Spilled Potion (WAS Broken potionvial etc. etc.etc.)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 163266

Dan:
> > 
> > Now, all this arguing over spilled potion is quite the point
Rowling was making - the point is neither that Snape sabotaged the
potion, nor Harry flicked it accidentally, how can it be? We aren't
told, and there's no key given to "solve" what happened (the so-called
truth) -  but people will take pointed sides based on the what IS
known - THAT Snape gloated, THAT Harry fumed. This is, of course, the
point - but to try to extrapolate some ideal "what happened" from
emotional reactions is not only silly, it's damn dangerous.
> > 
> 
> Potioncat, tea kettle in hand:
> 
> I love it! By the power vested in me at HPfGU (which is actually not
> much at all) I declare that from this time forward, we will call any
> situation where two sides are arguing over an unsolvable issue
"crying  over spilled potion."

Carol responds:

Okay, cute and appropriate expression. But if we can't extrapolate on
what really happened (or, by extension, the characters' motivations
and intentions) until we have Book 7, at which point we may or may not
have all the answers (I certainly hope JKR doesn't try to explain
*everything*), what are we supposed to do on this list?

sorry, Dan, but I prefer analysis and extrapolation, silly and
"dangerous" though it may be, to speculation about what will happen in
Book 7. That's how I think. Ergo, I continue to believe that Harry is
probably as responsible as Snape (and Hermione) for what happened to
his potion, or he would have openly blamed Snape for spilling it
rather than for deducting points. Perhaps turning a little too quickly
in a robe with long, flowing sleeves, which could easily knock over a
precariously placed flask? (I'd suggest a cloak, but I don't think
they wear them indoors.) Or, again, just placing it too near the edge
of Snape's desk in his hurry.

And, BTW, Neri, some 26-year-old Floridian's personal distinction
between "oops" and "whoops" is hardly definitive regarding a British
author's use of those exclamations. Nice try, though.

"Dangerous" Carol McGonagall