Marietta and the DA.

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 121293


Eggplant:
> > > It's easy to say that now, but before the very end if you had 
> > > asked me to pick a possible traitor in the DA Marietta would 
> > > not have been my first guess, she wouldn't have even made my 
> > > top 5. Did you do better? And anyway, the fact that she was 
> > > there was Cho's fault not Hermione's. 
 
Ravenclaw001:
> > I agree---Cho should have known better.  I'd expect more smarts 
> > from a Ravenclaw.  Still and all, Hermione probably should have 
> > sussed out her lack of enthusiasm and gently eased her out of 
> > the Hog's Head.   

SSSusan:
I believe the blame for Marietta's presence lies with all three.  
Cho should not have pushed her; Marietta should have just said no, 
thanks; and Hermione should have limited this first meeting to 
people she & Harry knew, while they worked out the details of what 
it was all about.
 

Now Cory:
> I agree that *somebody* should have picked up on Marietta's lack 
> of enthusiasm for the group.  Here's a question though: why is it 
> automatically Hermione's responsibility to do so (and thus, 
> Hermione's fault that nobody caught on)?
>
> The only basis for holding Hermione responsible is that it was her 
> idea to form the DA in the first place.  That reasoning just 
> doesn't hold any water with me, though -- the fact that the group 
> was her idea should not make her responsible for the actions of 
> all of its  members.

SSSusan:
I'll take a stab at this, as I've been one of the ones critical of 
Hermione in this scene, though I should start off saying that I 
disagree with your premise that Hermione shouldn't be responsible 
just because she started the group.  I'll try to show why I feel 
that way. Mostly it has to do with how she led a clearly reluctant 
Harry into this without enough preparation or advance discussion 
about what was likely to happen and what they were going to discuss.

The DA was Hermione's idea; she had to talk Harry into doing it.  
She was the one who explained the parameters she had in mind to 
Harry, and made assurances to him about it.  She clearly must have 
told people they could invite others, since there's absolutely no 
indication she was surprised by the turnout ["Yes, well, the idea 
seemed quite popular," said Hermione happily]. In these ways, I 
think she was responsible for letting the invitations get a little 
out of hand.  I mean, if they really wanted to keep it secret/quiet, 
it would've been wise to have insisted, when first-invited people 
asked her about extending invitations to their additional 
friends, "No.  Not yet anyway."  Then the smaller, more *sure* group 
could decide what they were all about and what they hoped to 
accomplish.

But let's say for argument's sake that even Hermione was surprised 
at the number which showed up at the Hog's Head that day.  The 
*reason* for meeting there was that they thought they could keep 
things under wraps.  The *point* was to keep the club secret from 
DJU.  So, when you've got people expressing reservations, looking 
hesitant, and clearly beginning to bring up issues that weren't just 
about practicing DADA, I believe it fell to Hermione to show 
caution.  

Harry was determinedly NOT in the mood to provide answers to people -
-in fact, he had been concerned from the moment students started 
arriving, as he immediately asked Hermione what they were expecting 
and looked at her "furiously."   At one point, when the discussion 
had turned towards whether Voldy was back and whether Harry could be 
believed, Harry was clearly livid that things had taken this turn, 
*and* he blamed Hermione ["This was, he felt, all Hermione's 
fault."].  

So I think Hermione failed before they ever met, by not limiting the 
number at the first meeting.  And where she failed at the HH was in 
not keeping her eye open for those who expressed/showed hesitation 
or reluctance or dubious motivation for being there.  I mean Harry 
himself "felt that Hermione should have seen this [people just 
wanting to hear his wild story] coming."  

So, IMO, if she'd been thinking clearly, she should have:  
1) been more forthcoming with Harry about the numbers likely to come 
(she'd said he would be surprised, but she'd not given him any 
indication of how many had expressed interest); 
2) been more forthcoming about what they were likely to talk about 
[*SHE* was the one who first brought up being prepared because Voldy 
was back, for instance]; 
3)*not* pushed so hard for everyone to sign, but have really 
stressed that anyone with any hesitation should get out NOW.  

Hermione just seemed thrilled that so many people came and didn't 
seem at all concerned that some of them were people "Harry did not 
know" or people of whose names he wasn't even sure.  Shouldn't that 
have been a bit of a red flag, in addition to Marietta's initial 
look & look while signing, Zacharias' attitude, and even Ernie's 
hesitation?

Siriusly Snapey Susan