[HPforGrownups] Slytherin's Reputation was Re: CHAPDISC: DH, EPILOGUE

[k12listmomma]

No: HPFGUIDX 185638

> Montavilla47:
> Right.  And I think this is coming from the same place, for you, that
> certain things about Harry and Hermione come from for me.  The
> biggest example being, of course, the disfigurement of Marietta.
>
> At first, I thought this was just another amusing storyline where
> someone who threatens harm to Harry is punished in a comic
> magical fashion.  (Like that pig tail Dudley gets in PS/SS.)  But,
> when we see that the disfigurement is permanent (at least, it's
> still there several months later), it crossed a line for me.
>
> And. from that point on, everything Harry and Hermione had
> done became suspect for me.   Like Dumbledore did for you
> once you realized he had placed Harry with the family who
> treated him so badly.

Shelley:
About Marietta's disfigurement, I had no problems with it being there months 
later. I did not read into this event an example of how "mean" Hermione 
could be, or how corrupt the Gryffindors could be. This is how I read the 
Wizarding world- some spells could be easily reversed, some spells wear off 
as time went on, some spells were permanent, some spells could be permanent 
if someone did not do something specific to reverse them. I think every 
Wizard in school quickly learned about strength of spells and what it took 
to reverse certain types of magic, and that they all willingly chose to play 
with that magic, all taking chances of a spell or other magic permanently 
marking them somehow. I think Marietta's face was one of those spells that 
potentially could were wear off as time went on- that the marks would 
continue to face, but that the duration of that time could be a year or more 
for it to completely fade. (See other spells, such as Fred and George's 
swamp before they left.) I also thought that it could be the last option- 
that if she had gone to the hospital, they would have recognized it as a 
curse and could have reversed the damage. I assumed that Madame Pomfrey did 
not know the correct antidote (she was treating it as if it were pimples, or 
a skin reaction, or a quick jinx rather than a "curse" spell, because she 
did not know it's origin and may have assumed it was just a prank stunt 
rather than a full fledged curse- Hermione was more gifted that the usual 
student who would do a quick prank spell at another student).  So, the fact 
for me that it was there months later strongly indicated to me that Madame 
Pomfrey missed what it was and was treating it incorrectly. I am sure that 
Marietta was shy in explaining the full situation of what she did to 
activate the curse, obscuring what could have led to a proper diagnosis and 
treatment. I think she had a hand in her own treatment, in her fate 
afterward, that left those marks there. We have no way of knowing if 
Hermione had put a trigger on the spell so that a full confession or "I'm 
sorry" attitude would have prompted the mark to completely disappear, and 
that Marietta was stubbornly choosing to insist that she meant no harm, 
keeping that mark there.

So, in short, no, I did not feel bad for Marietta that she still had this 
mark, as I think many other Wizards would have marks from spells gone bad or 
from curses that they willingly chose not to seek treatment for 
(Dumbledore's scar on his knee, for example), and I think that if it really 
bothered her, she would have sought treatment over the summer at St. Mungos. 
I also never thought of Gryffindor's being so pure that they couldn't use 
spells which might border on a curse triggered by someone going back on 
their word- Marietta signed the sheet willingly, and thus agreed to any 
consequence from breaking that oath. The magical world is full of 
consequences that we don't have in the Muggle world, and they all knew that 
before they even entered school to study magic. I don't see Gryffindors 
holding an oath to never harm another Wizard or anything so pure as to those 
ideals, that Hermione was breaking any moral code by placing the triggering 
curse on the secrecy of the DA group. She was merely taking a proactive step 
to protect all of her fellow classmates where were in the DA. In a world 
where 10 ton toffees and Puking Pastels were  routine gag candy, a few marks 
on the face didn't strike me as extraordinary or the worst that could have 
happened to an individual, and I certainly did not think they were 
permanent.

Shelley