Chapter Discussion: Prisoner of Azkaban Ch 22: Owl Post Again

[Ute in DC]

No: HPFGUIDX 191253




--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Mike Crudele" <mcrudele78 at ...> wrote:

> 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?
>  
> 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?

Nathaniel:
I'm glad you asked these questions. It has been years since I've posted here, but I wanted to chime in on this subject. I just recently started rereading the series and this particular subject caught my fancy then.

No, I don't believe in this deep magic as presented in the Harry Potter world. Dumbledore starts waxing poetic here, and it's a bit much for my taste. This scene takes up more text than the eventual payoff in Deathly Hallows. For my taste, the scene would be stronger if Dumbledore had said the bit about Pettigrew being in Harry's debt, but left off the bit about magic at its deepest. I find it a tad too sappy there.

Also, in Snape's words, he doesn't feel indebted to James. Although Snape isn't necessarily the most reliable for information, I don't get the impression he is lying when in the Chapter "Snape's Grudge" he tells Harry that James was saving his own skin. From Snape's point of view, he doesn't owe James or Harry anything.

Of course Dumbledore couldn't fully explain why, but the reason Snape saved Harry's life in the Philosopher's Stone has nothing to do with James. He did it because he promised Dumbledore he would protect Harry, and Snape took that promise seriously.


> 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?

Nathaniel:
I certainly knew the prophesy had to be *big* because Dumbledore never explains what the first prophesy was in PoA. Hence, because it was left a mystery, I knew the answer had to be deeply connected to overall arc of the story. Of course, I had no idea where the story was going, so know I didn't know its fundamental nature.

> 7. How did Dumbledore know James's nickname was Prongs? Did he know about the Marauder's Map?

Nathaniel: 
I suspect he did know of the map, but rather of James' Patronus, which is how members of the Order of the Phoenix communicate.
 
> 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?

Nathaniel:
Yes. It really makes no sense for the boys not to know. If, by chance, they had seen two Hermiones at one time, then the boys may have suspected the worst. I don't see how now knowing could possible benefit Harry and Ron, but there are many ways it could go wrong.