Case for Marauders (was Re: Marauders, Voldemort and the Map)

[dcgmck]

No: HPFGUIDX 109729

> > RMM:
> > Huge reversal to you.  Not to me.  JKR is getting us ready for 
> > some hard doses of reality re: Harry's father.
> 
> Nora:
> Okay.  I'll repeat this one more time.
> 
> We have strong canon . . .

[snip]

dcgmck:
Fun reading, but have you considered the fact that virtually all you 
cited canon comes from hearsay?  What we know of the young James 
Potter comes from Harry's peek into Snape's pensieve-stored memories 
and from accounts told by James' closest school chums.  If we've 
learned anything from OotP, it's how easily manipulated Harry is by 
memories and dreams.  They have thus far proven to be half-truths 
more effective than lies, particularly because he feels he's learned 
from them surreptitiously.  

In a court of law, everything we know about Harry could be discounted 
as hearsay, including what Hagrid knows.  After all, while, 
Dumbledore trusts Hagrid with his life, he has not been seen to 
consult Hagrid about strategy.  What's more, if Hagrid were to be 
asked about Harry, Ron, and Hermione, he would describe them as 
saints as well, which we have clearly seen is not necessarily the 
case.  That makes him a less than trustworthy character witness.

You have to admit that the young James and Sirius do bear a 
resemblance to Malfoy in that they are clearly wealthy sons of 
privilege and influence, favored by at least some of the faculty and 
sufficiently outstanding to be known around campus by more than their 
dorm mates.  Such students would surely be prime targets and 
reasonably susceptible to others of power and influence, especially 
if offered an opportunity for mischief in the name of a lark.  Sin, 
if you believe in it, comes in gilded packages, not clearly marked 
DARK ARTS: Do not touch.

Rowling's texts have generally built on what she has not said 
previously, not on the hearsay she has let drop mischievously.  Why 
should her last two volumes be different?