For all that I genuinely applaud your attempt to be objective and fair-minded, I have to agree with oryx that it's doubtful they would have been going to the Shack before they could transform. Perhaps it isn't made 100% unarguably certain that the 'Prank' occurred after those involved could transform, but everything we have evidence-wise leans that way. Even the explanation Sirius gives (at a moment when he's unrepentant and even proud of the deed) for the 'Prank' supports this reading rather than yours: he claims it was at least partly retaliation for Severus' *previous* attempts to follow them when they were sneaking out at night, not purely a security measure. This itself doesn't prove that those events were all connected to the transformation project, but taken together with the other evidence it's more than reasonable to conclude that at least some of them were.
At a minimum, neither the narrative voice nor either of the living Marauders themselves attempts to persuade us that Sirius was acting purely to head off later trouble, before James (or he himself) could transform, when it would not only be easy do to, but when that would serve it *heighten* the heroism of James at a moment when Sirius, Remus, and the narrative voice are attempting to paint him in the best light possible, for Harry's sake. The natural follow-up, if available, to the claim that James saved Severus at risk to his own life is to point out that James didn't even have the protection of his animal form, as he later would. Nobody makes anything approaching such a comment, however, then or later. Suggesting that they *can't.* Because James did have the option of transforming (with whatever caveats about tunnel height, etc. are reasonable).
And, unfortunately, the lying-Remus scenario fits and supports his personality rather well, too.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-08-03 03:32 pm (UTC)At a minimum, neither the narrative voice nor either of the living Marauders themselves attempts to persuade us that Sirius was acting purely to head off later trouble, before James (or he himself) could transform, when it would not only be easy do to, but when that would serve it *heighten* the heroism of James at a moment when Sirius, Remus, and the narrative voice are attempting to paint him in the best light possible, for Harry's sake. The natural follow-up, if available, to the claim that James saved Severus at risk to his own life is to point out that James didn't even have the protection of his animal form, as he later would. Nobody makes anything approaching such a comment, however, then or later. Suggesting that they *can't.* Because James did have the option of transforming (with whatever caveats about tunnel height, etc. are reasonable).
And, unfortunately, the lying-Remus scenario fits and supports his personality rather well, too.