Marietta and Hermione (was JKR's Messages ) (was Re: Hermione In Trouble?)

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 120999


Eggplant wrote:   
"In Marietta's case motives would matter to me only if due to some 
astounding plot twist she was the only one who believed (and believed
correctly, that's very important!) that telling Umbridge about the DA
would lead to a fantastically beneficial future good of some sort and
not telling her would lead to disaster. Except for that astronomically
unlikely possibility I don't care what the reasons for her betrayal
were because I have enough information to conclude beyond a reasonable
doubt that she is scum."

Del replies:
Now, *that* is a real explanation :-) I had to bug you to get it, but
I finally got it. Your view makes MUCH more sense to me when
rationally explained like that, you know.

That doesn't mean that I entirely agree with it, of course. For
example, I personally don't think the possibility that Marrietta
thought betraying the DA would have a generally good outcome is
astronomically unlikely. But we're getting into pure speculation
there, since the canon doesn't give any hint as to that matter, so
none of us is wrong.

Eggplant wrote:
"no novelist tells her readers that if you can't find a line of dialog
in my book then the character never said the words in his entire life."

Del replies:
I would generally agree with you, but I've become very cautious
concerning the Potterverse, because there *are* many words that I
would assume characters must have said that they in fact never said.
For example, there are all the questions Harry never asked about his
family. There is the fact that Harry never knew that Remus and Sirius
were his dad's best friends even though he has a photo album full of
pics of his parents. There is the fact that none of the kids ever knew
about Neville's parents even though Neville keeps mentioning that he
is being raised by his Gran, and the Longbottoms were extremely
popular and the attack on them was a huge affair in its time.

So if JKR didn't write that Snape or any other Hogwarts staff member
talked to the general public, I am not really willing to assume they
did. Especially not Snape, since we don't know what his mission is,
but it does seem to require a good dose of secrecy.

Del