OOP: Ron

[psychic_serpent]

No: HPFGUIDX 55192

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Kathryn Cawte" <kcawte at b...> 
wrote:
> Uh actually Wood graduated at the end of book 3 - which is why we 
> didn't get to see the scene where Dumbledore announces there will 
> be no quidditch because of the Triwizard tournament and Oliver 
> throws himself at his feet screaming "nooo, tell me it ain't 
> so!" :)  

Right you are.  Otherwise, a new captain and Keeper would have been 
chosen when Harry was in fourth year.  As to the speculation about 
reserves, it's possible that there was no reserve for Keeper, or it 
was a student who left school before Oliver or who left at the same 
time.  Alicia was spoken of as a reserve player before her third 
year, but we never hear about this otherwise.  In general, it seems 
that normally, reserve players would be unused, since you cannot 
send in a substitute during the course of a match, according to 
Quidditch Through the Ages.  If you're worried about someone being 
well enough for the match at all, that's another story, but if it's 
game-related injuries that might be the problem, three matches 
played over the course of seven or eight months (since the Quidditch 
season doesn't start until late October/early November) means you 
have a lot of time to recover between matches.

I love your theory, Penny and Greicy, and also agree with Eb that 
much Trio tension is to be expected in the new book.  That is how it 
could happen, absolutely.  However, I wonder whether JKR would throw 
us for a loop and have Ron be so good as a Keeper that he would 
suddenly be the one getting all of the attention, making Harry 
think, "What am I, chopped liver?  I've been playing since I was a 
first year!"  

I also think that Ron would not take notoriety well if this occurred
--he'd very likely start offering to give out autographs and really 
make Hermione grind her teeth.  (Remember the boasts he was shouting 
when he--among others--was trying to get Fleur's attention?)  Ron 
would also probably think that there was something going on between 
Harry and Hermione if she sides with Harry over this, whether that 
accusation is grounded in reality or not.  I hardly think Ron having 
a big head about success would be appealing to Hermione at this 
point.  (Ironic, when you consider her little crush on Gilderoy 
Lockhart.)  Ron would be a real prat about this, in other words.  
(And Harry's the one who has to catch the Snitch, after all, if 
they're to win.)  I could also see Ginny being the one to puncture 
his inflated ego.  (What are sisters for, after all?)

This sort of thing could really alienate Harry and Hermione from him 
for a while, largely because Ron often does come off as a sore 
winner.  He would probably accuse Harry of being jealous of the 
attention he's getting for once.  I think it's possible that we're 
going to see new depths to which Ron can sink as a preening 
Quidditch success.  I also think, however, that if this happened, 
there would be a heartfelt apology from Ron to Harry--and vice versa-
-at the end (after Ron surprises Harry and comes through in the 
clutch to do something that hurts the bad guys, even though he and 
Harry hadn't been on speaking terms).  JKR may have omitted the 
resolution between Harry and Ron from GoF because she was saving it 
for this book--or at least, I certainly hope so.  

--Barb

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