[HPforGrownups] Re: LV's reasons for showing at the DoM/Slughorn's favoritism/Hagrid and Draco

[Magpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 168645


Dana:
> So to me the possibility of Snape informing LV, he notified the Order
> and the DEs not having reported back in, is in my opinion the reason
> LV came to the DoM and only when he arrives there, does he find out
> that nothing can be saved because the prophecy is lost and when DD
> shows up the only thing he is left to do is fight him and make
> another attempt on Harry's life because he knows he can't win from DD
> and save any of his DEs besides Bella and if he had know all of that
> before he entered the DoM then he wouldn't have come and expose
> himself because now he lost his advantage with that action too and as
> we see he won nothing by coming there. And maybe it is just my
> opinion but LV is not that stupid, so to me something entirely
> outside of Harry's POV brought LV to the DoM and my theory still
> stands until proven otherwise by DH (or canon I overlooked which does
> not include the above)

Magpie:
Cutting to the chase....why? As I think somebody else said earlier, it just 
seems like Snape is the more far-fetched solution here. If Snape informed LV 
that he sent the Order, then why doesn't LV consider Snape the reason the 
mission failed? Snape didn't have to send the Order at all, and he just 
informed LV that he ruined his plans on his own whim...so why isn't he, 
rather than Lucius, in trouble?

This is LV's plan; why would he need Snape, who is miles away and would have 
no idea when Harry left or even possibly how he left, to tell him that maybe 
the mission has failed? And failed because he, Snape, decided to send in the 
Order?

Nikkalmati:
However, I also don't see Slughorn as having a  particular pureblood bias. 
Draco is a pureblood; Ron is a pureblood.   He doesn't like either one.  He 
does advance Lily and Hermione,  despite being Muggleborn.  And his surprise 
that Lily was so  talented?  It probably is pretty rare for a Muggleborn. 
After
all,  most Muggles have no magical talent whatsoever. A truly outstanding 
Muggleborn  is probably even more rare.

Magpie:
See, this is what I referred to in my other post. I'm truly surprised to see 
Slughorn defended this way given the way he's introduced. The man says 
flat-out that it's surprising that a Muggle-born is so good when we know it 
is canon that there's no difference in magical talent between Wizards based 
on blood purity. That's a bigoted myth. It's not just Hermione and Lily that 
counter it either--where have we seen any evidence of difference in talent 
if the person is Muggleborn? Not to mention, we see how Slughorn judges 
students anyway, so it's not like he's an objective judge of how well 
students usually do. He thinks Harry's doing well because he's inherited 
Lily's talent in his blood instead of Snape's Potions book. He's looking for 
reasons to like some students and less interested in others. He's already 
got lower expectations for some.

He does dismiss Ron and Draco--Ron because his family isn't helpful and 
Draco because his father is a DE (had Lucius not been a DE Draco *would* 
have been in the Slug Club, just as Lucius was a favorite and apparently 
Grandpa was also a great friend). He does include Lily and Hermione. But 
making exceptions for the special ones doesn't change that Slughorn flat-out 
says that Pure-bloods are born more talented so he doesn't expect as much 
from Muggle-borns. He may pick and choose from among the Purebloods but that 
doesn't mean he's not starting out looking for kids with good Pureblood 
family connections.

Slughorn is constantly working, as you say, to bring together this group of 
kids hand-picked by him and helped along, so all his personal preferences, 
imo, all come into play.

Jen:
Slughorn is important in the story as Dumbledore's ally and for
holding the key to Voldemort's defeat.  Regardless of his moral
compass or his social agenda, he's refusing to join Voldemort in the
only way a man who isn't brave is capable of doing--by hiding.  He's not a 
Peter who allows himself to be drawn in and then tries to
rationalize his behavior later, or a Bagman who passes information
and claims truthfully or not that he didn't know what he was doing.
No, Slughorn's a person actively attempting to avoid joining up in
the first place.

Magpie:
Yes, I agree. He's got his own lines that he won't cross, and they're better 
than the lines other characters have.

Alla:
Ugh, if I were Hagrid, Draco would have gotten from me nice long detention 
for a year for not listening to safety instructions. Right after he comes 
back from hospital wing that is. Maybe that would have taught him something. 
Forbidden Forest 365 days a year.

Magpie:
If Hagrid did that I would hope the Slytherins in his classes would make him 
very sorry he did. Once everyone stopped laughing about Hagrid punishing 
anyone else for not paying enough attention to safety precautions.

-m