Draco, Slughorn, and the HBP's book (Was: Was it Slughorn?)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 141457

Magpie wrote:
> <big snip of what I consider an accurate assessment of Slughorn's
particular brand of favoritism>
  Far from being a teacher who recognizes talent no matter who has it,
Slughorn is comically uninterested in talent if it comes in the wrong
person.   
> 
> It's ironic, really, that despite all the years of Snape's favoring
Slytherin the biggest example of teacher favoritism we get is from 
Slughorn towards Harry. Once he's rejected someone he just doesn't
care about them.  Imagine being in a class where the teacher fawns
over one student all the time, keeps talking about how much he liked
his mother.  A class where one time you're given a a hard assignment
that whole class kills themselves on, and the favorite can't do it at
all and gives a joke answer, the teacher still holds him up as an
example!  I don't know...this just doesn't seem like a decent chap at
all. I don't think Harry would like it if he wasn't benefitting from
it. <snip>

> Actually, it's possibly even better that no matter how talented
Draco is (and I do think he's always been good at Potions) he can't
win Slughorn's favor, so he has to learn to be satisfied within
himself instead of relying on outside praise.

Carol responds:
I agree that Draco is probably good at Potions (certainly better than
Harry) and I would agree with the assessment in the second paragraph
if it weren't for Draco's loss of interest in school in general in his
sixth year (shown in his confrontation with Snape at Christmastime).
He's a junior DE whose chief concern is carrying out LV's orders and
surviving. 

But I also agree that Slughorn's favoritism of Harry is not
commendable and that Harry does not in any way deserve credit for
using the HBP's potion secrets. It's extremely unfair to Hermione, who
understands the theory behind the antidotes and has worked hard to do
exactly what the assignment requires, to reward Harry for his "joke
answer" (actually a desperation measure prompted by young Snape's
rather warped sense of humor--"just stuff a bezoar down their
throats"). I think your point that Harry wouldn't like it if he
weren't benefitting from it is right on the money.

Suppose that Draco hadn't unwisely allowed himself to be recruited by
the DEs this year and that the HBP's Potions book had somehow fallen
into *his* hands. If Harry found out that Draco was using someone
else's old notes to get a higher mark in Potions class than Hermione
(or to receive the same mark she *earned* by actually knowing the
material), would he think it was right or fair? I'm pretty sure that
he would regard it as cheating, and he would be right.

Carol, who agrees that old Sluggy is morally ambiguous but doesn't
think he made the potion in the cave