Bathroom Scene - A Different Perspective.

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 165186

Vexingconfection:
> Pardon my ignorance on this and understand-ignorance never equates 
to an absence of opinion as much as one might appreciate that to 
be.... Harry did not steal work as much as perform his own 
experimentation. He demonstrated both irreverence and 
irresponsibility but not in my opinion dishonesty. IMO he was using 
the potions class to further his investigation into the HBP's book. 
He did not take credit for any work professionally. He did not know 
who the Prince was.

Ceridwen:
This thread seems to be compelling.  I don't know why we all like 
spending so much time in the bathroom, but there it is!  The scene 
was jarring.  We all have our opinions on it, and on everything 
surrounding it.  I think it was a pivotal scene.

Harry did steal the work.  I've gone back to school after a break of 
(hang on, math alert, headache imminent) thirty-two years.  We can be 
expelled for not giving the correct citations in our work.  Not just 
in English and Literature classes, but in science classes, too.  
Nothing I've done so far is at a professional level, but the 
consequences are still the same.  And in scientific papers, the 
authors cite all of the research they have drawn on for their 
studies, whether the paper is to be published, or merely to be handed 
in for a class.  There would have been no shame in telling Slughorn 
that there were notes in his textbook that helped him.  He couldn't 
cite the author, since he only knew a nick-name and not a real name...

(Oh, tangent - Was that why Snape said he knew what a nick-name was?  
Was this another clue left by JKR to the Prince's identity?)

...but he could have mentioned that the innovations were not his 
own.  He wasn't testing the Prince's methods, he was using them.  
We're privy to Harry's thoughts.  He didn't decide to test and see if 
the notes in his book were better, he used them in an attempt to win 
the Felix.  His potion, to that point, wasn't going very well.  When 
the stirring notation worked, he felt confident enough to use the 
Prince's notes in other potions.  He had enough confidence in the 
Prince to think that he would get better marks by using these notes.  
He never put himself on a level to test the Prince's innovations.

Vexingconfection:
> A better question would be, if Snape knew there were easier and 
more gainful methods to produce the same or better results in the 
spells or potions he was teaching, why did he not instruct his 
students on their use? What was Snape's motivation to not give his 
students the fullest and most useful understanding and application of 
the craft?  *(some snippage done)*

Ceridwen:
Quite a few people have mentioned that Snape has always been shown as 
putting the instructions for the various potions on the board.  Since 
the students have their books, why does he do that?  It's quite 
possible that he includes his amended instructions in the recipes he 
gives his class.  He does not tell them to work from their books.

Vexingconfection:
> Here is something else I will mention and hopefully not bring so 
much criticism that you toss me from your group. Martin Luther King, 
Jr., plagiarized most of his work while in college. It's a known 
fact. While we may make allowances for presidents and famous 
celebrities for perjury and plagiarization... a 15(?) yr old orphaned 
wizard who comes from a loveless home and is facing the Dark lord is 
held to higher standards. I think he acted within his character, 
reckless and youthful but not nefariously. I think JKR has been true 
to her character.

Ceridwen:
If Martin Luther King, Jr. plagarized, then he did wrong.  If someone 
looks at someone else's test to get the right answer, they are wrong, 
and in the school I attend, that is known as plagarism also.  If I 
ask my husband to do my math homework for me, I'm wrong, and I'm not 
learning anything at the same time.

If I take someone else's work and ideas and present them as my own, I 
have plagarized.  I would be liable to be expelled.  If Martin Luther 
King, Jr. had been caught plagarizing, he also would have been liable 
for expulsion.  I am not holding Harry to a higher standard than I 
hold a young MLK, various presidents in their youths, my children, or 
myself.  As a sixteen year old, he is nearly an adult in his 
society.  He needs to be behaving like the near-adult he is.

I am holding Harry to the same standards by which I and everyone I 
know have to live.  I expect that much from the hero of the series.

Ceridwen.