deathtocapslock | OOTP Chapter Twelve: "Professor Umbridge"

for-diddled.livejournal.com posting in

* “Does he think he’ll turn into a nutter if he stays in a room with me too long?” Given that you threatened to curse him yesterday, he probably thinks you’ve already turned into one.

* So having favoured Harry over Seamus, Ron’s now reluctant to keep his brothers in line. A prefect should really be more impartial.

* Nice to see Harry and Ron dismissing the prospect of uniting with the Slytherins out of hand like that. And to think that some people say Slytherins aren’t treated like proper members of the school!

* So Angelina’s only holding try-outs for Wood’s replacement, whereas Harry will make everybody try-out next year. Is this something that varies depending on who’s captain, or did JKR just make up the “everyone tries out” idea to add some Ron-related angst in Book 6?

* Note how Ron’s already decided that he won’t like Umbridge before having one lesson with her. As it is he’ll be proved right, but still, it’s not like they’re giving her much of a chance, is it?

* “‘Leave me out of it,’ said Ron hastily.” Nice to see him undermining the authority of his fellow-prefect like that, isn’t it?

* As if the prospect of taking exams which determine whether or not you stay at school isn’t stress enough, Fred and George go and give people boils. Charming.

* As an aside, how does the exam system in Hogwarts work? In some ways it seems like GCSEs/O-levels, but if this were the case we’d expect quite a few people to leave school after taking them and take up jobs, rather than study to NEWT level. Or is it more a case of them being necessary to progress to NEWT level, but otherwise not really affecting your final qualifications, a bit like some university exams?

* Poor Ron, wanting to be an Auror. He’s spent his entire school career being overshadowed by Harry, and now he’ll spend his entire professional career being overshadowed, too. What he really needs is some time working/travelling without Harry or Hermione, so that he can become more confident and discover that he can actually cope without them. I doubt JKR would give him that, though.

* Besides, Aurors are, like, the élite. You can’t be one of them unless you’re really good. Or unless you’re the Chosen One, in which case you are entitled to take up whatever job you want. And get your friends into the Aurors, too.

* Ugh, Hermione’s so easy to manipulate. “Oh, you’re so clever, please lend us your notes.” She really ought to stop helping them, or at least scale back her help to a level where she’s not practically doing their work for them.

* Although I am rather attracted to the idea that she’s subconsciously trying to make herself indispensible to the boys due to her deep-seated insecurity. Especially given what happened to her when she last seriously stood up to them, over the broom in POA.

* So Harry meets Cho, makes a complete faux pas and reminds her of her dead boyfriend. Ron quickly steers the conversation away onto something more happy, i.e., Quidditch, before Cho can get too upset. Nevertheless, Ron is apparently the insensitive jerk around here, not Harry.

* And Ron and Hermione keep bickering about it all the way to Potions class. I’ve heard of couples getting into friendly arguments, but really, this is just ridiculous.

* Snape has apparently come to expect a high pass level from his students, suggesting that he’s actually quite a good teacher, after all.

* No matter how “worthless” Harry’s potion is, Ron’s has to be even worse.

* For Divination, they work from The Dream Oracle, by Inigo Imago. Which makes me wonder: where do people get the time to research all this complicated magic stuff and write up books about it? Apart from teaching positions in Hogwarts, there don’t really seem to be any academic jobs in the WW, and there aren’t enough wizards to make writing books a viable way of making a living (which perhaps explains the lack of wizarding fiction – there just isn’t a big enough audience for such works to be profitable). But surely a regular day job wouldn’t leave much time for research, so perhaps there’s some form of Ministry grant to allow people to take time off work and research these topics, or the people who do so are all wealthy enough that they can afford not to work full-time.

* Keeping a dream diary doesn’t seem as onerous as Harry and Ron seem to make out. After all, it’s not like most people have many dreams, and I’d be surprised if they’d end up remembering more than one or two over that whole period.

* Professor Umbridge’s wand is “unusually short”. Freudian, anyone?

* Knowing the WW, those kids really need a Defence class involving some considerations of the ethics involved. Like Umbridge’s. Still, no wonder they don’t take to it. Ethics? Pah! What sort of cowardly thing is this?

* Picking a fight with a teacher like this seems a bit OOC for someone like Hermione. Maybe the real Hermione Granger’s been drugged and locked in a magical trunk with the real Ginny Weasley, and has now been taken over as JKR’s sock-puppet.

* At least Dean acknowledged that Moody “turned out to be a maniac”, but doesn’t seem to dwell on it too much because “we still learned loads”. Which seems… somewhat worrying, TBH. Sort of like a Muggle saying “Yes, well, I know Myra Hindley turned out to be a mass-murderer, but she taught me loads of great childcare tips.”

* So Professor Umbridge states that Voldemort’s return is a lie, which seems to be the Ministry line. But never does anybody suggest that Harry killed Cedric himself, despite him having the means, motive and opportunity, and despite the fact that Cedric’s body doesn’t seem to bear animal attack marks on it. Perhaps it’d just be too difficult for Harry to rebut, and hence would get in the way of JKR’s planned storyline.

* “Well, I’m glad you listen to Hermione Granger, at any rate,” says Professor McGonagall, somewhat ironically, given that Hermione’s the one who started the trouble.

Current Mood: bitchy
Current Location: The Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

oryx_leucoryx

hat's actually the premise of most SS/HG fan fics I've seen...they have Hermione returning to the Shack to rescue Severus, and then most of the stories have her later becoming his apprentice or aiding him in his studies/research in some manner. The Hermione in these stories is usually presented as an "older and wiser" Hermione, who realizes how much she doesn't know and starts really learning from Snape, and so hence the relationship between the two characters deepens.

Yes, it's a common premise. There are also stories where Severus guilt-trips Hermione over not saving him (and they still end up together) or stories where he agrees the kids couldn't have saved him (he was saved by Fawkes in some of those or by something he set in motion himself or some other magic that was beyond the kids' reach). Also stories where they meet again many years later under very different circumstances. Also stories where Hermione and Severus already had some kind of mentorship/friendship/something else (whether single or two-sided) by the time they are in the Shack. Hermione had a lot of potential, I'm not throwing her away just because Rowling thought she was perfect in every way and didn't give her the moral growth she needed. And she does have a lot to offer to Severus, so it goes both ways.

From:

karentheunicorn.livejournal.com

And she does have a lot to offer to Severus, so it goes both ways.

(faints) More excitement in the DTCL - the drama unfoldes....

Severus sneers at the idea of himself and Granger in a romantic relationship, "Does everyone want me to shack up with the bushy headed buck toothed know-it-all?" he asked in exasperation.

"Honestly, Severus. She got her teeth fixed, or have you forgotten?" says KarentheUnicorn.

"I haven't forgotten anything, madam." he announced, eyeing KTU suspitiously, "Why would I want that...girl...Besides she needed me to point out the obvious to her so she could take the initiative to fix her own teeth."

"Many people say you were terribly mean to her when that teeth incident happened."

"Oh yes, I'm mean," he mutters, "everyone wants to throw me to the fire for saying I saw no difference...the damn girls parents are dentists and they could not fix her teeth? Who is the horrible person here really?" he askes, sounded afronted.

"You are not completely Horrible Severus."

He makes a noise that suggests he doesn't care about her opinion.

"Hermione Granger is not ugly you know, she's improved and isn't 11 years old anymore."

"I do not have any interest in that silly girl." he grumbles unhappily.

"She's an adult now, Severus."

"That doesn't make her shag worthy or that I should consider it."

"You never know you might have a lot in common. You might like her as a grown up."

"Yes, if I was really drunk and under the Imperius Curse." he replied coolly.

just having some fun =)

From:

majorjune.livejournal.com

And she does have a lot to offer to Severus

She had absolutely nothing to offer Snape, and those fans who insist on pairing her with him end up making tons of excuses for her, and change her so much that she effectively becomes an OFC...

From:

oryx_leucoryx

Once she decides she is on his side - she'd stop at nothing for him, like she does with Harry. Severus really needs to experience someone else being fierce on his behalf. He needs to know he is worth that level of ferocity.

From:

karentheunicorn.livejournal.com

But that doesn't only have to be Hermione, the only reason that becomes Hermione is because JKR made her a lead roll in the HP universe. A majority of fans want to read about the HP characters and are just not willing to accept outside original characters.

To me thats a reason why Hermione becomes a popular paring with him because she's a character they already know. No matter how OC she might get in terms of her character, because she's been labled Hermione in the story people are more willing to accept it.

I wonder how it would work if you take one of those really good SS/HG stories and make her character someone else.

People don't want to invest in something they don't know very well.

So maybe on some level it's just a product of being easier to jump into the story where you don't have to figure out a new character and that it's a what if situation.

And I know the OC world is filled with what people like to call Mary Sue, etc. But for me I don't see how IF someone cared for Severus, really cared for him and was on his side that it can't work with an OC just as easily as it can with Hermione.

Hermione is not the only fountain in the world of being fiercely loyal. To me that reasoning only works because she is a HP character, readers know and thats the reason it works for a lot of readers.

From:

oryx_leucoryx

Well, yes, the closer a fan-fic is to canon in characterization the more interesting I find it. And of the canon female characters the ones who can do 'fierce' well are Hermione and Minerva. I can believe Hermione becoming indignant on Severus' behalf upon learning of how Lily had treated him.

From:

danajsparks.livejournal.com

>>>those fans who insist on pairing her with him end up making tons of excuses for her, and change her so much that she effectively becomes an OFC...

This is pretty true, though, for any of the characters that Severus usually gets paired with.

I would hate to see Severus with any of the other main characters as they're written in canon.

From:

majorjune.livejournal.com

This is pretty true, though, for any of the characters that Severus usually gets paired with.

I would hate to see Severus with any of the other main characters as they're written in canon.

My thoughts exactly.

As I mentioned in another post, I don't see Snape having a romantic and/or sexual relationship with anyone, because the torch he still carries for Lily burns too hot and too bright.

From:

danajsparks.livejournal.com

I don't see Snape having a romantic and/or sexual relationship with anyone, because the torch he still carries for Lily burns too hot and too bright.

One would hope, though, that, had he survived the snake bite, he would have eventually been able to move on and find someone else to love.

From:

majorjune.livejournal.com

One would hope, though, that, had he survived the snake bite, he would have eventually been able to move on and find someone else to love.

Nope. Never would happen.

Snape hardly is the type to go to parties, hang out at bars/clubs, or even accept dinner invitations. IOW, his social life would be severely limited at the very least, if it existed at all. He just wouldn't have the opportunities to meet new people who could be potential romantic partners.

No, if he survived the snakebite he'd find some remote place to hole up and conduct research, basically making a hermit of himself.