It's indicated that Sectumsempra might leave a horrific scar and without intervention Draco would have died.
Without intervention Harry would have, uh, ended up in London with his nose bloody.
These two things are not comparable, though since you did I'd like to add something to the list of:
the harm in the first intentional, in the second unintentional, Draco pleased with his action, Harry not
Namely, Draco's life in danger, Harry's not.
This is not reduced to mischief because a teacher, no thanks to Harry, is able to save Draco's life. And Harry was pretty pleased when he'd turned Draco into a slug. (Break my nose anytime before you turn me into an enormous limbless slug, thanks.) So saying that Draco was pleased with his action and Harry wasn't drives me up the wall: if Harry had been pleased at eviscerating someone he'd be a sociopath. They're both pleased by inflicting petty physical harm on each other: given. But Sectumsempra is not petty physical harm.
Um, however, I give up, because after yammering on for a billion light years and filling up my poor Magpie's comments like crazy, we are both still saying the exact same thing and clearly our interpretations are too different to be reconciled. Which is cool: a text should have many different interpretations if it's any good at all.
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Re: Sectumsempra (Just read the last two paragraphs)
Date: 2006-11-23 01:08 am (UTC)Without intervention Harry would have, uh, ended up in London with his nose bloody.
These two things are not comparable, though since you did I'd like to add something to the list of:
the harm in the first intentional, in the second unintentional, Draco pleased with his action, Harry not
Namely, Draco's life in danger, Harry's not.
This is not reduced to mischief because a teacher, no thanks to Harry, is able to save Draco's life. And Harry was pretty pleased when he'd turned Draco into a slug. (Break my nose anytime before you turn me into an enormous limbless slug, thanks.) So saying that Draco was pleased with his action and Harry wasn't drives me up the wall: if Harry had been pleased at eviscerating someone he'd be a sociopath. They're both pleased by inflicting petty physical harm on each other: given. But Sectumsempra is not petty physical harm.
Um, however, I give up, because after yammering on for a billion light years and filling up my poor Magpie's comments like crazy, we are both still saying the exact same thing and clearly our interpretations are too different to be reconciled. Which is cool: a text should have many different interpretations if it's any good at all.