Favorite books/Sirius Black/ Cedric taking crap/Godric's Hollow

[Laura]

No: HPFGUIDX 57480

Re: the discussion about our favorite books
Honestly, the first time I read PoA, I *hated* it.  And actually, 
this is a testament to JKR's ability as a writer.  She had me so 
completely and totally convinced that Sirius was evil that I was 
*angry* when I found out he wasn't.  I was so used to thinking 
otherwise that it upset me.  (Much in the same way I'd be upset if 
Lupin or someone else I firmly believe to be good turns out to be 
evil instead).  Other than that, the only comments I can contribute 
to this conversation is that I could never choose!  I've given it 
considerable thought and just can't pick a favorite book.


Kelly Grosskreutz wrote:
> > >
Sirius Black is whatever Fudge needs him to be. Also keep in
mind that people are willing to give more concessions and are more
manipulable when they are afraid. Sirius makes a good bogeyman. And to
cover all bases, Voldemort does not because he is *too* scary. 
Voldemort,
either overtly or through showing the MoM is unable to protect the 
people,
could undermine Fudge's power base. Sirius Black, right now, cannot.
However, if he were no longer the perfect scapegoat, could, and I'm 
not sure
if Fudge has realized that.
> > >

Now me (Laura):
On a related sidenote, what happened to this whole Sirius Black 
paranoia?  We know that the dementors were removed from the castle 
because of the near miss with Harry and the Kiss.  But apparently, 
the entiring wizarding world has forgotten about Sirius in the month 
or two we have between PoA ending and GoF beginning.  Molly Weasley 
cries out when Sirius reveals himself in the hospital wing in GoF, 
indicating that she still thinks he's a DE, but other than that, 
there are no references to any concerns about him.  The betrayer of 
the Potters, the man who'd give everything to have LV back and wants 
the hero of the WW dead escapes from possibly the most heavily 
guarded and dreadful prison in all of history- and after exactly one 
Hogwarts school year (i.e., the length of one book) everyone just 
forgets and stops caring?  Ok, probably just convenient for JKR, but 
still, it bugs me.


Kelly Grosskreutz also wrote: (Re: her comment about Cedric taking 
crap from the Gryffindors)
> > >
Ok, maybe I worded that badly. But they still said some pretty mean 
things
about him and didn't seem to want to give him a chance simply because 
of the
Quidditch match the previous year. This attitude annoyed me, which 
prompted
my comment.
> > > 

Laura again:
OK, so I'm too lazy to go get my books out, but I'd like to point out 
that Fred and George don't think too highly of Cedric since *before* 
that match.  When the Gryffindor team is preparing for the match 
against Hufflepuff, Wood mentions Diggory, and the girls get all 
giggly.  The boys become annoyed and ask what they mean, and one of 
them says something like, "he's the tall, handsome one, right?" and 
another responds with "strong and silent."  And more giggles ensure.  
However, one of the Weasley twins comments that he's only so silent 
because he's "too thick" to be able to string two words together.  We 
rarely, rarely see the twins say things like this, and I'm going to 
chalk it up to jealousy.  The girls get giggly simply at the mention 
of Cedric's name, and they are simply jealous.  (Especially for Fred 
if his feelings for Angelina go back that far).  They react out of 
jealousy because Cedric is regarded as handsome.  IMHO, the same goes 
for Seamus(?)'s comment about Cedric being a "pretty boy."  When 
Harry is made champion, he is given crap for the *same exact 
reasons*  But he gets it tenfold because, let's face it, "The Boy Who 
Lived" (and based on physical descriptions, is probably regarded as 
fairly attractive by at least *some* witches) holds more weight than 
the just-plain-handsome Cedric.  Not that I excuse the behavior.  But 
I don't think it goes any further than simple teenage jealousy.

Katrina: (Re: Who was at Godric's Hollow?)
> > >
What if the voice Harry hears in the presence of the boggart/dementor 
is his own voice? What if Harry comes back to that night in order to 
help his parents and gets killed by Lord Voldemort while gaining some 
time for Lily and baby Harry? He knows where the
Potters were hiding, the Fidelius Charm was already broken, he has 
used a Time
Turner before... it makes awful sense...

As I said before, I don't like this theory but couldn't keep it to 
myself.So
what if the mere presence of his future self in that tragic night has 
the power
to prevent his past self from being killed? Nasty theory though... 
> > >

Laura again:
Um...wait.  I'm not sure this makes so much sense.  Because if he'd 
gotten killed by LV, wouldn't his shadow/echo thing come out of the 
wand?  Unless he switched bodies with his father or something, which 
is just plain weird.  Not to mention it'd give me about as many 
headaches as the TT conversations do.  Besides, even if TT!Harry went 
back and gave Lily more time to save BabyHarry...well, what good 
would that do in defeating LV once and for all?  Unless he'd already 
beaten LV and had to go back and save himself to make sure he was 
around to beat LV in the first place.  But then it'd be a 
melodramatic and awkward plot development.  Ack.  I'm making a 
TimeTravel arguement.  Let's just end this now then. =)

My own personal theory, which I posted awhile back, is that Snape was 
there.  It was really a theory as much as a suggestion.  However, in 
Harry's first night at Hogwarts, he has a dream with a blinding flash 
of light and a cold, high-pitched laugh.  In the dream...I think 
Draco is laughing?  But eventually the laughing person transforms 
into Snape.  Is it possible that Harry's subconcious made this 
connection because he simply equates evil with evil and thinks Snape 
to be evil?  Or is it because Harry actually remembers Snape being 
there?  Just a thought.  But that's still my story.  And I'll 
probably stick too it-unless something more interesting comes along, 
anyway. =)

-Laura