Order Only - candidates and sponsors

[alt_draco]

After last night's mixer, I compared notes with a few people and was able to put together what I believe is an accurate list of council candidates and their respective sponsors. Should it be of any bloody use at all. Note that I am unsure what order each candidate was chosen in, though it is safe to speculate the order in some.

Ned Pennifold
Draco Malfoy
Cormac McLaggen
Pansy Parkinson

Lana Sandavol-Pennifold
Hydra Lestrange
Padma Patil
Greg Goyle

Julius Avery
Ron Weasley
Vince Crabbe
Zach Smith

Ptolemy Baddock
Richard Vaisey
Katie Bell
Dean Thomas

Sarah Yaxley
Teddy Nott
Blaise Zabini
Lares Tamblyn

Jason Montague
Alfred Montague
Heph Bobolis
Linus Moon

Virgil Crispin
Seamus Finnigan
Samantha Montgomery
Lizzie Stevens

Comments

[alt_justin]

Draco,

I've been looking at your list and trying to deduce their motivations, what.

Avery and Montague were the only ones to nominate Hufflepuffs, or who have more than two Houses represented. However, Heph Bobolis and, sad to say, Zach, were involved in the duelling club. (In fact, all Jason's selections were in the club. I say, it seems to me as if he's simply choosing chaps who'll work well with his brother.)

Avery chose Ron, what, but he also chose Zach and Crabbe. Perhaps he hopes that Ron will succeed and keep Crabbe out of the running for the time being? Zach's well insufferable about the whole business but I suspect he'll change his tune dramatically once you lot start up these challenges. Right now, I think he's simply bally well chuffed someone thought of him; I'm sure he never remotely considered it for himself, what.

Neither Hydra nor I are surprised Sandoval made a play for her. It's almost certainly intended to please Auror Lestrange. As for Patil, that's another obvious choice on Sandoval's part, though I'm well surprised she rewarded Padma's loyalty all these years. I'd rather got the impression from our revision sessions last term that Sandoval had all but dropped Padma when she left school. (Today, of course, there was no escaping an endless stream of 'Sandoval says'--and dash it, it's just occurred to me that I shall be the only one in our revision group who is not in the running for this bally old 'prize'--oh, bother it. Can't be helped.) Goyle's an odd choice for her but perhaps she's hedging her bets with someone who values brawn over brain. Then again, he is frightfully clever when it comes to Dark Arts, so perhaps that's her logic as well.

I say, Ned's your cousin, isn't he? And Crispin used to work for your father. Ned chose both you and Pansy, what, which makes me think perhaps he thought it would please Mr Malfoy to see him supporting the two of you. And McLaggen's brother was a Councilwizard so that's a safe third choice, what.

But Crispin seems to have avoided choosing you (assuming he had the choice, and wasn't he Marked prior to your cousin? Unless they used some other order besides precedence, what). Perhaps he's aware of the dangers of this sort of initiation and thought to ingratiate himself by sparing you? Or perhaps he's trying to create separation between himself and Mr Malfoy, as he'll be guiding his charges to best you. In either case, he's got a dedicated choice in Finnigan. I say, it seems to me he might have picked Lizzie and Sam because he knows they work effectively as a team? I can't think why, otherwise.

I think Yaxley's choices speak for themselves: They're all fairly flamboyant, in their way. I'm sure that appeals to her artistic spirit, what.

That leaves Baddock. Vaisey's a fairly obvious choice, of the seventh-years. Bell--perhaps he thinks her connection to Harry will work in her favour, as he's judging so many of the challenges? And Thomas....I say, he's the most unsettling candidate, what, because one never seems to be able to guess on a given day which way his head's going to turn. Sometimes he's a decent enough chap and sometimes he takes the bit in his teeth and plunges hell for leather, what. I should think Baddock's other choices being safe meant he thought he needed a wild card to show he's not wholly risk-averse.

If these seven who've chosen this lot are same people who'll be setting your challenges, one might be able to think strategically about how they'll be judging your efforts, which in turn will help us skew the results, if you follow me.

-F-F

[alt_pansy]

I wonder.

They said seven would be chosen, but did they clarify that it was one from each? Or that it'd just be seven total?

I'm inclined to think it'd be seven total -- where more than one from each person could potentially go up -- but I'm not sure.

[alt_justin]

Pansy,

Yes, that does rather make a difference, doesn't it. I'm inclined to think it's the sort of decision they prefer not to make until necessary, simply because the goal here is not to raise one new initiate per sponsor but to present Voldemort with the best this group can produce.

But given that so many of the letters seem to stress not bringing shame onto the sponsor, what, one presumes that each of them hope to present someone suitable. Which means they may want one 'strong' candidate apiece and let the others jolly well rot.

-F-F

[alt_draco]

Before we go reading too much into intentions, we ought to keep in mind that these fresh young things may have been just as caught off guard as Professor Raz, Professor Dolohov, and my own Father were.

Imagine Voldemort summoning them and saying "give me the name of three Hogwarts' students you would sponsor for our council. Oh, and you have five minutes."

[alt_hydra]

Yes, but they may have had a lot of time to decide, which means that Justin's logic might have some validity.

Right?

[alt_justin]

Oh, I say, is that what you think happened? And was everyone unaware of this before it started? That might change things yet again.

Still, even if these are simply the first names that sprang to mind, it tells us something about their creativity and how well they know (or don't know) the current slate of students.

-F-F

[alt_draco]

I don't know. It may be, like Hydra said, that they had time to mull and deliberate, but perhaps not.

I only have it on good authority that neither my Father, Professors Raz and Dolohov, and (I believe) the Headmistress had any advance knowledge.

[alt_sally_anne]

Do you think Mr Crispin would have at least warned your father, if he'd known about it in advance?

I think your theory that they weren't given much time may explain some things.