Discrepancy of skills

[exodusts]

No: HPFGUIDX 148006

> Carol:
> We
> know that Harry has had practical experience that the others haven't
> had, so even with so few good DADA teachers, his Outstanding can
> hardly come as a surprise to any reader.

Exodusts:
Absolutely agreed.


> Carol:
> Hermione, in contrast, has had the same poor teachers and very     
> little DADA experience--this is *before* the events in the DoM. 

Exodusts:
Actually, a thought strikes me that the reason fof JKR giving 
Hermione her E is in fact a hang-over from book 5: another attack on 
bad teaching, in the form of Umbridge. Maybe it is supposed to show 
that very able kids NEED good teaching, because Umbridge's 
rotten "open your books and read quietly" technique was of little 
use. Harry's teaching makes up for it to some extent, thus ensuring 
that Ron & other Dumbledore's Army kids can get a solid grade, but 
cannot help someone really able, like Hermione, to reach the highest 
levels. Unfortunately, if this was the case, then there really should 
have been a big issue mentioned at Hogwarts in HBP of non-DA kids 
failing Defence v Dark Arts and/or some really able kids in, say, 
Ravenclaw, complaining that their OWL grade averages were also 
blemished by comparatively ordinary Defence v Dark Arts marks.


> Carol:
> Carol, who doesn't understand why Hermione has to be perfect. She
> still got eleven OWLs, a lot more than Harry or Ron. The only one 
she
> didn't get was Divination, and that's because she dropped the 
subject.

Exodusts:
With the character that JKR has created, and given the events in the 
world she has created, it is BOTH suddenly inconsistent AND suddenly 
convenient for Hermione to be scoring an E instead of all Os. If it 
was one or the other (e.g. Hermione had an E in a non-Owl, non-Newt 
year and/or in a subject Harry was not outstanding in), we might 
not even have noticed.