On the trivial and the profound/Harry and HBP book

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 165513

> Magpie:
> I agree with that too. And I also agree that the main problem is 
> that all of us are hearing not just what each other is saying, but 
> what it sounds like we're saying.

Alla:

Right, cannot speak for anybody else, but it certainly happened to 
me. But I think as I mentioned to you before that this is just mine " 
second language caused" tendency to summarise thinngs in something 
that they were not really intended to be in the first place. I am 
trying to watch for it and to be extracareful when I read the 
argument, but it happens anyways.

Magpie:
 Because just as I am not saying 
> that Harry's main reason for keeping the book is to gain an 
academic 
> reputation (since that never even really entered my mind) but it 
> sounded like I was, perhaps other people are not trying to argue 
> that Slughorn's compliments to Harry are accurate and deserved or 
> else not significant at all, which they sometimes approach sounding 
> to me.

Alla:

Right, of course - not accurate or deserved.


Magpie:
 To me all the stuff about how Harry's learning stuff from the 
> book or has bigger things to think about or isn't primarily 
> interested in besting Hermione and Draco seems like some kind of 
> distraction, because it's irrelevent, imo. 
<SNIP>

Alla:

Oh, but see here I do disagree. How can it be irrelevant for me? 
Harry keeps Slughorn's opinion of him, for sure. But it is very 
relevant to me why he does that and here I agree with Valky and Geoff 
and Mike, etc.

It is of utmost importance to me, I would say. I want to stress that 
it does not, it does not make what Harry does right, but it 
absolutely makes sense for me that Harry does wrong in something that 
of secondary importance for him through HBP IMO.

Magpie:
I don't see how it would 
> change things even if it was Harry's primary goal--and of course, 
if 
> that were his goal and he got there by really working on his 
> studies, there would be nothing wrong in that at all. It's not a 
bad 
> goal by definition! 

Alla:

For me it would change things a lot if Harry's primary concern 
through HBP was to achieve the reputation of potion genuis. I just 
don't see it that way. It would change things to me that I would have 
judged him more strictly, I guess.


Magpie:
But I agree that it's never much of a desire for 
> Harry. He doesn't particularly like Slughorn's praising him in this 
> way because he knows it's not true and frankly, I don't think he's 
> that confident about always pulling it off. He just would rather 
> have that than explain Slughorn's mistake to him.

Alla:

Absolutely, he would rather have that, I agree and that is **wrong**.

We just disagree on the degree of wrong, I guess, yes?