[HPforGrownups] Re: Blowing his cover

[Lee Kaiwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 181442

Zara blessed us with this gem On 10/02/2008 14:40:


CJ:
> I'm not convinced that expectorating is justification for torture

zgirnius:
 > If I thought Harry Cruciated Amycus because of his discourtesy
 > to a teacher, I might agree with you.

But Harry himself says so. Let's look at the passage. Chapter 30, "The 
Sacking of Severus Snape, opens with Alecto lying Stunned on the floor 
of the Ravenclaw common room, having just summoned LV. We read:

DH> There was a rap on the common room door and every Ravenclaw
DH> froze.... The Ravenclaws were whispering amongst themselves,
DH> terrifed. Then, without warning, there came a series of loud bangs,
DH> as though somebody was firing a gun into the door. ... The
DH> Ravenclaws were all backing away, and some of the most frightened
DH> began scampering back up the staircase to their beds.

Harry, secure under his Cloak, sees the terror in the Ravenclaws' eyes, 
as they back away in horror. What does his concern for his fellow 
students prompt him to do?

DH> Then, just as Harry was wondering whether he ought not to blast the
DH> door open and Stun Amycus ...

So, apparently, all of Harry's concern for the plight of the Hogwarts' 
students merits nothing more than a Stunning spell. But then McGonagall 
shows up and lets Amycus in.

DH> The few Ravenclaws who had remained behind sprinted for the stairs
DH> as Amycus burst over the threshhold, brandishing his wand. Hunched
DH> like his sister, he had a pallid, doughy face and tiny eyes, which
DH> fell at once on Alecto, sprawled motionless on the floor. He let out
DH>  a yell of fury and fear.

Now here's the part you mention:

DH> "What've they done, the little whelps?" he screamed. "I'll Cruciate
DH> the lot of 'em till they tell me who did it --

Harry has just watched Amycus burst into the room, wand at the ready, 
breathing fire and threatening Crucios all 'round while the few 
remaining Ravenclaws go scampering off in terror. One might think this 
would be the perfect time for a Crucio from Harry, if concern for the 
Ravenclaws was his chief concern. But Harry stands safe under his Cloak 
and does nothing.

DH> "We can push it off on the kids," said Amycus, his piglike face
DH> suddenly crafty. "Yeah, that's what we'll do. We'll say Alecto was
DH> ambushed by the kids, them kids up there" -- he looked up at the
DH> starry ceiling toward the dormitories -- "and we'll say they forced
DH> her to press the Mark, and that's why he got a false alarm.... He
DH> can punish them. Couple of kids more or less, what's the
DH> difference?"

Amycus is plotting to blame the Ravenclaws. Now, Harry? Now? Crucio? 
Umm, Harry?

Nope. Harry still doesn't make a move.

Not until:

DH> And he spat in her face.

Ooh, now THAT did it!

DH> Harry pulled the Cloak off himself, raised his wand, and said, "You
DH> shouldn't have done that."

Done what? Crucio the students? Nope. Make them the fall guys for 
Alecto? Nope again.

DH> As Amycus spun around, Harry shouted, "Crucio!"

It wasn't Amycus' threats against the students that provoked Harry 
Crucio (that only merited a Stun at best). It wasn't the terror in the 
Ravenclaws' eyes. It was the spittle running down McGonagall's nose. By 
Harry's own admission:

DH> "Potter!" whispered Professor McGonagall, clutching her heart.
DH> "Potter -- you're here! What--? How--?" She struggled to pull
DH> herself together. "Potter, that was foolish!"
DH>
DH> "He spat at you," said Harry.

> Additional evidence of his emotional state, as I see it, is the way
> the spell works when he casts it. 

Even if Harry IS all wound up about his friends and fellow students 
(though, as we've seen, not more than a Stunning spell's worth), then it 
simply becomes a crime of passion. But a crime of passion is still a crime.

Nevertheless, we still have Harry's own admission: "He spat at you!" The 
passage just doesn't support any other interpretation.

CJ