Bathroom Scene - A Different Perspective.

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 165202

> Neri:
> Where is the canon that Hermione and Draco get better marks in 
Snape's
> class than in Slughorn's? And more to the point, where is the canon
> that they learn better or produce better potions in Snape's lessons
> than in Slughorn's?

zgirnius:
Hermione's potions in Snape's classes are frequently described 
as 'perfect' by Harry, typically in a context where he is noting the 
unfairness of Snape's not complimenting them or commenting upon them 
in any way. 

> OotP, "Professor Umbridge":
> "A light silver vapor should now be rising from your potion," 
called Snape, with ten minutes left to go.
<snip>
> The surface of Hermione's potion, however, was a shimmering mist of 
silver vapor, and as Snape swept by he looked down his hooked nose at 
it without comment, which meant that he could find nothing to 
criticize.

>OotP, "The Hogwarts High Inquisitor"
> His Strenghtening Solution was not precisely the clear turquoise 
shade of Hermione's but it was at least blue rather than pink

In PoA, in the infamous poisoned toad incident, Hermione was able to 
cause Neville's disastrous potion to actually *work* within the 
alloted time for the class. 

In CoS she was able to brew a working NEWT standard Potion based on a 
recipe in a book recommended by Snape, so it's not the jump in 
difficulty that's killing her. In HBP she never once finishes a 
potion (though she tends to be the closest to Harry, that we hear 
about). The only explanation I can come up with is instructions that 
Snape would consider substandard, and thus are not as good as what 
she is used to.

> Neri:
> Crediting a source in a written assay is usually a very different
> thing from using a manual or supportive material in a hands-on
> laboratory lesson. As an instructor in a laboratory course in the
> university I was always impressed when seeing a student doing lab 
work

zgirnius:
So would I be. But if I complimented them on their creativity (as 
opposed to diligence) I would be later disappointed to learn the 
ideas were not their own.