[HPforGrownups] Being Good and Evil (was:Re: Harry's arrogance (was Evil ...

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 154727

> Sandy:
>
> I don't have a problem one with what Hermione did to Marietta but you have
> made it abundantly obvious through your many, many posts about it that you 
> do.
> What do you suggest should or would have been an appropriate way to handle 
> the
> matter?

Magpie:
I'm not Betsy, but my appropriate way to deal with it would be that if 
Hermione was going to put a curse on the Parchment it should have been a hex 
that would alert her that someone had told, and say who did the telling, 
period. Then she could have set up a warning system to keep others from 
getting caught.  That would do something towards protecting the people in 
the DA (who knowingly put themselves in jeopardy when they joined Hermione's 
study group). Punishment probably wouldn't have been much of a priority for 
me--the rest of the DA didn't seem to feel too strongly about it either. 
Given a vote I don't know if they'd have all agreed to this.

Frankly, if I'd been one of the other members I'd have been angrier at 
Hermione than Marietta once I learned that I, too, had been secretly hexed 
and that if I'd decided I ought to tell someone about her club I'd have been 
permanantly scarred.

I guess I'm just always confused by the implication that this was the most 
appropriate thing for Hermione to do, or that she was boxed into a corner 
with this her only option when her hex does no good whatsoever.  It doesn't 
protect anyone or warn anyone or prevent any trouble, it just provides some 
sadistic pleasure after the fact for Harry.  Iirc the jinx slows Marietta 
down a bit in her telling, only because she happens to be standing by a 
mirror, but it doesn't really seem to make any difference whatsoever to what 
happens.

Sandy:
I
> think she got off lucky, and with that scar as a permanent reminder maybe 
> she'll
> think twice in the future before she lets herself be pressured into doing
> something just because a friend wants her to even though she doesn't agree 
> or
> believe in it.

Magpie:
I really don't think that's a crime that deserves permenant facial scarring. 
Perhaps it's Hermione who got off lucky in this case.  If this were a 
different kind of series she might be the one on the receiving end of some 
scarring years from now, with a detective left to track down the psycho 
attacker and discovering some girl Hermione casually mutilated at 15 who 
decided this was the only appropriate way to deal with the situation. 
Hermione would then think twice the next time she started up a personal army 
before she counts passersby and friends of acquaintances as members. You 
want peple loyal to you you don't recruit any random person who shows up to 
the pub the first day (including the girl who clearly didn't want to be 
there) and think your secret punishment nobody knows about will act as a 
deterrant.

-m