Fred and George - Prefects?

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 125065

I've been following the discussion on Fred and George, and Molly's 
apparent mistake in forgetting them in 'Order of the Phoenix' when 
she talks about all the family being Prefects, and I'd just like to 
mention a possibility I raised many months ago, which nobody seemed 
to think particularly viable.  

I am not saying I necessarily agree with this - but I'm offering it 
as a possibility.  

I actually wonder whether or not, Fred and George are actually, 
secretly Prefects. Appointed in secret by Dumbledore.  

At most schools, there would be absolutely no reason for such an 
appointment to be secret - but Hogwarts seems slightly different in 
this regard.  

At Hogwarts, Prefects are expected to deal with dangers to other 
students. They are left in charge when there is a need for 
protection from Sirius Black, they are involved in patrolling the 
school when students are being petrified.  

They seem to have some authority over the ghosts... there's real 
powers.  

It seems to me plausible that being a Prefect at Hogwarts might 
actually bestow powers on a student within the school. It may open 
secrets and paths to them.  

Dumbledore seems to be fairly good at working out what might happen 
in his school. If the position of prefect bestows real powers, and 
he is somehow aware of what might happen in the school during the 
Order of the Phoenix (where it will become necessary for students 
to fight the authority of the school), it would seem to me rather 
possible that he might have appointed certain students secretly as 
prefects - students who normally wouldn't have such a job - 
troublemakers who are, nevertheless, on the side of 'good' when it 
comes to the really important things.  

If he has done this with Fred and George, and Molly is aware of it, 
it might explain her comments - and George's response may be a 
subtle reminder that she's risking blowing their cover.  

Evidence for this theory... well, it's admittedly very weak.  

The first piece of evidence I can find is Molly's statement.  

In the following, page numbers relate to British editions.  

The second relates to Peeves.  

In Philosopher's Stone, Percy has this to say:  

"'You want to watch out for Peeves,' said Percy, as they set off 
again. 'The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he 
won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are.'" (PS, p.96)  
Percy implies here that Peeves *should* listen to prefects. They 
should have authority over him. Now, this could just be Percy 
pompousity. But if it is true, the following from Order of the 
Phoenix is interesting:  

"And Peeves, who Harry had never seen take an order from a student 
before, swept his belled hat from his head and sprang to a salute 
as Fred and George wheeled about to tumultuous applause from the 
students below and sped out of the open front doors into the 
glorious sunset." (OotP, p.595).  

The third piece of evidence is probably even weaker. In Chamber of 
Secrets:  

"'Password?' she said as they approached.  

'Er -' said Harry. They didn't know the new year's password, not 
having met a Gryffindor prefect yet, but help came almost 
immediately; they heard hurrying feet behind them and turned to see 
Hermione dashing toward them." (CoS, p.66).  

Note - passwords are revealed to the Prefect's who reveal them to 
other students. In Goblet of Fire:  

"'Password?' she said as they approached.  

'Balderdash,' said George, 'a Prefect downstairs told me.'" (GoF, 
p.169)  

It is possible that he's telling precisely the truth (and this 
'evidence' is weakened by the fact that in Chamber of Secrets, 
Hermione has also been told the password before she arrives at the 
door, so it does happen). But I'm offering it as a potential point.  

It seems to me JKR would have put some clues somewhere in the text, 
if this had any chance of being the case. Note - I am not saying I 
believe this has happened. Just offering it as a potential 
possiblity.    


Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia