Chapter 10 discussions

[tubazrcool]

No: HPFGUIDX 180485

Questions:

1.    Sirius' room is described as dusty and there is a spider's web
and mice inhabiting it.  The decorations are also from his teen years
as well.  Do you think that Sirius actually stayed in his old room in
"The Order of the Phoenix" or that he stayed in another bedroom?

tubazrcool:
He stayed in his room, I would think. But it also mentions that he
stayed with Witherwings alot for company.

3.    Why is Lily's letter addressed to "Padfoot" instead of Sirius?
Is this just a term of affection or was Sirius underground at the
time of the letter?  If a term of affection, why doesn't she call
James "Prongs" in the letter?  She calls Peter "Wormy", so it seems
she does know about the nicknames.

tubazrcool:
Since the nicknames are only known by a select group of people, I
find it appropriate that she uses them. She may have just slipped up
calling James by his real name, since she probably didn't call
him "Prongs" in everyday talk. But it could have been that no one
would have known that Padfoot was Sirius and "Wormy" was Peter, so if
intercepted by a DE or dark wizard (think Draco, before he went all
DE), the reader would know that Lily and James and Harry were all
alive and well, but wouldn't know who they were contacting, as it
could be used against them, and the contactees tortured for
information.

4.    Kreacher mentions that Sirius' leaving home broke his mother's
heart. Does this new bit of information seem  to contradict Sirius'
story about his relationship with his family?

To answer this question with a female streak --> Every mother would
obviously mourn for their child's departure -- whether death
or "never speaking to them again". To answer this question with a
male streak ---> Maybe Kreacher saw Madame Black crying and thought
she was sad. We know from OOTP on, that the Black family was very
pureblood and Slytherin-oriented, so perhaps Madame Black was weeping
purely for the fact that it was now evident that Sirius was a do-
gooder and was associating with muggleborns and halfbloods
and "traitors." Maybe the tears streamed down her cheeks because she
knew then that Sirius would never serve Voldemort, since he ran away
from their home, which was all Voldemort-supportive. It seems likely
the tears stopped after the family found out Voldemort's true goal,
as mentioned in OOTP.

5.    Regulus joined the DEs when he was 16, which means that
Voldemort really had no age limit for his recruits.  How does this
contrast with the Order of the Phoenix?  Ignoring that the DE's are
evil and the Order is good, do you think that the DEs support the
notion of fighting for what you believe in, regardless of age?  In
other words, do you agree with the Order's stance of not allowing
underage wizards to join or do you agree with the Death Eater's
stance instead?

I really don't think that the DE's really cared who joined their
squad, or how old they were (within reason), as long as they
were "for the cause." The Order, however, doesn't believe in
subjecting kids, or even young adults, to that kind of Musketeer
phrase, no matter the life experience. This makes the Order on the
Light side, since no self-respecting adult would approve of a kid
fighting when there is an "since-there-is-possible-capture-if-caught-
you-will-most-likely-die-and-you-better-be-okay-with-this-or-don't-
bother-joining" attitude. (My apologies for the long winded dashed
phrase).

6.    After Kreacher returns from the cave and tells his tale to
Regulus, where do you think Regulus went?  Regulus' return to
Kreacher shows a Regulus with a disturbed state of mind, strange,
according to Kreacher.  Do you think Regulus talked to anyone or just
did book research?

I think Regulus would have done a lot of research in any way he
could, possibly appealing to Horace Slughorn for information, or read
whatever books he could find, I doubt the ones dealing with Horcruxes
would have been light-hearted and sugar-coated, complete with cherry.

8.    How did you feel when Regulus' death was revealed?  I found
this to be the most tragic death of all of the deaths in the series.
Do you feel that Regulus redeemed himself?

I do feel that way. Regulus' death was too premature, but it explains
the note. "By the time you read this, I will already be gone." Don't
know if that's the actual quote, since I don't have the book with me.
I thought, and I probably wasn't alone on this, thought that he meant
went into hiding and I actually thought that the locket was in
Grimmauld Place from the moment the note was signed RAB. I linked it
to Regulus and remembered the locket from the house-cleaning. He was
redeemed right then and there in my mind. I was surprised when
Hermione didn't come up with the answer either during the last bit of
school or the early part of summer. Mrs. Know-it-all apparently
doesn't have any great common sense. Harry should have guessed it too
being that Sirius and he did have a long talk about the Black family
and its ins-and-outs in the 5th book.

Sorry I haven't participated in the other discussions. No computer at
home and college stuff interferes with my nerdy life.

tubazrcool