Draco as prefect (Was: Ron as prefect... and then some)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 91735

jeanico2000 says:
His biggest bone of contention with OOTP so far is not the fact that
Ron is a prefect (though he says that, next to Hermione, Harry really
deserved that honor), but that Draco Malfoy is a prefect! "What was
Dumbledore thinking?" said my spouse... and he's right, IMO.
Dumbledore, who is supposed to know his students well, appointed a
Slytherin prefect who is a proven bully and who's father is a Death
Eater! Were there no other deserving students in Slytherin House?
Shame on Dumbledore!

Janet Anderson:
I think Malfoy was a prefect for several reasons.
1) Dumbledore would not penalize Malfoy because his father was a Death
Eater, but only for the faults of Draco himself (which I admit are
manifold, but keep reading).
2) Descriptions of the choice of prefects by Lupin and others seem to 
indicate that the job will be given to someone who is a) academically
at least competent, b) does not have a history of chronic
troublemaking and c) has a chance of keeping order.  The only
Slytherin student we have seen so far who fulfills all three of these
requirements is Draco. Crabbe and Goyle each have three brain cells
out looking for a fourth for bridge. <snip>  Yes, *we* know Malfoy is
a bully, and I'm sure so do Dumbledore and Snape, but Dumbledore
probably figures it's still better than any of the alternatives, and
Snape probably doesn't care.

Carol:
I've already posted on this topic so I'll just say that I agree with
Janet up to this point (except for Snape not caring--I think Draco is
part of the burden he has (had) to put up with in order to maintain
his connection with the DEs via Lucius Malfoy). Here's the part I want
to comment on:

Janet:
Pansy Parkinson is probably not much brighter and doesn't appear to
have much influence. 

Carol:
Actually, Pansy has a lot of influence. She's the leader of a "gang"
of Slytherin girls. All houses have two fifth-year prefects, a boy and
a girl (e,g,, Ron and Hermione for Gryffindor). Pansy is the natural
choice, possibly the only choice, for the Slytherin girl prefect--
certainly preferable to the she-Goyle Millicent Bulstrode.

As I said earlier, despite the thirty students in the DADA class in
OoP, almost all the previous evidence points to ten students per class
(twenty brooms for Gryffindor and Slytherin in flying lessons and
twenty pairs of ear muffs for Gryffindor and Hufflepuff for the
mandrake less on in herbology). Dumbledore and Snape must choose two
prefects from among the ten students in Slytherin that year. The only
real option is to choose the natural leaders, whom most of the
Slytherins will follow in any case: Draco and Pansy.

I think there will be some who don't follow their lead, but that's a
topic for another thread (and everyone already knows what I think
about "the good Slytherin," anyway. Or I flatter myself that they do.
Nudge. Theo Nott. Nudge).

Carol