Was Hermione gullible? (Was: CHAPDISC: HBP 29, The Phoenix Lament)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 164274

Dungrollin:
> > I'm replying to Ceridwen, though most people seem to have answered
> this question similarly, so I'm not picking on her...
> 
> In response to all this insistence that Hermione and Luna were not
> gullible, perhaps we could agree that they were at the very least a
> little slow?

Carol responds:
I don't think so. they had no reason (except Harry's unconfirmed
suspicions of Snape) to doubt Snape's loyalty, and it made perfect
sense to do what he said. Flitwick *did* need help, and taking him to
the hospital wing kept both him and them out of the battle. And, as I
said before, Flitwick has a bruise on his forehead, and most people
who are Stunned appear to fall on their back, much like victims of
Avada Kedavra. Maybe he *did* faint. He's an excitable little fellow,
after all. (Now if they'd heard Snape shout "Stupefy!" it would be
another matter, but either he used a nonverbal spell or Flitwick
really did faint.) No. I don't think they were slow. I think they were
sensible--and right to believe that Snape was on their side (even if
he did, quite understandably, want Flitwick out of his way). The Felix
didn't save them; they were (IMO) in no danger in the first place
*unless* they'd followed Snape toward the battle, leaving poor
Flitwick to wake up on his own and wonder what had happened. 

Hermione is only "gullible" if Harry is right and Snape is a murdering
traitor. But even if Snape is ESE! and she and Luna were in danger of
being killed, which I don't believe for a moment, they still did the
humane and sensible thing by obeing him and taking care of Flitwick.
It would have been stupid beyond belief to challenge Snape and accuse
him of Stupefying Flitwick, even if it had occurred to them to do so,
much less to fire a spell at him assuming that he was involved in
Draco's plan, whether he was ESE! or DDM! The mere fact that he wasn't
out there fighting with the DEs against the Order members showed that
he wasn't part of Draco's plan to get the DEs into the castle.
Clearly, he was surprised that they were there and in a hurry to do
something about it. And that he didn't threaten them or shout at them
but instead made a perfectly reasonable request would have added to
their impression that he was doing what he said he was doing, going to
join the fight against the DEs. (He could hardly tell them about the
UV.) I predict that "Oh, Harry, I was so stupid!" will be seen in
retrospect to be as wrong as Hermione's earlier belief that Lupin was
helping Sirius Black into the castle so that Black could murder Harry.)
 
Carol, who on another note has decided not to delete her second
Aberforth post (in a different thread) because no one replied to the
first one