I'm proud to introduce you all to our final four, each champions of their own brackets!
None of our champions were seeded to win this thing, so congratulations to them all! It's an unpredictable game. Toby Daye is the Cinderella story of this game. She was the 12th seed in the Buffy Bracket. (And considering the bottom four were ties, that means she barely made the game.) Whereas, Granny Weatherwax was the sixth seed of the Xena Bracket; Cordelia was 8th seed of the Ripley bracket and McGonagall was the 3rd seed of the Alice bracket.
None of our champions were seeded to win this thing, so congratulations to them all! It's an unpredictable game. Toby Daye is the Cinderella story of this game. She was the 12th seed in the Buffy Bracket. (And considering the bottom four were ties, that means she barely made the game.) Whereas, Granny Weatherwax was the sixth seed of the Xena Bracket; Cordelia was 8th seed of the Ripley bracket and McGonagall was the 3rd seed of the Alice bracket.
Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter) versus October "Toby" Daye (Rosemary and Rue). Who wins?
Minnie McG
85(40.5%)
Toby
125(59.5%)
Cordelia Naismith (Vorkosigan Saga) versus Granny Weatherwax (Discworld). Who wins?
Cordelia
65(33.9%)
Granny
127(66.1%)
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Comments
Like I said, you can *see* the spells coming out of the wands in the HP verse; they're streams of light. Toby just has to dodge.
In HP-verse there is silent casting in order for people to be able to surprise people with there spells. How would this work if you could see the spells? Also, I think if you could see all spells people wouldn't really get hit with them nearly as often. The way the books read if there is a beam of light it travels at that...the speed of light. Are you really certain that Toby would be able to dodge that?
Edited at 2010-03-30 04:20 pm (UTC)
But I would like to dispute the idea that McGonagall is old! She is, at the time of the books, in her late 60s/early 70s (66 in PS/SS). This is at the early stages of elderly for a human (she could join the AARP) but not really for a wizard. She is, for example, only half as old as Dumbledore, probably about as old as he was when he defeated Grindelwald.
Edited at 2010-03-30 04:26 pm (UTC)
Also the age thing, man. Okay, physically she might be slower. But someone said that Toby might jump at her with knives. I seriously doubt Minerva would let her get that close. There's a reason they never fight with weapons in HP...simply that protecting against physical attacks is really, really easy for them.
Your ageism is irrelevant.
Though I don't think Minerva is stupid enough not to get out of the way either and as indicated above, Harry noticed that she's very fast.
I don't think Toby would win just because she can dodge.
I definitely think McGonagall is not to be underestimated, and a Granny vs Minerva final would be pretty damn awesome. But I have to admit the devotion of the Toby fans raises my expectations for this series with every round Ms. Daye advances :)
That icon is a thing of beauty, btw.
“Have you seen Harry Potter, Minerva? Because if you have, I must insist —”
Professor McGonagall moved faster than Harry could have believed: Her wand slashed through the air and for a split second Harry thought that Snape must crumple, unconscious, but the swiftness of his Shield Charm was such that McGonagall was thrown off balance. She brandished her wand at a torch on the wall and it flew out of its bracket: Harry, about to curse Snape, was forced to pull Luna out of the way of the descending flames, which became a ring of fire that filled the corridor and flew like a lasso at Snape —
Then it was no longer fire, but a great black serpent that McGonagall blasted to smoke, which re-formed and solidified in seconds to become a swarm of pursuing daggers: Snape avoided them only by forcing the suit of armor in front of him, and with echoing clangs the daggers sank, one after another, into its breast —
“Minerva!” said a squeaky voice, and looking behind him, still shielding Luna from flying spells, Harry saw Professors Flitwick and Sprout sprinting up the corridor toward them in their nightclothes, with the enormous Professor Slughorn panting along at the rear.
“No!” squealed Flitwick, raising his wand. “You’ll do no more murder at Hogwarts!”
Flitwick’s spell hit the suit of armor behind which Snape had taken shelter: With a clatter it came to life. Snape struggled free of the crushing arms and sent it flying back toward his attackers: Harry and Luna had to dive sideways to avoid it as it smashed into the wall and shattered. When Harry looked up again, Snape was in full flight, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout all thundering after him: He hurtled through a classroom door and, moments later, he heard McGonagall cry, “Coward! COWARD!”
Note that Snape, well versed in sneakiness, quick maneuvering, and getting back up, only manages to run away because there are others there distracting McGonagall.
“But we can hold him up,” said Professor Sprout.
“Thank you, Pomona,” said Professor McGonagall, and between the two witches there passed a look of grim understanding. “I suggest we establish basic protection around the place, then gather our students and meet in the Great Hall. Most must be evacuated, though if any of those who are over age wish to stay and fight, I think they ought to be given the chance.”
Notice, also, that McGonagall's not fighting just to keep herself going - she's got a couple hundred kids to account for.
“I shall expect you and the Slytherins in the Great Hall in twenty minutes, also,” said Professor McGonagall. “If you wish to leave with your students, we shall not stop you. But if any of you attempt to sabotage our resistance or take up arms against us within this castle, then, Horace, we duel to kill.”
“Minerva!” he said, aghast.
She's not going to force you to fight, but be damned if she's going to hold back if you choose to fight against her.
“And now — Piertotum Locomotor!” cried Professor McGonagall.
And all along the corridor the statues and suits of armor jumped down from their plinths, and from the echoing crashes from the floors above and below, Harry knew that their fellows throughout the castle had done the same.
“Hogwarts is threatened!” shouted Professor McGonagall. “Man the boundaries, protect us, do your duty to our school!”
Clattering and yelling, the horde of moving statues stampeded past Harry: some of them smaller, others larger, than life. There were animals too, and the clanking suits of armor brandished swords and spiked balls on chains.
She can literally make everything fight against you. That's nothing to sneeze at.
“Get back!” shouted Ron, and he, Harry, and Hermione flat¬tened themselves against a door as a herd of galloping desks thun¬dered past, shepherded by a sprinting Professor McGonagall. She appeared not to notice them: Her hair had come down and there was a gash on her cheek. As she turned the corner, they heard her scream, “CHARGE!”
In short, cross Professor Minerva McGonagall and she will fuck. you. up.
I love the scene where she brings the suits of armor to life. It's one of my favorite mental images from the Battle of Hogwarts. Like she is making the caslte itself rebel against invasion.
And Poppy's approval means a lot. She's the medical authority, after all:
Four Stunning Spells straight to the chest at her age? It’s a wonder they didn’t kill her.” [TRANSLATION: You cheaters can stun her four times but it won't stop her. Oh no, she'll just come back with nothing to show for it except a cane she can use to poke you with.]
[...] said Madam Pomfrey with a kind of fierce approval in her face. “As if one of them could have Stunned Minerva McGonagall face on by daylight!
Edited at 2010-03-30 05:59 pm (UTC)
I'm having trouble finding good info on Toby, especially her fighting chops. But nothing I've seen makes me think she'd be a match for McG. My girl Minnie is established as one of the most powerful witches in Britain, and she is consistently, terrifyingly awesome. I refer you to the passages quoted above by mynuet.
She's definitely no slouch. BUT one big part of the first book is her being changed into a fish and not being able to undo it for the longest time. And Minerva can be a cat. So the cat/fish thing in my head makes it impossible for me to choose Toby. I've seen too many cartoons.
But if Toby had been turned into a mouse instead... Or a canary, I suppose. :P
On the other hand, it makes voting in the next round easier. Granny chewed up and spit out the Queen of Faerie. One lonely little half-fae girl? Not exactly going to be a problem.