muggle baiting vs. muggle torture

[steven1965aaa]

No: HPFGUIDX 155407

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Sydney" <sydpad at ...> wrote:
>
> > > Sydney:
> > > 
> > > What I wonder is, why on earth aren't the twins in Slytherin?  
> > Steven1965aaa:
> > 
> Steven:
> 
> > No Slytherin would have given away the Maurauders Map without 
> > getting back something in return. 
> 
> Sydney:
> 
> Didn't they get a huge bag of gold from Harry the next year?  
Perhaps> they just knew it would be smart to invest in someone well-
connected> and wealthy early.  And, as they themselves cheerful 
assert, it wasn't a sacrifice as they had already memorized it.
> 
>Steven1965aaa:

Sydney, do you REALLY think the reason they gave him the map because 
he was well connected and wealthy and they were hoping to get 
something from him in the future?  Do you really believe that the 
twins anticipated that Harry would enter and win the triwizard 
tournament, get the gold and give it to them, months after they gave 
him the map?  Do you really believe that was their motivation? Of 
course not.  

Sure it was a sacrifice.  I'm not saying it was like giving him 
their 1st born child (!), but they were giving up something really 
cool, unique and valuable without getting anything back.  Having 
memorized the map is surely of some value, but the real value of the 
map is that it shows where everybody is and their movements.  

Look back to the beginning of book 1, contrast how Draco interacts 
with Harry at their 1st meeting in Diagon Alley with how the twins 
meet him on the train.  I'm not saying they're perfect, and I'm 
certainly not condoning the toffee (although I still think it was 
funny and that Dudley deserved it) but they basically have their 
hearts in the right place and most importantly I think if push comes 
to shove they are 2 people Harry can really count on, despite their 
antics from time to time.  

Come on, if Harry is in trouble and the twins have a choice of 
helping him or saving their own skins, what do you think they'd do?  
Flee and save themselves or help him?  That's a basic difference (in 
general of course) between Gryn and Slyth -- see Phineas portrait's 
comment to Harry in xmas chapter in OOP (something like we 
slytherins are brave too but when given a choice we always save our 
own necks)!