Help me figure something out. I'm re-reading The Order of the Phoenix and I've just come to the part where Ron and Hermione receive their Prefect badges from Hogwarts.
A big deal is made about the fact that Harry was not chosen instead of Ron -- everyone thought he would be -- and, if I recall correctly, Dumbledore will eventually explain to Harry, at the end of the book, that he didn't want to put any more pressure on our hero than he was already facing.
Good enough.
But tell me why Dumbledore would name Draco Malfoy a prefect for Slytherin. The headmaster is well aware that Draco's dad is a confirmed Death Eater. He knows that Draco is Harry's nemesis and that, with the powers of a Prefect, Draco would have a great deal more power to bother, upset and harass Harry throughout the year.
So why, if Dumbledore is worried about putting too much additional pressure on Harry, does he name Draco a Prefect? Why not someone else? Even Crabbe or Goyle would be a better choice, since they are too stupid to be really harmful to Harry. Even if Draco is telling them what to do, their thickness would provide something of a buffer and the fact that Dumbledore refused to recognize Draco as a Prefect should make Harry feel a little bit better about being passed over.
The only think I can think of is that the Ministry intervened in these choices as well. Maybe Lucius paid Fudge to force Dumbledore to name Draco as Prefect. We see Draco's dad and the Minister of Magic together at the start of the book -- perhaps that's when the demand was made and granted.
I simply cannot believe Dumbledore would make this choice on his own.
I think that the reason Dumbledore made Draco Prefect is to make him focus more on Hogwarts than Death Eaters.
ReplyDeleteDumbledore definately knew that Lucius was a Death Eater, and Draco, would soon follow that path. To make him think that he had better place in his own "kingdom", that he was better than Harry, Dumbledore, had made a move in persuading Draco's to switch side, even in tenuous way. After all, Dumbledore had some kind of faith in Draco's good nature and change of heart, right?
But then we look at the more realistic side. Not only a Death Eater, but Lucius is also a important member in Ministry of Magic, too. Give his son a big role, perhaps might strengthen his ties to Hogwarts, make him less likely to betray them. We all know that Dumbledore, only in desperate situation did he seperate from Ministry of Magic, because he always believed in the power of unision and love.
Also, I must point out that, Dumbledore disagreed with Ministry's conservative way of thinking, so it is a very small possibility that Dumbledore made Draco prefect due to the force of Ministry.
Sorry for bad English