second task points

[quigonginger]

No: HPFGUIDX 152004

I looked up the points for the second task.  (GoF ch 26

Fleur:  25 points.  Failed to retrieve hostage.  Lauded by the judges 
for "excellent use of the bubble-head charm".  Came back with scrapes 
and torn robes due to Grindielow attack.  Wouldn't allow Mme Pomphrey 
to look after her.  Thought she deserved 0 points.

Cedric:  47 points.  1st to return, although 1 minute outside the 
time limit.  Used bubble-head charm as well.

Krum:  40 points.  Second to return.  Was also outside the time 
limit.  Used transfiguration which the judges described 
as "incomplete..., but nevertheless effective."

Harry: 45 points.  Used gillyweed "to great effect".  Was the last to 
return.  Showed moral fibre by saving Gabriel.

So far, this is canon.  We now enter into speculation.  I'm guessing 
here.  Feel free to disagree.  The numbers are definately haphazard, 
but I think the ideas behind them are fairly close to accurate, based 
on canon.  

Which leads us to...How Did They Judge?

First they had to be able to breathe underwater.  Fleur, Ced, and 
Harry were applauded by the judges.  Krum received lesser praise, but 
was considered "effective".  I will assume that there was at least 20 
points awarded for figuring out how to breathe underwater.  This may 
seem like a lot, but when you consider that they first had to 
decipher the egg clue in order to prepare, then it would seem that 
figuring out the egg is part of these points.  

I would guess that Fleur, Ced, and Harry all got those full points 
and Krum got just a bit less, but not much.

Then they had to get the hostage.  Fleur put up a fight, but failed.  
The others succeeded.  If the first part was worth about 20, then 
maybe they gave Fleur 5 for her struggle against the grindielows.

Or perhaps the first part was worth 25 and those were all the points 
she got.  At any rate, she did succeed in part of the task, and so 
got only part of the points.

Finally, they had to return within the time limit.  None did.  Harry 
would have been the only one to do so had he taken off immediately 
after freeing Ron.

Ced was the closest, being 1 minute late, and was docked 3 points.  I 
am assuming that the 3 points that he lost were due to being late as 
they had no other negative comments about him.

Krum was later, but only received 40.  Considering that he may have 
lost some for his incomplete transfiguration (which would only have 
been a very few, if any at all), I would say that his time caused 
most of the dockage.

Harry did the first part well, battled the grindielows (I assume both 
of the other boys did as well as Harry) and got his hostage back to 
the surface.  I assume Harry got full points for the first part and 
any that were given to the other boys for getting to the hostages.  
He also got points for returning with his hostage, as did the other 
guys, even though they were all outside of the time limit.

If we assume that Krum lost, say 9 points for being late, and 1 point 
for his incomplete transfiguration (and that is only a guess- we know 
he lost 10 somewhere, but exactly where is certainly up to 
interpretation), then Harry, without "moral fibre" points would have 
probably gotten somewhere between 35 and 39.  He ended up with 45, 
which means that about 6 to 10 points out of 45 were for moral fibre.

It seems to me that Harry is getting bad press for being late, when, 
in fact, they were all late, if they arrived at all.  

I don't think in something this subjective, 6-10 points for moral 
fibre is that out of line.  Had he not shown it, he would have 
arrived before the time was up.  They had no negative comments about 
any other part of his performance, so he would probably have gotten 
the full 50.  In other words, moral fibre cost him 5 points, but not 
the full 11-16 that being late would have cost him had he not had a 
good reason for being late.  

Again, this is all just speculation.  Your mileage will probably vary 
greatly.

Ginger, appologizing in advance for any math errors.