Chapter 8 POA Summary

[Zarleycat at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 19231

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Sara Metz 
<hermionegranger.gryffindor at j...> wrote:
> Chapter Eight - Flight of the Fat Lady

> 1) Is Crookshanks chewing a dead spider in front of Ron a message 
telling
> him he's on Ron's side?

That's a good way to look at it.  Living with 4 cats as I do, I 
interpreted this as just one of those obnoxious things cats do when 
they know perfectly well their behavior is getting up your nose.  I 
figured this was simply Crookshanks' way of telling Ron, "I'm not 
afraid of any spider!!"
> 
> 2) Was Trelawney's prediction about Lavender's rabbit in any way
> truthful, or was it all a big coincidence?

I think she was lucky to get anywhere near a true prediction.
 
> 3) Lupin says the name Voldemort out loud. What does this say about 
him?
>
I think Remus is one of those who is not intimidated by Voldemort, 
perhaps from past experience in fighting V the first time around.  
Sirius and Dumbledore also don't seem to have any qualms about 
tossing V's name around, so it's probably not a stretch to think they 
were all  closely allied in the past.

> 4) Was Harry foolish in telling Lupin about Snape?
> 

No, I think Harry felt a connection with Remus, both as a teacher and 
as someone he thinks he can trust.  Since Harry feels that Snape has 
it in for him, and since he also believes the rumors about Snape's 
desire for the DADA position, it strikes me as natural that he would 
want to warn Remus about Snape.  
> 
> 6) Why did Sirius slash the painting - didn't he know that would 
give him
> away?

There have been a number of postings in the past regarding this 
behavior and how it relates to post traumatic stress disorder.  I 
won't repeat all of that, but this extreme reaction is understandable 
to me since Sirius thought he was THAT CLOSE (holds thumb almost 
against finger) to getting to Peter.  Add to that 12 years of mental 
torture, 12 years of bad diet, 12 years of lack of exercise, 12 years 
of cold, loveless existence, and you will get one cranky individual.


Marianne