Harry, Draco and bathroom/ A couple of theories - Snape

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 162426


> 
> Amiable Dorsai:
> So you're thinking that in the time available to him, roughly the
> interval between "Cru..." and "...io", Harry should have given his
> choice of spells a little more thought, debated the pros and cons of
> all the spells in his repertoire and chosen accordingly?  I dunno,
> Pippin, this sounds like the Hermione Granger school of dueling, and,
> dearly as I love her, it doesn't seem to work out very well.

Pippin:
As Hermione recognized when she founded the DA, that's what training 
and practice are for. You do  your thinking  in advance, then practice
so that mind and body will respond appropriately without deliberation.
But in contrast to the three  previous years,  Harry hadn't been  
methodically practicing his practical DADA skills outside class, had he?
Oops. 

IMO, Harry  lost his edge, panicked, and did something stupid as a result.

> Amiable Dorsai: 
> Then Harry would, like as not, be dead or insane and Draco would be
> hoping Azkaban would keep him safe from Voldemort.  
> 
> Harry didn't "experiment", he fired off the first spell that came to
> mind.

Pippin:
Exactly. Harry let his training deteriorate and spent his time fantasizing
about an untried spell instead of practicing to keep his skills up. 
When  he was under stress and panicking, the spells that  
he knew he could trust and control were not the first thing that came
to him. But they should have been. 

> Pippin 
> > What Harry did could be compared to using an illegal handgun
> > against an attacker. The shooting might be self-defense, but
> > violating the gun laws would still be a crime.
> 
> Amiable Dorsai:
> We don't know if Harry's action was a crime, we don't know the
> relevant law. 

Pippin:
Hermione warns us that the spells in the Prince's book are not
likely to be Ministry approved. We know there are consequences
for Improper Use of Magic. We know that Sirius did not approve
of using certain spells even against Death Eaters.

Amiable Dorsai
 >What we do know about Wizard law is that it is a
> fickle, capricious thing--that's been a running theme of the books
> from the beginning.  Likely, the worst thing that would happen if the
> Chosen One killed a Death Eater in self-defense is that Scrimgeour
> might finally have a handle on Harry.

Pippin:
Careful. If wizarding law is irrelevant, then what's wrong with an
incomplete, powerless Crucio? Granted that wizarding law may not
be much as a mirror of divine justice, (as medieval philosophers
thought it should be), it still represents the agreeements that
wizards have made about how to live together. To violate those
agreements for personal gain is more  worthy of Slytherin in
its decline than Gryffindor, IMO.

Pippin