Chapter 8 POA Summary

[meboriqua at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 19139

Nice summary!
> 
> Discussion Questions:
> 1) Is Crookshanks chewing a dead spider in front of Ron a message 
telling him he's on Ron's side?

You know, I never thought of that and that is an interesting angle to 
take on Crookshanks' behavior.  I suppose his Kneazle-like loyalty is 
more obvious to us now.  When I first read PoA, I simply thought 
Crookshanks was being a bit obnoxious, as if to say to Ron "I don't 
really care what you think of me."
> 
> 2) Was Trelawney's prediction about Lavender's rabbit in any way
> truthful, or was it all a big coincidence?

While I think Trelawney is a bit of a fraud and the kind of teacher 
we've all had at some point (the one we know isn't really a good 
teacher but we have to put up with her/him anyway), I think some of 
her predictions are probably right on.  This one was not one of them.  
I thought it was a coincidence, designed for students like Lavender 
and Pavarti to "fall" for Trelawney and adore her, because Trelawney 
clearly thrives on the adoration of her students.
> 
> 3) Lupin says the name Voldemort out loud. What does this say about 
him?

I just love Lupin!  He seems to be nearly fearless while being 
cautious at the same time.  He chooses his words very carefully, as 
well as who to say certain words to. As far as saying Voldie's name, 
hell, if I was a werewolf, what would I care about saying Voldie's 
name out loud?  I'll bet when he and James were friends they sat 
around saying "Voldemort" out loud all day long.  However, I don't 
think he'd say Voldemort to just anyone.
> 
> 4) Was Harry foolish in telling Lupin about Snape?

Not at all!  Harry is just dying to find an adult who he can trust.  
Lupin has clearly reached out to Harry, and Harry would hate to see 
Lupin be hurt or tricked by someone as nasty as Snape.  Harry is also 
observant enough to see that Snape isn't too crazy about Lupin.  What 
I'm not sure about is why Lupin has no reaction at all to Harry's 
comments.  I wish he had said something, even "Oh, really?".  Harry 
must have felt a bit stupid there.
> 
> 5) (Silly Question) Do you think that there are ghost formation 
gliding
> leagues? Olympics?
> 
> 6) Why did Sirius slash the painting - didn't he know that would 
give him away?

Sirius is a desperate man who has been living like an animal (no pun 
intended) for quite a while.  I can imagine, knowing what I know about 
him now, how frustrated he must have been when he got so close to 
catching the real culprit, only to be foiled again.

--jenny from ravenclaw*******************