Hermione, or the Ghoul in Pajamas

[terri-testing.livejournal.com]

Never, never pontificate without re-reading the original scene.

Here's what, precisely, Hermione says to Harry about her preparations to take off with him, specifically about her decision to modify her parents' memories so that "they're convinced they're really called Wendell and Monica Wilkins and that their life's ambition is to move to Australia, which they've now done.


"That's to make it more difficult to track them down and interrogate them about me--or you, because unfortunately, I've told them quite a bit about you."

She says it outright.

Ron's stratagem, the ghoul, is an attempt to protect his family from reprisals; Hermione's, to protect herself and Harry from the Grangers' knowledge of them. Not to protect them, or to protect them from being used as hostages to influence her.

And, y'know, it was a good thought. I mean, just imagine if her parents had blabbed about taking their little girl camping in the Forest of Dean.

Comments

[sunnyskywalker]

Also, what, exactly, could Hermione have told her parents about Harry that would matter in the slightest? That he really likes treacle tart? That he's famous because [stuff everyone in the wizarding world already knows]? That he is impulsive and generally trusts people who are nice to him (hardly a secret...)? Unless she wrote them long letters during HBP detailing every memory Harry saw on Tommy's Home Video Nights, but that's hard to believe.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Exactly. Especially with Severus and Draco potentially reporting to Voldemort. What does Hermione know that those two don't? Unless she had her own reasons to think neither of them actually would want to help Voldemort.

Everybody knows whom Harry associates with, where he spends time while away from school. Maybe she thought she had some unique insights into his character?

[sunnyskywalker]

Well, I suppose only Hermione and Ron know just how much of Harry's homework was actually done by Hermione. That might give some clues as to weaknesses Voldemort could exploit. But I also doubt she told her parents exactly which spells, potions, etc. Harry doesn't actually understand because of her "help." How would that letter read? "Dear Mum and Dad, Tonight I let Harry copy my notes on healing spells after he got back from Quidditch practice. I don't think he understood a word he copied because he's so distracted with worrying whether Voldemort has really stopped peeking into his head..."

It can't be the insight that Harry tends to rush off to the rescue on the most ill-advised of promptings, because Voldemort had already figured that out by OotP. (Which makes it even more ridiculous that Voldemort doesn't try the same trick with a Weasley or two in DH. Did he mistakenly think Harry had learned better strategy and caution because of the DoM fiasco? If so, he ought to have realized he was wrong after the Trio broke into the MoM. Worst planning ever.)

Um. That he's as curious as a brick? Maybe that slipped by almost everyone at Hogwarts? Not sure how Voldemort could have used that, though. Something about his childhood with the Dursleys, which Voldemort could use to... um... torment Harry with dreams of being locked in the closet again, in hopes that poor sleep quality would assist in his downfall?

[oryx_leucoryx]

Well, I suppose only Hermione and Ron know just how much of Harry's homework was actually done by Hermione.
Surely she understands that Severus knows exactly how poorly Harry performs as a student? Even if Severus doesn't know the specifics of which Transfiguration lesson Harry got on his own and which he did not? Severus certainly knows that in Potions Harry can follow given instructions if he bothers to, but has zero understanding.

If so, he ought to have realized he was wrong after the Trio broke into the MoM. Worst planning ever.

Well, during that time Voldie was out of the country, searching for Gregorovich, and later that blond thief.

[sunnyskywalker]

Weird, the first time I tried to post this it got marked as spam and I hadn't even included any links. What's up with that?

Oh, I'm sure Snape understands plenty. I wonder if Hermione realizes just how much, though? She doesn't ever seem to worry that any teachers will suspect the boys of copying, even when she outright just writes an introduction for an essay for Ron - wizards may not have turnitin.com, but surely even they can recognize when writing style changes dramatically from one paragraph to the next. Is she cold-bloodedly calculating how much such "help" she can give for each class based on how she reads the teacher without the boys getting suspected of cheating? Maybe she thinks they've been getting away with it a lot better than they actually have, and in fact most of the teachers have just kept cutting Harry breaks because, well, this year he's in the Tournament with all that stress, and this year a murderer is gunning for him, poor dear... (And Dumbledore told Snape to lay off, presumably.)

I would hope that Voldemort left a two-way mirror or some other reliable communication method with his DEs and called in regularly for reports, but that's probably too much to expect from him by this book

[sunnyskywalker]

[Re-posted without the accidental link (forgot to do that earlier).]

I'm sure Snape understands plenty. I wonder if Hermione realizes just how much, though? She doesn't ever seem to worry that any teachers will suspect the boys of copying, even when she outright just writes an introduction for an essay for Ron - surely wizards can recognize when writing style changes dramatically from one paragraph to the next. Is she cold-bloodedly calculating how much such "help" she can give for each class based on how she reads the teacher without the boys getting suspected of cheating? Maybe she thinks they've been getting away with it a lot better than they actually have, and in fact most of the teachers have just kept cutting Harry breaks because, well, this year he's in the Tournament with all that stress, and this year a murderer is gunning for him, poor dear... (And Dumbledore told Snape to lay off, presumably.)

I would hope that Voldemort left a two-way mirror or some other reliable communication method with his DEs and called in regularly for reports, but that's probably too much to expect from him by this book.

[nx74defiant.livejournal.com]

And Hermione wouldn't tell her parents anything that would make them want to pull her from Hogwarts. She would down play any danger. I don't think she told them about the troll, being petrified, fighting Death Eaters at the Ministry,etc.

[sunnyskywalker]

It would seem very odd if Hermione had actually told her parents all the dangers she's experienced and they never expressed any concern whatsoever. (Dear, last time we let you stay with the Weasleys during the summer you were caught in a riot instigated by terrorists specifically targeting people with your ancestry. Now you want us to send you to that same family earlier in the summer? To stay in a house owned by an ex-convict who nearly went insane in prison and has been living in a cave as a dog for the last year, and the werewolf teacher who forgot to take his medicine and nearly mauled you? To host a vigilante group? We think that summer calculus course has a lot to recommend it...)

But she's never so much as commented that her parents were a bit worried about her after the disaster of the year, but she convinced them that she would be perfectly safe with the Weasleys (or with Lucius kicked off the Board of Governors, or with the Aurors who would be hanging around, etc. depending on the year) and now they can do [fun event X or important world-saving activity Y). So I suspect you're right that she downplayed or outright didn't tell them a lot of it.

Seriously, what could she have told them about Harry?