After Marietta's betrayal, Dobby appears in DA headquarters to warn them that the group's secrecy has been compromised and Umbridge is coming. You'd Expect: First of all, Harry to grab the Marauder's Map and find out the positions of Umbridge, Filch and any name suspicious of being an ally of hers (especially Slytherins). Once he's sure the enemy is not literally behind the door, he should order the group to keep calm, exit the room and scatter divided in small groups to avoid ambushes and not to raise suspicions, all while keeping the wands grasped inside the pockets and being ready for anything. True, Umbridge is a professor and this might discourage them from directly facing her if she appears, but she's only one person and doesn't have the support of the rest of the staff, so her personal involvement in the raid will be very limited given that she cannot chase everybody if they split up as suggested; and as for any crooked student she might recruit, the DA has enough numbers and battle training (and motivation, to be frank) to trump them and secure their way out. This goes also for Harry himself, who should be a priority to protect given that he is the leader of the whole class. With this simple measure, Draco's face would have been priceless had he tried to attack Harry and found himself receiving four or five curses in the attempt. Instead: Harry basically screams "every man for himself", and not content with that, he runs away completely alone and without any care. As a Result: Harry falls in a rather flimsy one-man ambush by Draco, who leaves him to be arrested by Umbridge. Other students are implied to be captured the same ways by the Slytherin students who would become the Inquisitorial Squad. Even Worse: They leave in the room the sign-up sheet with the names of the entire group, which compromises them all. The sheet is later found by Pansy Parkinson and used by Umbridge as a proof.
My problems with this example are fourfold:
First, I don't remember whether or not it was stated that Harry had the Marauders' Map on him at the time. If he doesn't, the entire alternate idea becomes unworkable.
Second, disregarding the location of the Marauders' Map and Harry's ability (or lack thereof) to keep his cool in situations like this, the alternate idea is ultimately just a slower evacuation than what happened in canon. It's dubious at best whether or not this would've worked and gotten everyone out before Umbridge and her cronies arrived at the Room of Requirement's entrance, since even with the canon "everyone GTFO" approach, they still came across fleeing students in the area (and it's not indicated if anyone besides Harry was grabbed; you'd think they would've been brought up to Dumbledore's office as well if they were), and Draco evidently had time to pick a good ambush spot.
Third, maybe some of the students could've fought off Umbridge and her cronies if both groups ran into each other. But as I alluded to when I initially removed the example, this would likely have ended badly for them in the long term if identified. With Fudge's support, Umbridge can pretty much punish any student who resists after the fact.
Fourth, I don't remember if it was stated that Umbridge had the exact same list that Hermione used. If she did, that arguably would be an idiot moment on Hermione's part, depending on how much leeway she gets regarding panic. Otherwise, I would not put it past the Room of Requirement to spawn a copy of it once Umbridge entered with thoughts akin to "I need evidence implicating Potter and his accomplices".
You'd Expect: First of all, Harry to grab the Marauder's Map and find out the positions of Umbridge, Filch and any name suspicious of being an ally of hers (especially Slytherins). Once he's sure the enemy is not literally behind the door, he should order the group to keep calm, exit the room and scatter divided in small groups to avoid ambushes and not to raise suspicions, all while keeping the wands grasped inside the pockets and being ready for anything. True, Umbridge is a professor and this might discourage them from directly facing her if she appears, but she's only one person and doesn't have the support of the rest of the staff, so her personal involvement in the raid will be very limited given that she cannot chase everybody if they split up as suggested; and as for any crooked student she might recruit, the DA has enough numbers and battle training (and motivation, to be frank) to trump them and secure their way out. This goes also for Harry himself, who should be a priority to protect given that he is the leader of the whole class. With this simple measure, Draco's face would have been priceless had he tried to attack Harry and found himself receiving four or five curses in the attempt.
Instead: Harry basically screams "every man for himself", and not content with that, he runs away completely alone and without any care.
As a Result: Harry falls in a rather flimsy one-man ambush by Draco, who leaves him to be arrested by Umbridge. Other students are implied to be captured the same ways by the Slytherin students who would become the Inquisitorial Squad.
Even Worse: They leave in the room the sign-up sheet with the names of the entire group, which compromises them all. The sheet is later found by Pansy Parkinson and used by Umbridge as a proof.
- First, I don't remember whether or not it was stated that Harry had the Marauders' Map on him at the time. If he doesn't, the entire alternate idea becomes unworkable.
- Second, disregarding the location of the Marauders' Map and Harry's ability (or lack thereof) to keep his cool in situations like this, the alternate idea is ultimately just a slower evacuation than what happened in canon. It's dubious at best whether or not this would've worked and gotten everyone out before Umbridge and her cronies arrived at the Room of Requirement's entrance, since even with the canon "everyone GTFO" approach, they still came across fleeing students in the area (and it's not indicated if anyone besides Harry was grabbed; you'd think they would've been brought up to Dumbledore's office as well if they were), and Draco evidently had time to pick a good ambush spot.
- Third, maybe some of the students could've fought off Umbridge and her cronies if both groups ran into each other. But as I alluded to when I initially removed the example, this would likely have ended badly for them in the long term if identified. With Fudge's support, Umbridge can pretty much punish any student who resists after the fact.
- Fourth, I don't remember if it was stated that Umbridge had the exact same list that Hermione used. If she did, that arguably would be an idiot moment on Hermione's part, depending on how much leeway she gets regarding panic. Otherwise, I would not put it past the Room of Requirement to spawn a copy of it once Umbridge entered with thoughts akin to "I need evidence implicating Potter and his accomplices".
Edited by jaydude