"Dam' Good Auror"

[L. Inman]

No: HPFGUIDX 27193

Penny wrote:
 
> As someone who steadfastly refuses to join C.R.A.B., it shouldn't 
> surprise anyone too much that I don't agree.  First, I'd like to 
refer 
> back to Catherine's excellent message entitled "Why Ron isn't a 
Seer" 
> (#21458), which could also be titled "Why Ron Won't be an Auror" 
IMO. I 
> think Ron is the "weakest link," and despite Ron's obvious angling, 
> Crouch-as-Moody apparently agrees.  As Catherine says in the above 
> message, it always strikes me that Ron is just grasping at straws, 
and 
> when he's right, it's through sheer luck.
> 
> Yes, yes ... I know Ron contributes some skills & strengths to the 
Trio. 
>   But, on the whole, his contributions don't really stack up in my 
mind 
> .. not as far as sleuthing & solving the puzzles anyway.

Well!  I certainly didn't mean to make my post a plug for C.R.A.B., 
nor yet to pop up like a battered cardboard duck in the anti-Ron 
carny game, but ah well, them's the breaks.  <g>

You might be surprised to learn that I actually do agree with much of 
what you say.  After all, in summarizing the plots, I didn't take the 
time to clarify what specifically Ron contributed to, say, CoS.  I 
*certainly* don't believe Ron is a seer -- there's no evidence 
whatsoever for that.  I also agree that Ron's attempts at sleuthing 
are more like a shotgun than a rifle.  And, as I said, Ron by himself 
will probably not be an Auror -- though, as I also said, I don't 
think it's entirely likely that any of them will choose it for their 
career.

What I said, however, was that Ron's contributions often consist of 
what I called "impulsive energy".  What I meant was a rather 
amorphous set of characteristics that Ron offers the Trio on a daily 
basis.  Harry may be an excellent sleuth; but he is the most mulish 
of the Trio and will stop trying to leave well alone only when the 
stakes are raised significantly.  Hermione has the detective smarts 
that will achieve what intuition (Harry) can't.  But neither Harry 
nor Hermione has the wisecracking, headlong enthusiasm that Ron 
does.  No one has ever heard me say that Ron's energy is focused.  It 
isn't.  If he tried focusing even a little bit, I think this would 
boost the Trio even more.  Currently, he's attempting to focus on 
routing his inner demons, so "grasping at straws" comes naturally at 
this point.  

As for defending Ron's value any further, John Wayne has holstered 
his sixes.  I've come to the conclusion that Ron's value is either 
self-evident to a reader, or it isn't.  But anyway, why *should* we 
hate people who have weaknesses?

Lisa, pulling down all the shades at C.R.A.B. Headquarters, so she 
can make herself a cup of chamomile tea and perhaps indulge in a cry -
- the weather here's good for such activities.