Prefects? was Re: Draco's marks AND Cracking

[lucky_kari]

No: HPFGUIDX 35089

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "gideoner4" <gideoner4 at y...> wrote:
> Suzanne wrote:
 
> Draco Malfoy could become a prefect, because there is also no 
> indication that he's a good or bad student. He's good in portions, 
> but that's kind of not a basis because Snape is biased. But i 
> deduced something from Book 2, from the following scene:
> 
> 
> *** "I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer,
> Borgin," said Mr. Malfoy coldly, and Mr. Borgin said quickly,
> "No offense, sir, no offense meant -"
> 
>     "Though if his grades don't pick up," said Mr. Malfoy, more
> coldly still, "that may indeed be all he is fit for -"

Though nothing more is specifically stated below (other than that 
Hermione is getting better marks), I had always thought the above line 
demonstrated that Draco's grades were, if not bad, not THAT good 
either.

Yet, I'd bet anything they either picked up or plummeted from that 
point (that's how it works in real life), and since we see no evidence 
for the second, I'm willing to say Draco has pretty good grades now. 

>  Draco could have pointed out some other people who 
> gets ahead of him academically, but he pointed out only Hermione.

He picked the person whose mention he thought would make his father 
most sympathetic. Bad idea. Only made Lucius icier.
 

> As for Draco's behavior, I admit that there's much left too be 
> desired. But he's a Slytherin, and I hate sounding biased, but 
> Slytherins are more or less like Draco Malfoy. Whoever prefect will 
> be chosen from the Slytherin will most probably have a behavioral 
> record like Draco--although Draco's greater fault is that he chooses 
> to pick on Harry all the time.

Yes, that's unfortunately true... probably. If it isn't Draco, it 
won't be some yet unknown virtuous Slytherin (a relative of Avery, or 
is Avery really evil now?). 

Does it ever say who replaced Percy as the Gryffindor Prefect?

I'm going to guess that usually fifth year students don't become 
prefects, and that Percy was the exception. I mean, you'd have to have 
a lot of spunk to be ordering around people two or three years older 
than you. And we know Percy has that. When we left him, he was 
ordering an entire department of the Ministry of Magic around. For all 
you can say about his supposed lack of humour, he is talented.

So, I'm predicting no prefect plot developments in Order of the 
Phoenix. And then, in the next book?

I propose Ronald Weasley.

Yes, I know he isn't acting it yet, but in Harry Potter I tend to pay 
the most attention to throwaway lines that predict the future. They're 
usually solid gold. And Fred and George tell him that he's going to 
end up prefect, don't they?

Cracking

I don't think people understand what I meant by cracking. :-) This is 
especially confirmed when I see sentences like, "Percy would never 
crack because he's brave and loyal at the pinch" and, "The thing you 
need not to crack is loyalty", and "Harry would never crack."

Worse stil, some people seem to think I was attacking my beloved 
Percy's character. No, I wasn't. My family tells me that would be 
suicide. 

Cracking, as I conceived it, is not the same as darksiding, ie. 
joining the wrong side.

My example was the Lord of the Rings. Now those who haven't read the 
books and are planning to, or want to enjoy the next two movies when 
they eventually come out, just take it that "cracking" looks like 
"darksiding" but it's involuntary. The point at which you really have 
no choice but to do the wrong thing.

It's a shocking idea, and a lot of people rebel against it. For 
hundreds of years, in fact. But in this century, it started becoming 
more and more apparent that it's true. Tolkien wrote a letter about 
his book in which he mentioned that he had been inspired to explore 
the issue by the question, How far could you hold good, brave, and 
true people who were taken into the "penal" systems of our century's 
most brutal totalitarian regimes and come out with their minds broken, 
serving what they first rejected? 

You can take the hard line, and say, "To Azkaban with them" or you 
could be more understanding. (You can skip past the spoilers, if you 
like. I've got them all quarantined.)


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At the end, Frodo says, "I do not choose the deed I have come to do. 
The ring is mine," and puts in on.

Absolutely horrible, no? 

Notice, does he CHOOSE not to put on the ring. Or does he NOT have a 
choice?

We have to finally conclude the second.



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SPOILERS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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So, when I predicted that Snape or Percy might crack, it was in no way 
a judgement on the strength of their characters. I meant that they 
seem most likely to end up in a situation where the necessary things 
can be done to them.

Eileen