Rules: There may be spoilers for all seven books and 8 movies Each match will last for exactly 24 hours. Any votes after that point will not count. Discussion is encouraged but not required. Make sure all of your votes are obvious. I should know who you are voting for, basically don't bury your vote in the middle of a paragraph. No alt-voting. Ties will be replayed the next day with the rest of the matches. No vote-saves or rallying for specific characters. Telling people to vote is encouraged but don't tell them how to vote! Don't complain about the seeds, they were the result of a save-my. Because matches can overlap, results will be in this topic. http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/61327435
That Felt Good Division (6)Salazar Slytherin (11)Peter Pettigrew
Character with lines and personality, vs character with no lines.
(3)Neville Longbottom (14)Alicia Spinnet
Alicia Spinnet: the Gryffindor chaser best known for not being Angelina Johnson or Katie Bell. Certainly the least memorable long-term member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, although sure: I'd pick her over short-term members like...Jack Sloper or Demelza Robbins. Her opponent, however, is Neville Longbottom. Yeah...no.
(7)Rowena Ravenclaw (10)Regulus Arcturus Black
Oh hey, another fight of people with zero lines. Regulus is probably the single strongest character without lines, however. His actions are quite dramatic, including choosing to save a house elf over saving himself. Rowena, on the other hand, is pretty bland; pretty much the entire story centers around Helena, not Rowena. I don't consider this a particularly close match, personally.
(2)Bellatrix Lestrange (15)Aurora Sinistra
I'm not actually as impressed by Bellatrix as some people seem to be. Theoretically she's "Voldemort's greatest servant" and all that, but I just don't feel her actions match that description. Barty Crouch Jr? Holy crap that guy can do anything. Severus Snape? Snape vs Harry and Snape vs McGonigal shows just how much he outclasses lesser witches and wizards. Bellatrix...pulls about even with a 5th year Harry, and loses to Molly Weasly. So...her crowning achievement is....what, taking out Sirius? But nothing really impressive happens in that fight; just a pretty standard "looks like they're fencing" wand duel, and Bellatrix just gets a "higher ground" moment. (Besides, the more I read the books, the more I'm convinced Sirius was actually kind-of incompetent--doesn't even know what a dark mark is after years in Azkaban, for instance). She feels more like "just another lieutenant, and a zealous mouthpiece", which is fine and entertaining in its own right, just doesn't match the way she's described sometimes.
But more than that, I feel like some potential was lost with Bellatrix. It really seems like she's in love with Voldemort. The way she leans in towards him when he's talking. The way she takes offence at slights on his personality and birth the way no other Death Eater does. And yet, this never becomes an important plot point. I was expecting Bellatrix to try to kiss Voldemort, and Voldemort not having a soul this act of love would actually poison him slightly. That would have been an interesting way to use the character, but...alas.
That said, her opponent is literally the least memorable teacher that Harry has. (I actually thought she was the Arithmancy teacher at first, before realizing that she was Astronomy, so technically a teacher I really ought to remember...if anything ever happened in her classes ever.... >_>)
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From: metroid composite | #012 I actually thought she was the Arithmancy teacher at first, before realizing that she was Astronomy, so technically a teacher I really ought to remember...if anything ever happened in her classes ever.... >_>
IIRC students had Astronomy starting from first year so literally nothing of note happened in her class the entire series.
Her actions are surprisingly well documented the most notable being "present at the discovery of a Petrified Justin Finch-Fletchley, and helped transport him with Filius Flitwick, the Charms Master, to Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital wing."
"No lines, no personality"!? Disagree MC, sorry. At the very least I completely disagree with the no personality bit as it's completely false. Slytherin had plenty of personality. Let's review: when Hogwarts was first founded he did not want to teach Muggleborn magicfolk at all. When he posited this view to the other founders and they disagreed, he up and split. But not before constructing the Chamber of Secrets beneath the very halls of the castle and concealing within it a very rare and very large basilisk that he had to have bred himself and instilled said basilisk with the intent of killing every Muggleborn inside Hogwarts when the Chamber was opened by his heir- all of this unbeknownst to any other founder. So we have 1) a K.K.K.-level pureblood supremacist 2) a man so stubborn he was willing to abandon his former best friend (Gryffindor) and his portion of a legacy for his insane standards and 3) a powerful and wise sorceror hellbent on revenge and seeing his twisted goals through even after his own supposed demise.
So basically his implied personality is that he's bats*** insane. His views, his standards, his legacy paints him as the precursor to the Dark Lord we all know and hate.
Let's compare to Mr. Pettigrew who actually has (albeit unmemorable) dialogue and (a horrible) personality. He's... damn right unlikeable despite getting more characterization than most, ample time to improve, and several chances to explain his motivations. He's not meant to be hated like Umbridge. He's not a misunderstood hero like Snape. The heart of his character is that he's a unfocused, unintelligent, quivering, snivelling coward of the worst kind. This alone wouldn't be so bad (in fact it would actually make him interesting) if not for the fact that his motivation in any regard is never - ever explained!
Why did he betray one of his supposed best friends and frame another supposed best friend for it? Did Voldy promise him power? Can't be, considering he's on the lowest rung of the hierarchy of Dark Lord servitude. Did he promise him safety? Can't be, considering Voldy routinely sets him to dangerous tasks the likes of which jeopardize his safety. Did Voldy threaten to kill his own family- to kill him? Can't be sure, considering we're never shown any indication that Pettigrew cares for his family at all, and any wizard with half a brain or less even would choose death over a lifetime of fear, pain, and servitude to a master that will only bestow more fear and pain upon him. What kind of man would be willing to sacrifice two of his best friends' lives to spare his own when the very act of doing so guarantees him that his own life will be filled with misery? Either a masochistic or stupid man, possibly both.
So we're left with a character that can only be described as weak, pathetic, and stupid (even McGonagall uses that last word to describe him at one point) as his self-torturing, masochistic nature cannot be confirmed. Without any hint of motive in all his actions this makes him a weak, pathetic character as well. And his one act of "redemption" is rushed and therefore wasted and also pales in comparison to Snape's "redemption" later in the same book. I know these are more faults of Rowling than her character, but I just cannot empathize with such a pathetic character who makes such misguided actions with NO MOTIVATION other than "fear" and/or "stupidity".
(3)Neville Longbottom (14)Alicia Spinnet
Another background Quidditch player versus arguably the most developed persona spanning all seven books and all eight movies... Yeah...
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Your logic actually did persuade me here. Ah Regulus... overlooked, underrated younger brother of Sirius. Misunderstood by even his own family. Him having "zero lines" is a lie. True, he has no spoken lines, but these lines convey more about his character than any quotes spoken about him ever could:
"To the Dark Lord.
I know I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hopes that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B."
This single excerpt paints him as an early tragic hero, and hearing Kreacher sing his praises will confirm that for you. He does at least have more going for him than the lineless representative of one of my favorite Houses.
(2)Bellatrix Lestrange (15)Aurora Sinistra
I don't think this one needs explaining. >_>
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