long Re: Chapter 22 - The Unexpected Task

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 6571

Hi --

Rita Winston wrote:

> Something I didn't really notice the first time I read GoF: girls
> asking boys to the ball was not standard Muggle practise in my day.
> Even if it has become standard Muggle practise now, it meshes oddly
> with the wizarding world's many old-fashioned features.

While I would never have considered asking a boy to the *prom* or some
other truly formal event in high school, it would not have been
considered odd for girls to ask boys out on ordinary dates.  I seem to
recall there being even less stigma attached to females asking out males
by the time I reached college age.

> By shouting across the room to her. This makes it obvious that he is
> not afraid that anyone would hear her reject him. Which shows that he
> is confident either of all Gryffindors' esteem of him, or that AngieJ
> will accept. I believe that he is confident that Angie will accept,
> that in fact both of them already knew that they would go to the ball
> together, because they're going steady (do modern people still have
> the stages of relationships, from 'going together' to 'going steady'
> to 'engaged to get engaged' to 'engaged to be married'?) and that is
> pretty much what going steady *means*: an agreement that if there is
> a dating type event, the two go to it together or not at all (also,
> no flirting with other people). I suppose that Fred put on this
> little act, instead of telling Ron "I don't have to ASK her, we're
> going steady", to have some fun with Ron not having noticed the
> romance going on.

I agree that my feeling was that Angelina & Fred already had an
understanding of some sort.  I don't think her appraisal of him was
whether she wanted to go with him or not, but more of an amused, "Well,
you waited long enough before formally asking me you git!"

> We don't hear anything about George's date or lack of date. I like to
> imagine that he's going with Katie Bell, but some people like to
> imagine that he's gay.

I just thought it a bit odd that there wasn't even a one-line mention of
"George and his date ____."  Fred & Angelina danced "exuberantly," but
as far as we know, George may not have attended at all.

> 1) Cho really would have preferred to go with Harry and is selfishly
> regretful that she already agreed to go with someone else.
>
> 2) Cho is regretful only that she hurt Harry's feelings, something
> which she (being a very nice person: other examples are, she picks up
> his quill when everyone else outside Gryffindor is heckling him, and
> she doesn't wear a POTTER STINKS button) doesn't like doing.

I subscribe to (2) -- I think she was genuinely sorry to turn him down
because she could see how hard it had been for him to ask her.  But, I
think (like Rita) that Cho & Cedric had been seeing one another before
the Yule Ball.  If she were truly regretting going with Cedric & wishing
she'd been free to accept Harry's invite, I think it would be much less
likely she'd have been going steady with Cedric after the Ball (and she
clearly was).

> At some point, some other boy asks how Harry and Ron (implication:
> two graceless lunks) managed to get the two prettiest girls in their
> year. Which led someone on the list to ask why the two prettiest
> girls in their years didn't have dates yet. I imagine that Parvati,
> at least, had turned down other offers because she was counting on
> going with Harry and opening the ball. She's lived in Gryffindor
> Tower and taken classes with Harry for 3.5 years, and if that isn't
> enough for her to know him well enough to know that he'll leave
> getting a date until the last, desperate minute, she may also
> be talking more with her roommate Hermione than we readers guess. Or
> she might know it from Divination <g>.

I don't know why Parvarti would necessarily want to go with Harry or
have counted on it.  They aren't portrayed as particularly good
friends.  Since Parvarti doesn't know that Hermione already had a date
(she suggests Hermione as a date for Ron before coming up with Padma as
a solution), I doubt she had discussions with Hermione about whether
Harry had a date or would wait till the last second to try & get one.
In other words, her lack of knowledge about Hermione's own situation
leads me to believe neither girl is doing much confiding in the other
one.  <g>

And in my universe (to borrow one of Rita's phrases), Hermione would
have been reluctant to discuss Harry's potential love life with Parvarti
since Hermione has secret romantic feelings for Harry.  <g>

I also wonder about the notion that Parvarti & Padma not already having
dates at that point ... if they are indeed the best-looking 4th year
girls.

Penny


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