Some questions/comments about GoF

[Barbara D. Poland-Waters]

No: HPFGUIDX 101973

Why does VM address PP as Wormtail? Wasn't that just his marauder nickname
in school?

Why did PP find (look for) VM after POA? Wouldn't it have been safer to just
hide out as a sewer rat somewhere? Or perhaps he was so afraid of his old
"friends," he felt he had to align himself with VM again, even if he didn't
know how much power he would have when he found him.

Why didn't DD have Harry start Occlumency lessons in GoF? Since Sirius told
DD about Harry's scar hurting and his first dream before Harry even
mentioned that it happened a second time, shouldn't DD have realized then
that there was a connection between VM and Harry that could be dangerous?

Why did Moody/Crouch turn Malfoy into a ferret, or was that to prove he
(Moody) is a "good" guy? Actually, I think I can answer that myself, since
Barty Jr. holds a grudge against all the DEs that escaped prosecution and
weren't "faithful" to VM.

Is there any connection between the well known phrase "Abra Kadabra" and the
Avada Kedavra in the book. Is this JKR's way of taking a popular "magical"
phrase and adding some meaning to it?

Why are only certain people ghosts, for example, why aren't Lily and James
ghosts? Also, are the ghosts we see at Hogwarts former Wizards?

It's so clear to me that Fudge is the "One, too cowardly to return. . ."
With all his denying that VM is back at the end of the book, it seems so
clear that he's afraid that he's going to be punished by VM for not
supporting him or looking to help him when VM was in exile. And he has the
ambition and desire to stay MoM which certainly can't happen if he starts
prosecuting DEs and VM. . .they can implicate him and then he'll lose his
job and get thrown into jail!

It's also clear to me that Snape is a double agent, that DD trusts him
because he went from being a DE (or maybe was even faking that for VM) to
being a spy, and he will be accepted by the DEs again, even though he didn't
show up at VM's rebirth, because he can say he was maintaining his cover as
a spy, not letting DD know anything was going on.

And although I don't like Snape in general, if DD trusts him, so do I. JKR
has painted Snape in very broad strokes that you can't miss- -bad guy, Harry
hates him, he's mean to people, etc. That's a little too obvious to make him
truly evil, I think. I also loved how Snape and McGonagall really do act as
DD's right-hand men, they don't question him when he directs them to do
something and they are completely loyal and trusting of him, as he
apparently is of them.

I am forced to wonder yet again how a movie of GOF can possibly be made with
out scaring the bejesus out of everyone under 10! I mean, I know some kids
are allowed to watch cartoon violence and stuff that's obviously made with
special effects and all, but VM putting the Cruciatus curse on people,
Wormtail cutting off his own hand, etc... That's all seriously disturbing
stuff! I fear that the directing/writing team won't do justice to the
all-important graveyard scene because of the kids in the audience. Ideally,
I'd think that making an accurate representation of the book into a movie
would require an "R" rating, and they won't want to have a "R" rating for it
if they want to market it primarily to kids.

I felt SO bad for Harry. What an ordeal to go through. And who knows how
much of his acting out and anger in OOTP isn't at least partly a result of
his trauma at the end of GOF. After all, right after that he's left alone
for most of the summer (IIRC. . .if I don't, I apologize- -I'm about to read
OOTP) to deal with his memories of that night. That was a pretty horrible
experience and he gets virtually no support almost immediately after it
happens.

I have changed my mind about POA being my favorite book. I think GoF is now.
I've read it at least 3-4 times now and for some reason, in the past, I
always thought it was too complicated. But I followed things much better now
regarding what Barty Crouch, Jr. did and how things happened, and at the end
I had tears in my eyes when Lily and James come out of the wand.

I reserve the right to add to my comments if I think of anything else. :^)

Barbara
bd-bear