Scary Teachers - Good Teachers (was: Re: Hagrid and Snape...)

[houyhnhnm102]

No: HPFGUIDX 152912

Neri:

> So is it because the other students had their books 
> and ingredients ready? But maybe they simply got 
> previous information that the standards were lowered 
> this year. I'd expect critical information such as the 
> minimal grade required for each NEWT class to be 
> available for students earlier than their first day 
> of school. It would be just like Ron to neglect checking 
> for any updates, and Harry of course wouldn't know about 
> it at all.

houyhnhnm:

That is very unlikely.

******************** 
Dumbledore cleared his throat.  Harry, Ron, and Hermione were not the
only ones who had been talking: the whole Hall had erupted in a buzz
of conversation at the news that Snape had finally achieved his
heart's desire.  Seemingly oblivious to the sensational nature of the
news he had just imparted, Dumbledore said nothing more about staff
appointments, but waited a few seconds to ensure that the silence was
absolute before continuing. (HBP8)
********************

The evidence is very much on the side of the other ten NEWT Potions
students having come to Hogwarts prepared to enroll in Potions because
they had achieved the necessary score on their OWL.

So ten out of 40 students in Harry's year got the highest possible
score on their Potions OWL.  Make it 50 if you like.  That's still 20%
who got the the WW equivalent of an "A".  That's about three times as
many as I'm getting ready to give out in a couple of weeks. (And I'm a
softie.)