 
from his natural habitat, and ties him up "for his own good"!?!?)

I'm beginning to think that Hagrid is being set up to serve as a very 
painful lesson for Harry and his cohorts.  At some point, the big 
guy's faults are going to prove irredeemable, and he's going to have 
to either be banned from Hogwart's or even set up to die in some kind 
of confrontation.  Harry, undoubtedly, is going to have to play a 
role in this.  The lesson is going to be that sometimes one must do 
things that are excruciatingly painful, if that's what's necessary 
for the greater good.  Harry has already confronted this, to a 
certain extent, but he's going to have to learn it even more 
painfully, in my opinion.

I also think that this may be why Mad-Eye is around.  I mean, look at 
him:  he's scarred beyond recognition;  he's been hurt so many times 
that he's borderline-paranoid, as joyless and isolated in his own way 
as Snape is [although he seems less miserable than Snape, probably 
because he has a kinder heart].  Yet he carries on.  Moody has 
sacrificed almost everything except his corporeal life, in the name 
of fighting the good fight.  [Who knows how many loved ones, family 
members, etc. he's seen go down?]  I think he's a sign for Harry and 
everyone else, in terms of exactly what awaits them [be it physical, 
mental, emotional] farther on down the road.