A child is, by definition, WRONG

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 120085


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "delwynmarch" 
<delwynmarch at y...> wrote:
 
Del:
> I snipped Geoff's nice description of the events, because my comment
> has to do with the very beginning of it.
> 
> Harry and Ron went to the staff room to tell McGonagall what they 
knew
> about the Chamber of Secrets. Quite naturally, when they heard the
> announcement, they hid in a cupboard. But then they heard that Ginny
> had been taken to the CoS, and Lockhart was sent to look for her.
> Harry and Ron then went back to their dormitory, and it took them
> quite a while to figure out that maybe they could tell Lockhart what
> they knew.
> 
> My question is : since they had come to the staffroom to explain 
about
> the CoS in the first place, why didn't they come out of their 
cupboard
> when they heard the news about Ginny? They knew where the entrance 
to
> the Chamber was, they knew what the monster was, and yet they kept 
all
> that secret! Here they were, with all the teachers assembled in one
> place and a very strong incentive to do something, and yet they 
didn't
> do *anything*. This is quite out of character for Harry, IMO.

Geoff:
Oh dear, Harry's finished up in a no-win situation.

He and Ron know that Lockhart is going to deal with the matter, 
although I suspect they may have misgivings knowing his track record 
for getting it wrong. So they are leaving matters in his hands... 
Even so:

'It was probably the worst day of Harry's life. He, Ron, Fred and 
George sat together in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, unable 
to say anything to each other. Percy wasn't there. He had gone to 
send an owl to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, then shut himself up in his 
dormitory.....

..Harry could see the sun sinking, blood red below the skyline. This 
was the worst he had ever felt. If only there was something they 
could do. Anything....'

(then Ron's remark, quoted in message 120065)

'...Because Harry couldn't think of anything else to do and because 
the wanted to be doing something, he agreed...'

(COS "The Chamber of Secrets" pp.218-219 UK edition)

Harry has a "strong incentive to do something" but is at a loss as to 
what. Isn't this the reaction of anyone faced with this sort of 
problem - a family member seriously ill, a friend's sudden 
bereavement, a natural disaster - what do we do? Where do we start?

This is further support for my suggestion that this incident is 
not "hero Harry rides again". The whole affair is event-driven. Harry 
and Ron wanted initially to tell Professor McGonagall; events 
dictated against that. They wanted to tell Lockhart; events dictated 
against that. Could they have gone back from the Chamber to get 
help?; events dictated against that.

Geoff
http://www.aspectsofexmoor.com