PoA Chapters 18-20 Summary

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No: HPFGUIDX 21835

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

No, not really.  With Harry in potentially great danger, any 
information regarding this maniac murderer should have been brought 
forward.  Having said that, I can certainly understand Lupin's 
silence on the subject. If I had been in a similar position, I would 
probably wrestle with making a decision, and ultimately not tell.  I 
think Remus struggled with the memories of his friendship with Sirius 
and in his heart of hearts wanted to believe that the friendship was 
true.  Remember when he told Harry about the MOM deciding that Sirius 
would be given the Kiss when recaptured?  Remus says something to the 
effect of "Does anyone deserve that fate?"  I think he probably felt 
a great deal of regret and sadness about the fates of his friends and 
this kept him from telling Dumbledore.


> 2. Did you have any suspicions about Scabbers not being a rat? 

Nope. And I believed that Crookshanks' stalking of Scabbers was just 
typical cat behavior. 

> 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?

I think that they had to do something over-the-top, since Snape was 
obviously not about to listen to anyone.  

> 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?

I thought there was more than what met the eye in the previous 
chapter, when Sirius tells Ron to lie down to avoid hurting his leg 
further. That struck me as odd because if he was intent on murder, 
why would he give any thought to Ron's leg, especially since he had 
broken it to begin with? Then, when Lupin arrives and allies himself 
with Sirius, I was sure that we had been misled about Sirius.

> 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?

I found it to be very moving and sad that 12 years after the fact, 
this man is still carrying around so much pain. And has had to live 
with only horrible memories while knowing that no one believes he 
could possibly be innocent.  Plus, Sirius still feels tremendous 
guilt that his decision led to the Potters' deaths.  He still feels 
that he killed them and has not been able to move beyond that to 
accept that Voldemort killed them.


> 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?

What would he have done had he escaped?  He didn't know where Peter 
might be, and, as far as we know, had no allies or friends to go to 
for help.  


> 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?
 
This scene was jam-packed with emotion.  I think that Sirius was 
dealing with a whole range of emotions, and since he was not good 
shape physically, this was how his body reacted.  

> 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?

I'd say controlled more than calm.  I think Remus keeps his emotions 
very tightly in check.  His outward demeanor may have been calm, but 
I think inside he was seething because he finally realized the truth 
of what happened.  He was face-to-face with a friend he thought had 
been murdered, and this person was now revealed to be a traitor of 
the worst sort.  Plus, he could see what a physical wreck Sirius was, 
and all Pettigrew could offer for an excuse for everything was that 
Voldemort was too powerful to resist.


> 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?

No, I think Peter will play an important role in future books.

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

None at all.

> 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?

I don't think either of them has thought this idea through.  Their 
interactions the whole night have been highly emotional.  Plus, their 
previous thoughts of each other were more emotional than reasoned.  
Harry has spent the year thinking that the betrayer of his parents 
was coming to kill him. And Sirius has been desparately trying to 
ensure the safety of the child of his best friend.  Now, when the 
pressure is suddenly off - Harry realizes Sirius is a good guy, 
Sirius thinks his name will be cleared and he can offer to fulfill 
James' and Lily's wishes, they both think this is a great idea.  
Plus, in Harry's mind, who would be better for him - the Dursleys, 
who don't seem to like him, or a man who is willing to put his life 
on the line for Harry, and who is such a big connection to his 
parents?


> 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?
 
Fudge is really an idiot if he thinks the Dementors are on his side.  
I don't think they have loyalty to anyone and wish only to have a 
supply of human emotion on which to feed.  Maybe they went for Harry 
first because, as he was the only one still semi-conscious, he had 
emotions that were more appealing to the Dementors.

Marianne