Sirius reservations

[annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 79914

Geoff wrote:
> > Come, come, read your POA! 
> > 
> > "Then, out of the darkness, they heard a yelping, a whining, a 
dog in 
> > pain....."
> > 
> > The Dementors approached Sirius first. He fainted. It was only 
then 
> > that they closed in and "formed a solid wall around *HArry and 
> > Hermione*". Twasn't just Harry though they seemed to concentrate 
on 
> > him after this - because he was the only one conscious?
<snip> 

Kneasy wrote: 
> Tut, tut!
> Of course I've read PoA (and probably missed some important 
> clues too!).
> The yelping, whining dog I ascribe to the proximity of the 
> Dementors; they have an affecct on everyone near them. As
> Sirius has spent so many years unnder their  influence, I'd be
> surprised if he wasn't sensitised.
> BTW, the fact that *as a dog*  he was so affected by them adds
> a bit more muscle to my query regarding Sirius' escape - as a dog.

Annemehr:
Actually, I ascribe Sirius' yelping in pain to having just been 
injured by Lupin the werewolf as he finally succeeds in driving him 
off; after all, this must be the first time he'd ever tried to 
control him without Prongs and Harry's already seen that Lupin had 
gashed him.  I just wonder if the dementors were close enough to him 
at the time he yelped to be the cause of it, because of this passage:

"But then, from beyond the range of their vision, they heard a 
yelping, a whining: a dog in pain....
"Sirius," Harry muttered, staring into the darkness.
He had a moment's indecision, but there was nothing thy could do for 
Ron at the moment, and by the sound of it, Black was in trouble --
Harry set off at a run, Hermione right behind him.  The yelping 
seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake.  They 
pelted toward it, and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold without 
realizing what it must mean --
The yelping stopped abruptly.  As they reached the lakeshore, they 
saw why -- Sirius had turned back into a man.  He was crouched on 
all fours, his hands over his head."

>From Sirius' yelp of pain until Harry sees him crouched by the lake 
seems to take a fair amount of time.  Harry even feels the cold 
before he even sees Sirius.  To me, this means that the dementors 
were still fairly far off when Sirius began yelping; otherwise, they 
would have been surrounding Sirius already by the time Harry reached 
him.  Add to that the fact that he was emotionally best able to deal 
with dementors in dog form, and I think that would counterbalance 
the fact that there were so many dementors (which would also have 
been the case at Azkaban).

Of course, as to why Harry was going to be the first one kissed, 
I've already posted my theory -- it was that dementor from the 
Hogwarts Express that had gotten a taste for Harry and wanted 
more. :P

Does anybody know whether it says anywhere how close the Whomping 
Willow is to the lake?

Annemehr