Ludo Bagman Is Ever So Evil

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 34213

Grey Wolf wrote:

> OK, this conversation has got possibilities, and I'm not taking 
sides, 
> but I think that your yellow flag there is pretty doubtful. Let's 
see 
> Canon:
> 
> The maze had hedge walls 6 meters high. We're never openly told how 
> high the seats for the quidditch public are, but I always assumed 
about 
> as high as the goals (some 15 meters high). From that hight, it's 
still 
> difficult to see what's going on inside corridors as small as the 
ones 
> in the maze, so the public would have some idea of what was going 
on, 
> but wouldn't see the details, except in the last room, the centre, 
> which is very wide. Thus, the final rush was openly seen by 
everyone, 
> including Bagman, which renders your yellow flag unnecesary.
> 

Yes, we are never told how high the viewing stands are.  Aside from 
the fact that the walls were quite high (20 feet), however, there are 
other reasons to believe the spectators could not see the events in 
the maze.  They are:

1.  If people can see inside, why does no one observe the activities 
of Crouch/Moody?  Fleur crumples to the ground early on, skrewts and 
spiders are roaming all around, and no one cares?  How is Moody able 
to curse obstacles out of Harry's way unnoticed?

2.  If people can see inside, why is there any need for a competitor 
to shoot up red sparks?  Harry and Cedric could have left Krum there 
without the sparks, and someone would have come to collect him if 
everyone could see Krum lying there.

3.  I don't do math or geometry or anything like that, but it seems 
to me that the stands would have to be terribly high for spectators 
to see over the 20 foot walls and all the way down to the ground 
level at the center of the maze.  Can the math specialists work it 
out?  Drieux?  David?  Barb?

4.  While Harry is preparing to enter the maze, he sees the Weasleys 
watching him and applauding politely, and they are halfway up the 
stands.  He "waved up at them."  If the bottom portion of the viewing 
stand is high enough to see over the 20 foot hedge around the outside 
and to the center of the maze, and the Weasleys are half-way up, 
aren't the Weasleys way, way up there?  Doesn't that put them too 
high to make out Harry waving to them at night, let alone how 
difficult it would be for him to spot them, see them wave, and note 
that they were smiling?

5.  There is no mention that Ron and Hermione have their 
omnioculars.  I submit that they don't need them because the 
stands are low and they can't see into the maze from their perch.  If 
the stands were really high up so that everyone could see, wouldn't 
they have brought their omnioculars to watch Harry?

I think the flag was proper because it is an awfully big stretch to 
say canon supports the idea that Bagman has some keen, unmentioned 
way of seeing into the center of the maze.  

Cindy (who might have to refer this to the league for a fine and 
possible suspension <bg>)