James as head boy (Re: Voldemort's Intentions & Snape's Expectations (Hagrid))

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 189876

> Potioncat:
> After all these years--are we now considering that the prefect/Head Boy situation is a flint? I've seen many posts offering an explanation for James being promoted to Head Boy--particularly given his reputation, but I don't recall any that suggested it was just a mistake by JKR.
> 
> I'm not saying there weren't any, just I don't recall them. :-)
>
Carol responds:

Okay, we all recall Hagrid saying in Book 1 that James and Lily were Head Boy and Head Girl. We all recall Sirius saying in Book 5 that Remus was "the good boy" and was appointed Prefect. We all also recall him sitting there not doing his job while Sirius and James attacked Severus. Does anyone recall anything in canon stating that at Hogwarts Head Boys and Head Girls are always chosen from the Prefects?

If they are, we have two or three possibilities. One is that Dumbledore (and McGonagall) made an exception (and broke the rules) for James, as they are not above doing for Harry, even though they have no reason to see him as the future father of an as-yet-unheard of Boy Who Lived. Another is that Hagrid, who, after all, was neither a teacher nor a student at the time, recalled the situation incorrectly, his view of James distorted by grief and affection. A third is that James's being a Head Boy is a Flint of sorts because Hagrid's statement in Book 1 slipped JKR's mind as she wrote Book 5. (She apparently doesn't reread the books once they come out, so that's certainly possible--cf. the Hand of Glory inconsistencies.) That seems especially likely if her conception of James changed somewhat (he became less admirable and likable) as a teenager as the plots of the later books became clearer in her mind.

On the other hand, if no one in canon ever states that Head Boys and Girls must be Prefects first, there's no error or inconsistency (except that Hogwarts goes against common English practice in boarding schools).

Carol, who read the article June linked to and enjoyed it but prefers sticking to canon or, if we must, to JKR's interviews