What can Harry teach Hermione in DA ?

[Doriane]

No: HPFGUIDX 74086

"corinthum" wrote:

> I think the difference comes from simple use.  Hermione helped Harry
> research, study, and practice spells for the Tournament, but did she
> actually practice them herself?  I get the feeling that Hermione 
> did a lot of the research (determining which spells might be 
> helpful in certain situations) but didn't actually practice the 
> spells herself. 

I would agree with you if we weren't talking about *Hermione*. You 
know, I-know-all-those-useful-spells-Hermione. Like how to repair 
broken glasses in 1st year (I think), how to turn things water-
repellent in 2nd or 3rd year, how to blow hot air out of the end of a 
wand in 5th year, etc, etc... I simply can't imagine her learning 
about all those spells and not learning how to do them. Especially 
since she's better at it than Harry anyway, so she had way enough 
time to learn them while teaching them to Harry.

> She was more of a coach, watching Harry practice and correcting
> mistakes.

It doesn't seem to work this way. It doesn't seem to me that you can 
easily teach a spell you don't know how to perform yourself, because 
performing a spell is not just about saying the right words and doing 
the right moves. It seems to be more subtle than that. Right in 1st 
year, we learn that "Wingardium Leviosa" depends on how it is 
pronounced. And in OoP, Harry discovers that Crucio depends heavily 
on the curser's intents and emotions. Not to mention, of course, the 
Patronus Charm, which has almost nothing to do with saying the right 
words and everything to do with learning to concentrate on a happy 
thought.

> Therefore, despite the fact that she has a more complete
> knowledge of the history and use of each spell, she is not as
> proficient at actually using the spells as Harry.

Again, this goes against what we know of the trio. Hermione is the 
one who's always coming up with spells and charms the boys have never 
even heard of.

> It seems the same with the rest of the DA and some simple spells.  
> The majority of the school learned Expelliarmus at the same time as 
> Harry, Ron, and Hermione.  However, none of them had ever really 
> practiced using it, and as a result weren't nearly as good at it as 
> the trio.

I can accept this explanation for the rest of the DA, because they 
are regular students who won't bother learning more spells than they 
are taught in class. But that has been proven false again and again 
where Hermione is concerned.

Del