[HPforGrownups] Was Harry cheating at Potions (was:Re: Bathroom Scene - A Different Perspective.

[Ronin_47]

No: HPFGUIDX 165252

 --Betsy HP Wrote--
 <SNIP> 
 >>> I don't think Hermione has this sort of power over Harry. She's 
never been able to make him feel guilty about something Harry felt he 
was right about before. Usually when Hermione does her guilt routine 
and Harry doesn't think she's in the right, he's annoyed by her.

So Harry's guilt, IMO, point to something he's feeling all by himself.
 <<< 
 
 
--Ronin's Comments--
How he reacts and how he feels are two different stories. You can't honestly
tell me that making Hermione upset (One of his two best friends in the
world), doesn't make him feel guilty. She has made him feel guilty about one
thing or another every year and he's learned to deal with it a lot better,
but that doesn't mean he doesn't still feel guilty about it. Just as in
SS/PS, Hermione made Harry and Ron feel guilty for being annoyed by her
being a know-it-all, which almost got them all killed when they rescued her
from the troll.
 
 
 
--Betsy HP Wrote--
<SNIP>
>>>Yes, but Harry was hopeless. He didn't even know how to start. 
Everyone struggled, but they were *doing* something. The Prince 
didn't cover that particular area because he had nothing to add, so 
Harry didn't study it. That's the crutch problem. He's relying on 
the Prince to do *all* of his thinking. Does he get something good 
out of it? Sure! But he's also got a bit too dependent.
<<<
 
 
--Ronin's Comments--
Nobody knew how to start, other than Hermione. She and Slughorn were the
only two in the class who understood Golpalott's Third Law. The Prince
himself was annoyed by it's complication and just noted, "Just shove a
bezoar down their throats".  (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - 1st
American Hardcover Edition, Pg. 377)
Also, on the page before it says specifically that none of the students even
realized Slughorn had finished talking until Hermione was half way through
gathering her potions ingredients from the cabinets. Then everyone starts
haphazardly attempts at making their antidotes. 
It's not always a good idea to DO SOMETHING, when you have no idea what you
are doing. This can get you killed. Like, cleaning a loaded gun, you don't
just jump in and start "doing something" for the sake of doing something!
He may have been dependent upon the notes, but no more than the others were
dependent upon Golpalott's Third Law. He just had better luck. And he
learned a much better and quicker solution to MOST poisons.
 
 
 
--Betsy HP Wrote--
<SNIP>
>>>I think he cheated during the contest for the Felix. Harry had a 
cheat sheet the other students didn't have. And he's been lying the 
entire year. I'm not saying we need to hang him. But he's not been 
behaving with total nobility.
<<<
 
 
 
--Ronin's Comments--
I don't think this is cheating at all. Cheating is when you use somebody
else's answers without doing anything. Cheating is when Hermione confounded
McLaggen to help Ron get on the Quiditch team. What Harry did was use the
textbook and the note to achieve a much more efficient method. The notes did
not create the potion themselves. Harry had to crush the ingredients and
stir them, just as everyone had to do following instructions that were
written for them by someone else. And he didn't know if it would even work.
He took a chance with the notes and it payed off. It could've been a total
disaster. So, he had no idea it would help him win the Felix Filicus. His
intention was to make a passable potion. 
Someone compared Harry to Gilderoy Lockhart. They are not even similar in my
opinion. Lockhart wrote books and gained wealth and fame from other people's
experiences. Then he proceeded to erase their memories so they wouldn't
talk. Harry used someone's notes in a school provided textbook and learned a
few spells and antidotes. He never erased anyone's memory or gave credit
(Probably because in part, he didn't know who the Prince was) and he
certainly never gained fame or wealth for it. Several of his classmates knew
where he'd learned the potions tips and he wasn't keeping it a secret so
that he could claim fame and put his name on them.
Also, as I've said before, he did not get the answers to potions all year.
He learned from someone else's method and physically performed that method
to achieve the desired results. He merely followed an improved set of
instructions. If anything, the textbooks should all be upgraded to reflect
these methods because it's a disgrace that the school has been using such
outdated text for decades. That is inexcusable.
 
As far as Harry behaving with nobility.....He's a school boy, not the Prime
Minister.  Between saving the WW each year, dealing with death, dementors,
occlumencey, quiditch and lessons, I think he's demonstrated exceptional
nobility so far and is entitled to make mistakes occasionally. Even though I
don't consider using the Prince's notes a mistake or a dishonor in any way. 
 
If I were going to argue for lack of nobility (or more appropriately, bad
judgment) I'd use the example of him casting spells on people when he didn't
know what effect they would have. This was reckless and careless and he's
lucky he didn't kill someone.
 
Cheers,
Ronin


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