Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Major Events/Head Boy
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| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Major Event | |
| Head Boy or Head Girl | |
|---|---|
| Location | Hogwarts |
| Time Period | throughout the series |
| Important Characters | Percy Weasley |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Head Boys and Head Girls are not, strictly speaking, magical. They are an integral part of the power structure of any school run on the English model; a Head Boy typically is the senior of the male Prefects, as the Head Girl is the senior of the female Prefects. Typically they have a few additional rights, and in return are responsible for assigning duties to other prefects and seeing that they are carried out.
[edit] Event Details
In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Percy Weasley has just been made Head Boy, and his pomposity has increased incredibly. The only thing that makes him tolerable at all is that the twins are perpetually puncturing him, or trying to; their continual japing makes him a figure of fun rather than a simple bore.
Hagrid has mentioned to Harry, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, that Harry's father and mother were Head Boy and Head Girl while they were at Hogwarts.
[edit] Notable Consequences
Generally speaking, consequences will be few, as the Head Boy and Head Girl will invariably be in their last year at Hogwarts. It is true that Percy, as Head Boy, became even more pompous and stuffy than he had been as a Prefect.
[edit] Analysis
There is a minor contradiction here. Hagrid says in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as mentioned above, that Harry's father was Head Boy. Yet, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius Black states that Remus Lupin was a Prefect; both Sirius and James were spending too much time in detention to be considered for that post. Later, Lupin and Sirius did say the James had improved by his seventh year; so we have three possibilities.
- With the departure of some other prefect before 7th Year, it may have been necessary to appoint a new prefect, and that job, with the Head Boy promotion, might have fallen to James. This is somewhat unlikely as James had not previously been Prefect; as Lupin had been, it's more likely that Lupin would be Head Boy, if either of them were.
- Hagrid might have over-inflated ideas about James' student office, or might be improving on the truth, either to make Harry more aware of his fame, or just on general principles.
- James' character, which granted does not seem suitable for the office of Head Boy, might not have been totally firmed up that early in the series, and the author might have chosen to have him be Head Boy to build up his apparent status in the Wizarding world.
Of the three options, the third seems most likely; however, the second makes more sense in the context of the story.
As we can see from Percy, by comparison with Fred and George, the students chosen for prefect and head boy positions are not necessarily the most powerful wizards around. Thus if James Potter was not Head Boy, it is unlikely that this is a serious strike against his Wizarding ability.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Greater Picture
It is likely that Hermione would have been made Head Girl had she returned to Hogwarts for her seventh year. However, she chooses instead to accompany Harry to help him deal with Lord Voldemort.
