last minute points was Re: First potions lesson/Harry getting special treatment

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 145958

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Kathryn Jones <kjones at t...> 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. (Personally, I
> > think he's trying to make up for the Norbert incident, and it does
> > win Harry back into Gryffindor's good graces, but at what cost?)"
> > Alla wrote: <SNIP>
> > "Again, he awarded well deserved points. 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. 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.
>

Pippin:
Harry is kept in the hospital wing, away from everybody, and arrives at
the feast just before Dumbledore starts to speak. There is no murmur of
astonishment when Dumbledore announces that last minute points
will be awarded. There is nothing to show that this is not a fine old
Hogwarts tradition, very much in keeping with the wizards' love of
drama, except for Ron's statement a few days before that the points
are all in and Slytherin has won. But Ron has never read _Hogwarts,
A History_ and doesn't pick up everything from his wizard family --
he didn't know about the Sorting Hat, or the legend of the Chamber
of Secrets, or even that Slytherin was noted for his pureblood beliefs.
Hermione might not want to mention it if she didn't want to raise
false hopes. 

We never "see" the House Cup awarded again, so we don't have
anything to use for comparison. 

Only Draco is shown as being shocked that Slytherin lost. So I
don't think this upset was a deliberate insult to Slytherin House, 
which may well have achieved some last minute victories of its own 
in the past, but just the usual melodramatic wizards' way of doing 
things. They can't get together without showing off, is the way
Arthur put it, IIRC.

I also like Finwitch's idea that the banners hanging at the start of 
the feast are last year's winners. That seems very appropriate.

Pippin