CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Chapter 12: The Pat

[June Ewing]

No: HPFGUIDX 189944


> 1. Harry learning how to produce a Patronus was one of the
> moments in the book when I was so very proud of him. What
> are your "being proud of Harry" moments?

June:
I was proud of Harry for the way he made it through the years
of living with the Dursleys and for having the strength to go
back every year because I think living with them was more
stressful than any thing he had to do in the wizarding world.

> 2. Why wasn't Harry's happy memory in this chapter enough to
> produce a corporeal Patronus?

It wasn't the happiest memory he had (although a very good one)
and the patronus charm is so difficult even if he did use his
happiest memory it isn't likely that it would work the first
time.

> 3. If Dementor can suck a person's soul from them, does it
> mean that Potterverse does not believe in souls' immortality?
> If a Dementor dies somehow, would the soul be released? Lupin
> tells Harry that a soul is gone forever, lost. Where is it
> lost in your opinion?

I do not believe this means that in the Potterverse a soul is
not immortal, but that it would be forever in the dementor and
the person whose soul it is would just be souless for the rest
of his/her life. I think like in real life that some things
although we know about them there are aspects of them that we
do not know. When Lupin says that the soul is lost forever, that
that could not necessarily be true and if a dementor dies (if
one can die) then I believe the soul would be released. The soul
when sucked from its victim would be part of the dementor.

> 4. What is behind Lupin's asking Harry whether anybody
> deserves the Dementor's kiss? Is he hesitant to believe in
> Sirius' guilt or he is simply not a believer in such
> punishment? Any other suggestions?

I believe Lupin asked that because he does not believe that
anyone deserves to lose their soul and that he does not have
any doubt (at this point) that Sirius was guilty.

> 5. Whose side you were on when Harry and Ron and Hermione were
> at odds, if anybody's?

This is a hard one because on one hand Hermione should have been
watching Crookshanks closer since she knows he has been trying
to get Scabbers, but on the other hand Crookshanks was just
acting like a normal cat and maybe Ron should have kept a closer
eye on Scabbers to keep him safe from Crookshanks and even put
Scabbers in a cage to make it hard for him to wander around where
he could be in danger, but at the same time Ron did jump to
conclusions and Hermione was right that Crookshanks didn't eat
Scabbers so maybe she knew what she was talking about. But all in
all I was sure Crookshanks had done some thing to Scabbers but
thought the whole time that there was some thing funny about
Scabbers and there was more to those two than meets the eye.

> 6. Were you suspicious as to how Hermione is getting to all her
> classes at the time?

Yes, I believe everyone must have been.

> 7. Please feel free to add your own question.

Does anyone else think it took an awful long time to check that
broom for curses?

June