Discrepancy of skills

[allies426]

No: HPFGUIDX 147835

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" 
<justcarol67 at ...> wrote:


>
> Her E in DADA also helps to demonstrate that defensive spells are
> somehow different from Charms and Transfiguration, which Hermione
so
> easily masters,  perhaps because they involve attacking a human
> opponent rather than altering the characteristics (Charms) or
essence
> (Transfiguration) of an object or animal. It's one thing to put
legs
> on a teacup or make a cushion fly across a room; quite another to
> stupefy an opponent, even a classmate, in ritual combat. I can
easily
> see Hermione excelling at the one and merely exceeding
expectations in
> the other, especially with the level of DADA instruction she's been
> given in her first five years. Granted, she had no qualms about
> petrifying Neville in SS/PS, but she wasn't in combat with him.

Allie again:

But Hermione *does* succeed in real-life DADA during the battle in
the Department of Mysteries.  She's on target, she accurately knocks
out several death eaters, and she doesn't choke under the pressure.
Outstanding!  The only one of the children who does better than she
does is (of course) Harry, but that doesn't mean she's not
outstanding as well.  I still think she should have aced the exam.  
She's clearly an excellent test-taker, and there's a big written 
part to those exams as well as the practical.  Even a "practical" is 
not the same as a real-life situation.

<saberbunny:
<
<Also the examiner must have known that he had on at least 1 occasion
<produced the Patronus to protect himself from Dementors. That is
<indeed more impressive. Don't forget as well in the book PoA at the
<lake when Harry tells Hermione the spell to save them and Sirius, 
<she
<fails.

Allie again:

Yes, of course, Harry's achievement was phenomenal.  But when Harry 
asks Hermione to help him, she doesn't even know what it is that 
she's doing.  She's never even HEARD of a Patronus (I don't recall 
Harry telling his friends what Lupin has been teaching him) or ever 
tried to produce one.  She's just copying his words.