Julia, fourth year of Ravenclaw, was confused. "So, wait, Dumbledore just gave them the points?"
"Yup!" said Dennis Creevey, seventh of Gryffindor. "Wasn't Dumbledore the best?"
"Um..." Julia wasn't quite sure how to put this. "I don't really think so, no — at least not as a school administrator."
Dennis looked scandalized. "How can you say that?" he demanded. "Dumbledore's the greatest wizard who ever lived! He took down Grindlewald, and fought Voldemort!"
"I'm not saying he wasn't great in other ways, but it sounds an awful lot like he was playing favorites to ensure Gryffindor won the House Cup, doesn't it?" Julia continued, patiently.
"What?! No! Harry had just done lots of great stuff, but hadn't gotten points for it yet."
"Right. And how many times did Dumbledore award Gryffindor points at the end of the year when Harry Potter was in school?"
Dennis thought for a moment. "Erm...maybe four times?"
Julia gave Dennis a level look. "Now imagine it was, say, Snape, and imagine it was Slytherin he was awarding the points to. Wouldn't it feel awfully unfair?"
"What?! But, I, yes, but-"
"You see?" asked Julia triumphantly. "Dumbledore was clearly biased! That doesn't make him a bad person, but it does make him a bad Headmaster!"
Dennis was spluttering, and couldn't quite formulate a coherent counterargument. "But, but, but what about all the stuff Harry did?"
"So give him an award for Special Services to the School or a scholarship or something! Those were personal achievements, not academic ones! And for that matter, we shouldn't be tacking Quidditch points on to the House system, either — no regular student could possibly earn as much as a Seeker or even Chaser does per year, and that's not fair to them! One person earns 150 points just for catching a gold mosquito? It's ridiculous! And collective punishment, like taking points away, is against the Geneva Convention, besides!"
Dennis was too horrified to formulate a response.
"Actually," continued Julia thoughtfully, "I think this whole thing makes a compelling argument in favor of disbanding the House Points system all together."
Dennis' shriek of protest could be heard all the way down in the Slytherin common room.