because it's just the kind of thing Harry would do!
Is it? Harry doesn't seem to be a frequent apologiser, to anyone. Most apologies are offered to him by others when he has clashes, not the other way around. It's the kind of thing a classic archtypical hero would do, but Harru personally?
I do think that, while sectumsempra seems dreadful to us outsiders reading about it, it is not dreadful at all in the context of Hogwarts.
This seems to be a grey area - you're right that context can mean a lot in Hogwarts. The fact that no-one is upset by the nose-breaking is apparently indicative that it's not something we're supposed to take seriously (I really must interject here and say that the nose-breaking, while vicious and going up a notch from the usual confrontations between H/D, doesn't really seem comparable to the Sectumsempra - I'm not sure how it 'could have been fatal'. And while it's no defense, it was coming after a long line of beatings from Harry to Draco, deserved or not - the train hexings in GoF, in OotP, the Quidditch Pitch fight... I mean, there's a long history there. The nose-breaking wasn't unprompted, but neither was the train hexings before that, or the insults before those and so on... There's always going to be a reason for both boys to attack each other and justify it while they keep on both doing shitty things.) so it could be the Sectumsempra is. Of course, JKR's used this trick before to fool readers, and successfully - no-one was really upset or shocked about Fake!Moody hurting a student, but in retrospect it's both the comedic device it seems to be, and a clue that this guy is dangerous.
of right and wrong are completely absent. He has no idea of how he should act in the situation he is in, and it is impossible to love someone like that - unless you're his mum.
That sounds very subjective. The fact Draco can't kill Dumbledore when he has the chance to (which doesn't seem to be simple cowardice, since he has DEs backing him up, while Dumbledore is helpless and incapacitated - sick, with no wand.), shows he has an understanding of right and wrong. And saying it's impossible to love someone like that seems odd. I mean, an argument could be made that Harry's reaction to nearly killing someone shows he has no understanding of right and wrong, and so no-one should/could love him, but that's inaccurate. The fact is both boys have people around them who care and who they seem to care about.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butting in to interesting conversation
Date: 2006-11-19 01:21 pm (UTC)Is it? Harry doesn't seem to be a frequent apologiser, to anyone. Most apologies are offered to him by others when he has clashes, not the other way around. It's the kind of thing a classic archtypical hero would do, but Harru personally?
I do think that, while sectumsempra seems dreadful to us outsiders reading about it, it is not dreadful at all in the context of Hogwarts.
This seems to be a grey area - you're right that context can mean a lot in Hogwarts.
The fact that no-one is upset by the nose-breaking is apparently indicative that it's not something we're supposed to take seriously (I really must interject here and say that the nose-breaking, while vicious and going up a notch from the usual confrontations between H/D, doesn't really seem comparable to the Sectumsempra - I'm not sure how it 'could have been fatal'.
And while it's no defense, it was coming after a long line of beatings from Harry to Draco, deserved or not - the train hexings in GoF, in OotP, the Quidditch Pitch fight...
I mean, there's a long history there. The nose-breaking wasn't unprompted, but neither was the train hexings before that, or the insults before those and so on... There's always going to be a reason for both boys to attack each other and justify it while they keep on both doing shitty things.) so it could be the Sectumsempra is.
Of course, JKR's used this trick before to fool readers, and successfully - no-one was really upset or shocked about Fake!Moody hurting a student, but in retrospect it's both the comedic device it seems to be, and a clue that this guy is dangerous.
of right and wrong are completely absent. He has no idea of how he should act in the situation he is in, and it is impossible to love someone like that - unless you're his mum.
That sounds very subjective. The fact Draco can't kill Dumbledore when he has the chance to (which doesn't seem to be simple cowardice, since he has DEs backing him up, while Dumbledore is helpless and incapacitated - sick, with no wand.), shows he has an understanding of right and wrong.
And saying it's impossible to love someone like that seems odd. I mean, an argument could be made that Harry's reaction to nearly killing someone shows he has no understanding of right and wrong, and so no-one should/could love him, but that's inaccurate. The fact is both boys have people around them who care and who they seem to care about.