CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 29, Career Advice

[Tammy]

No: HPFGUIDX 115900


> Dungrollin wrote:
> > The pantsing was during O.W.L.s, at the end of the 5th year, and 
> > Sirius says that Lily started going out with James in the seventh 
> > year (by which time he'd reformed enough to make Head Boy, too).
> > So what was it that happened in the sixth year to deflate James'
> > head, and turn him into Mr. Morality?
> 
> Reed wrote:
> Could it be the famous 'prank'? It happened when Sirius was 16, so
> probably in their 6th year. I imagine that this could have been the 
> moment where James realised that they were overstepping the line of 
> 'practical jokes' and the experience could have changed his general 
> behaviour quite a bit.   

Tammy:

Good point. Presumably all the things that MWPP did to Snape (and
others) were humiliating, but harmless stunts. The prank in 6th year
would have killed Snape, or turned him into a werewolf, had James not
stopped it. It probably crossed the boundary so much that James at the
very least changed his behaviour. I read a wonderful fanfiction
somewhere at one point that also pointed out that had the prank
"suceeded" (by killing Snape) Lupin would have been killed or ended up
in Azkaban most likely, so even Lupin would have been pissed off about
the incident. 

-Tammy