[HPforGrownups] Re: Snape ignoring HP blood (was: CHAPDISC: HBP8)

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 146635

On 18 Jan 2006 at 0:08, dumbledore11214 wrote:

> Even if blood on Harry's face is dried, it does not necessarily mean 
> that Harry does not have any internal injuries, IMO. All Snape has to 
> do is ASK whether Harry is hurt or at least just tell him to go to 
> the hospital wing.
> 
> Not because he LIKES Harry, but because he is a teacher and he has 
> student with A LOT of blood on his face. Isn't it a cause for 
> concern? Just a little bit? :-)

OK - once again, bringing my own school experiences in here. For 
those who don't know I attending a school of a type that I think it 
quite similar in character to the schools that JKR based Hogwarts on, 
and I often think that some people reading the books who are 
unfamiliar with these types of schools can see things a bit 
differently from some of us who are familiar with them.

I can say that virtually any of my teachers would have been likely to 
ignore injuries like those Snape saw in the same type of situation 
that we see in Half Blood Prince. And I did have teachers ignore such 
injuries when I had suffered them.

They would have only done so if they were confident a student didn't 
need medical care. If they suspected a reasonable chance that they 
did, then they wouldn't have ignored it (and if they did, they'd have 
been seriously failing in a teachers duty of care). But if they were 
confident that the student was unlikely to need medical care, then 
it's very possible they'd have ignored such injuries?

Why - because it looks like the injuries came from some sort of 
fight. And if they start asking questions, then they are probably 
going to wind up having to inquire about more than just the injuries. 
They are going to have to look into what the students did - and 
probably wind up having to punish people.

Harry isn't a little boy - he's a capable sixteen year old. 

If he needs medical attention, he's capable of asking for it. Yes, 
he's got some blood on his face - but that appears to be his only 
sign of injury (Hermione cleans the blood of his face, and is asked 
if his nose looks all right and says that it does).

Frankly, Harry looks like he's been in a fight - ignoring such 
evidence is something that I would expect a teacher at Hogwarts to 
ignore under normal circumstances (if it happens too often, or if 
it's a student who you think is likely to be victimised - if this was 
Neville, I would expect, more reaction for example - things change a 
bit. But generally speaking, Snape's reaction in this regard strikes 
me as entirely normal).

And if it didn't - Harry attracts attention as he enters the Great 
Hall - and he still has blood on his face then. Why didn't Professor 
McGonnagal check if he was OK - she has a more direct responsibility 
for Harry than Snape does (note - this would not excuse Snape if he 
was in the wrong - while his duty of care towards Harry is less than 
McGonnagal's, initially he is the only teacher present - and so if 
something should have been done, he should have done it - 
distinctions in duty of care are only really relevant when there is 
somebody with a higher duty present - all teachers have some duty of 
care, in my view (and in Muggle law... whether Wizarding law is the 
same is debatable). Basically, McGonnagal does exactly what Snape 
does. She ignored the blood. If Snape should have acted in response 
to it, she definitely should have.

Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia