Discrepancy of skills

[susanbones2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 147974

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "carodave92" <carodave92 at ...> 
wrote:
>
> > susanbones2003 wrote:
> > > 1. Hermione is a wonderful student. Give her a book, she'll 
read it
> > > front to back and memorize it mostly. She performs to standard 
and
> > > her standards are high so she'll always get good grades. But 
she
> > > needs the security of studies to be successful. DADA requires 
as 
> she
> > > says, bravery and quick-thinking but it also seems to require 
an
> > > innate ability that Harry possesses but she does not.
> 
> Carodave:
> 
> Don't forget about the Sorcerer's Stone - where Hermione's logic 
> equalled that of Snape - she was the only one of the trio able to 
> understand which potion would allow Harry to continue on through 
the 
> maze, and which would kill him.  She's a very bright girl and 
talented 
> witch, but as you say above, Harry has an innate ability for DADA 
that 
> puts him above and beyond Hermione's ability.  She does have a 
history 
> of choking in exams for this particular subject, possibly because 
they 
> are not book-driven but more practical.  Maybe she didn't shine as 
> brightly in the exam as she could have, but an E is still very 
good.
> 
> Carodave

Jen D. here,
Hermione is very cool under pressure! She is logical in a way that 
many wizards, great ones, are not. I can't imagine why she's not 
tops in everything except that she loses focus when confronted with 
something she knows is supposed to be horrible, like a boggart in an 
exam. I don't believe her E is a bad grade. It ensures she can 
continue on to NEWT level. But it seems out of character for someone 
as focussed on good grades as she is to miss the last O. Shaun said 
that even the brightest students miss the high mark sometimes. It's 
my feeling that there is subjectivity in the exams and that 
examiners would have wanted Harry, whom they see as truly 
exceptional, to stand out from his peers. But many on the list 
wouldn't agree with that philosophy. Just wish we could have seen 
Hermione's practical exam. I know she would never fail to have an O 
on any writtens.
Jen D., inconclusive at best...
>