[HPforGrownups] Re: PoA Chapters 18-20 Summary (long)

[Marianna Lvovsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 21796

1. Do you think it was all right that Lupin didn't
 tell Dumbledore about Sirius?

Well, not all right, but understandable. Lupin isn't
trusted by many people. Dumbledore is one of the very
few. And this trust is so important to Lupin that he
cannot bear admit that he has broken it: telling D
about the animagi business would be admitting that he
broke D's trust and might result in withdrawlal of
that trust. I don't think Lupin wants to face that.
Add to this most people's ability to convince
themselves of what they want: i.e. Sirius is getting
to Hogwarts by using Dark Magic, and the fact that I
think Lupin is rather reluctant to openly betray
Sirius, even though he believes him to be a V
supporter. That would make Black's capture certain,
and I doubt Lupin wants to be directly responsible for
the Kiss administered to Sirius if he is caught.

2. Did you have any suspicions about Scabbers not
being a rat? After all, we already knew that he had
been in the Weasley family for quite some time.
 
None at all. I am a sucker for Red Herrings.
 
3. What did you think when Harry, Ron and Hermione
 disarmed Snape? Do you think they did the right thing
or should they have waited for something  actually to
happen?


YESSSSSSSS! I love that man dearly, but he really
needed a good knock on the head. I think Snape and
Harry in this scene presnet two ways to dealing with
the situation. Harry's the mature one: he loathes
Sirius, because he thinks Black killed his parents,
but he wants to listen and evaluate for himself. Truth
is too important. Snape however is blinded by hatred,
so much that he is channeling in only information that
will feed it. Feeding someone to the Dementors for a
prank done over 12 years ago, without listening to
what that person has to say first, is rather immature
to say the least.
 
4. When did you start to believe Sirius? When you
heard that Scabbers was actually an Animagus or did it
take you as long as it took Harry?

Well, I had first glimmerings of doubt during the
"revelation" conversation with the Profs. at the bar.
I don't know, something is that description of Sirius
didn't sit right as someone who'd go off and be V's
supporter. But I thought little of it, and moved on. I
realized there was something majorly wrong with the
picture, when Sirius tried to protect Crookshanks,
when Harry was going to "kill" him. A man who'd be
wiling to protect a cat from sharing his fate, would
hardly be the man to betray his best friends and blast
13 innocent people away.

5. When Sirius told them about the night when James
and Lily died, he had tears in his eyes. Did this
scene have some kind of effect on you and deflected a
bit
from the evil wizard he was supposed to be?

Yup....added to my view that he was not an evil wizard
and that there must be an explanation.
 
6. Why do you think has Sirius waited so long before
he escaped from Azkaban?After all, he could have
gotten away years ago,since it couldn't have taken him
twelve years to get thin enough to pass through the
bars?

I don't think he was strong enough before. After all,
the worst thing about Azkaban is not the bars.
Dementors suck up all the happy thoughts and leave you
reliving your worst experiences. most people go mad.
Sirius managed not to, but I doubt he had the strength
for a transformation or even will for it. He knew who
he was but that was about it: having to relieve your
worst memories (and his are pretty bad) for 12 years,
I doubt he was in mental or physical condition needed
to even formulate a plan, let alone escape. However,
when he learned sbout PP at Hogwarts, the desire to
catch him and protect Harry gave him strength ("lit a
fire"). Most importantly, it gave him a sense of
purpose, which I suppose is one of the first things
Dementors would suck out of prisoners. Since his is
not a happy purpose, but an obsession, he kept it. I
think overall, it gave him (a) another thought that
Dementors couldn't take away and (b)restored the sense
of purpose that gave him will power back.

7. When Sirius accused Pettigrew of having sold James
and Lily to Voldemort, he was shaking all over. Why do
you think did he have this kind of reaction?
 
I don't think he is in control of his emotions,
especially negative ones. 12 years in Azkaban would
probably leave you very emotionally raw. Also, I doubt
he was able to form many new memories in Azkaban, and
he probably relived that night over and over in his
head (Dementors make you relieve your worst memories
and it was certanly one of his). So to him it is much
more immediate than it would be to anybody else.
Emotionally and mentally to him, this must feel as a
few days ago, as opposed to 12 years (Reminds me of
the film "Memento" when the character wonders how can
he heal and stop grieving when he cannot form new
memories so to him the death of his wife is always 20
minutes ago).

8. We know Lupin as a very kind and calm person.Why do
you think was he almost as eager to kill Pettigrew as
Sirius was?

It's calm, but it's frightening calm. I would almost
prefer to deal with Sirius' rage. It seems more
natural and human somehow. Lupin is not thinking of
revenge but justice: PP killed James and Lily (and
framed Sirius), so he has to die. PP's body would have
been evidence enough I suppose, but in any case,
Sirius and Lupin were not thinking just rationally:
they were executing a traitor. Lupin's "good-bye,
Peter" always struck me as much more final and
inexorable and frightening than all of Sirius' rage.
Btw, why don't they just use Veritaserum on all those
accused of being Death Eaters? Save time and money and
be pretty reliable.


9. Now that you know what happened at the end of Book
4, do you think that Harry would have been better off
if he would have let Lupin and Black kill Pettigrew?

Well, not plotwise :) But a vindictive part of me
thinks "yes."

10. Did you feel any kind of sympathy for Pettigrew?

Nope. The analogy of those betraying Jews to SS was
very apt.

11. When Sirius offers Harry to live with him, Harry
immediately says yes. Now, we know that there aren't
many adults Harry trusts. Why do you think does he
trust Sirius to the point of going to live with him,
even though he has known him only for about an hour or
so?

Well, anything is better than the Dursleys, and plus,
this man was his parents' best friend and just tried
to save him from Voldemort supporter. I think he's
proven his trsutworthiness. And (a first for Harry) he
seems to genuinely want Harry to live with him, and
also view it as a favor that is too great to ask.
Harry has to realize that he will be loved and well
cared for. (And could probably listen to all the
stories about his parents that he wants).

12. Did you think that Harry really saw his father, or
the ghost of his father across the lake, or did you
think someone else must have cast the Patronus?

At the time I was reading it, I had no idea and was
lost in conjecture.

13. Do you think it was an accident that this Dementor
tried to administer the Kiss to Harry, or do you think
the Dementors aren't as loyal to Fudge as he would
like them to be?

Dementors aren't loyal to anyone except themselves.
Their thirst for souls has been aroused and they
decided to have a bigger meal than just Sirius.

Marsha

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