of rats, toes, and wizards (was: The Spying Game)

[bluesqueak]

No: HPFGUIDX 39841

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "ghastrick" <nicholaswebb at h...> wrote:
> Amy Z wrote:
> 
> I assumed Dumbledore wondered about the missing toe, actually. If 
he 
> knew Peter could transform into a rat, and saw that this rat had a
> toe missing (and all that could be found of Peter was, famously, 
his 
> finger) it might be prudent to check that the rat was what it 
seemed.
> 
> Actually Amy, Dumbledore didn't know that Pettigrew was an Animagus 
> until Lupin told him at the end of PoA. Dumbledore said at the end 
> that he thought the Marauders' greatest achievement was not 
becoming 
> Animagi, but keeping it from him.

Err, ghastrick, that was me, not poor Amy. IIRC, Amy was arguing as 
you did.

What Dumbledore actually says is:
"Sirius told me all about how they became Animagi last night. An 
extraordinary acheivement - not least, keeping it quiet from me." 
(PoA p. 312, UK hardback)

This is like many Dumbledore comments - it can have two meanings. The 
surface one is that he doesn't know about the Maurauders. However, if 
you add the following imaginary afterthought:

"Sirius told me all about how they became Animagi last night. An 
extraordinary acheivement - not least, keeping it quiet from me."  
[Why, it wasn't until after the Prank that I realised - extraordinary 
a group of teenagers could manage to hide it for so long]

then you will see that the line can be read as *both* 'Dumbledore 
didn't know' and 'Dumbledore did know'.

Sirius definitely thought Dumbledore did *not* know - and so would 
feel that he had to confess to Dumbledore - which covers the first 
sentence whether Dumbledore knew or not. 

The rest of Dumbledore's comments about 'remembering' the form 
Harry's patronus took can be read in the same ambiguous way.

Pip