PoA Chapter Thirteen

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Oh no. It’s a Quidditch Chapter. Can I just say that Harry wins and skip this one?

It looks like the end of Ron and Hermione’s friendship because they’re so angry at each other. End of a friendship, beginning of a true love marriage. It’s often hard to tell the difference. They both involve so much hostility.

Yeah, I’m sure sex will clear all this constant bickering right up.

I have to say that even though Ron’s wrong? Crookshanks has been trying to attack Scabbers in plain sight for months, so it’s ridiculous for Hermione to claim that Ron's just got something against Crookshanks when what he's always had against Crookshanks is exactly this, that he's always trying to attack his dang rat. Ron just doesn’t know the real reason. Even if Hermione doesn’t think Crookshanks really did it she ought to show she’d feel sorry if he had, and in general have sympathy over Ron's injured and lost pet.

But then, this is the book for wizard pet owners blaming the victim and being proved right about it in the end.

Hermione's not even trying to prove Crookshanks didn't do it with logic or evidence or something. She really does seem to just be saying that he can't be accused of something because she likes him. Which is pretty much the way the justice system works in the Wizarding World so I guess that's why she eventually goes into law.

I wish I could just appreciate this as proof that Hermione's not really logical or fair at all when it comes to these things, but I don't think that's quite what I'm supposed to get out of this.

Oliver announces that Ravenclaw's playing Cho Chang as Seeker—shouldn't they have the same Seeker as always like everyone else?

Cho's had some problems with injuries. That's because she's weak, Oliver. Doesn't have the spine to really be a match for Harry.

Oliver seems like he's going to say something about Cho being a good Seeker, but then dismisses it by once again alluding to the fact that her broom can't possibly win against Harry's super broom. Which is still not unfair at all.

Harry gets on his broom for the first time and confirms that yes, he's now just about quadrupled his skill by riding a better broom.

The team cheers for Harry every time he catches the Snitch. Or more to the point, they cheer for the broom that's just given them a ridiculous advantage.

Oh, and apparently the Firebolt is so good it makes the rest of the team better too. They're inspired by "the Firebolt in their midst."

At least now we can see where Harry’s "Dementor problem" comes in handy. Wood can allude to it and make it seem as if Harry’s still got some sort of challenge in the game. Iow: Sure he's essentially been given a sports car for a bike race, but what if another bunny rabbit hops onto the track and he has to swerve? The suspense is killing me!

That must be why it still doesn't occur to Oliver to make sure the Dementors are kept off the field, or plan to call a time-out if they come near it. Oliver's too much of a good sport to call interference, but not enough of a good sport to eschew the Firebolt. It's a very specific level of sportsmanship.

Madam Hootch falls asleep while chaperoning, which is weird and out of nowhere.

Harry sees eyes in the darkness that he mistakes for the Grim, but it's really Crookshanks. Actually it presumably really was the Grim, with whom Crookshanks is hanging out. Clue!

Everyone in the school comes over to fawn over Harry’s broom, without a resentful eye in the bunch. And certainly no accusations that Harry's showing off by bringing his broom to breakfast. It's a well known fact that Firebolts are powered by Weetabix.

Percy says something funny to Harry, and Harry naturally takes no notice of it.

Oh wait, here comes the resentful eye. Malfoy comes over to have his face rubbed in the Firebolt. He makes a lame joke about it needing a parachute in case of Dementors; Harry makes a lame joke about Malfoy needing an extra arm on his broom to catch the Snitch. The Gryffindor teams laughs uproariously. Fun reader activity: Imagine the reaction of the school and the narrator if Draco Malfoy got a Firebolt and brought it to breakfast.

Malfoy returns to the rest of the Slytherin team and they put their heads together, probably asking Malfoy if it was really a Firebolt. The Slytherins can't actually walk over to Harry themselves like everyone else, so they just lurk in the shadows like a big, ugly mob with Malfoy as a messenger.

I can't imagine why people doubt that the Slytherins really did come back to fight in DH even though it's not in the text.

Harry takes off his school robes and sticks his wand in his tee-shirt. That sounds uncomfortable and difficult to reach.

Also, Harry wears tee-shirts under his robes now.

Ravenclaw’s only got one girl on the team. Because Gryffindor's always a leader in tolerance. They're the non-sexist house too! Right, Nu!Ginny?

This despite the fact that everyone who really loves Ginny treats her in a paternalistic fashion.

The history of sexism in the WW is kind of interesting, actually. There are some clues that they don't have the same history as Muggles since magic should be an equalizer. But when it comes down to it we usually get the exact same slightly old-fashioned stereotypes as you'd get in a Muggle story: few girls on the sports team, double standards in romance, no girls in the Slug Club back in the 50s etc.

Cho's a head shorter than Harry at 13? I never realized she was supposed to be so tiny.

Harry develops a chaste crush on Cho immediately. Gotta set this up for GoF! Work it, JKR!

Harry effortlessly outpaces Cho to the Snitch, but is set off-course by a bludger. Fred vents his frustration at the guy who hit it by hitting a bludger directly at him. Kind of like Crabbe will do to Harry later, only when Crabbe does it it's after the game's over and super super obnoxious. Also when Fred does it it’s funny. (But not as funny as when Super!Ginny plows into Zachariah Smith! The scurvy coward!)

McGonagall yells at Lee for commenting on the brooms instead of the Seekers, but since the last few chapters have made painstakingly clear that this really is a broom competition he actually is doing an accurate commentary. Cho’s Cleansweep having no chance really is what's going on in the game. (I can hear Malfoy in the stands now: "Now we're not even allowed to say that Potter's got an unfair advantage?)

Because of her bad broom, Cho actually shows herself a far better and smarter flier than Harry does in the whole series. No informed attributes here.

It sucks that she'll therefore need to be outclassed by super!Ginny in HBP, even though Cho's good flying skills are an actual character trait and Ginny's are just part of her general Ideal-girl-for-Harry-ness in HBP.

Fred yells at Harry for being a gentleman and orders him to knock her off her broom if he has to. Again, this is exactly the kind of behavior that's been established as the mark of a terrible sportsman when Slytherin does it.

I notice that mostly because of the people who used to try to claim that Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle dressed as Dementors on the field are guilty of attempted murder. As if they could make Harry faint just by just putting on black cloaks. And as if Fred didn’t just make clear that falling off your broom is a normal part of Quidditch.

It's a "low, cowardly trick" because they're Slytherins, but it’s actually not a bad distraction tactic to dress up as a Dementor here. If Fred, George or Ginny had done it it would no doubt have been considered quite plucky and clever and a good show all around. It might even have been funny in a slightly less nasty way when they wound up in a heap.

But let's pretend that Harry actually overcame something to catch that Snitch. Our poor little underdog hero!

Actually, props to JKR for playing it as the afterthought that it should be. It's just a little extra cherry on the sundae for Harry, really.

Harry’s carried off on everyone’s shoulders, because the rest of the team might as well not have even been there, as usual. They should really be carrying the Firebolt on their shoulders.

No signs that Ravenclaw resents this loss. Yet we know they house some sore losers, right Nu!Ginny?

Getting back to the animal theme, Ron says he won't forgive Hermione because she won't admit she's wrong. Which handily makes Ron the one in the wrong. But I'd think the real issue isn't that she insists her cat is innocent but that she shows no sympathy for people about their dead pets.

Ron's woken by Sirius standing over him with a knife. That must have been pretty exciting for Ron. Again, one of the weaknesses of this book is that the actual story isn't happening to Harry, it's just going on near Harry. Those of us in Harry's pov have to be contented with Quidditch matches.

Percy pins his Head Boy badge to his pajamas. Awww.

How exactly does McGonagall always hear noises in Gryffindor? Where does she live?

McGonagall immediately says that Sirius couldn’t have woken Ron, because he couldn't get through the portrait hole. Did she actually just say that? Sirius is the only person to ever escape Azkaban. That's kind of his thing. But he couldn’t get through this kind of idiot security?

Neville gets blamed for the break-in. Yup, no reason to look any further up on the chain of command there.

Things that happen more than once:
Harry wins a Quidditch match again.
Second Dementor on the field, only this one's fake so Harry hears nothing at all. It's like how in Jaws you know the first shark on the fourth of July is a fake because there's no theme music.
Owner of pet that seems to very clearly have done something wrong claims pet is innocent and doesn't apologize for it.
Sirius has gotten into the Tower again.
Somebody's declared the single hero of the Quidditch game--in OotP it's Ron.
Harry digs Quidditch chicks.
Ron gets angry at someone for reasons that seem to imply a genuine emotional hurt that this issue merely brought up, but it's set up so that it will be resolved by Ron admitting he was wrong on a technicality.
Harry sees the Grim again.

It’s a gun. No it isn’t! It’s Chekov! No it isn’t!

The Grim
Status: Totally fired. Bulls-eye.

Harry totally wants to date Cho
Status: Fired. But only as a practice shot before Ginny.

Harry dreams about following a silver thing with hooves.
Status: Fired in this book, but you can’t help but think of Snape’s Patronus reading it now.




Day-for-Night
Hootch falls asleep just so Harry and Ron can have a romantic nighttime fly together.

Designated Hero
Harry and Gryffindor win a game pretty much entirely because they have better equipment and we’re supposed to cheer for him especially loudly for it.

Idiot Picture
Sure Sirius Black escaped from an inescapable prison and we think he’s after this one kid to kill him. But Harry’s perfectly safe. The painting of Don Quixote’s idiot British cousin will protect him!

Monster Death Trap Proviso
Special mention, because in this case nobody’s even tried to catch the monster once yet, despite the fact that he's already made clear where he's desperately trying to go.

Offscreen Teleportation
McGonagall, where did you come from? Where do you always come from?

Jabootu Score: 5

Comments

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

Hermione's not even trying to prove Crookshanks didn't do it with logic or evidence or something. She really does seem to just be saying that he can't be accused of something because she likes him.

I don't think it's quite *that* bad. She isn't providing evidence that Crookshanks didn't do it, but she's arguing that there's no evidence that he *did*. Er, except the presence of a few cat hairs of the right color. (Well, cat hair *does* tend to get everywhere...)

When I first read this book, I was more sympathetic to Hermione's position. Could Hermione have kept Crookshanks under control without confining him to a single room for 9-10 months out of the year? Would confining him like that be entirely humane? What about all of the other pet cats that are presumably around? How do students usually keep the pet toads safe from the pet cats?

However, Hermione is utterly unconcerned with Scabbers' fate, and that's pretty cold. Even if she was behaving no less responsibly than any other the other students with cats, she should be sorry that Ron's grieving for his pet.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Really it's not that bad? I mean, I don't think it's really *bad* tbh, but I think that is what's going on. There is evidence that Crookshanks did something: the blood, the hair but the numerous attacks we've already seen. The question of what she could have done to control Crookshanks is I think another issue. If somebody has a cat and somebody else has a rat, the cat owner does have some responsibility for the predator. (The rat owner also has responsibility, but Ron and Scabbers pretty much are trying to keep him protected.)

But that question doesn't really come up, even from Ron. Hogwarts has random animals running around so that's a chance they take. That Hermione isn't actively trying to prove Crookshanks innocent doesn't really bother me--doing that might have gotten her close to Sirius and JKR doesn't want that to happen. But since she hasn't investigated anything the only reason she really has for thinking Crookshanks didn't do it is that...he's her cat. Crookshanks did have it in for Scabbers, but she keeps denying it. Ron's mistaken impression that Crookshanks killed him is based on more facts than Hermione's view that he didn't.

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

Well, yes. My point was more that she *was* trying to argue against Ron's belief, just not with anything as active as looking for evidence for another possibility. :-P Hasn't it been said here before that active investigation really isn't the Trio's thing?

But that's a matter of arguing with Ron. In her own head, yeah, it looks like she's just decided that Crookshanks didn't do it, and is proceeding from there. She isn't using reasoning to determine what the truth is; she's using it (or trying to use it) to back up what she already believes.

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

She's like parents who refuse to believe their little darlings could ever do something wrong. tdotm asked if Rowling teaches her children that the only thing that matters in behavior is whose side you're on. It seems, and the Marietta quote MadderBrad provided above tends to back this, that certain people can never be wrong no matter how wrong they seem to other people. I've said before I wouldn't want to live next door to Rowling and her family - I think the loyalty issue would crop up every time one of her children did something wrong to a friend - the child who complained would be completely out of line and of course her little darling would never, the kid who complained is just jealous or spiteful or not worth the threatened friendship.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Oh, right, then I agree. I was more just noticing the way the thing's set up by the author than discovering any new bad thing that Hermione was doing. It's interesting that there's no hint that Hermione is privately worried about the possibility. Given all the times Crookshanks has leapt out and scared Scabbers it seems like she's got a policy in her head already of automatically defending Crookshanks.

[mmmarcusz.livejournal.com]

When I first read this book, I was more sympathetic to Hermione's position. Could Hermione have kept Crookshanks under control without confining him to a single room for 9-10 months out of the year? Would confining him like that be entirely humane? What about all of the other pet cats that are presumably around? How do students usually keep the pet toads safe from the pet cats?


I don't know. I think Rowling forgot about all the familiars in the castle except the 5 we know about. Or maybe everyone owns an owl, seeing as they're the only useful pet. Which poses a further question - how did Scabbers survive so long (several years with Percy plus three years with Ron) without one of Hogwarts' dozens of owls killing him? And wouldn't it have been brilliant if it turned out that Hedwig had killed Scabbers?

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

LOL! And not for any plot related reason. He was there and she ate him.

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

Heh!

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

LOLOL!!! And thus, Voldemort never was resurrected, Harry didn't get to win the tournament and Cedric kept his life and Cho!

[oryx_leucoryx]

Well, I have worked out a scenario whereby Voldemort still gets resurrected in Y4 without Peter's involvement. After all, Bertha Jorkins was still going to visit Albania anyway and Crouch Jr was beginning to resist his father's Imperius. If Bertha and Vapormort meet - he could take her over and get her information etc.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Which poses a further question - how did Scabbers survive so long (several years with Percy plus three years with Ron) without one of Hogwarts' dozens of owls killing him?

That's why Peter was in Gryffindor - he didn't fear hanging out in his Animagus form in a very hostile environment. Not only owls. Don't forget Mrs Norris. And all the other cats (like the one Milicent Bulstrode has).

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

I'm the opposite, I never had as much of an issue with her not stopping the 'event'. It was always that she was strangely unreasonable about it. She was, as you say, cold. She didn't care that Ron was grieving for his (suspiciously long-lived!) pet, she just *had* to be right about Crookshanks. She didn't care that Lavender was upset over her dead bunny, she *had* to be right about Divination. Looking back, she had enough warning that she might have attempted to take extra care over Crookshanks - obviously it wouldn't work, but how hard did she try?

In the first couple of books, I'd loved that a girl was prominent who wasn't a beauty and didn't have a sweet, serene nature. However she was a good person under the bossiness. In this book, I started to realise that far from being a good role-model, she was someone I'd never be friends with, or socialise with. By OotP, I'd have avoided her like the plague! I was bright at school so wouldn't need her notes and I had friends who were loyal *and* kind. Why else would I spend time with her? It was a disappointment - the first of many in HP, sadly.

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

It's strange, because - with the Crookshanks-Scabberds business, Hermione never came off as "cold" to me; I read her as extremely highly strung due to all her courses and desperate to do and get everything "right", which of course meant she (and by extension her cat) couldn't have done anything wrong. There are several incidents across all the books where Hermione is shown to be compassionate and able to put herself in someone else's shoes (e.g. Cho in OotP) - I think her big stumbling block is where her own perfection might be questioned. Not because she was too full of herself, but quite the contrary: She strikes me as a person with the ingrained idea that her only right to even exist lies in being perfect all the time - being transplanted into a society where she's got no family to fall back upon and where her right to be part of society is officially questioned by some this must have made matters worse.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think there are times where Hermione is actually the one who's explaining to the boys how other people feel. I think her asking Harry if Sirius isn't seeing him as James is another example--in that case she might even be crossing the line into a too-mature pov. But regardless, she is reading the signs that other people miss in others. That's part of her drive to be the one who understands everything imo so it fits. Understanding doesn't always sympathetic or compassionate, of course. In this book her reactions about the pets is more about cluelessness or in the case of Scabbers she's just more emotional over the slight to Crookshanks than she is to Ron's pet who's been a source of annoyance for her throughout the book.

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

The Cho thing is odd, because it clashes with her behaviour at other times in the same book. Maybe instead of putting herself in other people's shoes, she's projecting her own feelings onto them? It'd explain a lot! Cho's all confused about getting involved with one bloke, whilst still harbouring stronger feelings for another? Says Hermione as she writes a long letter to Viktor (though I might be remembering wrongly) whilst talking to Ron who's STILL doing his impression of a bump on a log. Maybe giving up on Ron ever getting out of first gear, was the reason she gave Ginny the sound advice to give up on that other male mouth-breather in the Trio and get on with her life. Because HER attitude happened to co-incide? (Good advice, which worked. Shame that Ginny immediately started taking Harry's side against Hermione and sharpening her tongue on her. Still the red-haired ingrate didn't need her entry point into the golden circle any more...)


If she could genuinely empathize with Cho's emotions, then why can't she understand how someone might feel with the word 'scar' emblazoned on their forehead for all time? How on earth can she think she has the right to decide that, without a hint of remorse (that I can remember)? That's why I find Hermione so hard to bear. Harry was a total selfish git as well, but I don't remember such a *premeditated* act of arrogant violence from him or anyone on the 'good' side. What JKR was aiming with Hermione, I couldn't tell you.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Maybe instead of putting herself in other people's shoes, she's projecting her own feelings onto them? It'd explain a lot! Cho's all confused about getting involved with one bloke, whilst still harbouring stronger feelings for another? Says Hermione as she writes a long letter to Viktor (though I might be remembering wrongly) whilst talking to Ron who's STILL doing his impression of a bump on a log.

Yes, she was writing to Viktor as she said that. And the text puts such an emphasis on it - she keeps dipping her quill in ink and so forth as she speaks. I can't remember who theorized that Hermione only finally let go of Viktor as an option when she smelled Ron in the Amortentia.

I agree, Hermione is only ever thinking from her POV. The only times her claims about how other people must be feeling or her psychological advice to others work is when their situation happens to resemble her own.

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

The only times her claims about how other people must be feeling or her psychological advice to others work is when their situation happens to resemble her own.

No, I can't agree with that. Consider all of those moments of insight into others:

- Sirius mistaking Harry for James;
- Harry's 'saving people thing';
- the reason why Kreacher betrayed Sirius and helped the bad guys;
- Cho's feelings towards Harry;
- Harry's being 'more fanciable than ever'

and there must be others. Many of which did not 'resemble her own' situation.

[horridporrid.livejournal.com]

The Cho thing is odd, because it clashes with her behaviour at other times in the same book. Maybe instead of putting herself in other people's shoes, she's projecting her own feelings onto them?

I always thought Hermione was passing along gossip picked up from the girls bathroom rather than providing empathetic insight. I pictured her in the toilet, lifting her feet and taking copious notes as soon as Cho's name got mentioned. ;)

What JKR was aiming with Hermione, I couldn't tell you.

Blazing righteousness? Hermione has a lot of the sword bearer to her, doesn't she? All cold fury and righteous anger and merciless righting of wrongs. Collateral damage be damned.

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

I read her as extremely highly strung due to all her courses and desperate to do and get everything "right"

YES!! OF COURSE!!

This is the perfect excuse for our Hermione in the third book; she was simply overwrought over her oversubscribed course load!! She just didn't have the time to slow down and address Ron's concerns over Scabbers and so forth!

Yay! Hermione is redeemed!!

(Sorry aasayla, I've been trying to defend Hermione in another thread on this blog entry. Thanks for helping out! ;))

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

Always happy to be of use

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Always happy to be of use <g)>!

In fact, Hermione reminds me (not for the last time in the series) of a single mother, struggling under the double load of a job (in her case school) and two unruly children (we know who those are). Her daily schedule just about covers everything necessary IF nobody interferes - she just doesn't have the time and relaxed nerves to respond to her children's every emotional needs which - from the child's perspective - are very legitimate, but irrelevant in the daily struggle for survival.

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

Sorry, but I diagree - again! Yes she’s stressed out, but she can’t find 5 minutes to work how upset Ron is and what's underneath it? You of all people complain about obviously angry he was! If the same had happened to Crookshanks, how’d she feel – that’s all she has to ask herself, but she never mastered that. She wasn’t even applying logic, apparently her forte, because then Crookshanks might look a little more guilty! If she’s short for time, why not just sympathise with Lavender, then leave, as opposed to getting into an impassioned debate about Divination and how right she is and wrong Lavender is? The girl was crying – did H really need to be relaxed and ahead with her studies to judge that that wasn’t the right time? It doesn’t matter how stressed she was, this was one of her best friends and her dorm mate.

As I’ve said before, I believe Hermione is more interested in a cause than in people. That’s why she stressed herself out even more working on the Buckbeak case (a good thing to do) when she was struggling already. Why not suggest inspecting memories of some random and neutral (Hufflepuff!) witnesses – then she could get on with her workload and the case might actually have been successful. Some might say it was her kind heart, but it was rather haphazard in its appearance – it was certainly missing in action when it came to genuine understanding of people. Maybe she understood that her strength was research and her weakness was people. After all, apart from Harry, Ron and Viktor she didn’t appear to ever have any actual friends. Maybe that’s why she volunteered to the ‘research’ in this case – because she thought it was all she could contribute to people? That’s quite sad for her.

Off topic, but less anti-Hermione (she’s not even my least favourite character!) I always wondered what would have happened if Padma had been sorted into Gryffindor. She was bookish and smart, yet I got the impression relatively girly and had girlie mates whilst still maintaining her grades – it’s possible! Maybe she could have been a bridge between Hermione and Pavarti/Lavender - you can be studious and have a giggle. If Hermione hadn't been so judgemental of them, she could have been a lot happier at school. They might not have been bosom buddies (except maybe Padma)with relatively little in common, but you could say that of the Trio and they could have had some fun, kept in touch afterwards. Lavender/Ron wouldn’t have happened if the girls had been friends and maybe they could have given her the sort of advice she gave Ginny. I presume Hermione would have been more grateful than Ginny the b*tch as well. She really chose the wrong person to confide in.

Even more off topic, I’ve always believed (with no proof, but you won’t mind as it's GinnyBashing) that Ginny was using Hermione. Hermione would appreciate having a girl to talk to, neither Ron nor Harry were exactly in touch with their feminine side. Ginny needed a way into the Golden Circle. Harry saw her as Ron’s little sister. Ron obviously did as well(!) plus would have also known what a monumental b*tch she was, long before we started to realise. Why’d he want to hang out with her? Hermione was the entry point - an only child, vulnerable to the machinations of a calculating tart. She'd warn Ginny that maybe the desperate act wasn’t working and give her the advice we know of. They must have had something to talk about when they shared a room at The Burrow. I think Ginny realised very early that Hermione was interested in Ron, not Harry (sorry) therefore cultivated her as an ally because she wasn’t a threat. Once she ‘had’ Harry, she didn’t need Hermione. Maybe she even resented her – she was openly jealous of Fleur for being the lovelier (and nicer, even at her worse) girl when she was used to being the only one. However I also thought she didn’t like not being Bill’s favourite girl anymore. Once she didn’t need H, she probably resented the idea of her taking up even more of Ron’s time. For all their endless bickering, Ron and Ginny were closest in age and had spent most time together – I doubt she’d welcome any bride – jealous monster that she was.

Proof that Ginny is a b*tch

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

A hint of proof was when Ron and Harry found her snogging Dean. I know she was angry and embarrassed and wanted to punish Ron, but why bring Hermione into it? Why not say that Ron was last of all his family to kiss? Just as embarrassing for him, without betraying her ‘friend’. Whether it was true or not (do we know?) it caused so much damage and she obviously never confessed to Hermione, who didn’t know why Ron was upset. I know JKR needed to move the plot on, but there were other ways. When I say needed, I mean wanted - as R/H were getting together anyway, it should have happened in Book 5 – cut the rest of the angst and get on with the plot. Ginny – what a terrible, disloyal friend – I don’t care how impressively her hair cascades down her back. Thanks for listening!

And sorry for the multiple emails...

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

I'm the opposite, I never had as much of an issue with her not stopping the 'event'. It was always that she was strangely unreasonable about it. She was, as you say, cold.

I don't think that's quite the opposite, since I didn't really blame her for not stopping it, either. But on my first read, I wasn't particularly taken aback by her lack of sympathy, whereas I'm more aware of it now.

Although my not noticing her lack of sympathy might have been influenced by the fact that no one else seems too sympathetic, either. Fred and George recognized that Ron was grieving for his pet, but they responded by telling Ron that Scabbers had been dying anyway, and that Ron should get a new rat. They said it to cheer him up, but still.

Harry sounds more sympathetic through the narrator, although the only concrete thing we hear about is, "In a last-ditch attempt to cheer Ron up, Harry persuaded him to come along to the Gryffindor team’s final practice before the Ravenclaw match, so that he could have a ride on the Firebolt after they’d finished."

It seems to me that Hermione's lack of sympathy shows up more strongly because it was her cat that (presumably) did it, rather than because she was singularly unsympathetic.

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

It would help if we had ever got any indication that anyone else in Gryffindor tower had a cat. Surely there must be *some*.

[mmmarcusz.livejournal.com]

And as I mentioned above, an owl poses much more of a threat than a cat.