amiu - "crow mother" :: PoA 11 :: metafandom

[pauraque_bk]

For cheyinka:

ngáre "crow mother"

X-SAMPA / Na_(low)r\E_(low) /

Phonetic ngéR "slime" + determinative "dragon" = ngór "crow"

ngór "crow" + animate bringer derivation = ngáre "crow mother"

One who brings forth crows -- a mother of them, naturally. A father of crows would be a "crow caller".

And that's the last of the icon requests. Merci, merci, to everyone who asked for one and everyone who commented. Next is a Shakespeare translation for lolaraincoat (oh, thought I'd forgotten, did you?).

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PoA 11: The Firebolt

He watched, as though somebody was playing a piece of film, Sirius Black blasting Peter Pettigrew (who resembled Neville Longbottom) into a thousand pieces. (158)

Ah, Neville's other symbolic purpose. JKR puts our affection and pity for Neville to use, transferring it onto Peter, about whom we know next to nothing -- only that he was a "fat little boy" (154) who followed James and Sirius around.

This completely (and deliberately) misleading parallel has ultimately affected the fandom's view of Neville more than that of Peter. Actually, Neville hardly ever follows the Trio around, and certainly doesn't fawn over Harry the way Peter did over James -- it's Colin Creevey who plays that role.

It's also our only evidence that Neville is fat. He's otherwise described as "round-faced" (PS/SS).

Those who use this line to support the theory that Neville will turn, or be tempted to turn, sometimes also point to Dumbledore's comment that it took courage for Neville to go against his friends (PS/SS), which was certainly the case for Peter.

'Listen ... you know what Pettigrew's mother got back after Black had finished with him? Dad told me -- the Order of Merlin, First Class, and Pettigrew's finger in a box. (159-160)

One does wonder what ever happened to Peter's "poor mother" (155)... and whether his father was ever on the scene.

'I'll never know what [my parents would] have wanted because, thanks to Black, I've never spoken to them,' said Harry shortly.
There was a silence, in which Crookshanks stretched luxuriously, flexing his claws. Ron's pocket quivered. (160)

JKR wants us to think Scabbers is reacting to Crookshanks, but he can't see Crookshanks, as he's in Ron's pocket! In fact, Peter has been listening to the Trio's chilling discussion of whether Harry should take revenge on Sirius, and shudders in response to Harry's coldly controlled expression of rage and grief. Excellent.

The hearing will take place on April 20th[...] (162)

And it's only Christmas! Like any good bureaucracy, the MoM is hopelessly inefficient.

'Er -- shall I make a cup of tea?' said Ron.
Harry stared at him.
'It's what my mum does whenever someone's upset,' Ron muttered, shrugging. (163)

As usual, Ron's sense of how to be a caretaker comes from Molly. fernwithy had a good post a few days back that discusses this.

'[...]An' -- an' I'm scared o' breakin' the law...' He looked up at them, tears leaking down his face again. 'I don' ever want ter go back ter Azkaban.' (164)

Perhaps an argument for brief stays in Azkaban like Hagrid's -- they can serve as a deterrent, which Muggle prison generally doesn't.

'[Dumbledore] wouldn't spend hundreds of Galleons on [a Firebolt for] me.' (166)

So, Sirius ripped off an item costing hundreds of Galleons. Niiiiiice.

[EDIT: Bad assumption, corrected by commenters. Mea culpa.]

'Crackers!' said Dumbledore enthusiastically, offering the end of a large silver one to Snape, who took it reluctantly and tugged. With a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew apart to reveal a large, pointed witch's hat topped with a stuffed vulture.
Harry, remembering the Boggart, caught Ron's eye and they both grinned; Snape's mouth thinned and he pushed the hat towards Dumbledore, who swapped it for his wizard's hat at once. (169)

The infamous cracker incident, often brought up in snapesupport debates. Is Dumbledore being intentionally cruel here, or just ignorant of the fact that Snape has no sense of humor about himself? Is Snape really all that ticked off about being embarrassed in front of co-workers and students? Does the fact that Dumbledore doesn't harp on the joke, but gets off it "at once" change anything?

[Trelawney:] 'Never forget that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die!' (169)

A Christian superstition, based on the Last Supper.


Past re-read posts are here.

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Metafandom:

There's been a discussion chez fernwithy on why fans sympathize with the characters they do, split off from the Snape vs Lupin debate in the past few chapters.

Also, from switchknife: Are you an "invisible reader"? In case anyone was curious, I do read, cherish, and answer all feedback. Even if it's only one line. Even if it isn't all positive. If you've ever sent me feedback, you know this.

Feedback for all writers! And gracious responses for all feedbackers!

Comments

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

Those who use this line to support the theory that Neville will turn, or be tempted to turn, sometimes also point to Dumbledore's comment that it took courage for Neville to go against his friends (PS/SS), which was certainly the case for Peter.

I don't think that works as a parallel. Neville went again his friends because he believed, based on limited information he had, that his friends were in the wrong and he was doing the right thing. Peter, by his own words, turned on his friends because he thought Voldemort was sure to win and there was no point in opposing him. Not because he thought Voldemort was actually right. Neville acted out of courage, Peter out of cowardice.

Ironically, Neville's actions are closest to Snape's. Snape, after all, went against his own DE friends when he became a spy, presumably because he, too, was trying to do the right thing.

Of course, Snape would probably explode if somebody pointed out to him that he was like Neville in any way. :-)

[pauraque]

Ah, but he is like Neville! They share an all-consuming fear of humiliation.

[desevera.livejournal.com]

I wonder if Snape's overblown reaction to Neville isn't because he sees rather too much of himself in Neville and is attempting to 'toughen him up'. We know (albeit from Sirius, who's unreliable as a source) that Snape hung around with a group of friends at Hogwarts, but there is no evidence that he was at the heart of any group. Coupled with his fear of humiliation and the fact that he's learnt that you can't (or shouldn't) rely on anyone, it is possible that he's trying to 'toughen Neville up' in some way.
Not that I approve of his methods, which are stunningly ineffectual, but that might be the idea behind them.

Either that, or he was responsible for the condition of Neville's parents in some way (or *feels* responsible) and deals with it in the only way he knows how. We've seen he's not the most emotionally intelligent man ever.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Of course, Snape would probably explode if somebody pointed out to him that he was like Neville in any way

There are a lot of parallels between Neville and Snape.

1) They both seem on the periphery of their Houses throughout school.

2) They both excel in non-flashy fields of study.

3) They both seem to be neglected-to-abused by their families.

4) They both try to do what they see as the right thing, regardless of consequences or cost.

But yeah, Snape would throw a hissy if someone pointed it out to him.

Frankly, I think he *attacks* Neville in part because Neville reminds him of himself -- the awkward, lonely child he was. That could also be why part of he attacks Hermione -- he hates being reminded what an overacheiving swot he was.