Comments on: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs & The Servant of Lord Voldemort

By: gelatogirl

gelatogirl — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:31:14 +0000

Brilliant foreshadowing a few paragraphs before Snape revealed himself under the Invisibility Cloak:
“Snape?” said Black harshly… “What’s Snape got to do with it?”
“Here’s here, Sirius,” said Lupin heavily. “He’s teaching here as well…”

I never tire of reading these mind-blowing chapters in probably my favourite book of this series!

By: Snashy

Snashy — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 07:23:53 +0000

I think that with Pettigrew being put into Gryffindor, he would have begged, I’m sure, to go there, wanting to be with James and Sirius! I somehow think he may have recognised that he’d do well to stick with them. He must have had a bit of bravery to dare being a double-agent under Dumbledore’s nose! but really, I suppose things passed between Peter and the hat that we’d never be able to gues!

By: HentaiTenshi

HentaiTenshi — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:00:22 +0000

Whoa, so many debates about Snape! I LOVE Snape (yes I’ll admit I’m one of those deluded fanon girls) but there’s really no excuse for him in this chapter. There really isn’t. He’s completely irrational and not thinking clearly at all. Gives me a theory though. He’d already mentioned to Lupin that he hadn’t taken his potion. Do you think Snape would be afraid of Lupin at that point? Fear makes you irrational and he’s already hyped up and angry about what *he* thinks is going on which is:
1. Lily’s official murderer standing right in front of him, if you think about it in that way.
2. Sirius Black (said murderer) being the one he hates more than anyone in the world besides himself
3. The man he hates more than anything throwing painful parts of the past back in his face.
4. Everyone being completely calm and acting like he should be too, when he shouldn’t.
But back to my point (apologies!) Lupin hasn’t taken the potion. Lupin, the man that turns into a werewolf that WILL tear everyone to bloody shreds and has already tried to do so to Snape…because of a prank pulled by Sirius. You don’t forget things like that and I’m sure that event came back to haunt him every now and then. If I knew all these facts I’d be scared out of my mind. Then you have 3 little brats in the middle of the fray that you have to protect (but are really being quite difficult about it considering the fact that he’s only trying to “save” them, hee). But that’s just me putting my thoughts out.

I do want to point something out though, about what someone said about Sirius and Severus not growing up past a certain point. The thought pops into my head now and then. Severus’ childhood has been implied to be abusive in someways and we’re not exactly sure just how bad it was. Then he comes to Hogwarts where he’s constantly bullied. (and no matter what you guys think, keep in mind that in real life situations this is how scenarios like Columbine (sp?) start to form) He then becomes a DeathEater where it’s been shown that Voldemort… heh well Voldemort’s not exactly *nice* to his followers and crucio has been shown to cause insanity etc, etc. He ends up as the cause of death to the only friend he’s ever had and ever loved. Now *that* is emotionally and mentally scarring no matter what you say. Then you have Sirius’ situation which really needs no explanation.

My question is… Has anyone ever helped them? Y’know mentally, emotionally? Any counseling or therapy? Does therapy even exist in Hp world? Does ANYONE is this book actually get the mental help that they need? It was extremely obvious that Sirius hadn’t really gotten out of Azkaban completely sane, and Severus has hints as well sometimes not of insanity but… well the man has some issues, IMO. Sorry it’s so long, I just wanted to get some of my thoughts out.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:43:41 +0000

I just had one small thought on the becoming-Animagi-magic – it has to be wandless doesn’t it? Because Sirius transformed while in Azkaban and he wouldn’t have had his wand in there, right? I’m not sure if this really relates to anything already said here, but I was reading the ‘how it was done’ comments, with people mentioning potions, etc, and that just occured to me.
Actually, speaking of wandless magic – that’s a very interesting subject isn’t it! I’d love to know more about it! I read somewhere recently that Snape was one of very few wizards who could perform it. Isn’t it in this chapter that he clicks his fingers and ropes fly up around Lupin? But does this mean that James, Sirius and Peter were all able to do it too when they were transforming?

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 04:55:07 +0000

I’m with Casey (and the others, there’s really too many names to be mentioned ;) when it comes to Snape. Yes, he was very brave and, when seeing the big picture, he was doing the right thing. But as a person? A teacher? A friend? Impossible to like him or come near him. He is a troubled character, stuck in feelings from the past so much that he isn’t capable of living in the now. I simply don’t think Snape sees much reason to be alive, except for maybe keeping Harry alive for Lily’s sake, and that’s not something he particularly likes… he’s just so lost in his own misery that he spreads it around like a sickness.
I, personally, think it’s a bit silly with all the fans Snape’s character gained through the last books – everyone just seemed to forget what a horrible person he proved to be to almost everyone around him. I like Snape, as so many other here said, because he was such a complex and intriguing character, but just think of all the things he did during Harry’s years!

(also, I think a reason for him being so hard on Harry is at least partly grounded on the fact that he knows Dumbledore would never ever expell Harry from Hogwarts. Snape can punish him as much as he wants without it actually coming to a serious end.)

By: Margaret

Margaret — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:07:05 +0000

About the Sorting Hat… I think it’s just a matter of potential, in addition to the choice: Pettigrew is brave, but in his life he chooses to be a coward and uses his bravery for evil, because he thinks it’s easier, and this choise between what’s right and what’s easy is very important in Harry Potter’s series. The Sorting Hat simply saw his potential courage, he doesn’t know how people will use their qualities. It’s the same for Lupin, even if I think they’re too categorical with him: I mean, they say: “He’s a Griffindor, but he acts like a coward in more than one occasion”. But they forget Lupin is a human being (even if he’s a werewolf) and has his own weakness like everyone, due to all his problems, which are difficult to cope with; moreover he shows his courage many times, he’s a member of the Order of the Phoenix and doesn’t hesitate to help Harry whatever happens; in the end, he always admits his cowardice and tries to put things right, he retraces his steps, and that’s a great proof of courage for me. It’s true he makes mistakes, but I don’t feel like blaming him.
About the Marauder’s Map… Time is a mistery, and maybe the Map isn’t able to show the ubiquity of Time-travellers, so maybe Harry and Hermione aren’t shown on the Map at all, that’s why no one can see them.
About warning the staff… It is such an extraordinary event, Lupin is the only one who understood what is going on, maybe no one would give him time to explain, they would simply fuss, arrest Sirius and expell Harry, Ron and Hermione… Or Lupin would have to tell the story he tells the three of them, and he doesn’t want to; moreover let’s not forget he wants to kill Pettigrew, too (I think that’s another dark side of Lupin’s), and they wouldn’t let him do so.
These are just my opinions, though :)

By: Casey

Casey — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:41:51 +0000

I think we all need to remember that everybody has moments of weakness. I know I have throughout my life. We’ve seen the likes of many Gryffindors acting cowardly, but in the end they do what’s right. Even Peter does, though it’s a very a small gesture considering all the bad he’s done to the world. And yes, of course you have to throw in the consideration of choices and the like. However, I don’t agree that any house is a “throwaway house,” not even Hufflepuff. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Every person has their own traits, and at least one of them has to stick out enough for the Sorting Hat, in case the student doesn’t attempt to make any choice. And the Sorting Hat probably even takes into consideration of a thought like, “those Gryffindors look like nice people” or “I wish I could be in Ravenclaw and show people I’m intelligent” or something along those lines. Take a look at the choice Harry made. He didn’t have very long to decide he didn’t like Slytherin, or that he liked Ron (though Ron was sorted after, but I think he probably had a feeling he’d be in Gryffindor anyway), or any of that. Peter could have met James, or Sirius, or Lupin, or all of them, and thought he’d like to be friends with them and presto the Sorting Hat gives him his wish. I think sometimes we can get caught up in the idea of always fitting to a trait of a particular house, even though it’s a main pre-requisite. And I know I somewhat endorsed the traits myself. I’m just saying, there’s a large amount of possibilities here that go into the Sorting. Anything can happen really, especially with eleven year-old boys and girls.

As for the Animagus transformation, I’d also like to know just how that’s performed. I mean, it took them several years to figure out, assuming they all became friends as quickly as Harry, Ron, and Hermione did. I always assumed it took a lot of the class subjects and put them together. Like having to prepare by doing a special charm or something on every single bone in your body, and then later having to take a potion and recite a master spell to ignite the final process. Lupin made it seem like it wasn’t just figuring out how to do it, it was also just very time consuming and difficult.

And John, I’m with you about Snape. Even after the end, I still never really liked him very much. I think what he did was brave, in the long run, but he’s also quite a terrible person anyway. I don’t think any of his reasons justify his behavior toward any of the students. I mean he favors *Malfoy* even knowing how scummy he is. He’s so obsessed with Slytherin, and is so biased, and cruel. He’s made it his own personal mission to get Harry and friends thrown out of Hogwarts, even knowing Dumbledore would probably never allow it. He’s also way too stuck in the past. And yes, that includes what happened with Lily. I mean, I get it, if the woman I loved died because of me, I’d be just as distraught. But he was also really horrible to her just for appearances in school, he was obsessed with the Dark Arts for a very long time. I believe everyone has good in them, and it’s obvious he does too. But that doesn’t mean they can just be excused for being such nasty people. I really liked a comment I read above about him. “Great character, bad person”. He was fun to read, but at the end of the day, I can’t like him.

By: John Kearns

John Kearns — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:25:51 +0000

GhV, good point about Snape bringing the potion. But I think Lupin has to have seen the time-traveling Harry and Hermione, for the exact reason you stated: he was looking at the section of the map that interested him. He’ll tell the kids later that he watched them on the map as they went down to visit Hagrid, and the time-traveling Harry and Hermione were right there at the same time.

By: Grace has Victory

Grace has Victory — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:52:35 +0000

If Snape had to "bring" the potion, that suggests Lupin didn't have any in his office to take. They were both busy marking exam papers, so perhaps they didn't realise that it was very late in the evening to have missed a dose. Snape couldn't have known that Lupin would have already left his office by the time he brought the medicine. And Lupin couldn't have known that Snape was on his way, or that the emergency would take so long to deal with. Did either of them see the time-travelling Harry and Hermione? Well, perhaps they did, and therefore knew that something extraordinary was happening. But perhaps they didn't, because they were only looking at the section of the map that interested them. Why did neither of them alert Dumbledore or Flitwick for help before racing out to the emergency? I can only think that a whole lot of teachers had blocked their hearths from Floo-communication because they were all busy marking exams.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Sat, 14 May 2011 13:01:49 +0000

I always thought that the only explanation for Lupin’s mistakes in this book is that he simply had mistaken the full moon day on his calendar. I mean, he not only forgets his potion, even after Snape had told him, but he also chains himself to Pettigrew and Ron! How can he forget about his condition and the full moon if he speaks about it all the time? Maybe he just thinks the full moon will rise the next night or something like that…