Prefect Ron (was DD on the Dursleys).

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 151226

> richandlaura1/Laura wrote:
>
> ... From my first reading of OoTP, I thought that Ron was an odd 
> choice for Prefect from the standpoint of an outstanding role 
> model for other students to look up to and count on.  However, I
> always assumed that Dumbledore didn't put Ron in that position 
> because he was the best candidate.  I believe that Dumbledore 
> chose Ron and Hermione because they are Harry's best friends.  
>
> ...edited...
>
> That's why Ron (and Hermione ...) were made prefect, because it 
> would help Harry as he prepared himself for the future. A future
> that Dumbledore knows will inevitably come.
> 
> Laura -...
>


bboyminn:

Again, I'm reminded of the blind men examining an elephant, each of
them is absolutely right within the bounds of what they preceive. You
too Laura, are right in that I am sure that Ron and Hermione being
Harry's best friends, and more importantly, being eager and willing to
help Harry out in any emergency that might arise, weighed heavily in
their favor. But I think that is only one apsect of the decision. It
is merely one bit of evidence that shift the weight in their favor. 

As I said before, you can't weigh Ron's quaifications against the
general concept of 'Perfect'. You, more importantly, have to weigh his
qualifications along side the other available condidates. Certainly we
would perfer a long list of perfectly qualified, perfectly studious,
and perfectly diciplined students, but what we have, other than Ron
and Harry, are Dean, Seamus, and Neville. Other than Neville, none of
them have ever distinguished themselves in anyway in any real-life
situation. 

I'm not discounting what you said, hopefully, I'm validating it. Being
Harry's friends and helping him in past and future emergencies are
just ways in which Ron and Hermione have distinguished themselves and
proven their abilities. When house discipline is needed and when an
emergency occurs, the administration needs candidates that will take
action, and Ron and Hermione have proven time and time again that they
are willing and capable of taking action /when it counts/.

So, yes, I agree, Ron and Hermione's friendship with Harry weighed
heavily in the decision to choose them as Prefects, but I don't think
it was just that friendship, it was the actions they performed in the
course of that friendship that has proven their worth, and I agree
that that is an aspect that makes Ron more qualified that Dean,
Seamus, or Neville.

If anyone was number three on the list, it was most likely Neville,
shy as he is, when the time came, Neville charged into battle without
fear or hesitation. What have Seamus and Dean ever done that carries
any weight in the dark and dangerous time that now exist?

I do believe, that either Dean or Seamus may have been picked under
normal circumstances. They are basically reliable students who have
never made much trouble and seem to be respected by their peers. Yet,
these are not normal times. Indeed these are dark and dangerous times
in which Prefects may be called upon to do far more than merely tell
students off for talking too loudly. 

So, given that dark and dangerous times, and when compared to the
other candidates, and since Harry has already been excluded, Ron and
Hermione seem the likely choice.

Just a thought.

Steve/bboyminn