[HPforGrownups] Re: Am I the only one...

[Laura Lynn Walsh]

No: HPFGUIDX 134921

>Del replies:
>Yes, but at least *she* is learning all the bases, so that she *will*
>be able to experiment later if she chooses to. Ron won't, for sure,
>and I doubt Harry will ever be able to invent anything new except in DADA.
>
>I find it a bit absurd to criticise Hermione for following the
>instructions in a book, when *nobody* around her is doing any better.

Laura:
I think you misunderstood my point of view.  I was analyzing Hermione,
not criticizing her.  I actually think the way she learns is wonderful and I
identify with it a lot personally.  The only point on which you and I seem
to differ is the part of my original post that you left out.

Laura's Original Post:
It is curious to me that Hermione is so condemning of
the notes in the margins of the HBP's potions book.  It
is true that they may be dangerous, and she has always
been wary of the implications of anything unusual.  But
I would have thought that, once she sees how effective
they are, she would have wondered why they weren't
incorporated into the regular textbook.  It is clear
that they work, that Slughorn recognizes that they work,
that he can sometimes tell what was added to make them
work, and that he seems to have no fear of the results.
Yes, I know she is jealous of Harry's success, but why
is she so negative about the instructions themselves?
Why wouldn't she copy the changes that really work into
her own book?

Laura's Clarification:
I am just surprised that Hermione's reaction to the notes in the book
isn't a little more analytical.  Why doesn't she ever take a look at some
of the changes and say, "I see how that works - it makes the potion
do this a bit more or that a bit better.  That might be useful."  Sure,
she is cautious, but I would have thought that instead of outright
rejection, she would have thoughtfully judged the changes.  No one
else except Hermione has demonstrated the ability to do so.

And I agree completely that Harry and Ron are a bit out of their
depth at this point.  I don't think they are hopeless - they did, after
all, get E's in the subject.  But they aren't anywhere near Hermione's
level of understanding (nor, does it seem, are any of the other
students).

Laura Walsh   lwalsh at acsalaska.net