PoA Chapter Eighteen

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I've been packing all day and totally forgot to post this like I planned until now!



Based on the title of this chapter, more interesting things to follow!

Sirius leaps on Ron’s broken leg. Sucks to be Ron. He doesn't even suffer in a woobie, sexy way.

Sirius says they can explain what's going on afterward he kills Peter. Apparently he hasn’t learned anything from Azkaban. Try explaining first just once, Sirius. You might like it.

Ron’s now been bitten a lot by Scabbers btw. Ron’s pretty tough to be able to still hold on to him. Rat bites are nasty.

It is kind of ironic that it’s Lupin telling Sirius to explain everything from the beginning. Almost as if he’s trying to stretch this out until the moon rises!

LOL! Ron actually tries to say “I’m off” and hobble out on his broken leg. Possibly the funniest thing Ron’s ever done. Yeah, we’ll meet you back at school, Ron.

Ron and Harry’s eyes meet. They both believe Sirius and Lupin are out of their minds because the story makes no sense. Um, yes it does make sense. You just saw that Sirius was the black dog here, you guys. Hermione really is the thinking brain dog, isn’t she?

There’s only been seven animagi in the entire century. It’s kind of cute that at this age it doesn’t occur to Hermione that that’s because nobody actually registers.

That door opening? Totally Snape entering the room. Severus Snape: Super Spy.

Despite the fact that Wizards grow up in a world where all sorts of magical things happen, they never seem any more prepared than a Muggle would be to deal with this stuff if somebody doesn’t walk them through it beforehand: But Scabbers can’t be a man, he’s a rat! Or: Oh, the door opened by itself as if someone was walking in? Couldn’t possibly be someone walking in. We didn’t see them!

Lupin says that “in those days” (when he was bitten) there was no cure. There’s no cure now either, Lupin, as far as we know. The Potion isn’t a cure.

Harry can see where this story is going. Well done, Harry! (Though I don't think Harry ever tells us where he thinks it's going. Knowing Harry maybe this is all leading up to Julie Christie, and not Petunia Dursley, being Harry's aunt.)

Lupin’s friends couldn’t help but notice he disappeared once a month. Too bad you didn’t have Harry for a friend, Remus. He could have easily not noticed. Or at least not deduce anything from it if he did. How are you and Ron doing on that “Hermione’s regularly three places at once” mystery you’ve been solving since September, Harry?

Lupin reminisces about how his friends let a werewolf wander around loose in a town, trusting that they’d be able to keep him in control. Next you can all share stories about those carefree nights drunk driving on the highway and the laughs you had when you’d almost hit someone. Hermione agrees with me, at least.

Lupin feels a little guilty about betraying Dumbledore’s trust. Don’t worry, Lupin. Once Dumbledore finds out he’ll make you pay for it. You didn’t really think all that spying on the werewolves was for nothing, did you? Or that Sirius really needed to live in the one house he hated more than anything?

Lupin explains he didn’t tell Dumbledore Sirius was an animagus because he was too cowardly. Though really he could have told him without his disapproval. He could tell him Sirius had become an animagus without telling him why. I just can’t help but cheer anyone on for keeping a secret from Dumbledore for any reason.

Lupin cleverly says that Snape’s been right about him all along in the exact company that will assure him that Snape is never right about anything.

Lupin makes the first reference to the trick Sirius pulled on Snape, which Sirius still says served Snape right. I miss this version of the Prank.

Wow. Speaking of versions of stories, Lupin throws in without having to that Snape didn’t like James because he was, I don’t know, jealous of how good he was at Quidditch. Does he just automatically cut Snape down and cover for James and Sirius here without thinking about it even though it’s not necessary for the story? Because there’s just no way Lupin could actually believe that.

Lupin continues to impress me with how smoothly he polishes up the story dishonestly on the fly. (Seriously, I love Lupin.) Not only did he take time to suggest Snape hated James over Quidditch but he adds that James pulled Snape back from the tunnel at “great risk to his own life.” Except James is an animagus, as we’ve already learned, and werewolves are only dangerous to people. James regularly went down the tunnel to see Lupin for fun. The only danger James was in was being outed as an animagus by Snape. But he sure sounds more heroic in this version of the story.

And this is where Snape reveals himself, and given what he’s just heard man he must be pissed.

Seriously, I know he won’t listen to reason here but he really did just hear Lupin give a completely self-serving speech about him and his buddies. Imagine Harry listening to a conversation where Draco talked about his time at school with Harry this way. He'd be even more angry than Snape for less reason.

Things that happen twice:

Peter’s an animagus, just like Black and McGonagall. Perhaps after a THIRD example Ron and Harry will catch on that sometimes animals turn out to actually be people.
Speaking of unregistered animagi: Rita Skeeter.
‘Member how Harry went to the Shrieking Shack in his invisibility cloak? Now Snape’s come to the Shack in Harry's invisibility cloak.
In fact, three books from now it’ll be Harry slipping in a door in his invisibility cloak, only Draco will actually notice. Draco, the only character besides Hermione known to ever deduce things or make a cunning plan—even if it’s usually with disastrous results.
I was half-joking when writing about Lupin’s life among the werewolves in HBP as Dumbledore’s punishment for betraying his trust but it actually makes total sense and is in fitting with Dumbledore’s character. Plus it’s a nicely eerie parallel for Voldemort amusing himself by giving Draco an assignment to make him suffer and fail in HBP!
Lupin didn’t tell Dumbledore Sirius was an animagus because he’s a coward. Because he’s a coward. Because he’s a coward. That'll come up a lot.
Lupin’s “Snape’s been right about me all along” is about as disingenuous as his later “Snape’s right to have me fired” will be shortly.
Lupin’s behavior really does make him seem like exactly the guy Snape thinks he is here, just as it did in the Marauders Map chapter.

It’s a gun. No it isn’t! It’s Chekov! No it isn’t!

The Prank
Well, this one’s obvious, isn’t it? The series can’t end until we get the real story…

Status: Um...fired, but it turns out it was not so much a real gun as an empty water pistol that Snape shot at his own pants to make an embarrassing stain.





Exploitation Filmmakers’ Credo
Animagus. It’s not that difficult a concept. Even when you heard the guy had died.

Foley Work
Come on, you know the door had to creak really loudly when Snape walked in, even if his footsteps were somehow muffled.

Informed Attributes
Lupin’s just spitting these out right and left without Harry questioning any of them.

James Bond Exposition Rule
That’s it, Remus, keep talking. Just a little longer before the moon’s up. Don’t leave out the part about Quidditch. Quidditch is really important to the story.

Misdirected Answering
The chapter’s over and we still haven’t gotten anywhere near how Peter’s alive and Sirius didn’t kill him or why Sirius suddenly isn’t a bad guy anymore.

The Stealth Monster Rule
See Work, Foley. Snape must be using some version of Muffliato as he comes up those stairs!

Jabootu Score: 6

Comments

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Um - we got the real story of the prank? When? Please remind me. Because I certainly don't remember learning what actually happened. All I remember is finding out that James boasted about saving Sev in Lily's hearing, and that Sev was forbidden to talk about it. And THEN they turned Sev upside down, made him eat soap, mocked him, threatened to strip him naked in mixed company, and so on.

I really hate the Marauders. Yes, young Sev was a jerk, too, but he was nowhere near as bad as they were. Not based on what we're shown.

On the other hand -
Lupin feels a little guilty about betraying Dumbledore’s trust. Don’t worry, Lupin. Once Dumbledore finds out he’ll make you pay for it. You didn’t really think all that spying on the werewolves was for nothing, did you? Or that Sirius really needed to live in the one house he hated more than anything?
Oh, yes. And I do feel sorry for them as far as that goes. Dumbledore is just so very kind to vulnerable people who are much younger than he. I do agree with you that standing up to Dumbledore, or keeping secrets from him, is healthy behavior.

Glad you got this one up. Have a good weekend.

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

And THEN they turned Sev upside down, made him eat soap, mocked him, threatened to strip him naked in mixed company, and so on.

I'm sure I've seen it mentioned before, but can you remind me where it is in the canon that the chronological order of the events are established? In the early books we thought we were safe in believing that the 'prank' - Sirius luring Snape to the werewolf Lupin - was the end of the enmity between James and Snape, yes? (At least going one way, James growing up.)

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

True, we never actually see what happened. I should have said we get the "final version" in The Prince's Tale, where we learn that Snape expected to find a werewolf. What James did to become known as heroic remains unknown. It's funny that Lily won't believe the werewolf story, even though she would be able to see Lupin disappearing once a month as easily as anyone else, but she does believe there was some monster that James saved Snape from that night.

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

There’s only been seven animagi in the entire century. It’s kind of cute that at this age it doesn’t occur to Hermione that that’s because nobody actually registers.

That's her classic "she puts too must trust in the authorities" weakness I suppose. I guess she grows out of that ... proposing the D.A. is one huge example. And she doesn't try and persuade Harry that he should seek (adult) help in DH, although that's only because Rowling wanted to write a book about the Trio going it alone and so hobbled Hermione on that score. Among many.

Despite the fact that Wizards grow up in a world where all sorts of magical things happen, they never seem any more prepared than a Muggle would be to deal with this stuff if somebody doesn’t walk them through it beforehand

Wow, it's as if the author hasn't really thought things out beyond the point of view of the protagonist, isn't it? Or beyond what's necessary for the desired plot to proceed. ;-) But yes, if Ron immediately recognised Harry's cloak in book 1 as an invisibility cloak - that's a stock standard, non-super-duper, never-thought-of-Hallows-until-the-end invisibility cloak, mind you - then he, and the other wizards brought up in the magical world should recognise this sort of thing immediately. Invisible intruders and polyjuice possibilities and Fidelius flaws and ...

But Rowling wasn't able to remove herself from the point of view of the muggle-raised Harry. Or her own muggle upbringing. Whereas a professional author would have thought out her world in more depth, I dare say.

Speaking of versions of stories, Lupin throws in without having to that Snape didn’t like James because he was, I don’t know, jealous of how good he was at Quidditch. Does he just automatically cut Snape down and cover for James and Sirius here without thinking about it even though it’s not necessary for the story? Because there’s just no way Lupin could actually believe that.

The whole Snape-lovedlusted-for-Lily thing was a secret, wasn't it? I've always assumed that only Snape - not even Lily - knew that the half-blood prince 'loved' her.

Are you referring to the Snape deserved it / no he didn't James & Co. were bullies thing instead?

Packing for a holiday? Have fun!

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Hermione's growth sort of starts out trusting authority and people in institutions, then she becomes cynical about people in institutions because she knows they're not the right people, and then finally she probably trusts them again, but only if she or her friends are in the position of authority.

Ron even knows that Harry may have dropped his invisibility cloak right outside, doesn't he?

Are you referring to the Snape deserved it / no he didn't James & Co. were bullies thing instead?

I meant that Lupin knew the way James treated Snape. He did it from the first day. So it's a bit disingenuous to act like he has no clue why Snape would hate James and think maybe he was jealous. Even if he doesn't know how it started he knows James picks on him--since Lupin himself was usually there. He would have heard James talk about Snape too.

Packing to move, actually!

[oryx_leucoryx]

The whole Snape-lovedlusted-for-Lily thing was a secret, wasn't it? I've always assumed that only Snape - not even Lily - knew that the half-blood prince 'loved' her.

Yes, Rowling's characters build it up as if it was all about Severus and James: in PS Twinkly says Severus hated James but protected Harry because of a life-debt to James he had not been able to repay. Now Remus brings up the Quidditch thing. In OOTP Sirius will say it was all about Severus liking Dark Arts and James hating them, when the most important component to the rivalry was Lily. Heck, even after DH I saw some people claiming the rivalry only picked up no earlier than the end of 2nd year, the earliest James could have been Quidditch champion. But Severus also contributes to this interpretation when in chapter 14 he talks about both Potters acting like rules were not for Quidditch champions. It almost looks like Twinkles, Severus, Remus and Sirius all agreed on this cover story.

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

But Rowling wasn't able to remove herself from the point of view of the muggle-raised Harry. Or her own muggle upbringing. Whereas a professional author would have thought out her world in more depth, I dare say.

Oh... now I want to read a crack!fic where the characters, or at least the Slytherin ones, complain about having been written by a Muggle.

Is there one already written, maybe?

[oryx_leucoryx]

That's her classic "she puts too must trust in the authorities" weakness I suppose. I guess she grows out of that ... proposing the D.A. is one huge example. And she doesn't try and persuade Harry that he should seek (adult) help in DH, although that's only because Rowling wanted to write a book about the Trio going it alone and so hobbled Hermione on that score. Among many.


By DH the dead Dumbledore is the only authority Hermione still trusts, or wants to trust. And her trust is based on Dumbledore's love for Harry (see her response to Aberforth, one person who knew Albus much longer than she did).

But yes, if Ron immediately recognised Harry's cloak in book 1 as an invisibility cloak - that's a stock standard, non-super-duper, never-thought-of-Hallows-until-the-end invisibility cloak, mind you - then he, and the other wizards brought up in the magical world should recognise this sort of thing immediately. Invisible intruders and polyjuice possibilities and Fidelius flaws and ...

And Remus must have known Harry had one at least since the last Hogsmeade visit.

Part One

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

Sirius says they can explain what's going on afterward he kills Peter. Apparently he hasn’t learned anything from Azkaban. Try explaining first just once, Sirius. You might like it.

Yeah. He's waited 12 years to kill this guy. You'd think he could wait another 15 minutes. On the other hand, in 15 minutes, Peter will be merrily fleeing to Albania...

Oh, the door opened by itself as if someone was walking in? Couldn’t possibly be someone walking in. We didn’t see them!

Much more plausible that it would be a ghost. So, Lupin's quick to tell us that there aren't any around. Although why the Grey Lady and the Bloody Baron can't sneak off to the shack for a quickie, I don't know.

How are you and Ron doing on that “Hermione’s regularly three places at once” mystery you’ve been solving since September, Harry?

You know, it's a pity Encyclopedia Brown wasn't at Hogwarts. That kid never took more than five pages to solve a mystery.

You didn’t really think all that spying on the werewolves was for nothing, did you? Or that Sirius really needed to live in the one house he hated more than anything?

Heh. The more fools us for thinking that Lupin's spying on the werewolves was ever anything but a punishment. And, unless you think of Lupin as being closeted and in love with Sirius, means that Dumbledore's assignment was the thing most keeping Lupin and Tonks apart. Which makes all that talk at the end of HBP about how happy Dumbledore would be to know that Lupin and Tonks were getting together utter bullshit.

And it means that all those times that Tonks went to Dumbledore's office to cry about Lupin, Dumbledore was probably rubbing his hands with glee at what he had wrought.

Oh, and Sirius being stuck in his parents' house? I never understood how that benefited the Order. Yeah, it was great that the Order got to use the place as a headquarters, but they could have done that no matter where Sirius was. So, why not just have him hang out in the Shrieking Shack or something, so he could be available for Harry (you know, making Harry happy was Dumbledore's big priority, right?) Lupin could have stayed in the Black House if it needed a caretaker.

Or was that too much trouble to plan, Mister I-Plan-Everything-In-the-Universe?

Lupin makes the first reference to the trick Sirius pulled on Snape, which Sirius still says served Snape right. I miss this version of the Prank.

Did that version go away? I thought that was the version we ultimately ended up with.

Re: Part One

[the-bitter-word.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Sirius being stuck in his parents' house? I never understood how that benefited the Order. Yeah, it was great that the Order got to use the place as a headquarters, but they could have done that no matter where Sirius was. So, why not just have him hang out in the Shrieking Shack or something, so he could be available for Harry (you know, making Harry happy was Dumbledore's big priority, right?) Lupin could have stayed in the Black House if it needed a caretaker.

Or was that too much trouble to plan, Mister I-Plan-Everything-In-the-Universe?

I think the plan was to isolate Black from Potter, as Black would have provided an alternate and independent view of the world, one in which either Potter's life would have come first or Potter's life would have been squandered early to one of Black's vainglorious attempts at mischief making. Dumbledore set Black up at Grimmauld Place to wear down Black's morale, at the same time setting Lupin the impossible task of monitoring werewolves, knowing those were the last places either man wanted to be, in order to keep them from offering solace or advice to Potter.

Potter therefore had to look to Dumbledore for approval and affection, as Dumbledore was the only adult male (i.e., father figure) in town. And Dumbledore wouldn't even look at Potter throughout most of OOTP, let alone talk to him or avow his over-the-top admiration for him, which served to make Potter more emotional and anxious for that approval. Dumbledore's aloofness lasted until the scene where he dramatically came to rescue Potter. He then threw himself at Potter's forgiveness with big crocodile tears, setting Potter up further to sacrifice himself when the time came.

And yes, Dumbledore got a little payback for Black and Lupin keeping secrets from him. It's not their place to decide what to do with their lives, after all. The Order is like the Death Eaters in that sense, basically a life sentence.

Re: Part One

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Oh man. I love the added "Dumbledore is keeping Lupin away from Tonks" part.

There is just no reason whatsoever that Sirius has to be at Grimmauld Place. Not that it really bothered me at the time because it makes sense for him to be living at their headquarters, but as usual with Dumbledore it somehow works out to a nasty punishment.

I remember arguing with somebody about the alleged redemption of slytherins in DH re: Grimmauld Place. They said that the house becoming nice and cozy was like Slytherin being redeemed. I was kind of horrified at the idea since it essentially has the Slytherins killed off and their house disinfected so Gryffindors can live there!

Did that version go away? I thought that was the version we ultimately ended up with.

Ooh! Didn't catch my own words there--you're right. I meant the version where it seemed like Snape didn't know about hte werewolf etc. But we did indeed seem to wind up with a lot of "it served Snape right" in the final version.

Part Two

[montavilla.livejournal.com]

Wow. Speaking of versions of stories, Lupin throws in without having to that Snape didn’t like James because he was, I don’t know, jealous of how good he was at Quidditch. Does he just automatically cut Snape down and cover for James and Sirius here without thinking about it even though it’s not necessary for the story? Because there’s just no way Lupin could actually believe that.

Perhaps Lupin is deliberately covering up Lily's relationship to Snape? Pour quoi? Perhaps he doesn't want to blow Harry mind by suggesting that Saint Lily would have anything to do with Snivellus? I'm reaching for straws, because, in hindsight, it is pure nonsense. Years before DH came out, I knew that Snape being jealous of James' skill at Quidditch was a lie.

Lupin continues to impress me with how smoothly he polishes up the story dishonestly on the fly. (Seriously, I love Lupin.) Not only did he take time to suggest Snape hated James over Quidditch but he adds that James pulled Snape back from the tunnel at “great risk to his own life.” Except James is an animagus, as we’ve already learned, and werewolves are only dangerous to people. James regularly went down the tunnel to see Lupin for fun. The only danger James was in was being outed as an animagus by Snape. But he sure sounds more heroic in this version of the story.

I've always imagined that James "pulled" Snape back while in human form. Mainly because I don't see any way in hell a stag (with antlers and all) could move through that tunnel. The only thing that makes sense to me is that James waited for Lupin, either outside the tunnel, or outside the shack. The only way that James could have used his animal form was if Snape was somehow unconscious (which could have happened if he had been attacked by Lupin).

But it's hard to come up with a plausible story that takes into account the facts as we're told them: Sirius let "slip" to Snape how to get past the willow. (How did he do that, exactly?); Snape "glimpsed" Lupin in transformed state; James pulled Snape back without being harmed himself. The tunnel is like a mile long. In order to glimpse Lupin at the end of it, Snape would have be "pulled back" nearly that far. How did James do that?

My brain hurts.

And this is where Snape reveals himself, and given what he’s just heard man he must be pissed.

Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't magically combust into a mushroom cloud at that point.

Lupin didn’t tell Dumbledore Sirius was an animagus because he’s a coward. Because he’s a coward. Because he’s a coward. That'll come up a lot.

Lupin's cowardice and cunning makes him a wee bit Slytherin. Snape's loyalty and bravery make him almost a Gryffindor. This is why Lupin and Snape are the yin and yang of the series.

Re: Part Two

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

Perhaps Lupin is deliberately covering up Lily's relationship to Snape? Pour quoi? Perhaps he doesn't want to blow Harry mind by suggesting that Saint Lily would have anything to do with Snivellus? I'm reaching for straws, because, in hindsight, it is pure nonsense. Years before DH came out, I knew that Snape being jealous of James' skill at Quidditch was a lie.

Well, Remus knows that just then, the most important thing is to convince the Trio that both he and Sirius are good guys. Admitting to bad behavior in the past isn't a good idea, and neither is criticizing Harry's father.

Although that does *not* explain why Remus and Sirius couldn't just give the Trio the *short* version of the story, which doesn't involve the Prank, or Severus.

Still, the "jealous about Quidditch" thing probably didn't sound as silly to Harry, because Harry really cares about Quidditch. He had just finally led his team to win the Quidditch Cup, and he's still got Quidditch on the brain, probably. And Harry expects Severus to dislike people without much cause, so he wouldn't feel any need to second-guess Remus' reasoning.

Re: Part Two

[the-bitter-word.livejournal.com]

Perhaps Lupin is deliberately covering up Lily's relationship to Snape? Pour quoi? Perhaps he doesn't want to blow Harry mind by suggesting that Saint Lily would have anything to do with Snivellus? I'm reaching for straws, because, in hindsight, it is pure nonsense. Years before DH came out, I knew that Snape being jealous of James' skill at Quidditch was a lie.

I agree with the above comments that Lupin told a story that Potter could understand and accept. Also, Lupin knew he could get away with it. The Marauders had always denigrated Snape, making his motives seem petty and suspect. He was their selected scapegoat. This was no different for Lupin, speaking ill of the creepy oddball when he was not present to defend himself.

Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't magically combust into a mushroom cloud at that point.

After the Ford Anglia incident, Snape got an earful of "everyone hates him" before he revealed his presence. He was pissed, but not because of what was said about him -- he was probably used to that -- but because of the danger students, especially Potter, might have been in. That's probably the case in the Shrieking Shack, too. Not only has he heard all his misgivings confirmed, he seems to be the only one who remembers it's a full moon night. And, despite that and the fact that he's just been badmouthed unjustly, he still manages to maintain some semblance of control over himself, at least at this point.

Re: Part Two

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Thing is, Lupin doesn't really have to give Harry any reason for Snape hating James. Harry already knows they hated each other--and Snape hated James long before James was a rival for Lily. So it's like he jus automatically says something Harry will like by making Snape look bad and his dad look awesome and completely innocent.

I assume James pulled Snape back in human form too. But James still had plenty of experience switching to animal form to be with Remus. It's like if they faced a Dementor and James was handy with a Patronus. Yes, it's a risk to himself, but a controlled, familiar risk.

You just came up with a great argument for Snupin!

Re: Part Two

[oryx_leucoryx]

But it's hard to come up with a plausible story that takes into account the facts as we're told them: Sirius let "slip" to Snape how to get past the willow. (How did he do that, exactly?); Snape "glimpsed" Lupin in transformed state; James pulled Snape back without being harmed himself. The tunnel is like a mile long. In order to glimpse Lupin at the end of it, Snape would have be "pulled back" nearly that far. How did James do that?

You know what? We are told the 'facts' by Remus, who at the time of the events was in wolf-form - ie not in his right mind at all. IOW he is relaying us hearsay originating from James and Sirius. Right now the version I am more inclined to believe is that Remus smelled Severus and came running towards him - close to the entrance of the tunnel on the Willow side, and that was where James pulled Severus out from.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Remus tells the kids that the creation of the map by the Marauders is somehow connected to their being Animagi and their monthly outings. Except the map is mostly of the castle. I doubt James and Sirius did much exploration of the castle and its immediate surroundings in their Animagus forms. Peter likely did, and he had to avoid Mrs Norris and all the owls to do so.

Hermione says Minerva is one of the 7 registered Animagi. I wonder if the other 6 registered ones are also in situations where they use their Animagus forms openly - ie they had to register because the way they use their forms makes hiding their existence impossible.

In OOTP when Harry visits the spell damage ward in St Mungo's he sees Agnes, the dog-woman. I wonder if that's a case of failed Animagus transformation.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Good call about the dog woman. It could also be Polyjuice gone bad, like with Hermione.

I would assume the creation of the map was about knowing where teachers or possible victims or whistleblowers were for MWPP. The secret tunnels just wouldn't be that important. Once you know them you don't need a map.

[sharaz-jek.livejournal.com]

I love how Snape enters the room rather than staying on the other side and listening in. He clearly knows exactly how stupid everyone else is and is just dying to rub their noses in it.

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

Also, though, he probably thought that he'd need a clear line of fire if Remus started transforming into a wolf, or if Remus or Sirius attacked the kids as wizards. I suppose he was balancing the potential need to act quickly with the need to hear what was being said and try to establish what was going on before acting.

Because for all the other guys say that Severus refuses to listen, after he takes off the cloak, he *did* listen to them for several minutes before that. Maybe Severus refused to listen later because he couldn't believe that anyone in Remus' and Sirius' position would be silly enough to talk about the Marauders' schooldays if they had something better to offer, like actual evidence that Sirius didn't betray the Potters.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

LOL! And he was right too!

[the-bitter-word.livejournal.com]

Sirius leaps on Ron’s broken leg. Sucks to be Ron. He doesn't even suffer in a woobie, sexy way.
---
Ron’s now been bitten a lot by Scabbers btw. Ron’s pretty tough to be able to still hold on to him. Rat bites are nasty.

I miss this Ron, defending his pet, enduring pain without complaint, refusing to be a woobie, sensibly wanting to get out of the Shack and away from the crazies. In DH, we got perpetually-jealous Ron, anything-for-a-bite-to-eat Ron, oh-look-it-Deluminates-traitors Ron, oh-look-I-can-speak-Parseltongue Ron... I hated that Ron, but still less than I hated his two companions. Anyway, they all deserve how they look in the DH Epilogue filming.

Lupin reminisces about how his friends let a werewolf wander around loose in a town, trusting that they’d be able to keep him in control. Next you can all share stories about those carefree nights drunk driving on the highway and the laughs you had when you’d almost hit someone. Hermione agrees with me, at least.

Ah, the good old days. All this build-up, all the speculation about the Marauder era, and... nothing. Kill 'em all off, they're an embarrassment.

Lupin makes the first reference to the trick Sirius pulled on Snape, which Sirius still says served Snape right. I miss this version of the Prank.

The version where it served Snape right? I never got that version.

The Prank
Well, this one’s obvious, isn’t it? The series can’t end until we get the real story…

Status: Um...fired, but it turns out it was not so much a real gun as an empty water pistol that Snape shot at his own pants to make an embarrassing stain.

Possibly. Again, we still don't know the real story. It still reeks of nefarious and callous Black behavior to me. ETA: and Dumbledore cover-up.

I'd say The Prank was misfired, if anything.

And since I'm ETA'ing, I hope you have a good move (moving is possibly the least fun anyone can have in a day) and a great new place.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Anyway, they all deserve how they look in the DH Epilogue filming.

LOL! They couldn't get any worse.

The version where it served Snape right? I never got that version.

Total slip on my part to phrase it that way. I meant the version where Snape didn't know about the werewolf. But it seemed like DH considered Snape deserving it--or at least as much of it as could be lain at his feet.

Thanks for the good wishes! I'm exhausted and still not unpacked yet. The worst part is the stupid cable company just blatantly blowing me off so now I have no TV or internet for a week. (Though obviously I found a connection in the building that I'm using now.)

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

Y'know. I am finally wondering just what, if anything at all, would have been lost if Snape had found out about Pettigrew there in the shack rather than having to wait for Albus to tell him about it later that evening?

Because he clearly *was* told about it eventually. Once Albus got Black out of the country where he wouldn't be underfoot, messing with other people's plans. But the way everythig worked out to *carefully* make sure that there was no way that Snape could have been given the info when Harry way seems like it was done to serve a purpose, and by now I cannot see what any such purpose actually was.

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

Maybe a loyalty test. Dumbledore might be using the situation to see if Severus would go against Dumbledore's judgment when Severus is caught between what Dumbledore says and respecting Lily's memory by not letting her betrayer go free.

As preparation for when Severus learns that protecting Harry in Lily's memory is not *quite* what Dumbledore has in mind, in the long run.

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

*sniffles* These sporkings haven't finished yet but I'm already getting ready to miss them. I don't know how my life was complete before reading these, it's utterly hilarious and I'm having such a fantastic time reading them. *huggles you*

It's also somewhat painful, because your comments just show how silly the plot was, and yet I read this book before and never realized how much fail was contained within. *shakes head* In my defense, I was a kid back then, I didn't know any better!

Sirius leaps on Ron’s broken leg. Sucks to be Ron. He doesn't even suffer in a woobie, sexy way.

Okay, but even as a kid, I still defied the Harry!filter and thought it was lousy of Sirius to beat up on Ron like that [these were the days when I liked Ron]. I know Sirius went on to be the wonderful cool godfather, but still- abusing Harry's friend, wtf? And SNAPE is painted as the bad guy? He might hate the kids but he still risks his life so often to save their miserable hides, but Sirius gets away with frakking breaking Ron's leg? O.o

It is kind of ironic that it’s Lupin telling Sirius to explain everything from the beginning. Almost as if he’s trying to stretch this out until the moon rises!

*facepalm* I KNOOOOW. How many years has he lived with this condition and he STILL doesn't remember to take precautions? And he has a frakking potion that'll make sure he's not a danger to anyone, but NOOO.

LOL! Ron actually tries to say “I’m off” and hobble out on his broken leg. Possibly the funniest thing Ron’s ever done.

Aww! Now I remember why I used to like Ron. I think this was the last book where he was actually a half-decent character. [Tell me you're going to spork GoF? And the other books? And then go back and do them all over again to entertain meeee?]

It’s kind of cute that at this age it doesn’t occur to Hermione that that’s because nobody actually registers.

Aww! How innocent she was back then!
And how bizarre that she never tries to become an Animagus. I know it's supposed to be hard and take years to master, but then, nobody was supposed to be able to cast a Patronus and then suddenly the whole DA was able to do it, so...hmm.

Despite the fact that Wizards grow up in a world where all sorts of magical things happen, they never seem any more prepared than a Muggle would be to deal with this stuff....Oh, the door opened by itself as if someone was walking in? Couldn’t possibly be someone walking in. We didn’t see them!

Too bad you didn’t have Harry for a friend, Remus. He could have easily not noticed. Or at least not deduce anything from it if he did. How are you and Ron doing on that “Hermione’s regularly three places at once” mystery you’ve been solving since September, Harry?

ILU! I laughed myself silly over that. You come up with all these witty, biting comments and the sad thing is how true they are! I just shake my head in disbelief at the fail. *headdeskwallfloor*

And now I'm going to stop quoting you, because you already know what you wrote. Just take it as read that this whole thing is bloody awesome. :D

Imagine Harry listening to a conversation where Draco talked about his time at school with Harry this way. He'd be even more angry than Snape for less reason.

The annoying thing is that if that situation you outlined had happened, Harry would've charged in, curses flying in every direction and we'd've been expected to cheer him on and rant about how those losers deserved what was coming to them, and all he would've been doing was acting out of wounded pride and not, you know, trying to save a bunch of kids from an escaped convict who had already demonstrated his criminal tendencies by hurting and abducting a defenseless kid!

PS. Do you have a link to this Jabootu score thing? I'm sure to annoy you, I think someone else already asked, but I'm curious... *hopeful eyes*

PPS. Packing all day? If you're going on a trip or moving somewhere, good luck to you and I hope it all goes smoothly. *squishes*

[wolf-willow31.livejournal.com]

Jabootu definitions are here:

http://community.livejournal.com/deathtocapslock/104349.html#cutid1

Enjoy!