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

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 145981


>
> > >>Pippin:
> > <snip>
> > 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.
> > <snip>

> Betsy Hp:
> I would have loved it if either of those explanations were true.  
> But, unfortunately, canon tells us otherwise.
> 
> "[The Great Hall] was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green 
> and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning of the house cup for the 
> seventh year in a row." (SS scholastic paperback ed. p.304)
> 
> "The Great Hall was normally decorated with the winning House's 
> colors for the Leaving Feast." (GoF scholastic hardback ed p.720)
> 
> In both PS/SS and GoF JKR clearly tells us that the *winning* House 
> determines the color scheme of the Leaving Feast.  Slytherin went 
> into the Feast sure that they had won.  And Dumbledore snatched it 
> away from them.  Not kind.  Not kind at all.

Pippin:
The narration sometimes relays Harry's perceptions as fact,
most famously when Harry's parents are said to have died in a car crash.
So while I will accept that the colors honored Slytherin as the leader, since
that is corroborated in a later book when Harry is familiar with Hogwarts
procedures, I think that last minute points and changes of decoration
may not be unheard of. 

Snape doesn't look  surprised when Gryffindor wins,
and again, nobody but Draco is shown to be astonished. I can see 
Draco as not believing that Dumbledore would erase such a strong 
lead, and nobody seeing any percentage in trying to convince him 
otherwise.

As for why the points weren't awarded before, Harry was in the hospital
wing. Points are always awarded in person and I'm sure Mme P wouldn't
have allowed anything so exciting.

I think this is part of JKR showing us that however fair-minded Harry
thinks he is, he's not above warming to a bit of what seems to be
favoritism on his behalf. But that doesn't mean it's really favoritism. 

Pippin