Harry's importance and threats of expulsion

[karmakaze_kk]

No: HPFGUIDX 57150

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Dicentra spectabilis"
<dicentra at x> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Dan Delaney <Dionysos at D...> wrote:
>> 
>> Sooner or later Harry will figure that out and stop being
>> so afraid of being expelled just for the little rule breaking
>> he does. (Okay, so  maybe some of it was not so little. But
>> the fact that he hasn't gotten expelled for some of the big
>> things should be his first clue!)

> This is an interesting point.  I've also noticed that Harry
> isn't a little scofflaw, and yet Dumbledore says in CoS that
> one of the qualities that Harry possesses that Salazar
> Slytherin would have valued is "a certain disregard for rules."

Actually, I tend to disagree.  Harry may not think all rules
are pointless, but he does seem to think they don't apply to
him.  Sneaking out to stop Quirrell, while heroic, was against
all sort of rules.  (And, I should point out, put the stone in
far more jeapardy than if he had simply stayed in the dorms
as instructed.)

He works with Hermione to create a polyjuice potion (which they are
not allowed to make) using a book from the library (which they were
not allowed to have) to infiltrate Sytherine House (where they are not
allowed to go), after drugging two members of Sytherin (which has to
be some kind of assault).  And that was a stunt that didn't even pan out.

He uses the invisibility cloak to sneak out after hours to go visit
Hagrid, and thought that driving the enchanted car to Hogwarts was a
reasonable idea.

> What does he mean by this?  Harry keeps his nose clean
> throughout most of the school year.  He *does* sweat the
> rules, and most of the time breaks them only when he believes
> it's absolutely necessary.  A notable exception is sneaking
> into Hogsmeade, but most of the time he isn't breaking the
> rules just because he can, despite Snape's accusations.  

Harry always thinks he has the best and most urgent reasons to break
the rules, but he does break them left and right.  It's an attitude
that says "I think I know what is important better than the people who
make the rules", which qualifies as "disregard" for me.

-Karmakaze