OotP Harry not a prefect & his Inner Voice

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 115115


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "delwynmarch" <delwynmarch at y...>
wrote:
> 
> 
> feklar wrote:
> " Personally, my first reaction was, "Why would Harry have expected 
> be a prefect?  And how the hell did Ron become one?!"  ...edited... 



> bboyminn replied :
> "First remember that there is a very small pool of candidates for
> Gryffindor Prefect; Harry, Ron, Neville, Seamus, & Dean. Neville,
> Seamus, and Dean certainly haven't done anything outstanding in 
> their school careers. ..., but Harry and Ron have shown that they 
> can take initiative, and keep their heads (in more ways than one) 
> under pressure. "


> Del answers :
> I agree with Feklar that there was no reason Harry should have
> expected to be a Prefect. ... So why would he have wanted to become 
> Prefect? 

bboyminn:

I don't think Harry did /want/ to be Prefect before the fact, and in
that same vein, I didn't want the last piece of pie until I saw my
brother eyeballing it. 

Harry never really gave any thought to being Prefect, it wasn't
something he desired, but when Ron became Prefect it forced Harry to
evaluate his position. In doing so, he was somewhat disappointed, but,
in his mind, he weighed both sides of the issue. He considered the
likelihood of himself being made Prefect and considered the reasons
against his being Prefect, and in the end, decide that as a true
friend, he should support Ron.

A bit of envy and disappointment are a fair and reasonable reaction to
the situation, but I think Harry handled it very well, and handled it
the way any good friend would.


> Del Continues:
> 
> I disagree strongly that Harry was the only choice. For all we know,
> Dean, Seamus or maybe even Neville could have been just as good
> candidates, according to Steve's standards.
> 

bboyminn:

Never said Harry was the only choice. I'm sure all the students were
considered including Neville who on the surface seems the least likely
candidate. None the less, I'm sure Neville was given a fair
evaluation. In fact, a very good case could be made for Neville, but
in the end, I'm sure we all agree that this was not Neville's time to
shine.

As far as Dean and Seamus, I'm sorry but I have to say that if they
were outstanding in any way, they would have ...well, you know...
stood out. If Seamus or Dean were academically excellent that
outstanding quality would have rated at least a small casual mention;
Harry would have noticed. If Harry noticed then we would notice. If
they were outstanding in their participation in any extracurricular
activities, then again, they would have stood out and been worthy of
at least a minor casual mention.

We can only work with the information we have. True, Seamus and Dean
could be 'Lord and Master' of one thing or another, but again that
would stand out, and that which stands out gets noticed.

I'm sure Dean and Seamus are doing well academically, they don't seem
at all stupid. It's even fair to speculate that they are better
academically and socially than Harry and Ron. But what have they ever
done that has stood out. Given what we know, other than being
/somewhat/ less inclined to get into trouble, have they ever taken any
initiative and applied it toward an important and productive end?
Where were they when Harry and Ron were on their many adventures? Safe
and warm in their beds that's where. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to diminish Dean and Seamus, but
leaders are not those who are good and capable. They are those who
take initiative and are decisive. In a tough situation, the majority
of people sit and wait to be told what to do. Good leaders are the
ones who step up and create a decisive course of action. Harry, more
so, but Ron too, has demonstrated this.

Give all we DO know, once every candidate had been evaluated, and a
fair case made for each of them, the only remaining likely candidates
were Harry and Ron. They have proven themselves repeatedly, and that
ability to act while others wait is what narrowed the field. Finally,
down to those two, we know that Dumbledore decided that Harry was
already carrying too much weight to have one more thing added. That
leaves Ron.

Once again, no one has said anything that even remotely convinces me
that Ron was anything less than a typical normal Prefect. We can't
judge him by either an idealized Prefect, or Hermione or Percy because
those are unrealistic standards. Judged against a typcial Prefect, Ron
was just as good as any. 



> Steve asked :
> "If the Death Eaters start kicking down the front door, ask
> yourself, who better to guide and protect the first years, Harry and
> Ron, or Dean and Seamus? Personally, I'd prefer Harry and Ron."

> Del answers :
> Actually, no ! If the Dementors came to Hogwarts, Harry would have
> much better things to do than guiding the midgets to safety, like
> fighting the Dementors, for example.
> 
> Del

bboyminn:

But my question is not really about Death Eaters (or Dementors), that
was just an illustration; it's about who do you trust. Let me put it
in more general terms. When trouble comes, who do you want standing
between you and trouble; Dean and Seamus, or Harry and Ron? Me,
clearly, I prefer to put my faith in the proven skills of Harry and
Ron. And, personally, I think Dumbledore agrees with me, which is why
the only two realistic candidates were Harry and Ron. Then given that
Dumbledore had his reasons for eliminating Harry, who is probably
everyone's first choice, that left Ron as Prefect.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Steve/bboyminn (was bboy_mn and will always defend Ron)