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
Chaotic neutral mother willing to betray her Dark Lord and master for the sake of her broken son vs. chaotic evil pureblood supremacist who wanted to bring about a new dark age using the legendary wand AND ACTUALLY OBTAINED IT BRIEFLY. Not to mention that love affair that got swept under the rug. Was it unrequitted? I don't think so. He clearly cared for Dumbledore almost as much as Dumbledore cared for him which is why neither could kill the other though each had the opportunity. Grindy is just sooooooo much more interesting despite getting half the screentime Narcissa gets sorry.
(3)Lord Voldemort (14)Nicolas Flamel
Cool match. Guy who creates the Philosopher's- I mean Sorcerer's Stone in the hopes of living forever vs. guy who wants to steal it for the same purpose. One has oodles more characterization than the other so... easy choice.
(7)Nearly Headless Nick (10)Horace Slughorn
I like how Slughorn was the only Slytherin that fought for the good guys at the Battle of Hogwarts. I like how he was one of only two Slytherins that wasn't a chaotic evil/chaotic neutral. But his nepotism reeks. That Slug Club thing was kind of bogus and reminds me of this garbage art teacher I used to have. I was actually part of his "Slug Club" so-to-speak so it wasn't jealousy, but the way he treated those outside of his inner circle of favorite students was disgusting and I wish that I had called him out on it. Wow, I am digressing here. Anyway, Slughorn means well I'm sure but let's not forget one of his errors (which he was truly sorry about) led to the darkest wizard of out age achieving near-immortality and instead of repenting for this he instead tries (and succeeds in) forgetting it.
(2)Hedwig (15)Ignotus Peverell
Guy who contributed the second most important inanimate object (after Sword of Gryffindor) to the story. That Cloak saved the gang's asses more times than I can count starting from Book 1 and continuing into Book 7. Not to mention he's the Chosen One's ancestor and has an awesome fairytale devoted to himself and his brothers. Trumps delivery bird imo but I'm sure the other aminal lovers are going to disagree here.
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I've come to the realization that I need a sig.
(6)Narcissa Malfoy First off -- Narcissa has some BALLS. She lies to Lord Voldemort, a highly accomplished Legilimens. And not about something small. She lies about Harry Potter not being dead. Someone she had considered an enemy for a long time, and someone she doesn't really like. She gets quite a bit of development for a relatively minor character. In Half-Blood Prince, she's not much different than husband Lucius. But it seems the reason she's the way she is -- is because of Draco and Lucius. And yet again Voldemort fails to understand a mother's love -- he didn't get it with Harry and Lily, and he didn't get it with Draco and Narcissa. She stops caring about the war with all Voldemort has done to her family. And I think it shows real character that the Malfoy's didn't grovel as much as many of the other allies of Voldemort did.
(3)Lord Voldemort I somehow doubt they'd put Voldemort on Chocolate Frog Cards. But the thought of it makes me laugh.
(10)Horace Slughorn Nick loses a lot of points for the Deathday Party chapter. I like his chat with Harry about Sirius. But Slughorn shows the friendlier side of Slytherin. Also, I know it's movies only, but that story about Lily and the Fish. Yeah, that'd be my personal canon if I had such a thing. Slughorn shows how he regrets telling Voldemort about the Horcruxes. And that he's one of the people that personally duels Voldemort? Earns mucho points from me.
(2)Hedwig I loved the story of the three brothers. But -- I have to give it to Hedwig, because honestly she's Harry's biggest connection to the wizarding world while he's at the Dursley's. I'm not normally a big fan of pets that can't communicate. But Hedwig has a lot of personality for a non-speaking pet. She shows a lot of real emotion, and shows how much she cares for Harry. She gets mad at Ron and Hermione when they don't send Harry any letters. She makes sure he gets his birthday presents.
"I see that being Dumbledore's favourite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you." "Wow...look at that...he's not here now! So why not have a go? They might find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!" "Don't you dare talk to my mother like that, Potter!" "It's all right, Draco. I expect Potter will be reunited with dear Sirius before I am reunited with Lucius" "Now that I know the kind of scum that shops here...we'll do better at Twilfitt and Tatting's." "Cissy Wait!" "Cissy, your own sister. You wouldn't--" "There is nothing I would not do anymore." "Don't you dare — don't you dare blame my husband!" said Narcissa, in a low and deadly voice Narcissa gave a little scream of despair and clutched at her long blonde hair. Snape stooped, seized her by the arms, lifted her up, and steered her back onto the sofa. He then poured her more wine and forced the glass into her hand. "And, should it prove necessary... if it seems Draco will fail. . ." whispered Narcissa (Snape's hand twitched within hers, but he did not draw away), "will you carry out the deed that the Dark Lord has ordered Draco to perform." "Draco, move this scum outside. If you haven't got the guts to finish them, then leave them in the courtyard for me." "Don't you dare speak to Draco like-" "Be quiet! The situation is graver than you can possibly imagine, Cissy!" "He is dead!"
VS...
"Kill me, then. Voldemort, I welcome death! But my death will not bring you what you seek… There is so much you do not understand…" "They say he showed remorse in later years, alone in his cell at Nurmengard. I hope that is true. I would like to think that he did feel the horror and shame of what he had done. Perhaps that lie to Voldemort was his attempt to make amends . . . to prevent Voldemort from taking the Hallow . . ." "Did I know, in my heart of hearts, what Gellert Grindelwald was? I think I did, but I closed my eyes." "Rowling later clarified that although Grindelwald was aware of Dumbledore's feelings, he merely used them to manipulate the other boy and did not reciprocate romantically." "She stated in the same interview that it was not a coincidence that he was defeated in 1945, hinting that Adolf Hitler may have been his puppet, and that Grindelwald was responsible for World War II."
Two excellent characters relative to their screen time whom I'd vote over much of the field. But...I find myself digging into interviews for reasons why Grindlewald is awesome, whereas I can draw to mind a lot of memorable and awesome quotes about and by Cissy. I don't think we can go wrong with either of these characters, though.
(3)Lord Voldemort (14)Nicolas Flamel
You know, if the series had ended in book 1 when these two were kinda rivals...hmm...nah, I'd probably still vote Voldemort >_>
(4k check)
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Cats land on their feet. Toast lands peanut butter side down. A cat with toast strapped to its back will hover above the ground in a state of quantum indecision
I can't help but feel Nick is a pretty useless character. Like...I don't find him funny, but I can't take him seriously either. He has pretty much one scene I like (Harry asking if Sirius would become a ghost) but past that I'd be just as happy if all the Nick scenes were removed from the books. Slughorn, on the other hand, is great. The series really needs more Slytherins who are not villains. Like...seriously, early in the books it felt like "so...why not just lock up everyone who was in Slytherin house?" With Slughorn, you can clearly see why he's slytherin, but at the same time clearly see why he doesn't serve Voldemort. And he's actually kind-of charming, while also being quite morally questionable at the same time. The series really needs like...5-6 more characters like Slughorn.
(2)Hedwig (15)Ignotus Peverell
I don't really have a strong opinion on this match. Hedwig just fades into the background for me. It's the Harry Potter universe: even inanimate objects like wands have personality. And Hedwig gets to be the completely generic owl (unlike, say, Pigwidgeon who makes me laugh from time to time). So...one of these characters is basically an inanimate object to me, and the other is a fairy tale. Yeah, I guess fairy tale wins. Although, honestly, I'd vote for Babbitty Rabbitty over Ignotius Peverell (even though her story only shows up in the supplemental material).
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Cats land on their feet. Toast lands peanut butter side down. A cat with toast strapped to its back will hover above the ground in a state of quantum indecision