OotP Harry not a prefect & The DA

[sevenhundredandthirteen]

No: HPFGUIDX 115134


> Cory again:
> 
> Sure she could have, but she didn't.  Having Ron and Hermione as 
> prefects enabled her to demonstrate certain things about their 
> characters -- Hermione got to show that she has a backbone 
(standing 
> up to the twins when they were feeding their joke candies to the 
> first years).  Ron...well I don't know, exactly; he didn't exactly 
do 
> a bang-up job as a prefect.  It did give him his much-needed 
chance 
> in the spotlight, though.

Laurasia:

I think the characters have a misconception about what a prefect 
actually does. We see prefects putting up decorations for Christmas, 
having to usher midgets around and occasionally Hermione told 
someone to be quiet, which she does anyway. These are all boring 
things which don't require leadership skills or even very good 
communication skills.

Ron clearly doesn't care about maintaining order or upholding the 
rules or decorating the school (to promote school spirit) or even 
mentoring younger students because he complains about it all and is 
dismissive towards the midgets. Why then was he so stoked to become 
a prefect? 

Obviously not for the same reasons Hermione did. Hermione actually 
thought she could make a difference. Ron was flattered that somebody 
picked him over everyone else. Being appointed a prefect appears to 
really mean (for Ron especially) to wear a badge and feel important. 
Prefectship is really about being in a heirarchy.

By the end of OotP Harry realises that the actual mundane duties 
that a prefect must perform are boring and tedious. And Harry 
doesn't need a badge on his robes to make a difference in the world.
 
I think that prefectship is an amazing and mysterious force when 
you're in 4th year because being elected means you become different 
to everyone else, but by the end of 5th year everyone realises that 
the power and mystery has faded away and prefects are really just 
doing tedious jobs that the staff and house-elves find too 
irritating to perform.

If JKR had made Harry a prefect then he would spent 5th 6th and 7th 
years running around putting up Christmas decorations. That's not 
leadership! Being a prefect doesn't offer you a chance to have real 
power! It's so the staff can take a tea break!

If you want to help younger kids and be a real leader, you don't 
need a badge. IMO, JKR wants Harry to show *real* leadership skills, 
not fake leadership skills which is what prefectship is all about. 
After all, Harry starts the DA- he mentors younger (and older!) 
students, makes them feel comforatble at Hogwarts, helps them with 
their magical training and is a friend they can always count on. 
That is what, IMO, Hermione thought a prefect should do. Instead, 
she found herself giving guided tours to midgets and telling people 
to be quiet in the common room.

~<(Laurasia)>~

Who was elected prefect at her highschool and was stoked, not 
because she wanted to help the youngsters but because of the power 
and glory. However, by the end of final year there was a large 
amount of posters badly stuck to walls, and no real power and glory.