"Bad boy" Victor Krum?

[jodel at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 48661

Snuffles comments, in an aside;

>>( This bad boy personification of Krum would psychologically fit Hermoine, 
though. She has already shown by her actions in yelling and Trelawny and 
storming out of her class and punching Malfoy that she has some pent up 
negative energy. If Krum is a bad boy type character, he can give her an 
outlet.)<<

But what, apart from his rather sullen, indrawn demeanor, suggests anything 
of the "bad boy" about Victor Krum? He isn't physically attractive, to be 
sure, but that hardly qualifies as an indicator. In fact, I've begun to 
suspect that he functions on a different level altogether.

At this point in the story arc, he seems to be a stand-in for the "good 
Slytherin" that most of the older readers of the series have been impatiently 
waiting for. And, as such, is painted black all over by outside observers 
simply because he is from Durmstrang. And he is quite clever enough to be 
fully aware of this.

Doesn't it occur to *anyone* that this is the *exact* flip side to the 
anti-Muggle-born prejudice which is thrown at a bright young witch like 
Hermione? The two of them really do have a good deal in common.

Actually, the oddest thing (and it really *is* odd!) we've seen about Krum is 
that he really *is* a star athelete, with a worldwide reputation -- and there 
is not a trace of the kind of "strutting sports star arrogance" about him 
that Snape flings accusations of at Harry (and which may actually have 
applied to James, we do not know, but there has been nothing said by any of 
Jame's friends which would actually contradict it).  Even though flying is 
something that Krum does himself that actually deserves the praise he gets 
for it, he seems as sensitive to his public adulation as Harry does about the 
undeserved reverance he gets for having survived the attack made on him when 
he was a baby. In fact, he seems almost painfully shy. 

In further fact, the list of inessential things which can be held against him 
just goes on, and on. And not one of them seems to have any bearing on his 
moral sensiblities or political position.

1. He's homely.
2. When he isn't on a broomstick he has bad posture and walks like a duck.
3. He is inarticulate. I don't think this is solely due to his not being 
overly fluent in English.
4. He is withdrawn in a manner that can easily be read as sullen. Socially 
inept.
5. He is lumbered with a lot of rather heavy baggage simply because he is 
from Durmstrang and seems to be really bothered by this.

And, the one relevant issue;
6. He is surrounded by Durmstrangers and Slytherins. And probably always has 
been.

On the other hand;

1. He is an outstanding athlete. Genuinely and *honestly*. (*He* wasn't the 
one committing fouls left and right at the World Cup!)
2. He is intellegent. It may be book-smarts rather than street-smarts, but it 
counts.
3. He is polite and well-mannered. Perhaps a little stiff and formal by the 
standards of British teenagers, but he was clearly "well-brought up".
4. His awreness and unhapiness over the perceptions of others because of his 
association with Durmstrang argues for a degree of sensitivity.
5. He is strong enough and capable enough as a *wizard* that the Goblet chose 
him as the best candidate of all the students from Durmstrang.

And, something rather interesting when you think of it;
6. He deliberately sought Hermione Granger out, despite the fact that among 
the people that he was stuck with all would unhesitatingly have pointed her 
out as "that mudblood know-it-all" (who was not really all *that* obviously 
pretty until she decided to deliberately make something of her assets).

I think he recognized that for all her friendship with another of the 
Champions, the two of them were both essentially outsiders at Hogwarts. It is 
not at all surprising that she was the "thing he would most have feared to 
lose" come the time for the second task.

I suspect that had he been sent to Hogwarts rather than Durmstrang the Hat 
would have sent him to Ravenclaw.

It also occurs to me that we might be getting another echo/mirrror effect 
here. Not as close an apparant similarity as the one between the younger 
Professor Quirrel and Percy Weasley, but certainly stronger than the (I 
suspect spurious) Neville/Peter one. Think back a generation. I can think of 
another homely, intellegent, overly sensitive youngster who may have also 
been socially inept but was very competent at *wizardry* who had also been 
thrown in with a lot of 'evil companions' from an early age. Can't you?

Draco, after all, clearly mirrors no one other than his father...

-JOdel