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

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 165261

Betsy Hp:
>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.

Bart:
Secondarily, if Harry even bothered to try to understand WHY tHBP's notes worked so well, it would have been more acceptable. But, in a class where the students are supposed to be learning theory, he's still on cookbook stuff. What did he think he was going to do for the OWL's? But that is Harry's biggest problem; given an easy way of achieving surface results, and a hard way of actually achieving his objective, he takes the easy way every time. 

Just to give a counter-example, real life: In 5th grade, our math textbook had quizzes. Our teacher gave us those quizzes a couple of times a week, grading us on both speed and accuracy. I discovered, in the back of the book, an answer key, which was encrypted. So I would figure out the problems in the quiz that would generate all the digits, and then just use the answer key to fill in the rest. However, I made no secret of the fact that this is what I was doing. When other students protested, the teacher pointed out that: 
1) If I got a single problem wrong, EVERYTHING would be wrong (not entirely true, as the encryption key gave hints).
2) Everybody else was free to do the same thing, if they were willing to take the chance (nobody else was). 

The point was that, although I had a "cheat sheet" like Harry, unlike Harry, I learned the basis of how the cheat sheet worked, let the teacher and the class know what I was doing, and everybody was offered the same opportunity. 

However, as I mentioned, this is true to form for Harry. Snape is not entirely wrong about his publicity seeking; Harry does not want to be famous among his peers for things he didn't accomplish, but is more than flattered when adults, particularly those in authority, give him adoration. What he is told are the highest priorities by Dumbledore (and he says, numerous times, that he is loyal to Dumbledore), if it's too much work, he'll look at something else, easier, and sexier. In spite of the fact that he knows he needs to know his potions, he prefers looking like he knows his stuff to actually learning it. 

In the BACK TO THE FUTURE series of movies, the binding theme throughout is Marty's inability to refuse a dare which included the accusation of being "chicken". After this trait almost causes disaster several times, he finally learns his lesson, avoiding a life-destroying accident as a result. I certainly hope that, in Book 7, Harry learns his.

Bart