Harry's DADA skill was Re: Albus and Gellert/Voldemort's Power

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 182778

Montavilla wrote:

> When Harry takes his D.A.D.A. O.W.L., he is asked by the examiner to
try a Patronus (for an extra point), presumably because Harry's
ability to do so has been talked about (by Amelia Bones or others). 
<snip>
> 
> But, Hermione can also cast a corporeal Patronus at that point, as
she's already done so in the D.A. sessions.  Now, whether Hermione
could produce one while facing a Dementor is another question, but she
wouldn't be required to do so in the exam.
> 
> However, as far as we can tell (and I've always interpreted it this
way), the examiners ask Harry only, not Hermione nor any other student
taking the test.  
> 
> So, had Hermione been requested to produce a Patronus, she could and
would have, and, presumably, would have gotten her "O" in D.A.D.A.
along with Harry.

Carol responds:
While I agree that Hermione and the other DA members could also have
cast a corporeal Patronus under exam conditions (not necessarily
against a Dementor) and it seems unfair that only he is asked to cast
a Patronus, he has already earned an O at that point (presumably with
a perfect 100), and the Patronus is only worth a single bonus point--a
nice little extra for the record, but an O is an O, and his mark will
not be affected.

Hermione, however, has never learned to deal with her Boggart. Lupin
gave only one day to that lesson, and Hermione never got her turn. She
failed that part of her third-year DADA exam, and she evidently failed
it again in her OWL. (Harry does not seem to have retaught the DA
Riddikulus, a simple third-year spell not likely to be used aginst
DEs, and we know that he did not have a Boggart for use in Patronus
practice.) So while Hermione was perfect in everything else, it seems
likely that she failed to banish her Boggart, earning her an E. An E
is an E, and E's don't earn students a chance for a bonus point. Nor
would a single point have raised her E to an O, which apparently
requires getting every spell right.

Carol, wondering whether the students who missed their OWLs or NEWTs
in HBP and DH ever got a chance to take them (and whether the
Muggle-borns who missed their seventh year in DH had a chance to come
back)

Carol, basing her response on Hermione's third year and on Harry's not
having a Boggart to use for Patronus practice