Bathroom Scene - A Different Perspective

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 165153

Carol earleir:
> And Eggplant, a "he", I believe, is wrong in saying that Harry was
punished for using Sectumsempra. He was punished for lying to Snape,
who could have asked for his expulsion for using dangerous Dark magic
but did not.
>
> Mike:
> So you think that Snape and McGonnagall both think lying to a
teacher is grounds for expulsion? Or rather, do you think the lying
offense was the predominant reason for the punishment, taking
precedence over causing the near death of another student? Or are you
saying that Harry was punished for lying but let off for almost
killing Draco? Man, do these people have their priorities screwed up!


Carol:
No, no, no! Of course I'm not saying that Snape and/or McGonnagall
thought Harry deserved to be expelled for lying to a teacher. I'm
saying that he could have been expelled for using a curse that nearly
killed another student, but Snape apparently didn't even raise the
possibility, at least not to Harry. He punished Harry for lying to
him, not for defending himself or even for thoughtlessly using a curse
he didn't know would nearly kill the other student. McGonagall says
that Harry could have been expelled and that she approves of the
detentions. She doesn't say why.

There's no question that Harry was punished for being "a liar and a
cheat," primarily for not telling Snape where he found the curse,
which Snape knows perfectly well was in his own Potions book labeled
"for enemies." Exactly why Snape punishes him for that offense instead
of punishing him for using a Dark curse is unclear. I personally
believe that he's protecting both Harry and Draco. He doesn't want
either of them expelled because they'd both be in terrible danger from
the Dark Lord. But I could be wrong. Maybe Snape just wanted to punish
Harry for using his book and his curses and lying about it, but if
that were the case, detentions till the end of the year seem a bit
extreme. I think Snape also wants to keep his eye on Harry and keep
the two boys apart because he knows that Draco has a plan to kill
Dumbledore (though he doesn't know about the Vanishing Cabinets) and
if by some chance the UV is activated, he wants Harry as far from the
scene as possible. But that's only what I think, and I realize that
other people have different ideas.

Regarding the self-defense plea, Harry did have a chance to make it
when Snape first returned from escorting Draco to the hospital wing.
Instead of saying, "But Professor! It was self-defense! Malfoy tried
to Crucio me!" Harry says, "I didn't mean it to happen. I didn't know
what that spell did!" Snape doesn't question that statement. He only
asks Harry where he learned such Dark Magic (knowing the answer
perfectly well), and Harry lies to him, saying that he found it in a
library book. At that point, Snape uses Legilimency, finds what he
undoubtedly expected to find, an image of his own NEWT Potions book
annotated with his own spells and Potions hints. At that point, what
Harry has done becomes worthy of detention because he's lying to a
teacher (and Snape knows he's been cheating in Potions all year). The
focus changes from the fight and the use of an illegal curse to the
HBP's book. Blame JKR, not me. Or blame Snape and Harry for caring
about what ought to be a side issue instead of the main concern, a
dangerous, Dark magic spell that Harry himself knows that he shouldn't
have used. ("I didn't know what it did" is no more an acceptable
excuse than "I didn't know the gun was loaded," IMO.)

But the point is, Harry is *not* punished for using an illegal curse,
much less for defending himself. He's punished for lying to a teacher.
And McGonagall, who has heard the whole story from Snape (or so the
narrator says) and must know what Moaning Myrtle has been spreading
around the whole school as well, sees the punishment as justified.

Maybe we should blame JKR. Maybe we should blame the characters for
having the wrong priorities. But the fact remains that Harry himself
doesn't raise the point or try to justify his use of a horrifying
curse that left his opponent swimming in his own blood. He's grateful
to Ginny for suggesting that he had "something good up his sleeve,"
but he himself doesn't think that Sectumsempra was "something good."
He defends the HBP for jotting it down ("It's not like he was advising
anyone to use it!" 529), but that's because he still thinks of the HBP
as the friend without whose advuce on Bezoars Ron would be dead. And
he adds, "I'm not defending what I did!" (530). Harry at this point is
ashamed of himself for using an unknown curse instead of a known
defensive spell. And even Ginny, when Hermione says, "You can't call
that Sectumsempra spell good, Ginny, look where it's landed him!"
(she, of course, thinks that the detentions are for using the spell)
and mentions that the detentions have ruined Gryffindor's chances for
the Quidditch Cup, Ginny just sneers that Hermione should shut up
about Quidditch. (As usual, everyone is missing the real point.)

To return to self-defense, why doesn't Harry mention it? He has the
opportunity with Snape. It's likely that he had a similar opportunity
with McGonagall but again chose to say nothing. Maybe it's because he
knows that self-defense doesn't justify using that spell ("I'm not
defending what I did!"). He knows perfectly well that other spells
would have worked as well or better without leaving his opponent in a
pool of blood. Maybe he also knows (but won't admit to himself) that
he should have suspected that a spell labeled "for enemies" was
probably a whole lot Darker than a toenail hex.

As far as the teachers are concerned, I think that both Snape and
McGonagall prefer to give Harry a series of detentions rather than
have the incident investigated--as they would have to have done if
Snape hadn't saved Draco's life. And I think, too, though I can't see
into their minds, that the entire staff of Hogwarts operates on the
principle that it doesn't matter who started it; both students are at
fault if they get involved in a fight. McGonagall, after all, gave
Neville detention along with the HRH and Draco simply for being out of
bed after hours. Rules are rules and (unless her Quidditch team needs
a Seeker) there are no exceptions.

Mike:
> But Snape has no proof that Harry was lying, and all he would be
lying about is his ownership of a book.

Carol:
He has proof that Harry is lying about finding the spell in a library
book. He knows full well, having seen the image of his own Potions
book floating to the forefront of Harry's mind, that he got the spell
from that book. And Harry lies again, presenting "Roonil Wazlib's"
Potions book as his own and saying that Roonil Wazlib is his nickname.
That may not be proof Snape can share with McGonagall, but it's
certainly all the proof that Snape himself needs. And yet Snape
doesn't tell Slughorn that Harry has been cheating in his class. Why
not? Maybe that's not the issue. Harry has shown himself to be
untrustworthy, and from Snape's perspective, that's a very bad sign.

Carol, who understands that you're worried about the self-defense
angle not being investigated and has wondered about it herself but is
more concerned about Harry not retaining his sense of horror at what
he's done, as he'll need to do to avoid Dark magic in future and
defeat Voldemort through Love