[HPforGrownups] On lying and cheating

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 165266

From: eggplant107 <eggplant107 at hotmail.com>
>People say Harry cheated in potions, but nobody can point to a rule he
>violated. There is certainly no rule saying you can only use your
>textbook to complete your studies, otherwise Hogwarts wouldn't have a
>library. Harry didn't lie, he never told Slughorn "I was only reading
>the standard textbook". Harry not only followed the letter of the law
>he followed the spirit of the law too. He found a way to do things
>that was better than that idiotic textbook and he ran with it. Good
>for him!

Bart:
Even if Harry didn't break a single rule, he cheated the most important person of all: himself. In return for some praise from a teacher, he gave up a learning opportunity. It is clear that the NEWT level Potions is about learning theory and applying it. All Harry learned was some superior applications, which made it unecessary for him to learn the theory.

Bart