[HPforGrownups] Re: Hermione cheating over Trevor?

[Laura Ingalls Huntley]

No: HPFGUIDX 129568

Besty:
> Oh yes, Hermione *was* acting out of compassion.  But she was still
> cheating.  Hermione herself would admit that she was cheating.  At
> this point she had decided that it was worth breaking the rules
> to "save" Neville's pet.  As I said before, Hermione was acting out
> of kindness.  But she *does* sabatoge Snape's attempts to reach a
> troubled student.

Well, that's *your* reading of his motivations.  It's not necessarily 
*my* reading, and, most importantly, it's certainly not Hermione's 
"reading".  I'm actually not quite sure what you are trying to argue 
here (my fault, sorry), but I think what Sherry was trying to say was 
that Hermione should not be criticized for this instance of "cheating". 
  In this argument, I think, it doesn't really matter what Snape's 
actual motivations are -- it's what Hermione *believes* them to be.  
And, honestly, if she thinks he'd actually kill Trevor -- it's his own 
fault for being such a raving bastard.

Mind you, I'm not saying Snape *shouldn't* be a raving bastard -- he'd 
not be half so interesting if he wasn't.  I just don't think the other 
characters should be expected to act like he isn't a nasty piece of 
work.

I've snipped the rest of the post, as it didn't really pertain to 
Hermione, although I *do* think the fact that Snape only five points is 
a good . . . erm, *point*.

> Betsy, who thinks Neville garnered quite a bit of talk in the staff
> room and probably caused many professors a great deal of frustration
> as they tried to bring out his true potential.

*grins* Ah, yes . . . I can picture it now:

McGonagall: "That Neville Longbottom!  I've tried  everything I can 
think of, and *still* he shows no improvement!"
Hagrid: "Tell me about it.  Boy's a ruddy disaster."
Flitwick: "He's got no self-confidence, that's the problem!  I just try 
to be as encouraging as possible with him."
McGonagall: "Is that all?  Personally, I think what he needs is a 
structured environment and a firm hand -- that'll sort him out.  What 
do you think, Severus?"
Snape: "Well, yesterday I tried to poison his toad."
McGonagall: *looks fascinated* "Did it work?"
Snape: *bored sigh* "No."

Laura
http://www.livejournal.com/users/laurahuntley