I just had a thought WRT Harry’s controversial apology to Hermione in Chapter 42. This is the Harry that lectured McGonagall on the Planning Fallacy, while demonstrating that he really does assume a worst-case scenario (insisting on purchasing a magical first aid kit just in case one of his fellow students ended up maimed and dying in front of him). I think it’s entirely plausible that he could have spent the whole time Hermione was falling imagining that maybe he’d forgotten to stir the ground hen’s teeth (or whatever) into the Feather Fall potion six times, or that it wasn’t quite a three-quarters Moon when he started, or that a sudden gust of wind might impale her on the spikes of a wrought-iron balcony fence, or blow her into the Forbidden Forest or whatever other horrific Murphy’s Law scenarios his all-too-imaginative mind could concoct, right up until her feet touched the ground.
Also, from the descriptions it looks like he was fighting this battle in ColdDarkLordHarry mode, so in addition to the above, he might even have been worrying that his Dark Side had subconsciously arranged things (such as a Potions failure, or just the situation of random danger with the Feather Fall potion as a false guarantor of safety) in a way that would bring his Intent To Kill to bear. It might even be revealed later that, for just a moment, his Dark Side produced a desire that she actually die, and that’s what’s making him feel so guilty.
Then, he would have spent the time until she came to meet him imagining that she would have been imagining the same things as an expression of his Planning Fallacy-based ur-pessimism combined with his tendency to try to model other people’s minds, i.e., in this case, in the most pessimistic way possible. So, by the time he sees her, he’s got himself expecting her to hate, hate, HATE him, and since he cares about her he really doesn’t want that. And for her part, she’s got him apologizing and willing to let her avenge herself on him, so why stop him now?
Some of the comments here have pointed out Hermione’s strong sense of Justice and Fairness as an objection to her behavior in this scene. Maybe we’re seeing some Unintended Consequences to Harry’s “get Hermione and Draco to work together” plot. For Draco to reflexively try to catch Hermione is (I think) a major change in his character. This is a boy who casually expressed his intention to rape Luna Lovegood to someone he’d just met, assuming that boy’s stated “intention” to murder her was equally casual, and equally serious. Major, major misogyny here.
So, for Draco to try to save Hermione, and have difficulty letting her go even as what’s left of his Pureblood conditioning is railing at him, and Hermione herself is begging him to drop her so he can beat Harry, is a huge change in his character. If we grant that so much of Hermione’s[1] sensibilities have rubbed off on Draco during their collaboration, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that some osmosis has gone the other way. Hermione’s spent the last few months of warfare learning the art of Devious Plotting, and since her alliance with Draco, would be getting lessons from a master. So, if we accept the changes to Draco’s character, it’s not too implausible IMO that Hermione might have become less of a “goody-goody” by now, and be willing to let Harry grovel, and even enjoy it a bit.
I’m assuming it would be Hermione’s values rubbing off on Draco and not Harry’s, since in the portrayed encounters Harry has been concealing his Enlightenment sentiments from Draco to keep him in the Bayesian Conspiracy. “Slytherin! Just Kidding! Ravenclaw!”
This is a boy who casually expressed his intention to rape Luna Lovegood to someone he’d just met, assuming that boy’s stated “intention” to murder her was equally casual, and equally serious. Major, major misogyny here.
I don’t read that as misogyny. Merely a willingness to utterly humiliate a low status enemy by whatever means practical. If it was Larry Lovegood I expect the conversation would involve castration. Or perhaps sodomy via broomstick.
I just had a thought WRT Harry’s controversial apology to Hermione in Chapter 42. This is the Harry that lectured McGonagall on the Planning Fallacy, while demonstrating that he really does assume a worst-case scenario (insisting on purchasing a magical first aid kit just in case one of his fellow students ended up maimed and dying in front of him). I think it’s entirely plausible that he could have spent the whole time Hermione was falling imagining that maybe he’d forgotten to stir the ground hen’s teeth (or whatever) into the Feather Fall potion six times, or that it wasn’t quite a three-quarters Moon when he started, or that a sudden gust of wind might impale her on the spikes of a wrought-iron balcony fence, or blow her into the Forbidden Forest or whatever other horrific Murphy’s Law scenarios his all-too-imaginative mind could concoct, right up until her feet touched the ground.
Also, from the descriptions it looks like he was fighting this battle in ColdDarkLordHarry mode, so in addition to the above, he might even have been worrying that his Dark Side had subconsciously arranged things (such as a Potions failure, or just the situation of random danger with the Feather Fall potion as a false guarantor of safety) in a way that would bring his Intent To Kill to bear. It might even be revealed later that, for just a moment, his Dark Side produced a desire that she actually die, and that’s what’s making him feel so guilty.
Then, he would have spent the time until she came to meet him imagining that she would have been imagining the same things as an expression of his Planning Fallacy-based ur-pessimism combined with his tendency to try to model other people’s minds, i.e., in this case, in the most pessimistic way possible. So, by the time he sees her, he’s got himself expecting her to hate, hate, HATE him, and since he cares about her he really doesn’t want that. And for her part, she’s got him apologizing and willing to let her avenge herself on him, so why stop him now?
Some of the comments here have pointed out Hermione’s strong sense of Justice and Fairness as an objection to her behavior in this scene. Maybe we’re seeing some Unintended Consequences to Harry’s “get Hermione and Draco to work together” plot. For Draco to reflexively try to catch Hermione is (I think) a major change in his character. This is a boy who casually expressed his intention to rape Luna Lovegood to someone he’d just met, assuming that boy’s stated “intention” to murder her was equally casual, and equally serious. Major, major misogyny here.
So, for Draco to try to save Hermione, and have difficulty letting her go even as what’s left of his Pureblood conditioning is railing at him, and Hermione herself is begging him to drop her so he can beat Harry, is a huge change in his character. If we grant that so much of Hermione’s[1] sensibilities have rubbed off on Draco during their collaboration, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that some osmosis has gone the other way. Hermione’s spent the last few months of warfare learning the art of Devious Plotting, and since her alliance with Draco, would be getting lessons from a master. So, if we accept the changes to Draco’s character, it’s not too implausible IMO that Hermione might have become less of a “goody-goody” by now, and be willing to let Harry grovel, and even enjoy it a bit.
I’m assuming it would be Hermione’s values rubbing off on Draco and not Harry’s, since in the portrayed encounters Harry has been concealing his Enlightenment sentiments from Draco to keep him in the Bayesian Conspiracy. “Slytherin! Just Kidding! Ravenclaw!”
I don’t read that as misogyny. Merely a willingness to utterly humiliate a low status enemy by whatever means practical. If it was Larry Lovegood I expect the conversation would involve castration. Or perhaps sodomy via broomstick.
This is a good analysis. I have two nitpicks:
1) I think Draco is mostly classist rather than sexist.
2) Hermione is currently Draco’s ally. Her parentage greatly obstructed her getting there, but now that she has that status, much is changed.
One powders hens’ teeth.