Marietta and the DA.

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 121333


SSSusan wrote earlier:
> > 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.  
 
Cory responded:
> I agree with you on these three points; these were errors in 
> judgment that Hermione made.  However, with respect to point 
> 3: couldn't Harry, or Ron, or anyone else have also raised the 
> point that anyone with hesitation should get out?

SSSusan:
Yup.  They could have.  But I think Harry was so busy being 
flabbergasted by the turnout & furious with Hermione & some of the 
attendees, that that's where his focus lay. 

 
SSSusan earlier:
> > 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?
 
Cory responded:
> YES -- but these things are red flags that Harry, Ron, and anyone 
> else in the room could have picked up on too, which is why I have 
> a hard time holding Hermione solely responsible for not foreseeing 
> Marietta's actions, while holding Harry and everyone else 
> blameless.

SSSusan:
Again, I'd offer the same rationale as I did just above for Harry.  
As for Ron, well, who knows?  He was being Ron! :-)  We don't hear 
all that much from him in this scene, other than his remarks in 
defense of Harry and his annoyance at those questioning Harry.  I 
think Ron was occupied with that, for right or wrong.


Cory: 
> I agree with you that Hermione should have been more forthcoming 
> with everybody about the purpose of the meeting, the number of 
> people who were coming, and which topics would and would not be 
> discussed at the meeting.  And I realize that Harry was reluctant, 
> and that she had to talk him into it.  The fact remains, however, 
> that at any time, Harry could have simply said "I'm not 
> comfortable with this; let's call it off," and he chose not to.  

SSSusan:  
Yes, I agree that Harry could have done that, so it's fair to spread 
some blame there.  OTOH, if we're going to insist that Harry could 
have stood up to his friend and said NO, then we should also insist 
that Marietta could have stood up to her friend and said NO as 
well.  N'est-ce pas?


Cory:
> We also know that he noticed that Marietta didn't seem to want to 
> be there, and he was equally capable of telling her that she 
> should leave if she was unsure.

SSSusan:
This is true.  Though I suspect Harry was concentrating more on Cho 
and his stomach's backflips. :-|


Cory: 
> I guess that's my bottom line:  I would hold Hermione responsible 
> for the mistakes she made before the meeting, (i.e. before Harry 
> and the others really knew what was going on), but from the Hog's 
> Head onward, I wouldn't assign any more blame to her than I would 
> to Harry.
 
SSSusan:
I see your point more than I did before, Cory, but I'd still hold 
Hermione somewhat more accountable, even at the HH.  As I say, she 
was the one who'd presumably, in typical Hermione fashion, thought 
it all through in advance.  Harry was so taken aback and angry, and 
such the focus of attention, that I can see how much harder it 
would've been for him to have looked around and noticed as much or 
to have taken charge -- other than, as you suggest, saying in 
anger, "That's it.  I'm not interested anymore."  That would've 
seemed somewhat IC for Harry.  

And Ron?  Well, god love him, he's just got tunnel vision sometimes, 
doesn't he?  Maybe I should've put more blame there; it's just hard 
to know how much of a role he had in planning, and clearly he was 
taking a back seat in leadership to the other two.  Though he 
*could* have pushed harder to kick Zacharias & the other "doubters" 
out.

Looks like we're where we often end up at HPfGU [e.g., Sirius' 
death, Snape vs. Harry]:  finding there's plenty of blame to spread 
around. :-)

Siriusly Snapey Susan