Thanks, Cardigrl - I agree with much of this (not all). Travis, your first response merits a somewhat longer answer from me, and I'll try to get to that in a couple of days - I've no time now for anything but brief replies. The short version is that we are going to have to agree to differ; I think there is a real mean-spiritedness both in the text of the books and in the way Rowling has treated her fans.
Cardiglrl, the part I don't agree with is this: "The Prince's Tale shows both Severus and Lily performing underaged magic with no consequences to either." As I remember, neither child ever performs magic *with a wand* outside of Hogwarts. What we see are bursts of controlled (Lily) and uncontrolled (Severus) wandless magic, and I don't think the Ministry of Magic ever cared about wandless magic. But I do agree with you that enforcement of the law, based on what we see in canon, is extremely lax and partial.
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Date: 2008-07-01 06:54 pm (UTC)Cardiglrl, the part I don't agree with is this: "The Prince's Tale shows both Severus and Lily performing underaged magic with no consequences to either." As I remember, neither child ever performs magic *with a wand* outside of Hogwarts. What we see are bursts of controlled (Lily) and uncontrolled (Severus) wandless magic, and I don't think the Ministry of Magic ever cared about wandless magic. But I do agree with you that enforcement of the law, based on what we see in canon, is extremely lax and partial.