PoA Chapter Eighteen
May. 28th, 2010 10:20 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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deathtocapslockI'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
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
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-31 04:24 am (UTC)Er, but the person being asked in that case is Voldemort. The guy who's specifically targeting *Harry*. If Severus asked Voldemort to spare Harry, it wouldn't've made him less likely to attack Harry. Or would you say that Severus was morally obligated to ask even though there was no chance?
...Or do you mean that Severus should've asked Voldemort to spare both Lily and *James*, since Voldemort had no specific purpose in killing James?
More to the point, though, it isn't as if Severus stopped after asking Voldemort to spare Lily. He did what he could with Voldemort to protect Lily, then turned to someone else, namely Dumbledore, to get him doing what he could.
Dumbledore specifically framed that question as a lose-lose situation for Severus, to make him feel guilty enough to promise "Anything" later.
(b) that "Hide them all, then" is rather condemning. Especially with that 'then' tacked on. It seems rather clear that Snape didn't care less about the male Potters
I'm not sure I can add to what I've already said. Severus had to have expected Dumbledore to hide all three from the very beginning, so the "hide them all" strikes me as a "I'm humoring a lunatic... (again...)" line. Not that JKR intended it that way, but she isn't a very good writer. :P Could Severus possibly have thought that Dumbledore would hide one but not all of them on Severus' say so? If not, why would he need to specify "please protect the whole family"?
I doubt that Severus did care in the slightest about James; he hated him. But Severus didn't prioritize getting back at James over protecting Lily. He *could* have, if he'd only asked Voldemort to spare Lily, and hadn't gone to Dumbledore.
and that means he didn't have Lily's own desires and needs in mind. And that means he didn't truly 'love' her, IMO.
Well, he protected Harry for seven years, for Lily's sake, despite hating him. That sounds to me like having her wishes in mind.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-31 05:12 am (UTC)That, yes. I do understand why Snape couldn't beg for Harry's life, under the circumstances.
Severus had to have expected Dumbledore to hide all three from the very beginning, so the "hide them all" strikes me as a "I'm humoring a lunatic... (again...)" line.
Logically, I see your reasoning. But emotionally that "save them all, then" utterance seems pretty damning to me. I do feel that Snape had begged Voldemort for Lily - just Lily - and then went straight to Dumbledore with that same target/focus in mind. You want to save ALL the Potters? Oh, very well then.
I wonder if Snape's calling Lily by her maiden name - Lily EVANS - means anything? Further evidence that he didn't care one iota about the male POTTERS?
Well, he protected Harry for seven years, for Lily's sake, despite hating him. That sounds to me like having her wishes in mind.
After he couldn't acquire the woman herself, and felt that he had to atone for being instrumental in her death, yes.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-31 06:17 am (UTC)(nod) Still, I can imagine some people saying that he needed to ask for Harry's life even if it wouldn't be effective, although that isn't my perspective.
Unfortunately, looking at it practically, asking for James' life would more likely to undermine his efforts to protect Lily than to help James. The DE's were a violent group. If Severus wasn't okay with someone *else* in the group killing someone that he'd been enemies with throughout their school years... that indicates a pretty serious disaffection with the DE's in general.
Voldemort wouldn't've responded positively to that. It would probably have placed Severus in danger without helping James any, and it would have made Voldemort less likely to grant Severus the favor of sparing Lily.
Logically, I see your reasoning. But emotionally that "save them all, then" utterance seems pretty damning to me.
(shrug) Well, Dumbledore set up the conversation to have that effect (on Severus). He certainly didn't approach the subject from a neutral starting point.
I wonder if Snape's calling Lily by her maiden name - Lily EVANS - means anything?
I'm bad with timelines, but she hadn't been married for all that long at that point, had she? A year or two? Severus knew her as Lily *Evans* for... probably around eight years. And people get called by their last names a lot at Hogwarts, too.
Further evidence that he didn't care one iota about the male POTTERS?
I think some things are getting blurred. He certainly didn't care about James and Harry as much as he cared about Lily, but loving someone doesn't automatically mean caring just as much about their loved ones. At best, one would want Severus to care about keeping James alive for Lily's sake, but not because Severus cared about James personally.
Since Voldemort couldn't be trusted to spare Lily, we don't really know what Severus was thinking. Severus doesn't appear to have thought that Voldemort could be relied on, so he certainly didn't go to Dumbledore *just* to save James and Harry.
However, we do at least know that Severus felt more affection for Lily than he felt hatred for James. And considering that Severus believed that James was involved in setting up the "Prank" which nearly got Severus killed, among numerous other incidents, surely that's saying something.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-31 09:08 am (UTC)To be honest, I don't find Lily an interesting enough character to care very much about how much Severus loved her. I think he did love her, but... (shrug) It's just another subplot that could've been done well, and wasn't.
But I find it particularly... sad? revealing? that JKR seemed to use Severus' love/affection as another way to criticize him. Love's supposed to be this great power in these books, and Severus' love for Lily makes a huge difference in the way events play out. Harry would've died as a baby if Severus hadn't cared for Lily at all. But JKR uses it as much to make him look bad, as you've argued for, as to explain his being one of the good guys.
From the Doylist perspective, I'd say that the hilltop meeting could have been Severus' finest moment, but JKR didn't want him to have a finest moment, so we get this weird scene best explained by Dumbledore either just generally wanting to be self-righteous, or deliberately trying to manipulate Severus' emotions to get him to be an ongoing spy.
Getting off topic a bit, I would mind the manipulation less, story-wise, if there were some kind of acknowledgment of it, however subtle. Even if it were just someone acknowledged to be ruthless, like Moody, that was interacting with Severus here, I could appreciate the scene. But I think that JKR sees Dumbledore as being *genuinely* righteous, and that doesn't work for me at all.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-01 10:02 pm (UTC)I remember that shortly before DH came out, my SQ nemesis, Madam V. Hunter imagined the scene pretty closely to how it came out in the book--she may have even had Dumbledore saying, "You're disgusting." It was something very similar to that.
I, of course, refuted that idea, as I couldn't imagine Dumbledore taking that tone when he's recruiting Snape to the "good" side. Also, I had bought that idea of Dumbledore as forgiving--willing to give people second chances. Heh. Should have realized that it was just another lie Snape was feeding to Bellatrix.
I mean, I was imagining Snape's return as a full-on Prodigal Son moment. Tears. Beating of the breast. Dumbledore's frail arms encircling the penitent and gently patting his shaking back.
Feel free to laugh at me for that.
Turns out that Dumbledore really isn't much into second chances after all. Yes, he'll persuade Dippet to take Hagrid on as a servant when he's certain that the real culprit is Tom Riddle (he just can't prove it). But, there was always that weird bit about never even talking to Sirius that we couldn't make fit with Dumbledore as the loving epitome of goodness. The only other person given a second chance was Snape, and we see how that went.
No, Dumbledore wasn't so much about seeing the best in people. He was really more about seeing the worst in everyone--and realizing that everyone was bad enough that it hardly mattered who he recruited into his team, as long as he could control them. That included Mundungus, who was only reined in when his actions interfered with Project Lamb to the Slaughter.
I honestly thought that JKR must have written that hill top scene to please the same fans who would hoot and clap when Dumbledore knocked the Durlseys about on their heads with hard glass objects. It was all about payback for making Harry feel bad--even though, chronologically, it was ten years too early in Snape's case, and fifteen years too late in the Dursleys'.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-31 04:53 pm (UTC)Ack! And I had all these versions of what Severus could have possibly said to Voldemort to get him to leave the entire family alone, just to see if you or anyone else would believe any had a chance of success!
"Prophecies Master? Surely you don't believe in them? They are so old-fashioned!"
"I checked with the Department of Mysteries and was told nobody ever heard of that Trelawney woman before. I'm telling you Master, she is a total fraud, she just made the whole thing up!"
"Killing a baby? Where's the style in that? At least let him grow up so you can face him in a fair fight and show him and everyone else who really is the boss!"
"But what has the baby done to you? Can't you at least wait and see if he indeed ends up opposing you?"
"How do you know the baby is the right one? At least let him grow up and see if he has any chance of being a threat to you."
no subject
Date: 2010-05-31 07:26 pm (UTC)The other three...well, what sort of believable motivation is Severus supposed to have presented Voldie with in order to make such requests? Why on earth would Severus (in Voldie's eyes) care so much about a baby and/or his mortal enemy, and how would that not make Voldie suspicious? The guy is paranoid. One of his supposedly loyal DE's trying to talk him out of the clearly strategic thing to do from a Dark Lord's pov (eliminate a potential threat before it can become an actual threat) is going to get his mind working is ways Severus would not like.
I can buy him asking for Lily and getting away with it, because 1) hostage potential to keep Severus in line, 2) he could have presented it as a desire to be revenged upon Lily and/or James, something Voldie would have understood, and 3) she's not the real threat (indeed, Voldie attempted to recruit her, perhaps he saw value in having her under his control). I can't buy him asking for James or Harry and not ringing alarm bells in Voldie's mind, and he would have known this.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-01 12:09 am (UTC)Okay, 'fess up, you got that one straight out of the Evil Overlord's Handbook, didn't you? The one used by Dr. Evil of the Austin Powers series? And all the James Bond masterminds? :-)
"But what has the baby done to you? Can't you at least wait and see if he indeed ends up opposing you?"
"How do you know the baby is the right one? At least let him grow up and see if he has any chance of being a threat to you."
And those two as well! :-)