CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Prisoner of Azkaban Chapter 4: The Leaky Cauldron

[AmanitaMuscaria]

No: HPFGUIDX 189492

> 
> 1. Percy seems to have no sense of humor. Did you feel sorry for Percy at any
> point or just accept that he deserves to be teased?

AM - As in RL, Percy's sort of attitude just invites teasing. I suppose the idea was to show Percy as being on the outer fringe of the family all along; otherwise his defection to the Ministry would have been strange and unbelievable. But the Wizarding world has a strong element of slapstick humour, a lot of it pretty dangerous to our eyes.
> 
> 2. Why does Crookshanks attack Scabbers on sight? Does he sense Scabbers is
> evil or just that he is not a rat?

AM - I thought it was the cat-rat animosity, and didn't think anything of it. It wasn't until much later in the book that I realised Crookshanks wasn't just a cat.
> 
> 3. Is the conflict between Scabbers and Crookshanks meant to reflect the
> conflict between Ron and Hermione?

AM - Never thought of it like that. I guess, as we're talking strong opposites, it works well.
> 
> 4. Harry, we are led to believe, has plenty of money and could afford anything
> he wants. Why is he so frugal? Is his frugality meant to be a sign of virtue,
> a good example to the readers?

AM - He's terrified of being dependent on the Dursleys. He has no way of knowing in real terms what his money is worth - he's not been given any idea what things cost day-to-day, as his only shopping is Diagon Alley once a year, and one mention of a Muggle shopping trip with Petunia. I wonder about that - no mention of Dudley with them. So he has no idea how much renting a flat, buying the weekly food, anything costs. I'm not surprised at all that he's careful.
> 
> 5. Did you agree with Mr. Weasley that Harry should be told about Black's
> motives?

AM - YES.
> 
> 6. Did you notice the strange fact that Scabbers was much too long-lived? What
> did you think it meant?

AM - I'd got no idea of the longevity of rats. If the twins were caught trying to get Ron to make an Unbreakable Vow (what did they want him to do?), they could have slipped Percy's rat, as Scabbers was then, anything - a Longevity potion, in the hopes it might turn him purple?
> 
> 7. The guards at Azkaban are mentioned again along with the information that DD
> doesn't like them. What did you think they were at this point?

AM - Again, I thought something pretty horrible - I think at this point, I was imagining Auschwitz. I _did_ think it was odd that Fudge had visited Azkaban the night Black escaped. But trying to think back, this was the first HP book I read, and I hadn't cottoned on to how much information JKR was slipping into the cracks.
> 
> Please add any questions you may have.
> 
> Nikkalmati

Thanks for the questions; I'm getting some of that first time reading memory back!  AM