Chapter Summaries - Sirius + Snape -

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 28366

Derry wrote:

> Harry has had people rhapsodising over what a fantastic Seeker he 
> is.  Wouldn't it be nice to be well-known for something he's 
> _done_ rather than something he _is_?  Considering he hasn't been
> outstanding at lessons, it would be reassuring to have something to
> prove that he does belong in the wizarding world. 

Yes, that is how Harry feels about playing Quidditch. (Unfortunately, 
it doesn't seem to make him any more sympathetic with Ron's similar 
desire to prove himself.) Therefore, another Quidditch plot line 
that I haven't written about is how distraught Harry would feel if he 
found out that the reason he is a "natural" Seeker is because he 
acquired Tom Riddle's Seeker ability as well as his Parselmouth.

Susanna Luhtenan wrote:

> Though he did have access to the Daily Prophet to see Pettigrew as
> Ron's rat. (My guess is, that a wizard guard - only one, - was
> reading it with his back turned, and while Sirus' cell was a bit 
> off - he took his eye into his hand and looked - which he could do
> due to being animagus. 

It was Fudge's copy of the Daily Prophet. "Yet I met Black on my last
inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit
muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them... but 
I was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally
to me. It was unnerving. You'd have thought he was merely bored -- 
asked if I'd finished with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he 
missed doing the crossword."  

> Dropping a finger I figure also an animagus trick...)

Maybe, but whether it was Animagery or biting it off, the finger was 
permanently gone, even in rat form.

> If you heard a teacher was treating your child - or godchild - like 
> Snape treats Harry - wouldn't you be angry?

I think this may be a generational difference. I am the same age as 
Snape and Sirius (as they are now, not a few years ago in PoA), and 
apparently people around my age (some are younger) are always 
interceding for their children -- not having children myself, I don't 
know for sure.  When I was a schoolchild myself, my parents (now 
dead, if alive they would be 80-something) reacted to my tales of woe 
by telling me that I was oversensitive and should just get over it. 
My friend's parents were worse, and told her that if anyone was mean 
to her, it was because she had done something to deserve it and she 
should behave better to those people in future. One other friend's 
parents would phone the school principal and threaten him with their 
friendship with members of the School Board and other important 
politicians and rich people so that they would take penalties off 
his record, occasionally improve his grades. This seemed so abnormal 
to the rest of us that we were in total awe of it, even more awe 
than envy.