If I were a sorting hat...

[finwitch]

No: HPFGUIDX 132410

> zgirnius replies:
> Oh, I agree Hermione has an (excessive, irrational) fear of failing 
> in her schoolwork, but there seems to me to be a lot of support for 
> the idea that she is genuinely interested in learning and 
> scholarship. For one thing, her reaction to Sybill Trelawney 
mirrors 
> McGonagall's-they both dislike her becasue they see her as a fraud. 
> (Contrast this to Hermione's remarks about Arithmancy...so 
> interesting!) 
> 
> Also, so often the knowledge she has gleaned from books is 
completely 
> beyond or unrelated to her immediate coursework, suggesting she 
> looked it up out of curiosity. For example, the Polyjuice Potion in 
> CoS. Yes, Snape mentioned it in class, and that prompted her to 
look 
> it up. But he also indicated it was way too advanced (I can't track 
> down my copy just now, but he indicated it was either OWL or NEWT 
> level, as I recall.) A student concerned primarily with passing the 
> next exam would spend her time studying the material she knows will 
> be on it. So I can definitely see why the SH would want to sort her 
> into Ravenclaw.

Finwitch:

She's terrified she'll fail her schoolwork and be expelled for it 
(her comment: we could've been killed or worse - expelled). So, what 
does she do? Memorizes the textbooks & gets what information she can 
of Hogwarts before the school even begins.

But her fear is not eased by just that - nor by her making excellent 
grades... so she must be studying and studying for her fear, from 
books.

As for Trelawney: First thing she tells them is that 'you can learn 
only so much from books' - 'without an inborn talent you're not 
likely to gain much' - 'Hermione's mundane mind is not suited for 
divianation'. Add that to the fact that Hermione was getting grumpy 
due to her Timeturner...

McGonagall has her issues about Trelawney and that Divination is the 
most inexact art - Hermione's the one who totally disregards it and 
even develops contempt for the *entire* subject. That's not what I'd 
say an intelligent person with genuine love of learning would do. 
Hers is more like a defence reaction: "What I cannot learn isn't 
worth learning" or that "McGonacall said that true Seers are rare" -
reference to an authority-figure who's not an expert of the field is 
NOT logical, and rarity does not equal non-existant as Hermione wants 
to believe.

 It's only after they encounter the real prophecies in the Ministry 
of Magic that finally proves to her that True Prophecies do exist - 
something Harry discovered in PoA, by witnessing one himself. 
Hermione didn't believe him any more than she believes Luna about 
Snorkacks...

Besides, Trelawneys predictions DO happen. None that she's predicted 
death to had died as far as MM knew as of that moment in PoA BUT - 
were Cedric Diggory or Bertha Jorkins persons she had predicted to 
die? Or Percy? At any case, people DO die unless they're taking 
Elixire of Life, and no one can make that anymore...

Finwitch