Sportsmanship/legitimacy

[rtbthw_mom]

No: HPFGUIDX 152014

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Magpie" <belviso at ...> wrote:
> 
> Alla:
> Cedric is a great kid. great kids make mistakes too.
>  I think that it is even better that I can view Cedric
> as not all together perfect, but someone who become a bit too
> involved in the game at that point OR of course maybe he did knew
> that hostages were not in danger.
> 
> Magpie:
> If you assume he thought the hostages were in danger then I think 
you've 
> gone far past a kid who's too involved in a game.  You've just 
said he made 
> the choice to leave people to die because he had a medal to win.  
I don't 
> think we ought to be having to make excuses for Cedric as if he 
didn't live 
> up to Harry's great example, which was a mistake I believe Harry 
himself, in 
> retrospect, feels stupid for making (though Harry has good reason 
for 
> personally thinking along these lines in ways Cedric doesn't).  
There's no 
> reason this question of people dying ever had to have entered 
anyone's mind.
> 

Pat:
Maybe it's us who have gone too far here:  I wonder if the truth 
lies more to the middle.  Cedric and Krum were focused on their 
task: *rescue hostage, get back first* while Harry and Fleur seemed 
convinced that the hostages were legitimately in danger.  I suspect 
(and the story works better for me this way) that neither Cedric or 
Viktor were cold and callused, they were simply doing their part and 
making the assumption that Harry and Fleur would do theirs, too, 
thus assuring the safety of all hostages.  They never thought 
farther than that: they just did their jobs.  It must be assumed by 
the reader that none of the champions were told 'if you don't get 
them back, don't worry, they'll be okay' because there are two 
champions who obviously are concerned with the safety of the 
hostages here: Fleur, because she never even made it down there, and 
Harry, because of his *moral fiber* (or his saving-people-thing!)  

I must also agree with Steve (?) that their character was part of 
the awarding of points, or else Karkaroff would have given Harry no 
points, and both Cedric and Viktor (and their headmasters?) would 
have lodged formal complaints.  

> Magpie:
> Where is Cedric the cold-blooded psycho who would let a child 
> die because he got too involved in his points?

Pat: 
Doesn't exist!

> 
> Alla:
> Cedric knows what fair play is, but I do think that it is totally
> possible that in this task he lost to Harry on "moral fiber" part 
of
> evaluation.

Pat:
Yes!  Yes!  Yes!
> 
> Magpie:
> Which is proving what's unfair about Harry's moral fibre 
evaluation. 
> Canonically this is a test of courage whether or not you can get 
your 
> "prize" away from the merpeople and back to shore.

Pat:
Have to disagree here.  Canonically the merpeople do not try to keep 
the 'prize,' they just guard it until you get there.  Nobody had to 
fight the merpeople to get their hostage.  Harry had to fight them 
to take the others' hostages back, and that seems to be the 
merpeople's purpose: only let the champion take his/her own hostage, 
not any others.

~Pat