TBAY - Prank and the (Second) Pensieve Four

[marinafrants]

No: HPFGUIDX 78037

Kirstini adjusts her scarves, brushes sand from her clothes, and 
edges a few steps away from Marina as she offers another argument in 
favor of her theory.

> Marina's explanation, which cuts out Peter and Lily completely,
> offers no potential for motivation in Peter to betray or Lily to 
fall
> in love. Again, it doesn't have to - I'm still working on the fact
> that this is the last piece of information we have about the group.
> But Lily has to understand the danger that both James and Snape 
were
> in if the Prank is the point where she begins to see James in 
another
> light - and the fact that Remus was a werewolf wasn't ever 
disclosed
> to the rest of the school.

"I don't cut them out *completely*," Marina said quickly.  "They 
weren't involved during the prank, but they would've come into it 
quickly afterwards.  Peter was a part of the in-group, after all.  
He would've been told what happened as soon as James and Sirius got 
back.  And there are any number of ways Lily could come into it.  If 
she was prefect at the time, she could've been caught James or Peter 
or Sirius (or all three) trying to sneak back into the dorm on the 
night of the Prank. She could've overheard them fighting about it.  
She could've noticed the new tension and alienation among previously 
inseparable friends and confronted one of them about it.  (Peter 
would be the obvious weakest link here, so the "Lily finds out from 
Peter" theory could still be made to work that way.)  Given a reason 
to start paying attention to Remus, I bet it wouldn't take her too 
long to figure out that his illnesses always coincided with the full 
moon.  Lily seeing James in a new light because of the Prank does 
not require Lily knowing about the Prank in advance.


> And as for Sirius," Kirstini sighed sadly.
> Marina bristled.
>
> "Sirius isn't stupid. He couldn't be plotting murder for weeks
> without realising that he was plotting murder."
>
> "Well, he managed not to realise it in the time it took to come up
> with the scheme, put it into practise, have James informed of what 
he
> had done (somehow), and have Snape rescued.

"But under my theory," Marina points out yet again, "the time in
question is only a few minutes, and involves no advance planning.  I
don't think anyone, Sirius apologist or not, would dispute that 
Sirius is perfectly capable of being stupid for a few minutes at a 
time."



>Nope, I'm sticking with
> my original idea on this one. Sixteen" (she extended a friendly
> tongue at Marina) "year-old Sirius was such a superior, oblivious
> creature that he'd never really thought about wee Snivelley as a
> human being. His life wasn't an issue, up until the point where it
> became endangered. Actually, I think he comes out of my version
> slightly better than he does in yours. At least in mine it can all 
be
> attributed to *adolescent* stupidity..."

Once again, Marina finds herself confused by a turn in the
conversation.  "I'm not sure I know what you mean here.  A lot of 
things about the Prank are in dispute, but the fact that Sirius was 
an adolescent when it happened seems to me quite solidly canonical 
and accepted without question by all theories.  Did something I say 
suggest to you that I'm arguing Sirius *wasn't* really sixteen at 
the time?" She scratches her head in puzzlement and wonders if it's 
time to move the conversation to George's tavern.  Maybe it would 
all make more sense if she had a few beers first...

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com