Sportsmanship/legitimacy

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 151932

> 
> Betsy Hp:
> Oh, he proabably would have.  And it would have been just as bad, 
> IMO.  In the end, the three competitions were fairly straight 
> forward.  They were races.  Get the egg from the dragon first.  Get 
> your hostage from the lake first.  Get to the cup in the middle of 
> the maze first.
> 
> Yes, there could be a bit of judging on *how* someone got their 
> egg.  Krum looses points for causing his dragon to injure her eggs.  
> I think Cedric lost some points because of his injury.  But in the 
> end, getting the egg was the key
> 
> In the second task there was a time limit, and Harry blew it.  He 
> didn't surface with his hostage until the time was up.  Yes, Harry 
> showed moral fiber (or panicky idiocy, depending on your point of 
> view <g>), and sure, maybe a special mention would have been good.  
> But the extra points that pushed him into second place were bad 
> sport, to my mind.  The judges suddenly turned the whole game on its 
> head in order to give the game to Harry. And that, in turn, lessened 
> the sacrifice Harry made.

Pippin:
You're assuming that the goal was simply to accomplish the task 
within the timelimit and so that should be the basis of the scoring.
 But according to Dumbledore the tasks were
meant to test the champions in many different ways "their magical
prowess--their daring--their powers of deduction--and, of course,
their ability to cope with danger."

Notice that "daring" and "ability to cope with danger" are two
different categories. Ability to cope with danger is more than
sheer bravery.

Harry  should lose points for failing to deduce that his fear that
the hostages would be left in the hands of the merpeople forever
was groundless. But his ability to cope with danger was also being
tested -- and showing moral fiber in the face of danger is a big
part of what Dumbledore (and Rowling) think being a wizard, or
shall we say, an empowered adult, is all about. 
 
> 
> > >>Pippin:
> > Anyway, no one has addressed my  point that as far as Dumbledore   
> > knew, all Harry would get out of being awarded extra points is    
> > more exposure to the dangers of the maze.
> 
> Betsy Hp:
> How does that follow?  If Harry had lost the second task (as he 
> should have) he still would have entered the maze.  Are you saying 
> Fleur had an easier time of it because she was the last to enter?

Pippin:
If all had gone as expected, presumably all the contestants would have
been permitted to leave the maze as soon as someone had achieved the
cup. We don't know how far apart the contestants were spaced, but 
supposing it was every fifteen minutes, the fourth place contestant
would have spent a full hour less in a maze full of known wizard-killers
than the first place contestant. I should think that would weigh more
on Dumbledore's mind than a chance for Harry to win glory which he
hardly needs.

Pippin