Puzzles: Wormtail's finger and Shrieking Shack tunnel

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 79350

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "a_reader2003"
<carolynwhite2 at a...> wrote:
> I have just been re-reading PoA and two logistics problems occurred 
> to me:
> 
> (1) How did Wormtail simultaneously cut off his finger and blow a 
> hole in the ground whilst he was holding his wand with both hands 
> behind his back ?? ... Sirius says 'I cornered him', 
> suggesting to me that Peter did not come there willingly to meet 
> Sirius, ....
> 

bboy_mn:
Well, the best we can do, if we assume that the book is true, is
combine gross speculation with what we think might be likely. Given
that, I will take a stab at it.

"... he was holding his wand with both hands behing his back ?? ..."

Oh really...? How do you know he was holding his wand with BOTH hands? 

I can picture several ways in which he could have cut off his finger
and blasted the street. As a simple test, take a pen or a pencil and
hold it in one hand behind your back with the point pointing down at
the floor. ...there, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now put your other
hand behind your back and put a pen mark at the base of you index
finger. ...again, not so hard, was it? 

He could have cut his finger off behind his back and let the severed
finger fall to the ground, then pointed his wand a few feet to the
side and blasted the hole in the street. When the blast went off, he
instantly transformed. Being a rat that was very small and close to
the ground, the bulk of the blast and debris would have gone well over
his head. In the distraction, he scurried across that short stretch of
ground, into the crater, and down into the sewer. ...Bada-bing bada-boom.

As far as who 'cornered' who, the expression 'cornered him' doesn't
mean literally in a corner. It is a general expression that means you
have confronted a person in such a way that they are unable to avoid
the confrontation. You could 'corner' someone in the middle of a large
open field without a literal corner in sight.

And, you are right, Peter wasn't willingly there for the purpose of
meeting Sirius. Sirius caught up to Peter, as Peter moved through the
muggle world thereby hoping to avoid detection by wizards. It's
possible that Peter was in an area where he had friends, or perhaps it
was several blocks from where his mother's or uncle's wizard's house
was hidden in London. There are lots of possible speculations about
how Sirius could have found Peter in a big city like London. Either
way, the way I read it is that Peter was moving through muggle London
to avoid detection by wizards, and Sirius was still able to track him
down and confront him on a muggle street.



> (2) The tunnel from the Whomping willow to the Shrieking Shack is 
> initially described as so low and narrow that Harry and Hermione had 
> to crouch double to get along it. Then, as Sirius and Remus talk 
> about their schoolboy exploits, they explain that Sirius and James 
> transformed as a bear-size dog and a stag with antlers, but were 
> still able to follow Remus down the tunnel. Later, four adults, some 
> tied together, manage to walk back along it, including Snape in a 
> more-or-less upright position ! Hmmmmmm 
> 
> Any theories ?
> 
> CW


bboy_mn:

Well, if the mechanics of one method seem impossible, yet we accept
that it is true, then logically, they used anther method. First, the
book doesn't say they all transform and went into the tunnel. It says
Peter/Wormtail transformed so he could press the knot and freeze the
tree. Then they went into the tunnel, not they all transformed and
went into the tunnel.

The logical logistics would be, the rat stops the tree, and they all
go into the tunnel. When they get to the Shrieking Shack end of the
tunnel the rat goes through into the house first to create a
distraction. Then the dog transforms and enters the room to help
restrain the werewolf. Then James steps into the room and transforms
into a stag. The rat and the dog are small enough to enter in animal
form and control the werewolf. Prongs/James being much larger, had to
enter the room as a man, and then transform. 

As far as getting out of the Shack for their adventures, Lupin said
under the influence of his friends he was calmer and more managable.
So, the rat, the werewolf, and the dog went through the tunnel first;
the dog being able to control the werewolf if necessary. Once they
were out of the Whomping Willow end of the tunnel, the wolf, rat, and
the dog wait in the forest for James to join them as a stag. ...and
the adventure begins.

As far as Harry and friends getting out after the Shrieking Shack
incident. You can't look at it and say, 'that couldn't happen'. You
have to assume it did happen then search for a likely explaination.

Harry does comment that the three people chained together were having
a hard time moving through the tunnel, and that progress was slow. So
that seems a reasonable explaination for that part. 

Harry, Sirius, and Harry didn't have any restictions, ie: weren't
chained to anyone, so they could move somewhat normally in the cramped
space. 

That only leave Snape to explain. If the space was that confined then
it would seen logical that Snapes feet were dragging on the ground
causing him to move forward with his body inclined at a forward
leaning angle; that is, head leading and feet trailing behind. We also
know from Harry's observations that Snape was frequently bumping his
head. So, Snape's head was as high as the ceiling would allow, and his
feet dragged behind as he was locomotored forward through the tunnel.

Seems reasonable to me.

Of course, that's just one man's opinion.

bboy_mn