Prefect Privileges/Powers

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 84108

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <bboy_mn at y...> wrote:
> bboy_mn:
>
> From the latest book it would seem that Percy's only real option was
> to give Harry and Ron detention, and given how the rest of the school
> felt about Harry at the time, he may not have had the heart to do
> that. So, just to scare them, he may have threatened them with the
> loss of house points.

I can't see it - because Percy seems to me smart enough to understand
how much this could backfire. He'd know that if he was ever caught
imposing a punishment he couldn't deliver on, his authority would be
*gone* - once somebody realises you don't have the powers you claim,
you can never use them again, so this would be an incredible risk. And
Percy doesn't seem to me to be the type of person to put his authority
at risk.

There's also the factor that I don't think many kids in a boarding
school like Hogwarts would be unaware of the intricacies of the
disciplinary system by their second year. It'd *really* surprise me if
they didn't know precisely where the limits on a prefect's authority lie.