Death and Justice and Shack/Prank parallels

[dicentra63]

No: HPFGUIDX 36989

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "lucky_kari" <lucky_kari at y...> wrote:
> 
> But the point was that he made a very bad beginning. He got himself to 
> his destination just as surely as Pettigrew got to his. No-one denies 
> that Pettigrew probably was afraid of Voldemort's power or that he was 
> perhaps very strongly tempted by Voldemort. Neither can one deny that 
> Smeagol was very strongly tempted by the Ring. But Smeagol's murder of 
> his best friend is as blameable as Pettigrew's murder of his. 
> 
> Smeagol vs. Frodo is like Pettigrew vs. Bertha Jorkins.
> 
> And the reason Pettigrew and Smeagol are so piteous is that they have 
> done it to themselves, but then got way more than they wanted.

I'd have to disagree with you here.  The only thing that Peter didn't
expect was that by setting Voldemort on the Potters he would be
causing Voldemort's downfall.  A bit of quick thinking and the loss of
a finger later and *poof!* Sirius is in jail for the murders Peter
committed. Then it's 12 easy years as a rat, eating and sleeping,
biding his time until Voldemort comes back.  Or not.  

But Peter's not in over his head, or at least he doesn't think he is.
 Voldemort is giving Peter extra powers beyond what the other three
Marauders ever had, which is exactly what he wanted.  He seeks to
reclaim those extra powers by going and finding Voldemort.  In
Albania, for cryinoutloud!  Why doesn't Peter just find a cozy colony
of country rats to hide with and call it good?  Probably a combination
of being sick of being a stupid rat and wanting to have those powers
back so he could get back at Sirius and Remus for ruining his easy
existence. I don't know.

But the point is that Peter didn't go evil and then find it worse than
he expected--there's no evidence he doesn't relish it plenty
(otherwise, he would have turned into a rat before betraying the
Potters and gone into hiding then).
> 
> O.K. Let's put it this way. Tomorrow morning you wake up and you see a 
> wanted murderer with a gun and some dynamite on your back lawn. Given 
> that he's a very dangerous person, would you be justified in shooting 
>  and killing him with your hunting rifle? Sure. I don't think anyone 
> would disagree, though it might be considered more prudent to run out 
> the front door and let someone else deal with it.
> 
> However, consider that you look out your back window and see the wanted 
> murderer lying unconscious on the lawn in a pool of blood, unarmed. 
> Would you be justified in shooting and killing him with your hunting 
> rifle? 

Under our modern western laws, you wouldn't be justified by any means
or stretch of the imagination.  However, this is the WW--the
authorities are not necessarily reliable, and the law is different. 
Both Lupin and Siri know that Siri was put into jail unjustly by those
WW authorities. I wouldn't trust them either.

You could also argue that JKR went into a little bit of
W.A.R.P.D.R.I.V.E. here (Well, Another Ruddy Plot Device to Raise
Interest and Vary Entertainment).  Having Harry stop them from killing
Peter is what enables the rest of the series to continue, and having
Siri and Remus willing to kill him adds to the drama of PoA.

It also draws an interesting parallel between the Shack and the Prank.
  (I've tried this before with less success, but bear with me.)  When
James ran down the tunnel to rescue Snape, was Snape's safety his
first concern?  Maybe, but considering the animosity between Snape and
James it's highly likely a part of him wanted to let Snape go and let
the chips fall where they may.  But James knew exactly where the chips
would fall: Right on top of his best friends' heads.  Siri would
certainly have been expelled as would Remus (with his secret out) and
possibly criminal charges would have been filed against Siri (or
whatever they do in the WW), so you could say with all accuracy that
James saved Snape in order to save his friends. 

I can't help but think that Siri and Remus caught the parallel (if not
at that moment, then later) when Harry saved Pettigrews life to save
Siri and Remus.  Given that, it adds poignancy to Siri's parting
comment to Harry that he is truly his father's son.


--Dicentra, who has been waiting and waiting to use WARPDRIVE