Second Task points

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 152084

Eggplant wrote:
> <snip> For that matter in
> Quidditch why do you get 10 point for scoring a goal and 150 for
> catching the snitch, why not 1 and 15?

Carol responds:
I snipped the first part of your post regarding scoring in the TWT,
which Geoff answered with his usual mastery of the canon. 

Regarding Quidditch scoring, possibly ten and 150 sound more
impressive than one and fifteen? Or it's easier for the spectators to
grasp scores expressed in round numbers? (Or for the math-challenged
JKR to keep track of them? The magical scoreboard, of course, wouldn't
care one way or the other.) Being behind by fifty points sounds more
serious than being behind by five even though it amounts to the same
thing (five goals).

What bothers me is not the round numbers but the discrepancy between
the points given to the Seeker and those given to the Chasers, whose
job seems (to me) almost irrelevant--essentially, to keep the audience
entertained until the Seeker catches the Snitch and ends the game,
usually but not always winning it. (Krum's action in the QWC was
highly unusual, which is why the Twins' anticipating it was so clever
and ought to have paid off very well.) Fortunately for any suspense
regarding the Quidditch Cup, cumulative points matter, and Harry has
to wait until the Chasers have made a certain number of goals before
catching the Snitch in the final game of the season. Still, the number
of points allotted to the Seeker seems disproportionate. Just one
reason among many why Quidditch is one of my least favorite parts of
the books. No wonder JKR is tired of writing about it.

Carol, who appreciated Luna's commentary in Harry's final game but
would probably have grown tired of that, too