Prefect Ron? There's worse.

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 151200

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Karen Fremuth" <KLMF at ...> 
wrote:

> Now, if we want to talk about odd appointments, what about 
DRACO???  By 
> his father's admission he's not a brilliant student.  He's 
cowardly, 
> bullying, opportunistic, selfish, arrogant, cruel, and he's the 
most 
> likely to abuse his position of power (and did).  What was the 
logic of 
> appointing him Prefect? The only thing I can see in his favor is 
his 
> being Snape's favorite, but unless Snape pleaded his case to DD, I 
don't 
> see why DD would even care about that.


Magpie:
Draco seems easily as logically picked as Ron--he's a more obvious 
choice, actually, imo.  He is a leader in Slytherin house.  He's a 
perfectly competent student as far as I can see. Lucius 
doesn't "admit" he's not a brilliant student, he shames him in front 
of a shopkeeper for his grades, saying he might not be "fit for more 
than a thief or a plunderer," but all we know for sure is that a 
Muggleborn girl beat him in every exam--that kind of scene with a 
parent is equally common with poor students and with students with 
demanding parents (who are therefore relatively highly acheivers).  
Harry would let us know if Draco was struggling academically, and he 
never does.  He's in DADA, Transfig and Potions NEWT classes at 
least, all of which appear to accept only EEs and up (and in Potions 
he appears to have gotten an O because he's got his books).  So 
gradewise I don't think there's anything making Draco unsuitable for 
Prefect.

As I said with Ron, I think the idea is more taking people who have 
certain qualifications and trying to channel them in a productive 
way.  Nor is it a disaster in Slytherin.  Draco is awful under 
Umbridge in the IS, which is a completely different system, but 
despite all of Hermione's warnings we don't see him abusing his 
powers when he's just a Prefect.  Hermione herself can also benefit 
from being Prefect--she's not so adept at the job she's ready to 
teach others yet as others have suggested, imo.  She just has her 
own set of issues and is quick to criticize what other Prefects are 
doing. 

I don't think the Prefect person is supposed to give the person a 
chance to prove they're "a better person" (which Draco certainly 
doesn't).  It's, imo, more about taking the natural social positions 
of some and the natural social inclinations of others and trying to 
make them work for the establishment. All the Prefects we see seem 
to show the weaknesses of their personalities without completely 
mucking up the job--starting way back at Lupin. They all meet their 
own challenges on the job; sometimes they grow, sometimes they don't.

-m