Prefects and points

[Cathy Drolet]

No: HPFGUIDX 105968

Shaun Hately said:

"Yes, taking points is a prefect's duty at Hogwarts, and it does 
worry me slightly than Ron doesn't even seem to know he has the 
power. But it's possible that he simply hasn't had the need to use 
it. He may be getting results in other ways. We don't really get to 
see much of what he does."


Cathy

I'm sorry, I don't buy this for a second.  JKR is wrong..she made another mistake.  I don't know where the mistake came in, but it is not Ron's fault as she claims.  

In the OotP, in the encounter between Malfoy (prefect), Macmillan (prefect), Ron (prefect), Hermione (prefect), and Harry, Malfoy says he's going to dock some house points.  It is Ernie Macmillan who says only teachers can dock house points.  Ron agrees, with, yeah, we're prefects, too.  Malfoy ALSO agrees that prefects can't take house points, but members of the Inquisitorial Squad can.  Hermione is there for the whole conversation.  Heaven knows if Prefects could take House Points Hermione would know and would have said so, if not earlier to Ron, then at least at this point.  Her silence is agreement.  Four of the eight 5th year prefects were in this scene and all of them agreed, verbally or by silence that only teachers can dock house points.   Hermione has never once tried to dock house points from the Twins or anyone else.  House points, while not overly important to the Twins is at least another tack she could have taken, but she went straight from them saying, oh yeah, just try to put us in dentention, to I'll tell your mother.  No mention of House Points.  

Now, as for the CoS Percy business, perhaps, 6th year prefects can dock house points.  Percy would be in 6th year by that time.  Or, more likely, he said he was docking 5 points on Ron's behalf, but was going to run to McGonnagal, tell her what happened and get her to actually dock the points.

This whole thing has been annoying me for some time...as if you couldn't tell that, right?

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