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alt_harryLast week, Professor Glozeman, our new Transfiguration professor, recruited two 7th-year students to provide tutoring to some 5th year students who were struggling. Both of these students have willingly tutored others in the past and were happy to do so again.
However, when one of the 5th years did not immediately show progress, Professor Glozeman called all four into his office and used the Cruciatus curse to punish both the 5th year who failed and both volunteer tutors.
This sort of treatment should not be acceptable to anyone. But neither should the Cruciatus curse -- not at Hogwarts. This is a school, not a battlefield. Filled with students, not the enemies of the Protectorate. There are those who claim that the Cruciatus curse does not permanent damage, but that's a lie -- it merely does no permanent damage that's visible to the eyes.
Any form of punishment will occasionally be applied unjustly. But when the punishment is detention or lost points, the injustice is easily forgotten. Not so when it's Cruciatus. Any use of Cruciatus within the school means that inevitably it will be applied unjustly and used on children as young as eleven. This should shock any thinking wizarding adult of good conscience -- the idea that unbearable pain might be inflicted on children so young they aren't even supposed to have a broomstick at school yet, possibly not even because they did something wrong but because they were in the wrong place at the wrong moment. Or got in the wrong person's way.
Even worse as a consequence than Cruciatus, though, is the fact that half-blood students who fail too many of their OWL exams have their wands snapped and are sent to the camps. This is never acceptable -- Thomas Capper, a few years ago, fell victim to this even though he was the most brilliant Arithmancy student that Professor Vector had ever seen. Had a Pureblood student failed every exam but Arithmancy, he would have been the despair of his teachers but undoubtedly would have been allowed to stay in school the following year just to study Arithmancy, at least if he had the talent that Thomas Capper did. Instead, Thomas Capper died in the camps a few months later.
This year, the fifth-year students started out the year with new professors for Potions, Defence, History of Magic, and Noble Arts. When they returned from Christmas holidays they also had new professors for Herbology, Transfiguration, and Astronomy. All this, in their OWL year. Bad enough to suffer the consequences of such disrupted teaching in your OWL year without the prospect of being sent to the camps hanging over you.
I call on Headmaster Dolohov and the Board of Governors to end all use of Cruciatus at Hogwarts, and to end the practice of sending half-bloods to the camps if they fail their exams. Half-bloods who fail their OWL exams should see the same consequences as Purebloods who fail -- the embarrassment of repeating their fifth year to try again, or the dismal prospects of finding a job with terrible exam results. They should not be expelled from wizarding society. Especially not this year.
However, when one of the 5th years did not immediately show progress, Professor Glozeman called all four into his office and used the Cruciatus curse to punish both the 5th year who failed and both volunteer tutors.
This sort of treatment should not be acceptable to anyone. But neither should the Cruciatus curse -- not at Hogwarts. This is a school, not a battlefield. Filled with students, not the enemies of the Protectorate. There are those who claim that the Cruciatus curse does not permanent damage, but that's a lie -- it merely does no permanent damage that's visible to the eyes.
Any form of punishment will occasionally be applied unjustly. But when the punishment is detention or lost points, the injustice is easily forgotten. Not so when it's Cruciatus. Any use of Cruciatus within the school means that inevitably it will be applied unjustly and used on children as young as eleven. This should shock any thinking wizarding adult of good conscience -- the idea that unbearable pain might be inflicted on children so young they aren't even supposed to have a broomstick at school yet, possibly not even because they did something wrong but because they were in the wrong place at the wrong moment. Or got in the wrong person's way.
Even worse as a consequence than Cruciatus, though, is the fact that half-blood students who fail too many of their OWL exams have their wands snapped and are sent to the camps. This is never acceptable -- Thomas Capper, a few years ago, fell victim to this even though he was the most brilliant Arithmancy student that Professor Vector had ever seen. Had a Pureblood student failed every exam but Arithmancy, he would have been the despair of his teachers but undoubtedly would have been allowed to stay in school the following year just to study Arithmancy, at least if he had the talent that Thomas Capper did. Instead, Thomas Capper died in the camps a few months later.
This year, the fifth-year students started out the year with new professors for Potions, Defence, History of Magic, and Noble Arts. When they returned from Christmas holidays they also had new professors for Herbology, Transfiguration, and Astronomy. All this, in their OWL year. Bad enough to suffer the consequences of such disrupted teaching in your OWL year without the prospect of being sent to the camps hanging over you.
I call on Headmaster Dolohov and the Board of Governors to end all use of Cruciatus at Hogwarts, and to end the practice of sending half-bloods to the camps if they fail their exams. Half-bloods who fail their OWL exams should see the same consequences as Purebloods who fail -- the embarrassment of repeating their fifth year to try again, or the dismal prospects of finding a job with terrible exam results. They should not be expelled from wizarding society. Especially not this year.