But by book 5, I would think they'd stop caring. I mean, if Draco is going to be granted the power to give and take house points and to use it with the childish glee of a 10-year-old, I'd think they could conclude that House points aren't worth a whole lot.
Heh. That was EXACTLY what I was thinking in OotP. Wasn't it obvious by then that points were completely arbitrary? Honestly, I don't think I ever would have been able to get myself to care about them, but it seems ingrained in some people. I remember reading a book that took place in the 40's at an English boarding school and the main character kept getting points taken away by the prefects because she said, "Okay," (which was slang to them, only she'd spent the war in the States so to her it was normal speech). Then the girls would get angry because she was losing them points. Finally she said, "So stop taking them off me, you idiot! IGNORE me when I slip up." But it was like they just never thought about how stupid the whole thing was.
Really interesting thoughts on Occulamency (however you spell it!) and the spells they learn each year. It was definitely too intimate for Harry to be doing with Snape--or really for any student to do with any teacher. It shouldn't be done with anyone one doesn't completely trust, I think. I thought maybe it was about seeing someone for what they really were, being in someone else's shoes--like Harry feels Voldemort's hatred for Dumbledore, and feels humiliated along with Snape. But then there's also the other things that you mentioned about communication and not letting anger take over. I suppose one way it would be interesting would be to think about the emotional and understanding overlapping--you understand where a person's coming from, then you almost have to let go some of your own pov, which was where a lot of Harry's anger was coming from. But then it's not like Snape or anyone is *happy* to be seen from their own pov. Snape doesn't want Harry to see him that vulnerable--it just makes him feel vulnerable in front of Harry.
Man, it's a really hard concept--no wonder it doesn't work and everything falls apart. Meanwhile there's Dumbledore keeping himself safe in his office, guarding his *own* vulnerabilities, supposedly from Voldemort. So he's the only person who doesn't get anything used against him--and he's the one who has also been able to do legimens all this time, but has never used it to figure out anything important. (That, perhaps, is just another one of those traps that the books fall into with too-powerful spells--once you have mindreading and time travel, can any obstacle really not be overcome?)
no subject
Heh. That was EXACTLY what I was thinking in OotP. Wasn't it obvious by then that points were completely arbitrary? Honestly, I don't think I ever would have been able to get myself to care about them, but it seems ingrained in some people. I remember reading a book that took place in the 40's at an English boarding school and the main character kept getting points taken away by the prefects because she said, "Okay," (which was slang to them, only she'd spent the war in the States so to her it was normal speech). Then the girls would get angry because she was losing them points. Finally she said, "So stop taking them off me, you idiot! IGNORE me when I slip up." But it was like they just never thought about how stupid the whole thing was.
Really interesting thoughts on Occulamency (however you spell it!) and the spells they learn each year. It was definitely too intimate for Harry to be doing with Snape--or really for any student to do with any teacher. It shouldn't be done with anyone one doesn't completely trust, I think. I thought maybe it was about seeing someone for what they really were, being in someone else's shoes--like Harry feels Voldemort's hatred for Dumbledore, and feels humiliated along with Snape. But then there's also the other things that you mentioned about communication and not letting anger take over. I suppose one way it would be interesting would be to think about the emotional and understanding overlapping--you understand where a person's coming from, then you almost have to let go some of your own pov, which was where a lot of Harry's anger was coming from. But then it's not like Snape or anyone is *happy* to be seen from their own pov. Snape doesn't want Harry to see him that vulnerable--it just makes him feel vulnerable in front of Harry.
Man, it's a really hard concept--no wonder it doesn't work and everything falls apart. Meanwhile there's Dumbledore keeping himself safe in his office, guarding his *own* vulnerabilities, supposedly from Voldemort. So he's the only person who doesn't get anything used against him--and he's the one who has also been able to do legimens all this time, but has never used it to figure out anything important. (That, perhaps, is just another one of those traps that the books fall into with too-powerful spells--once you have mindreading and time travel, can any obstacle really not be overcome?)