Evil Hermione, and Traitor Marietta

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 154977


> Lanval:
> Oh, I didn't think you were. I just thought that you might have been 
> downplaying the importance of the DA a bit. Let me try and explain. 
> There are two arguments floating around the discussion thread:
> 
> 1. The DA is just about kids going against new rules they don't 
> like. Marietta disapproved. She turned them in; big deal. So she 
> thought they'd get detention, maybe get expelled. Oh well.
> 
> 2. Marietta felt the DA to be a distinct threat against her personal 
> beliefs, against her family, against the ministry -- after all, they 
> were *gasp* trying to learn how to defend themselves against 
> dementors, the executive powers of the ministry. I think it was even 
> suggested that this amounts to training to fight the police in RL.
> 
> Well, it can't be both, can it? Either Marietta is very deeply 
> concerned that the DA is a threat, or else she sees it as kids doing 
> things behind an unpopular teacher's back. Neither scenario excuses 
> her, but they are so far apart that they can't, IMO, be combined 
> into one argument by those defending her possible intentions and 
> motives (mind, I don't think anyone here is defending her treachery 
> per se).
>  
Pippin:
Of course they can! Marietta can rationalize her involvement in the group
and her agreement not to tell anyone with reason number one, until 
they start learning how to fight dementors.

Then her rationalization no longer works. Learning to fight dementors
is not part of the OWL exam by any stretch of the imagination. Nor,
from Marietta's point of view, can it be part of an anti-Voldemort 
effort, since the dementors are supposed to be anti-Voldemort themselves.

At that point Marietta would have to choose between her own beliefs 
and Cho's friendship. She tried, IMO, to get out of the choice by 
going to Umbridge.

That was weak and cowardly, she should have stood up to Cho the way
Neville stood up to the Trio in PS/SS, but I don't see where Marietta 
ever had that much courage.

> Lanval:
> Only because I think Umbridge had insufficient intelligence. She 
> didn't know much beside the fact that several kids had met in the 
> Hog's Head, and discussed forming a club, and she knew about the 
> purpose it would serve. But Willy Widdershins wouldn't have known 
> the student's names, right? Perhaps he just *said* to Umbridge he 
> heard every word, and missed certain things.
> 
> So she fired a broadside, and outlawed ALL clubs and organizations, 
> unless specifically cleared by herself.
> 

Pippin:
You don't think Willie Widdershins could recognize Harry Potter?
There was no rule against forming a study group at the time. This
was gone over quite clearly in Dumbledore's office. Umbridge had
to wait until she had some evidence against Harry which she got, 
mostly through Hermione's carelessness. 

That Marietta gave away where the meeting was to be held instead 
of who was involved shows that she was conflicted, I think.  
Umbridge wouldn't have been able to expel
anybody with that information alone. But she would have been able
to stop the meetings.

Pippin