typography terror

[cheyinka]

So did anybody else just copy Ron's subject line into a text editor and change the case to all-uppercase to see whether he wrote a lowercase l, an uppercase I or the numeral 1?
...and is anybody else deeply concerned for Ron right now?

I mean, best case scenario he 'attempts' and 'fails' to kill her, but then she (and Finnegan, if not also Blaise) really attempt to kill him. *gnaws nails*

(I mean, potentially he could 'attempt to kill her' and really have her kidnapped by the Order, but I don't think succeeding here is good for him, and I don't think she'd be readily convinced of her kidnappers' benevolence.)

Comments

[ellemir]

I'm not sure she'll be asked to do that. So far all the challenges have been very different.

I've been considering the implications of both trust and betrayal in the current challenges.
Pansy is asked to put a trusted friend at risk. Whether the friends consent was needed is unclear.
Seamus is being asked to trust another candidate with his wand, and probably his life.
Are these tests of their boundaries maybe? For when Ron met one challenge, he was almost straightaway given another that went further.
Would meeting this one just get another nastier option?
The very different challenges make me twitchy. Has each sponsor just been told to push the candidate on the potential weaknesses their commitments to others might bring?
Or is it a single hand, Voldie perhaps playing a twisted game?
If so, I can see Padma being told to betray Seamus if he hands her his wand. Or maybe told to meet a threat with deadly force.

Maybe the real test is when you refuse to meet the challenge. And there may come a point where the right ( for a deatheater) choice is to decline. Admittedly the only scenario I can come up for that with is someone asked to mess with Harry.

I believe I am wrong with the last idea above, but I'm getting to feel that the only way to win is to refuse to play the Game. And I'm not quite convinced that my moral qualms are the only reason for me being this way.

[ellemir]

Actually, on the idea of boundaries something just occurred to me.

To control someone you need to know their boundaries and loyalties.
We know Voldemort uses this. Threats to Draco keep Harry in line. Families suffer if someone betrays him, think Selwyns fate. McGonnagal with no family ties and known allies needed the bracelet to control her. Lucius fears for his family if he loses the LPs favour.
Maybe this test is to make sure the candidates have sufficient close ties, that they can be controlled. Because while the LP may not want them to be more loyal to others than him, he needs them to be manageable.

If so, I predict Teddy will take things too far with possibly dire consequence, and Voldie will have him put down as too much of a risk. Of course Teddy doesn't seem to have a challenge yet.

This is not going to be pretty.

[cheyinka]

Hm, I think you might be right - that as much as some of the challenges are about "will you betray someone, and how?" some of them are designed to test or develop close ties, for potential hostages-to-good-behavior.