[was: Snape as DADA substitute) Dumbledore's awarding of points PS/SS

[darrin_burnett]

No: HPFGUIDX 56933

Cathy wrote: 

> My thought on this is that Dumbledore really knew the truth about 
Norbert
> the dragon and Harry & Hermione's efforts to help Hagrid (who else 
could
> have returned Harry's Invisibility Cloak to his dorm after being 
left on top
> of the Astronomy tower?).  McGonagall had taken away 50 points each 
when she
> caught Harry, Hermione, and then Neville out at night (while only 
taking 20
> from Draco).  Dumbledore awarding Harry, Hermione and Ron 50 points 
each to
> Gryffindor for their efforts to try and save the Stone was no more 
out of
> line than McGonagall was in taking them away for being out of bed.  
Neville
> did show bravery in trying to keep them from leaving the common 
room, but by
> awarding him 10 points it also helped to redeem him from the 150 he 
helped
> to loose on that fateful night.  I'm not really sure why you would 
think
> that the manner he handed them out was completely tactless.  In the 
hospital
> room, he told Harry that what had happened was a complete secret, 
so of
> course the entire school knew.  I really don't think it was a 
surprise to
> the rest of the school (except maybe Slytherin) when he handed out 
the
> points as he did.
> ~Cathy~


I think Dumbledore was sending, or trying to send, a clear message to 
the entire school.

Tis better to earn the points in honorable competition than to 
engineeer methods of costing the other team points. 

The Slytherins got so far ahead because Draco ratted on Harry, 
Hermione and Neville. Fair game, and hey, the Gryffs WERE out of bed. 
But guess what? Not all points are created equal. And as Cathy 
pointed out, Harry, Hermione and Neville were trying to help their 
friend.

Harry, Ron and Hermione overcame obstacles set forward by their 
teachers. Think about that for a second. The most clever things a 
group of professors could come up with to protect a powerful magical 
device were no match at all for three first-years.

The question is not whether 50 points each was out of line, but 
whether 50 points each was ENOUGH!

As for Neville getting 10 points, you talk about positive 
reinforcement. Neville had not won so much as a point for Gryffindor. 
Not a single point. In the entire year.

And now, thanks to bravery and honestly trying to do the right thing, 
he gets the points that puts Gryffindor over the top? Such things are 
what saves troubled youngsters and keeps them from giving up.

The entire House Cup thing is interesting anyway. In PS/SS, it was a 
huge drama. In CS, it was acknowledged, with Harry and Ron getting 
200 points each. In PoA, it was mentioned. In GoF, it went away 
because of Cedric's death. I really expect it to become even less 
important, if that's possible.

Darrin
-- Needs some good band names.