Hermione again / Was: Invading the enemy's common room (bit long)

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 160518

Cyril:
> And she is being slammed for:

a) Spiking cupcakes (how different from spiking punch at a high school
party). Well she is only 12 at the time. I do not see them as a lethal
action.

Ceridwen:
I've been very good about staying out of this discussion.  Really, I 
have!  But I do have to say something here.

The Muggle equivalent, that of spiking punch at a high school party, 
is usually done by older children, and for nefarious purposes.  One 
doesn't normally see twelve year olds, or thirteen year olds since 
Hermione is nearly a year older than Harry, spiking punch.  When such 
young children do perform the illicit activities of older children, 
that is usually cause for concern.  Thirteen year olds might steal 
from someone else's locker at school; if a thirteen year old broke 
into a florist's shop and stole stuffed animals it would be cause for 
concern in RL.

Stealing is stealing, but the magnitude is different.  The child is 
heading down a bad path early.  Authorities take matters into their 
hands for things like this.  So, when you say that Hermione is only 
twelve when she spikes the cupcakes, as if by doing something that 
would usually be expected only of an older child is a good thing, it 
should raise alarms, red flags, and more than a couple of eyebrows.

Just so people don't think I'm going to come down on either side, 
yes, I do understand that much of what Hermione does that seems so 
unsettling is done for plot purposes.  I understand that she is 
advanced and very smart.  I understand that if she was not willing to 
break some rules, she would not be hanging around with Harry and Ron, 
probably by mutual consent.  So far, I see that JKR hasn't passed 
moral judgement on the character so I won't even try to say that she 
sees this as questionable, but I won't try to say that she sees it as 
only good, either.  She may want us to stop reading and discuss these 
sorts of actions with our children, for all I know.

Ceridwen.