[HPforGrownups] Re: First potions lesson/Harry getting special treatment

[An'nai Jiriki]

No: HPFGUIDX 145953



--- Kathryn Jones <kjones at telus.net> wrote:
> > Betsy HP wrote: <SNIP>
> > "Dumbledore didn't just reward Gryffindor, he
> punished Slytherin. It
> > was an odd choice, and it never sat well with me.
> > Alla wrote: <SNIP>
> > "It may
> not have sit well
> > with Slytherin pride, but the point was made
> Gryffindor gets special
> > tretment here. To me special means undeserved,
> unless you argue that
> > Trio did not deserve those points, I don't see any
> special treatment
> > here. As to why awarding during the Feast. well,
> why not? They
> > behaved like Heroes and IMO School should honor
> their heroes."
> 
> KJ writes:
> 
>    I particularly like the first line of this post. 
> To me, it was in 
> very poor taste to allow the Slytherin colours to be
> displayed as the 
> winners prior to the giving of the extra points.
> Yes, the Trio and 
> Neville deserved the points. I don't think anyone
> has an argument with 
> that. 

Chris:
I do.  It was extremely unfair. DD awarded points and
knowingly admitted that the trio were out of bounds
and breaking the rules.  This would send a terrible
message to the other houses that they could break the
rules.  

First the cloak, although technically legal in
Hogwarts, was in bad taste.  DD told Harry after the
mirror incident that he should not be wandering out
during off hours (I don't have the book in front of
me).  Any other student would have been punished (like
Draco later in the book) and any other teacher would
have done the punishing.  

Second, Filch, Snape and Quirell ran to the library to
find the student out of bed and I received the
impression that it was extremely urgent, more urgent
then the loyalties of Quirell. (I may be mixing up the
movie here).

Third, we don't know if Hagrid told DD that the trio
knew of Fluffy or that they knew how to pass him.  We
also do not know if Hagrid told DD that an unknown
person knew of how to pass Fluffy.  If Hagrid kept
this to himself, he was extremely irresponsible. If he
did tell DD any of it, DD then allowed the events to
take place by not changing the traps.  These things
are known as negligence in our world and are
prosicutable the same as the crime that was committed.

Finally, the trio snuck out after hours.  Previously,
that earned a dentention and -50 house points each.
They used magic on another student, previously
anywhere from no punishment to a weeks detention and
many house points lost.  Finally, they used magic in
the halls, which is specifically forbidden, but rarely
punished.  

The trio did not defeat LV, and neither did Harry, he
just expelled a demon.  Also, the reasons DD gave for
awarding the points was pathetic: 'Cool use of
intellect', 'the best game of chess Hogwarts has ever
seen', 'Pure Love'.  I question I ask is who saw all
these to know?

Personally, Ravenclaw should have been up in arms over
the intellect points, any chess player and the chess
club should have been up in arms over the chess points
and the whole school should have regected the pure
love points.  I saw awarding Harry the points for pure
love as a telling the rest of the school they are not
worthy of that kind of love.  

The only points I think that were deserved was
Neville's, but even then, why should he be rewarded
for doing what is right unless everyone is awarded the
same.



>I do not understand why it was necessary for
> Dumbledore to make 
> the point that he did, by literally stripping away
> Slytherin's win and 
> giving it to the Gryffs in that manner. In point of
> fact, I don't know 
> what point he was making. I don't think that
> Dumbledore did things 
> thoughtlessly, or without reasons of his own. I also
> don't think that it 
> was meant to be a foolish preference for Gryffindor
> House. There is no 
> doubt that the way that this was done clearly
> demonstrated preferential 
> treatment.

There is a fanfic out there that deals with Snape's
view of this matter (and it sucks that I lost it too).
 Basically, Snape laments that he had been working to
wean the Sliths away from their parents dark pasts
slowly over 7 years.  In that one move, DD practically
handed all 7 years of Sliths over to LV on a silver
platter, and I think with the story being handed down
several more generations were lost.  He basically told
DD that by favoring Harry, DD was creating LV's army.

How could Sliths expect to be treated with anything as
good as indifference after that stunt.  DD told almost
100 Sliths and about 200 others that no matter how
good they are or how hard they work, all it take is
one moment of stupidity that their personalities are
not wired for to be loved and win all the glory. He
all but says that standing up for what is right is
good, but not nearly as good as breaking the rules and
putting lives in danger aka "It's ok as long as the
world is saved".

LV's world in which Sliths are in charge and see as
respectable, if only from themselves, looks awefully
good.  A perfect correlation today is the Suni/Shi'ite
struggle in Iraq (don't trust American news, go to any
French or German news for what is really happening
over there).  For years the Suni's have repressed the
Shi'ites.  Now, the Shi'ites are doing all they can to
make sure the Suni's do not have a place in
government. Reports even show that whole Suni towns
are disappearing because a political leader is
emerging. I see the Slith/Griff struggle with the
Shi'ites as Griffs. 

I really think, now with DD out of the way, Harry's
going to slam headfirst into the real world and find
out that LV's world is just the same as the world now.
 I also think that people will stop treating Harry as
the pampered prince and he's going to resent that,
vocally. I would love to see an ending to the books
where LV wins the war by toppling the status quo, even
if he loses the battle by getting himself and his
death eaters killed.

Chris

"You irritate me. Kill me now." ~Javert, Les Miserables


		
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