Moody, sexism regarding Hermione , Grindelwald's importance

[Dan Feeney]

No: HPFGUIDX 69831

Alastor Moody - watches HP closely a couple times, notably when his 
gesture with the pic of the original OOP goes over like a broken 
bludger. Maybe he's not just saying "constant vigilance," but also 
trying to understand his charge. That is a pretty important element 
of high-level security, knowing how your charge acts and thinks. For 
Moody, it was also a dangerous but exciting time, the time of the 
original OOP, perhaps. He felt more alive then? At any rate, 
Regarding his comment about them all knowing there's something funny 
about that kid - well, two things. The kid has just been involved in 
an event that has changed, to the highest possible degree, their 
lives! Perhaps Molly can't help thinking how her chosen closeness to 
HP has endangered her family to the highest degree, ya think? Not 
only was he a key element in the events of a few weeks before, he is 
also the only source of information about it, that we know of. HP has 
been snippy with his friends, and doesn't communicate with the adults 
at all, really. What could Alastor, or any of them, possibly say to 
HP? Do they single him out, have extra talks with him, alienate him 
more, make him the object, more obvious than is apparent, of their 
concern? Some posters are claiming the adults don't pay him enough 
attention (because HP is feeling sorry for himself this time 
around?), while others note Harry's uncommunicative behaviour, 
particularly when relating to adults who might actually listen to 
him, instead of Fudge-like shitheads, with whom HP seems to have a 
number of exchanges. Sound like any teenagers you know or knew or 
where? In his grizzled way, as DG has suggested, perhaps Alastor is 
covering a growing interest in HP personally with such a statement. 
Would Moody be a successful auror if he took to the boy right off, 
and didn't ask questions or test the waters, as he did with the 
picture? Of course not. Tonks was also doing so, in a rather 
different way. But I say she is only less carefull according to her 
years and style. In other words, the complaint regarding Moody's 
comment in a secret meeting is that Moody should have said - "we all 
know the boy is the centre of a large work of fiction, of Voldemort's 
plans, and of the universe, so we really have to protect him." Sorry, 
but I'm extremely glad that Moody said what he did. It normalizes the 
boy for them, instead of re-enforcing an already apparent 
distinctness. It is also humble. They don't know all the whys and 
hows of Harry and his life. Sure they know that twice directly and 
other times too he has stood against Voldemort, and survived. But 
what else do they know? He's a good seeker...

Hermione - well, let's see, a dangerous game, Quidditch, and Hagrid 
sending the kids into places where they could easily be killed - his 
brother could have crushed HP and HG, and Aragog eaten the boys - 
Umbridge tortures students (which is also illegal) and sends 
dementors to muggle neighbourhoods, gangs cast multiple simultaneous 
spells at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle Jrs, that could have unforeseen 
permanent consequences, couldn't it - Harry could have died or been 
seriously injured falling from the broom in POA, etc etc. But 
Hermione is bad for saving her friends and herself from a sadistic 
criminal like Umbridge, in the most effective way she could see? She 
deserves 50 points for that alone. I don't buy this bad Hermione 
stuff. Regarding Snape's funny line - "I see no difference" - every 
book is filled with such nasty statements, often from Snape and 
directed at the Griffs, but none are as funny. The whining on the 
list seems to be either cute kid in the movie contamination - since 
the Hermione of the books has always been nasty when necessary, just 
as she is almost always whatever she needs to be when necessary - or 
sexism, as in "but she's a young girl and looks are secretly 
everything to them." I'm glad Snape said that, because it made me 
laugh, and because it made those both pro and anti Snape laugh, and 
the Snape neutrals as well. But the huge number of posts on the list 
about it really only tells me that the pro Hermione's and the anti-
Snapers are over-compensating for the fact that they laughed, with a 
dose of the above-mentioned sexism to boot. It needs no more 
justification for Snape to have said than Snape's initial interaction 
with HP. It was a brilliant moment for Snape, and anything other than 
offhand would have ruined the joke. Like some on the list seem to be 
trying to do. But they will fail. Oh yes, the line will remain funny.

Grindelwald - will Harry see how Dumbledore defeated the dark wizard 
Grindelwald? (What does defeat mean, in this case, by the way?) And 
what, if any, is the relation between Grindelwald and Voldemort? A 
pensieve journey to the encounter, or whatever it was, would be 
interesting, don't you think?

BIC LIGHTER says - it's okay to say this stuff. The axe falls in a 
bit...

For the record - Hermione will be headmistress (blind, has to see 
things oracley and divinatorily). Dumbledore will die of old age. 
Neville will be MoM. HP will die too, and Ron will be changed (don't 
know in what way) by whatever the hell that brain thingy did and does 
to him....