Marietta

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 169614

 
> bboyminn:
> 
> But Hagrid is a well-meaning person who made a mistake.
> Marietta, on the other hand, is an ill-meaning person who
> made a mistake. There is no way Marietta can claim she 
> didn't know her actions would be harmful to the people
> involved.

Pippin:
But there is a way Hagrid can claim that he didn't know
his actions would be harmful? Spilling Dumbledore's
secrets to a hooded stranger in a place like the Hog's
Head? And he's an Order member, a pro, not a schoolboy.
Gimme a break!

Bboy:
 She had enough knowledge and evidence to know
> that Umbridge would not be kind to people who broke her
> petty rules.

Pippin:
Um, somebody said we shouldn't villify Hermione for
taking harsh measures to identify and suppress sedition. 
But now Marietta is supposed to have *known*
that Umbridge was evil for just that reason?

Steve:
> She wasn't acting on a rumor, she had been in the 
> DA classes and knew they weren't about overthrowing
> the government or creating a secret army for 
> Dumbledore. They were simply about training themselves
> to pass their test and learn to properly defend 
> themselves
> 
> So, again, how could Marietta conclude that the DA Club
> was in anyway harmful, subversive, or counterproductive? 

Pippin:
AFAWK, she  didn't,  until they did something 
subversive: learning the patronus spell. It is 
certainly not part of the OWL exam.
Harry was explicit that the purpose 
of learning the spell was to defend themselves
against dementors. But dementors are not supposed
to be attacking anyone except on Ministry orders, in
which case a loyal citizen should cooperate.

I think we can trust Fudge to have his finger on the
pulse of the WW public. It's clear to him in GOF that most 
wizards are not going to take Dumbledore's word for it 
that dementors are a danger to innocent people. Those 
same wizards would find it hard to understand why anyone 
loyal to the Ministry would need to know how to drive them off.

Steve:
> Again, I acknowledge they were against the rules, but I
> find it hard to believe every student at the school 
> did not find Umbridge's rules to be petty, pointless,
> oppressive, counterproductive, and arbitrary.

Pippin:
It's hardly petty if you believe the danger of sedition is
real. And  Umbridge does believe it, enough to follow
Harry and Hermione into the Forbidden Forest 
because she thinks Dumbledore could have hidden a
weapon there. That sort of sincerity is, unfortunately,
very convincing. 

Pippin