Prefects

[charisjulia]

No: HPFGUIDX 35227

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "joanne0012" <Joanne0012 at a...> wrote:
> Hermione is certainly a scholar, but I'm not at all convinced that 
she's brilliant or 
> even especially intelligent.  She is extremely hard-working and 
conscientious, 
> which is not the same thing.  If Harry or any of the others applied 
themselves to 
> their work just as Hermione does, they'd get the same marks that 
she does.  In 
> my experience, people who are truly brilliant or extremely 
intelligent get top 
> marks despite doing LESS work than their classmates!


      Maybe. But the point is they * don't*. What makes a person 
outstanding academically cannot be only their intelligence. Hard work 
is also necessary even for the most gifted of students in order that 
they may go ahead in their studies. Hermione * does* have 
intelligence. Otherwise she could not cope the workload she forces on 
herself—- and I am not only referring to PoA here: Hermione puts a 
special effort into her homework even when she has a normal schedule. 
But the most important indication of her academic propensities is 
that she * wants* to work. Hermione has an innate thirst for 
knowledge. And this is arguably just as important as intelligence. If 
a person is born with an IQ that's off the charts but can never be 
bothered to put the slightest of efforts into promoting this natural 
gift what good is it at all? One is not born with a congenital 
knowledge of the registered Animagi of the 20th century! 

You say 
>In my experience, people who are truly brilliant or extremely 
intelligent get top 
>marks despite doing LESS work than their classmates!


     But Hermione isn't putting in hard work in a desperate struggle 
to keep up with her classmates. Quite to the opposite I get the 
impression that they are all eating her dust! Unlike Neville who, for 
whatever reasons (I favour the memory Charm theory!) simply cannot 
get it right however much he tries, Hermione's extra effort goes into 
preparing compositions that are two or three rolls of parchment 
longer than anyone else's or reading "Hogwarts: A History" and the 
likes simply for the fun of it! She would however even if she did not 
do these things most likely still be top of her class.


     I'll give you one thing though. Hermione does not have a natural 
instinct for applying her knowledge to real life situations. 

     As Lucy Austin wrote:
>I agree that Hermione will probably be a >Prefect, but quick 
thinking in the
>real world?? 'Are you a witch or aren't you?' springs to mind. I 
>also seem to
>remember her doing a lot of cowering in the Shrieking Shack! But as 
>far as
>bravery and intelligence go, definitely she should be one. Perhaps 
>she and Ron
>will be made Prefects, and Harry won't as it will only bring more 
>unwanted
>attention onto him, and then we can have some nice conflicts with 
>him being
>left out for a change!
>
>Lucy the Drifty



     Now I like that idea! Yes! By the way do we know the system with 
which prefects are chosen? Is it 1 student of each house per year, 1 
student of each sex of each house per year or what?


    You know, comparing Hermione's and Ron's chances of becoming 
Prefects the troll episode springs to mind. It's significant that 
that scene is placed right after Flitwick's Levitating class where 
Hermione (they're not friends yet) lords it over Ron ("it's Levi* 
o*sa, not Levios* a*!"). And only a few hours later when confronted 
with a rampaging troll what does she do? Shrieks and hides under 
sinks and can't even run when the boys yell at her to do so! And Ron, 
who previously couldn't even lift a feather, proceeds to levitate a 
whole troll club and knock its owner senseless with it!



     So Hermione's better than Ron at applying herself to magical 
theory and Ron can manage better in a tight spot! I think they'd 
balance out nicely as prefects! And, yeah, Harry will definitely have 
more important things to worry about...

Charis Julia.