[HPforGrownups] Chapter Discussion: Prisoner of Azkaban Ch 22: Owl Post Again

[Liz Clark]

No: HPFGUIDX 191242

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Questions:

Everyone pull out your time-turners and give them about five thousand turns. 
Now that you are back where you were when you just finished reading this 
book for the first time.

1.  Snape is raving mad and thinks Potter had a hand in Sirius's escape 
*before* Dumbledore drops the hints about "being in two places at once". 
Does Snape suspect time-turning was involved?
Liz:
2 thoughts. Snape was highly intelligent and was bound to know about the 
time-turner and he possibly had witnessed something similar with the 
Marauders when they were at school.


2. "Harry had the impression that Lupin wanted to leave as quickly as 
possible." Was he ashamed of himself in front of Dumbledore? Was this more 
evidence of his cowardice?
Liz:
Ashamed, yes. He had at worst lied to DD, at best withheld the truth. He 
knew this revelation was also going to give DD a hard time and his continued 
presence was bound to cause more grief.


3. Dumbledore tells Harry that the life debt is "magic at its deepest, its 
most impenetrable". Knowing now how Pettigrew's debt plays out, are you 
satisfied with Dumbledore's proclamation? Do you think JKR did this 
supposedly grave issue justice?
Liz:
Haven't read DH yet, but from my understanding, it seems more to do with 
feeling guilty than anything magical. If someone saves your life, you feel 
you owe them, regardless of the magic involved. From this, my understanding 
is that the 'magic' is more a feeling, like love was considered magic.


4. Remember in the first book, how we learn of Snape's "life debt" to James, 
and how that comes to the fore in this book. Do you think this life debt 
"deep magic" is as powerful as the ancient love magic that Lily invoked when 
saving Harry? Do you see enough evidence of the "life debt" magic to be 
convinced that it exists?
Liz:
No, as said above, I think it's more of an 'I owe him' more than magic.


5. Dumbledore also tells Harry that "the time may come when he will be glad 
he saved Pettigrew's life." For those Lord of the Rings fans amongst the 
group, how would you compare and contrast this James/Harry-Wormtail 
connection with the Bilbo/Frodo-Gollum connection?
Liz:
Not a LorR fan!


6.  Did you have any idea what could possibly have been Trelawney's "first" 
real prediction? Tell the truth now, did you have any inkling that it would 
turn out to be *the Prophesy* of all prophesies?
Liz:
Erm... not sure on this. But I think I swept over that litle snippet and 
didn't register the 'second prophecy' bit!


7. How did Dumbledore know James's nickname was Prongs? Did he know about 
the Marauder's Map?
Liz:
I wouldn't put it past DD to know about the Marauder's Map, but saw it has 
harmless fun. Knowing the nicknames would be fairly easy, just eavesdrop a 
little! I'm sure the Marauder's used their nicknames quite often, probably 
being proud of them!


8. Disregarding the needs of the author for plot development, should 
Hermione have told Harry and Ron much earlier about the time-turner? If you 
were Hermione, would you have told the boys sooner?
Liz:
Hermione was told not to, and Hermione being Hermione wouldn't break rules! 
Although, telling the boys would have encouraged them to break the rules 
with it. Imagine if they had the opportunity... Harry was bound to want to 
get Malfoy into trouble, etc. If I had the time-turner, then no I wouldn't 
have told them, I wouldn't want to lose the advantage I have! (I'm a 
Slytherin)

Great questions Mike, thanks.