Christmas present pattern...

[Laura Ingalls Huntley]

No: HPFGUIDX 131805

Lupinlore:
> Magda doesn't like Harry and Ron and thinks they're mentally lazy 
> and lacking in curiosity.  Oh, the horror and shock.  Somebody pass 
> around the heart medication.

Woah.  Now, wait a minute.  I don't think Magda ever said anything of
the sort.  IIRC, even *Harry* thinks that he and Ron sometimes "use"
Hermione to get the answers for their homework.  While this is
perfectly normal teenage behavior (Hermione is really freakishly
motivated, IMO), it's not really helping them in the long run, it's 
certainly not helping Hermione (who is already stressed because of 
OWLS), and it's not even going to be an option when OWLs come 
around.

Lupinlore:
> Hermione is not some martyr to a pair of lazy boys.

Not a martyr, nope.  And I don't think Harry and Ron are any
more lazy when it comes to schoolwork than most kids are.  But
the fact remains that Hermione can't be holding their hands 
(academically speaking) forever.

Lupinlore:
> She is a 
> tightly integrated part of the trio who has chosen her own role and 
> relishes it.  Sometimes she relishes it far too much, as in many 
> places in OOTP where she badly needs a smack in the mouth.  The 
> homework planner was one of them.

I don't think she "relishes" doing the boy's homework for them.  In
several instances, she has tried to make the boys do their work
themselves, only to take pity on them as it gets late and they
are obviously still struggling.  I think it's very hard for her *not*
to offer help when they so obviously want/need it, but I think
she'd be *delighted* if they would suddenly become as motivated
as her and do all their homework on their own.

As for the homework planner -- it was a gift, and a practical one.
Hermione was obviously feeling a lot of pressure because of the
OWLs, and she probably felt that a homework planner was a
very appropriate gift -- one that would make studying easier
and less stressful for the boys.  Harry obviously doesn't see
the gift in the same light as she does, but I hardly think Hermione 
needs to be smacked for giving him a practical present.

Lupinlore:
> Just as DADA would bring out the 
> worst in Snape, OWLS bring out the worst in Hermione.

*This* I agree with.  Hermione really "loses it" a bit in OotP with
respect to OWLs.

Laura