The thing they would miss most

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 97895

One of the Susans wrote: 
Actually, I noticed right away that all the people in the lake were 
people HP cared about.  You might say, "But what about Gabrielle?  He
 didn't even know her," but she's part Veela, whose very nature is the
power of attraction, plus she's young, and clearly related to Fleur,
whom HP does know.  I also just thought it was odd that the 3 people
HP cares about the most are there, plus we know the motivation for him
saving the only person down there who's not connected to him in any way.


Carol:
Here's an odd and probably unhelpful thought that just occurred to me.
Probably the people chosen were (with the exception of Gabrielle)
those who were most readily available and for whom the affection was
rather obvious. McGonagall wouldn't know about Harry's feelings for
Cho, which he was trying desperately to hide, but Cedric's feelings
for Cho were obvious to everybody--he walked hand in hand with her in
the corridors at every opportunity and he took her to the Yule Ball.
And Viktor took Hermione to the ball--she was the only person at
Hogwarts in whom he had shown any interest, much less demonstrated any
affection. Those two choices, IMO, were obvious and inevitable.

In Harry's case, McGonagall would know who his best friends were, and
probably knew that Harry at fourteen would rather save his best male
friend than save Hermione and be teased about having her as his
"girlfriend," and in any case, she was eliminated as a candidate for
Harry's most valued person since she was already Krum's. And Ron
really is the person Harry cares most about, as McGonagall probably knew. 

The only person who presents a problem is Fleur, who apparently wasn't
particularly close to any of her Beauxbatons friends, and though she
clearly liked Cedric, she could hardly rescue another champion in the
second task. The other judges would have had to consult Madame Maxime
as to whom, if anyone, Fleur had ever shown or expressed affection
for. We have to assume that she talked frequently about Gabrielle and
that Madame Maxime knew about their (presumably) mutual affection. In
any case, it's hard to imagine Fleur with a close female friend her
own age, or rescuing a Beauxbatons boy, who would probably be
extremely embarrassed by the situation--then again, she's part Veela.
Maybe he'd be honored! From a plot perspective, it makes sense to have
an appealing and helpless little girl as the fourth hostage, someone
Harry would want to rescue, but IMO it also suits Fleur's rather
haughty personality and at the same time makes her a more sympathetic
character. 

Carol