In Defense of Fleur? (WAS Gryffindors - MWPP ages - SWMNBN - HP )

[Cindy C.]

No: HPFGUIDX 28455

Hi, Amy!

Amy wrote:

> 
> I am about ready to start a Fleur Defense League, and I don't even 
*like* 
> her.  Why, tell me, why does everyone think she is so bad at 
magic?  She is 
> school champion.  She *ought* to have come in second in the first 
task, 
> IMHO--maybe the judges are sexist <g>.  Seriously, we don't know 
about 
> times, but we do know she was the only one who wasn't injured, and 
Viktor 
> got eggs trampled.  If it weren't for Karkaroff's screwy scoring 
she'd have 
> beaten him for sure.  In the second task, she's defeated by 
grindylows--so?  
> She's probably never learned about them (they are found only in 
Britain and 
> Ireland, and that I *can* document--it's in FB).  In the third task 
she's 
> sabotaged by a powerful wizard.
>

Why does everyone think Fleur is so bad at magic?  Well, the biggest 
reason is that she "lost" the tournament.  Of the two tasks we know 
about in which there wasn't significant tampering, Fleur turns in 
middling performances.  She isn't the best in the dragon's task, as 
her skirt catches fire.  As for the Grindylows, it doesn't take much 
to fend them off -- just shoot sparks at them.  (Indeed, how did 
Fleur escape the grindylows, anyway?  Did someone have to swim out 
and rescue her?  Yikes, that is not a pretty image is it?)

As for the sexist judges, well, Ron does tell us what happened with 
Fleur and the others in the first task, and he said Victor was best 
after Harry.  Since we know how Ron feels about Fleur, his assessment 
is probably either on the mark or overly generous toward Fleur.

Now, I think my previous posts suggest that I'm more than willing to 
defend characters who need a defense, sometimes even if they don't 
entirely deserve it.  <bg>  But Fleur doesn't get one for a simple 
reason.  She is not nice.  She does all of these unpleasant things 
(including looking at Ron like he is a sea slug when he asks her out, 
even though she could have been nice about it).  But she doesn't 
change enough.  She just thanks Harry, and at the end, she says she 
hopes she'll see him again soon.  That's it.  It would have been nice 
to see her really make amends for her unfriendly conduct and 
unfortunate remarks, but she was never given a chance.  

But hey, maybe there could be a Fleur support group.  Something like 
Fleur Isn't Very Nice, But She Is The Best Beauxbatons Has To Offer, 
And She Was Slightly Less Unpleasant By The End Of GoF, And None Of 
This Is Her Fault Anyway?  <v,vbg>

Cindy (who can't believe she is suggesting that Fleur should have 
been given more interaction with Harry in GoF, which would have made 
the book even longer)