Draco's crime ( Repost of Amy Z post)

[phoenixgod2000]

No: HPFGUIDX 128883


> Betsy:
> I'll argue that hippogriffs have about the same intelligence as 
> dogs - maybe a bit higher.  It's hard for me to overlook the whole 
> disinterest in escaping his own death bit.  (I am not arguing that 
> this means Buckbeack deserved to die.  Hagrid should have been 
> disciplined for reckless endangerment, but Buckbeak was acting 
true 
> to his nature.)

I don't know about that. I think Amy's post brings up a good point 
when she says that the whole thing is oddly formal for the simple 
putting down of an animal.  there was a criminal trial with lawyers 
and witnesses and everything else you would attribute to a human 
criminal trial. The man who did it was an executioner and the 
Minister of magic himself showed up to preside over it. Prime 
minister is kind of an important job and you would think that he 
would have something better to do than show up at what basically 
amounts to putting an animal to sleep.  I think Draco's actions were 
going to end up getting a pretty sophisticated creature being killed.

And I don't think that Hagrid should be prosecuted for reckless 
endangerment. He told everyone exactly what to do and what to 
expect. It was solely because of Draco's stupidity that he was 
injured.

Frankly I think Hagrid is a much better teacher than he gets credit 
for. I would have loved to see creatures like that in one of my 
biology classes. He just doesn't get the classroom respect the other 
teachers do which flusters him. Same thing happened to me when I did 
my student teaching. You grow out of it.
 
> >>Amy Z:
> >Trying to get Buckbeak killed--framing him, in fact--...<
> <snip>
> 
> Betsy:
> Framing Buckbeak?  So Buckbeak didn't slash Draco with his "steely 
> talons", that was all mirrors?  I suppose the "blossoming" 
> and "splattered" blood was ketchup? (PoA scholastic hardback p. 
118)

I think she is refering to the way that he played up his 
*relatively* minor injury for sympathy which kept the incident alive 
and escalated the backlash to both Hagrid and Buckbeak beyond what 
would have otherwise happened. IIRC, Draco also bragged about what 
his father was going to do. If he didn't deliberately seek to frame 
buckbeak he certainly manipulated the aftermath pretty ruthlessly. I 
don't think it would be out of bounds to lay BB's death squarely at 
his feet--at least in part.

phoenixgod2000