Artist rec :: PoA 13

[pauraque_bk]

There are some very talented artists in HP fandom, and one you may not have heard of is kaptainsnot (Evelia). Most fan artists tend towards illustration, which is part of what makes Evelia's work so exciting -- her pieces stray from straight representation to really tell a story through symbolism and composition. Her style ranges from Gorey-like gothic stylization to a scribbly expressionism (not unlike waccawheels's style, though Evelia's approach is denser and darker). Most of her work falls somewhere in the middle, and always, the details of expression, the intentional distortions, the subtle use of single colors -- they make you want to look and look. This is an artist who deserves the fandom's attention.

(The links above go to slash pictures, but none of them are NC-17. There's some more explicit work available on her site.)

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Highlights from Chapter 12:

-How does a Patronus work?

-More on McGonagall and Snape

-lizbee's impression of a Death Eater keeping Lily from escaping (hee!)

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PoA 13: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw

Hermione, meanwhile, maintained fiercely that Ron had no proof that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, that the ginger hairs might have been there since Christmas, and that Ron had been prejudiced against her cat ever since Crookshanks had landed on Ron's head in the Magical Menagerie. (187)

A beam of light fell across the grass, hit the bottom of a tree and illuminated its branches; there, crouching amongst the budding leaves, was Crookshanks. (190)

This goes back to fernwithy's point about Hermione being a permissive and doting "parent". Not only does she defend Crookshanks, she actually lets him out on his own, unable to bring herself to rein him in.

[Hooch:] 'Look at the balance on it! If the Nimbus series has a fault, it's a slight list to the tail-end -- you often find they develop a drag after a few years[...]' (188)

[Wood:] 'On the other hand, she rides a Comet Two Sixty, which is going to look like a joke next to the Firebolt.' (188)

[Lee:] 'See it turn -- Chang's Comet is just no match for it[...]' (192)

Quidditch seems to be something like auto racing: First it's the quality of the vehicle, and then the driver's ability to control it. In which case, it begins to depend a great deal on the financial backing of the players, which seems awfully unfair in a school environment. We're supposed to boo and hiss at Draco for buying his way onto the team, but cheer for Harry when he essentially buys a win by bringing in an F1 racer to compete against stock cars?

Cedric Diggory came over to congratulate Harry on having acquired such a superb replacement for his Nimbus[...] (190)

Ever since we met him a chapter or two ago, JKR has gone out of her way to make Cedric look good every time he's mentioned.

[...]and Percy's Ravenclaw girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, asked if she could actually hold the Firebolt. (190)

Reads like a veiled sexual reference -- the pretty girl wanting to hold the sports star's... broomstick.

It looked as though Malfoy had been standing on Goyle's shoulders. (194-195)

As we've been told before (PS/SS), Goyle is the short one; Crabbe is taller. The films reverse this.

'Can't you give [Hermione] a break?' Harry asked Ron quietly.
'No,' said Ron flatly. 'If she just acted like she was sorry -- but she'll never admit she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like Scabbers has gone on holiday or something.' (196)

As usual, Ron is emotional. Hermione's logical refuting of the circumstantial evidence against Crookshanks is meaningless to him. If only she *acted* sorry, that would be enough.

The Gryffindor party only ended when Professor McGonagall turned up in her tartan dressing-gown and hair-net at one in the morning, to insist that they all went to bed. (196)

I guess her rooms are near the dorms, that she was awakened by the noise. Interesting that she so rarely makes an appearance there.

'Black! Sirius Black! With a knife!'
'What?'
'Here! Just now! Slashed the curtains! Woke me up!' (197)

Left curtain/right curtain OTP!!

(Ahem. Pardon me.)

It looks as though Sirius is going after Peter here, but Crookshanks was outside earlier that day, and it's suggested that he's with Sirius (190). Wouldn't Crookshanks have told Sirius that Peter ran away?

Even if Crookshanks had been kept inside and Sirius had no way to know Peter wasn't there, this is not sane behavior on Sirius's part. Stabbing through Ron's bedcurtains and lunging at him with a knife is not a reasonable way to try to kill a rat. All it accomplishes is alerting the kids to the fact that he's there, completely wasting Crookshanks's work at getting the list of passwords. If anyone needs evidence that Sirius is not right in the head at this point in the series, this should suffice. I wonder if he even considered that Ron might have been injured if he went in swinging.

'Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possibly have got through the portrait hole?' (198)

To hell with the portrait hole -- how did he get through the front door? Shouldn't that be guarded or warded as well? Clearly, Padfoot can get past the Dementors, but what about Hogwarts's ordinary security measures? They go to plenty of trouble to keep Muggles out, but what about unwelcome wizards?


Past re-read posts are here.

Comments

[maidenjedi]

I wonder if he even considered that Ron might have been injured if he went in swinging.

From his later actions, when Padfoot drags Ron to the Shrieking Shack, we know that Sirius has no such consideration; at least not until Lupin arrives and is able to restrain him. Where Peter is concerned, Sirius is blind from the simple desire to kill him. Sirius is like this with everyone who opposes *James*, in fact. He hates Snape, seemingly simply because James did (his explanation to Harry concerning the Marauders' feud with Snape made no reference to the others - it was just about James and Snape hating each other). Peter betrayed James. I know he's got strong feelings about other people for other reasons, but James is a driving force for Sirius' emotions.

Anyway....as to him not being concerned about what might happen to Ron. Sirius has already spent twelve years in Azkaban, which had to have driven him a bit crazy despite Padfoot, and at this point he figures he has nothing to lose. He's obsessive about destroying Peter; vengeance is like that.

At Halloween he did show signs of at least not wanting to hurt the kids (waiting until they were at the feast), but by this time he's got to be getting desperate.

To hell with the portrait hole -- how did he get through the front door? Shouldn't that be guarded or warded as well? Clearly, Padfoot can get past the Dementors, but what about Hogwarts's ordinary security measures? They go to plenty of trouble to keep Muggles out, but what about unwelcome wizards?

A good chance that those security measures don't recognize Sirius for what he is. We're never told whether or not an Animagus can be recognized as such just by looking at him or her, AND nobody but Lupin knows that Sirius is an Animagus at this point. He could have been Padfoot right up to the Sir Cadogan, at which point he revealed himself and gives the password. Earlier, on Halloween, the only reason Sirius didn't get into Gryffindor Tower was because he didn't have the password. The Fat Lady wasn't being heroic in not allowing him to get in; she was just following the rules. The only criteria to get in is the password.

[kaptainsnot.livejournal.com]

First of all, I dearly appreciate the recommendation, Pauraque. Although I've been doing fanart for some time now, I feel as if only recently have I been doing work I can be proud of showing -- but even so, I sincerely am pleased when people are taken with the earlier styles which I at times slip into for familiarity's sake. Thank you, I really do mean it.

As for Sirius not being concerned about Ron's safety -- by this point, I do believe that all that was on his mind was Pettrigrew. It's interesting to note how his hatred for Pettigrew and Snape both spread from his devotion and love to James -- Sirius almost, in that respect, seems devoid of any singular emotions, living in a confused mesh of then and now, as we later see in Ootp during his talks with Harry. Even though after PoA most of us wanted to believe that Sirius was just, indeed, a nice guy, if one really looks into his reactions in PoA, it is evident that a "happy ending" for Sirius was unlikely. He was unfit to return to society, even if he was cleared of his convictions -- thus his demise was to be expected. PoA, I think, did a lot to foreshadow that. Either way, his inconsiderate behavior towards Ron doesn't surprise me in the least; in his place and with his motives, I do believe even I would not have given a toss.

Hmm, and I'm still spiffed about the above mentioned rec. Thank you tons, again, Pauraque.

[jeddy83.livejournal.com]

We're supposed to boo and hiss at Draco for buying his way onto the team, but cheer for Harry when he essentially buys a win by bringing in an F1 racer to compete against stock cars?

True. But, of course, the fact that Harry beat Draco in CoS when Draco had the premier broom that season shows that it isn't all about the class of the broom.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

We're supposed to boo and hiss at Draco for buying his way onto the team, but cheer for Harry when he essentially buys a win by bringing in an F1 racer to compete against stock cars?

To be absolutely fair, it's Harry that assumes that Draco bought his way onto the team. Given the way that the Slytherins want to *win*, I doubt they would take an incompetent Seeker onto the team even for top-of-the-line brooms for the entire team. It would help if we ever saw Draco play against someone other than Harry, though.

As usual, Ron is emotional. Hermione's logical refuting of the circumstantial evidence against Crookshanks is meaningless to him. If only she *acted* sorry, that would be enough

Ron does act as Harry's emotions while Hermione as his intellect. And another bit of evidence that those two would be a *disaster* if they ever tried dating -- Ron needs a lot more emotional display than Hermione knows how to give. Not that she doesn't FEEL things passionately, but she processes everything through her intellect, and Ron seems to find that baffling and offputting.

I guess her rooms are near the dorms, that she was awakened by the noise. Interesting that she so rarely makes an appearance there.

Well, *someone* put out al the career flyers in OotP. I get the impression that Harry doesn't notice the teacher unless he's in class or he's paying attention to them for reasons of his own. McGonagall does arrange for Hermione to get the Time-Turner, so she's not an uninvolved Housemistress. It's more that Harry is an uninvolved student.

Wouldn't Crookshanks have told Sirius that Peter ran away?

Depends on how much Sirius can understand Crookshanks, and if Crookshanks thought to mention it anyway. He *is* a cat, after all; a rat running away might not be noteworthy enough to metion from his perspective.

And yes, Sirius is absolutely bonkers here, and unable to think his way through anything more than "get Peter!" Sirius isn't a stupid man, but I think it takes him a lot of effort to sit back and think things through, instead of just feeling things and acting on his feelings; he was able to think in GoF because he was away from the action and thus was calm. In a crisis, he just reacts on instincts.

To hell with the portrait hole -- how did he get through the front door? Shouldn't that be guarded or warded as well?

You'd think in any *normal* school that they'd have at least had locks on the doors. But the Wizarding World in general and Hogwarts in particular seems very lax when it comes to safeguarding children from threats. Part of it is because physical harm is much less serious -- wizards are able to resist a lot of damage by unconcious magic (Neville being dropped out of the window and bouncing, for example!) and when they are hurt, it's very simple to heal broken bones and the like.

But you would think if they wanted to keep people out in PoA they could have tightened security a bit. After all, if Umbridge managed to lock the school down in OotP, why couldn't Dumbledore have done something similar if less draconian in PoA?

[desevera.livejournal.com]

It would help if we ever saw Draco play against someone other than Harry, though.
Considering that Slytherin are always seen to be the main rivals (although part of that is house animosity) and the Quidditch finals are almost always seen to be Slytherin/Gryffindor, unless Gryffindor's injured or the match is cancelled, it would seem logical to assume that Slytherin beats everyone but Gryffindor.

I would argue that Draco is an extremely accomplished flier - he must be almost as good as Harry, otherwise we wouldn't have that exciting competition. Harry just has the slight edge.

[pogrebin.livejournal.com]

OMG. Thanks so much for pointing out her work. It's absolutely gorgeous. Wow.

[muridae-x.livejournal.com]

To hell with the portrait hole -- how did he get through the front door? Shouldn't that be guarded or warded as well?

I think it possibly is - which is why Snape was so emphatic in suggesting that he couldn't possibly have got into the castle without help from an insider at Hallowe'en.

But Sirius is one of the authors of the Marauder's Map. Fred and George are of the opinion that even Filch doesn't know all of the routes in and out of the castle that are detailed on that, and Filch often performs the function of security guard as well as caretaker.

So there's a good chance that those secret passages got forgotten about a century or two back, and therefore didn't get warded if/when security was beefed up elsewhere. In fact, they can't be, or it wouldn't have taken Draco reporting a sighting of Harry in Hogsmeade to alert the teaching staff to the fact that he'd been out of bounds. Alarm bells would have gone off the second he set foot in the passageway.

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

We're supposed to boo and hiss at Draco for buying his way onto the team, but cheer for Harry when he essentially buys a win by bringing in an F1 racer to compete against stock cars?
I know it's essentially a children's book and Harry is the hero but I agree this is very unfair. I'd be pretty pissed off with him if I was on one of the other teams, too.

Reads like a veiled sexual reference -- the pretty girl wanting to hold the sports star's... broomstick
LOL!!!! Of course, broomsticks have some intersting conotations in witchcraft, I always giggle at Harry polishing his!

I guess her rooms are near the dorms
I think it likely that the Head of House is always housed near or within easy access to their House's living quarters. I'm sure in GoF when they have the pyjama party scene, Snape emerges from the dungeons not far from his office.

To hell with the portrait hole -- how did he get through the front door?
It's likely Sirius does remember the secret ways into the castle but I also wonder if the school doesn't in some way recognise him as a former pupil and therefore okay? On the other hand, a lot of former pupils might not be too welcome....

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

If anyone needs evidence that Sirius is not right in the head at this point in the series, this should suffice. I wonder if he even considered that Ron might have been injured if he went in swinging.

Yeah, I think Sirius is pretty unhinged throughout most of PoA. After 12 years of being unable to cling to a positive thoughts, he has nothing to drive him but anger, revenge, and a determination to protect get to Peter at all costs. He doesn't start to pull himself together until Lupin takes charge of the situation. Lupin calms him down, listens to his story, and, most importantly, believes him, which gives Sirius a bit of hope and allows him to think more rationally.

At the end of the book, Sirius pauses in his escape on Buckbeak to ask Harry if Ron is all right, and later he sends Pig as a sort of atonement gift, so by then he seems to understand he'd acted wrongly, but at the time, he really doesn't seem to give a damn.

To hell with the portrait hole -- how did he get through the front door?

I always assumed he used some of the secret passages that only the makers of the Marauder's Map knew.

[pauraque]

I always assumed he used some of the secret passages that only the makers of the Marauder's Map knew.

I agree, but I wonder why the characters who don't know that aren't more concerned with how he got in the building at all.