Bullying/Snape and Neville

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 140862

> > Alla:
> > 
> > Oh, personall attention in a sense of turning Neville away from 
> > Potions forever? I think it was Amiable Dorsai who so eloquently 
> > said that because of Snape Neville has no hope of advancing in 
the 
> > subject which is closely related to his best subject.
> 
> Pippin:
> Now this is a stretch, IMO. There are loads of people who love
> gardening but hate to cook. I'm sure there are plenty of
> opportunities for herbologists that don't involve NEWT class 
> potion-making. 


Alla:

Of course this is a speculation, but I remain convinced that this is 
not an outlandish one, so to speak.

Now, there are plenty of gardeners who hate cooking of course and
there 
are plenty of those who love . But I think that the better analogy,
not 
exact one of course either, but better would be analogising Biology
to 
Herbology and Chemistry to Potions.

Now, I myself never really loved those subjects when I was at school
( 
I much preferred history, languages, literature), but  the people who 
did quite often loved both AND did well in both.

Again, I think that it is a possibility that since Neville loves 
plants, he would be interested in figuring out what kind of potions 
could be made of them.

But of course he needs a teacher like Sprout for that, IMO.


Pippin: 
> We can't even say that Neville's lack of NEWT classes in potion
making
> kept him from becoming an Auror, because he wasn't able to progress
> in transfiguration either.
> 

Alla:

No, we cannot, but I think we can speculate that for example if
Neville 
wanted to become a Healer, he cannot do so, because Healer is likely
to 
be required to have a NEWT in Potions, IMO.



> Carol adds:
> The claim that most potion ingredients are plants or plant parts
can't
> really be supported, either. 
<SNIPS  the recipe of Polyjuice potion, which could be read UPTHREAD>

<another snip>
So Potions
> is clearly much more than an extension of Herbology, and a green
thumb
> is no help if you don't have a scientific mind. Snape has both an
> appreciation of precision and, as we find out in HBP, a knack for
> experimentation. Neville, it would appear, has neither, and is also
> nervous, forgetful, and clumsy, which is why Snape finds him so
> annoying. 
<snip>

Alla:

That is only one Potion, Carol and I did not say that they don't have 
other ingredients. But I absolutely disagree that you don't need to 
have a scientific mind in Biology. As I said , I did not like it much
 
in school, but I sure thought that people who excelled in it had as
you 
put it " apreciation for precision" and "knack for experimentation".
In 
Herbology they often deal with dangerous, poisonous plants and
Neville 
does a superb job of taking care of it. I am sure to cultivate some 
plants, you have to be very precise in taking care of them.

Again, I speculate here based mostly on RW analogies of those
subjects 
as I see them, but I think it is a reasonable assumption to make.

JMO of course,

Alla.