Fleur's job (was and still is Stereotypes)

[David]

No: HPFGUIDX 29116

Jason Bailey wrote:
> Jason, who hopes that Fluer isn't really going to be the next DADA
> teacher...

I've been meaning to post about this for a while, so I'm glad it's 
been raised again.  (Note to newbies - never say "I'm sorry if this 
has been discussed before", rather say "There is a lustre to this old 
topic which, having perused the FAQs, I realise only I can add"...)

Speculation about Fleur has usually focussed, rather implausibly, on 
straight teaching jobs, for which she is surely young and 
inexperienced.

But in fact the English (Scottish confirmation required?) education 
system contains a glorious stereotype for which Fleur is tailor-made: 
the French assistant.  Every year at my school we had a French 
assistant for a term.  This person was always young - I guess a 
student teacher, and quite likely to be female - a great novelty in 
my all-boys school.  I'm not sure how they were selected, but the 
following were clearly important factors in the decision:

- a comic accent.
- an inability to remain calm and controlled when confronted with 
typical adolescent behaviour.
- in women, the requisite naivete to dress, sit, etc. in a way that 
would completely distract us from the French language.

Fleur clearly meets the first and third criteria.  Her brittleness in 
dealing with Ron, as well as the Grindylow incident, suggest a 
surface cool which is readily punctured, meeting the second.  I 
imagine Fred and George could take her apart in one lesson if the 
Hogwarts professor was foolish enough to leave her with a class 
unsupervised.

This only leaves the question: since Hogwarts does not teach French, 
how could she fit in?  I suggest that, corresponding to the MOM 
Department of International Magical Cooperation (ie Foreign Ministry) 
there are classes for older pupils, corresponding to Muggle 
Geography.  These would cover such things as Quodpot, flying carpets, 
other wizarding schools, the Romanian Dragon Study Institute, and so 
on.  For a term Professor ??? could introduce a francophone theme, 
dealing not only with French magical custom but also Belgian, Swiss, 
Quebecois etc.

Note to French (first language) speakers: feel free to comment.  Do 
you have a similar institution with respect to les Anglo-saxonnes?  
Do they all twirl their moustaches and say, "I say, what?" and "Jolly 
good show", as in Asterix in Britain?  Answers OT.

David, who still remembers M Melée with affection, though he doubts 
it is reciprocated