[HPforGrownups] Re: Snape, Hagrid and Animals

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 143681

hekatesheadband:

> The smaller shame is that he's a horrid teacher - Care of Magical
> Creatures, as opposed to Abuse of Monsters, could be a wonderful
> class. Actually, it was starting on the right foot until the incident
> with Malfoy and Buckbeak - and I'll add that while it was foolish of
> Hagrid to start his first lesson, with beginner students, with
> something like Hippogryffs, that was entirely Malfoy's fault.

Magpie:

Sorry, but I can't ever let this pass.  It was not *entirely* Malfoy's 
fault. Hagrid was irresponsible in that class from the beginning, and that a 
boy got hurt was no surprise.  Maybe it's happier that it was Malfoy and he 
had just said, "You're not dangerous at all, are you?  You big ugly brute," 
so nobody feels badly for him (especially afterwards) but I can't believe 
anyone would blame that situation *entirely* on the kid if this were the 
real world.

What Malfoy did: Try to show off in a class with dangerous animals, for 
which he got hurt.  Happen to not be listening during that ten seconds when 
Hagrid said, "Don't insult 'em or it's the last thing you'll do."

What Hagrid did: What he always does.  He didn't stress safety at all, 
presented important instructions in passing, didn't watch over the class 
carefully, sent a pack of kids into a herd of dangerous animals on their
first day (Neville was running back and forth panicked before Malfoy got 
hurt--Hagrid just stuck Harry up on the thing and slapped its behind).

What Malfoy does is so minor that, iirc, *Hagrid* does it in the movie 
version, patting Buckbeak while affectionately calling him a brute. Malfoy 
has to do more on film, presumably to make Hagrid look better.

So the thing is, Malfoy pays for what he does wrong by getting hurt--and he 
learns his lesson after that first class. By fifth year he's not any more 
pleasant, but he's positively jumpy at the idea that he's missed something 
Hagrid said.  Hagrid hasn't learned anything.  All the kids in his class are 
nervous, he's still resentful at questions about safety, most of the class
is usually shown to agree with what Malfoy says in his class.  He's an 
unpopular teacher and nobody wants to take his class.  He's not actively 
evil, but I don't know...when does that stop mattering?  For instance, in 
PS/SS Ron helps him with his illegal dragon and gets bitten, and Hagrid 
blames it on Ron. I wouldn't have much patience with that in a friend.  All 
the kids at the school seem aware most of all in his class that he won't 
make it clear how dangerous animals are, and that if they get hurt it will 
be their fault.  Knowing that Malfoy "deserved it" doesn't seem to make 
anybody more confident.

-m