As for me... things I liked and didn't like in OotP

[txjen70]

No: HPFGUIDX 64729

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "wonderbreadweirdo" 
<wonderbreadweirdo at y...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Susanne <siskiou at e...> wrote:
> > 
> > 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > Thursday, June 26, 2003, 6:31:45 PM, Alia wrote:
> > 
> > >  Don't read if you don't know, or want to 
> > > know what kinds of things might be included in such lists. :)
> > > J
> > > K
> > > R
> > > *
> > > R
> > > o
> > > c
> > > k
> > > s
> > > *
> > > *
> > 
> > > Things I HATED:
> > > 1)That Harry wasn't made a prefect.
> > > 2)That of all people, RON, was instead (who hasn't done 
anything 
> > > except on Harry's coatails).
> > 
> > Just one question: who else do you think would have made a
> > better prefect?
> > 
> > Did any of the other people in Griffindor do anything
> > outstanding that would have made them a better choice?
> > 
> > -- 
> > Best regards,
> >  Susanne                           mailto:siskiou at e...
> > 
> > Visit our two pet bunnies: http://home.earthlink.net/~siskiou/
> 
> But working as Harry's sidekick or rather doing deeds on "Harry's 
> coattails" is a great deal more than others have done. Ron has 
helped 
> in many ways. He helped Harry get through the obstacles guarding 
the 
> Sorcerer's Stone, helped him figrue out the location of the 
Chamber 
> of Secrets and went a long way with him, helped him confront 
Sirius 
> Black and helped him prepare for every Triwizard Tournament task. 
I 
> think Ron's contributions are being discounted because they are 
> trifling compared to Harry's yet any other 5th year Gryffindor's 
are 
> trifling compared to Ron's. He is the next-best choice. After him, 
I 
> would guess would be Neville. He may have been bullied and 
tormented 
> by teachers as well as students yet it takes extraordinary faith, 
> bravery and solidarity to stay firm and good after what has 
happened 
> to his parents and to even attempt to fight the force that caused 
it 
> and Dumbledore knows that.

I actually like that Ron was made a prefect.  He is one of my 
favorite characters and I was so happy when I read the whole prefect 
passage.  Love Harry, but I liked that jolt of humility he got in 
that instant.  THough it was practically thrown out the window at 
the end, and that is what I didn't like.  

Still I have never thought of Ron hanging on Harry's coattails.  
Sure he has been jealous of his wealth and fame, but because he 
knows the exact opposite.  Much like Harry has been jealous of Ron's 
loving family.  Both is a case of 'the grass is greener' and neither 
asked to be in either situation.

Plus, I think Ron is deserving of this in his own right.  Is he the 
famous Harry Potter?  No.  Has he done all the fabulous things that 
Harry has done?  No.  So the requirements of being a prefect should 
be based on how many times you have fought the Dark Lord and won?  
Gee, how did anyone else make it then?  And it chouldn't matter that 
you sacrificed yourself for that person so that he could face that 
final battle.  Or refused to let him face those challenges alone 
even if that's how it always ended up?  It doesn't matter that you 
stood facing who you thought was a known murderer and told him to 
kill the hero, you would have to kill him to?

You know, you win a ball game 5-4 because the 'hero' hits a grand 
slam in the bottom of the ninth, sure sing his priases, but without 
that sacrifice fly back in the 5th, you still wouldn't have won.

So what should prefects be based on?  Academically neither have seem 
to be better than the other, though Ron has had to sit more exams 
than Harry, so who knows what might have stuck.  Neither have the 
patience of a saint and both have been known to have mood swings.  
If anything, Ron's have gotten better while Harry's have gotten 
worse.  I'm not saying they are without reason, but it's true.

So I like that Ron was made a prefect.

One final thing, it also seems to me that maybe JKR felt she had to 
make Ron a prefect because of the history of the characters.  
Hermione and Harry as prefects would have meant more of Ron's 
jealousy and maybe that's not the way she wanted to go with that.  
And Hermione alone as a prefect with some other boy would have 
pitted Ron against Hermione so many times Harry would never had had 
any peace.

I found it a win/win all around.