[HPforGrownups] Hermione's Potions ability and "How long has Snape been reading Harry's mind"

[IreneMikhlin]

No: HPFGUIDX 134863

Nanagose at aol.com wrote:
>>>Irene:
>>> She is in fact a mediocre Potions student, not
>>>curious, afraid to experiment, only good in following
>>>the instructions to a 't'.
>>>That was very surprising, at least for me.
>>
> 
> Christina:
> I completely disagree.  Potions is like chemistry, or for an even 
> easier-to-see analogy, cooking. 

That's an excellent analogy. Now, I think I'm a competent cook. Give me 
a good recipe to follow, and I'll produce a good result. I know the 
techniques described in most recipes, and can follow some advanced 
recipes, which lots of people would ruin.

However, I don't have an ounce of creativity. Give me a list of 
ingredients and ask me to come up with an idea - I'm not at all sure the 
result would be any good.

So Hermione is a competent student, just not a brilliant one. I can see 
why JKR did it for the plot's sake, but it was surprising from 
Hermione's fan point of view.

Irene