OoP: Prefect Stuff

[karenkyla3]

No: HPFGUIDX 62351

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "pflumore" <pflumore at c...> 
wrote:
> I was very upset for Harry when he was not chosen to be a prefect. 
> Ron is a fine prefect, but it was just so unjust to me for Harry to 
> have not gotten the badge. I also felt that Dumbledore's 
explanation 
> was very weakly delivered, but the point is well taken. 
> 
> I am trying to at the bright side of Dumbledore choosing Ron over 
> Harry (pardon me as I go into Hermione mode).
> 1. If Harry had been picked, it would have been a potentially 
> realistic source of divisiveness and jealousy for Ron, especially 
> considering that Ron had already been pushed over the edge in GOF 
> after Harry's was chosen out of the goblet. 
> 2. Harry's will have more time to think, plan and deal with his 
> requirement to kill Voldemort or be killed, particularly if he 
> becomes Quiditch captain next year (Ron would probably be a better 
> choice) and/or continues the D.A. club.
> 3. Harry will have more time to devote to the N.E.W.T's required 
for 
> him to pursue his goal of being an Auror.
> 4. Harry has more freedom to act as he needs without having the 
fear 
> of losing his prefect badge being an impediment. 
> 5. It will be a much better character building experience for Ron 
> than it would be for Harry.
> 6. Harry does not go to prefect meeting, so he gets to avoid Malfoy 
> more often. 
> 
> Even with all of these advantages, I am still put out that Harry is 
> not a prefect, but I feel better now.

I think it may also be because of the backlash that Dumbledore 
foresaw.  He would have known that Harry would be tongue-lashed by 
pretty much everyone for his recounting of Cedric's death and 
Voldemort's return.  I really saw it in the dorm scene when Seamus 
first went off at Harry (or rather, they went off at one another) and 
Ron was there to mediate.  I suddenly had a dawning realization of 
how differently that might have played out if the badge were on Harry 
instead of Ron.  Harry would have had little to no authority with a 
large portion of the students were he made prefect (i.e. any who were 
buying the MoM's interp of events or Skeeter's previous portrayals of 
Harry as nuts) and that would have made him all the more miserable 
and even more of a target.  Also, this would have left the Gryffindor 
house essentially without a Prefect, as a Prefect without any 
authority is virtually the same as not having one.  Whereas Ron was 
worthy of the badge as well and with the added authority could keep 
others at bay to an extent.  At least that's my take on it.  

Karenkyla