PoA 16

[pauraque_bk]

Wrist is much better. This is a relief, as I was worried I would have difficulty going on at great length about the last six chapters, as I inevitably will.


PoA 16: Professor Trelawney's Prediction

The exams were nearly upon them[...] (231)

I've heard that in British secondary school, final exams count for your entire mark in a class. Is that right?

'And they're coming up here to [execute Buckbeak],' said Harry[...] (232)

Why? All right, because the plot demands it. Still, it would have been more sensible to have the initial hearing at Hogwarts as well. I would have bought that dangerous animals aren't legally allowed to be transported, and there was no real reason for them to go to London.

'Excellent, Harry,' Lupin muttered, as Harry climbed out of the trunk, grinning. 'Full marks.' (234)

A bit subdued, even for Lupin. Sounds as though things are weighing on his mind.

Hermione did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the Boggart in it. After about a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming.
[...]
'P-P-Professor McGonagall!' Hermione gasped, pointing into the trunk. 'Sh-she said I'd failed everything!' (234)

Ron called this one (106). Perhaps Lupin let her skip it the first time around because he had a sense she might freak out, as she does here (though no one else seems to, the first time they face the Boggart). She has been stressed, and he may have perceived that.

One was so ancient he appeared to be withering before their very eyes; the other was tall and strapping, with a thin black moustache. Harry gathered that they were representatives of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, because the very old wizard squinted towards Hagrid's cabin and said in a feeble voice, 'Dear, dear, I'm getting too old for this ... two o'clock, isn't it, Fudge?' (235)

The executioner is Macnair, "an old pal o' Malfoy's" according to Hagrid (241), not to mention an old pal of Voldemort's (GoF). Of course, he's a popular subject in DE fic... can someone tell me if the first name "Walden" is canon, and if so, cite it?

The "feeble old Committee member" (242) is no one we know. I wonder if he's significant.

[Trelawney:] 'My boy, you may well be seeing the outcome of poor Hagrid's rouble with the Ministry of Magic! Look closer ... does the Hippogriff appear to ... have its head? [...] No blood? No weeping Hagrid?'
'No!' said Harry[...] 'It looks fine, it's -- flying away...' (237)

Trelawney seems very knowledgable about current Hogwarts events for someone who never comes down from her tower. She also knows enough about Hagrid to know he's a cryer. It's a bit weird that she's so keen to hear Harry say something dreadful... or is it just that she wants him to get the right answer?

Of course, Harry's made-up prediction is (eventually) correct. Though Harry doesn't truly See, there is a sense that his subconscious instincts are meaningful, as with his dream from Chapter 13 (which I didn't comment on at the time):

He was [...] following something silvery white. It was winding its way through the threes ahead, and he could only catch glimpses of it between the leaves. Anxious to catch up with it, he sped up, but as he moved faster, so did his quarry. Harry broke into a run and ahead, he heard hooves gathering speed. Now he was running flat out, and ahead he could hear galloping. (196)

In dreams, as in his waking life, Harry pursues James, but the further he goes, the less he gets what he wants and expects. This dream is broken off by Ron's screams at seeing Sirius -- a precursor of the intense emotional outlet of the Shrieking Shack, which also involves unexpected revelations about James.

[Trelawney:] 'The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight, the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever before. Tonight ... before midnight ... the servant ... will set out ... to rejoin his master ...' (238)

Echoes Fudge (156) and Dumbledore (CoS) -- *loyalty* is extremely important for a powerful wizard. When Sirius screams that Peter should die for his treachery, when Voldemort threateningly suggests the DEs have been less than loyal (GoF) -- this isn't kidding around. Loyalty and treason have real, literal impacts on magic, as when Harry calls Fawkes merely by stating his allegiance to Dumbledore (CoS), and when the flesh of a willing (faithful) servant is required for ressurection (GoF).

Also, Peter hasn't been *chained* exactly, he chose to take the action he did. I suppose, in the mistiness of prophecy, you could say that he's been chained by fear.

'I'm so sorry, dear boy,' she said dreamily. 'The heat of the day, you know ... I drifted off for a moment ...' (238)

Trelawney blacks out during her prophecy, and doesn't believe Harry when he tells her what she just said. Could suggest that she really doesn't know her true power.

'Hermione, I don't know what's got into you lately!' said Ron, astounded. 'First you hit Malfoy, then you walk out on Professor Trelawney --'
Hermione looked rather flattered. (239-240)

Yes, well. Hermione does become their friend in the first place by telling a lie. I'm not sure this glorification of bad behavior is quite necessary, though... Harry leaves his cloak behind for no real reason, just so that Hermione can go get it, and Ron can say this. It only serves to make Ron and Hermione look childish, IMHO.

'Dumbledore's gonna come down while it -- while it happens. [...] Said he wants ter -- ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore...' (241)

That, or he wants to be around to check on the kids when they do all that Time Turner jazz.

I shall leave the suggestion that Albus wants to "be with" Hagrid to braver slashers than I.

Hagridore. Dumblegrid. Cough.

Hermione carried the milk jug over to the table and turned it upside-down. With a frantic speak, and much scrambling to get back inside, Scabbers the rat came sliding out onto the table. (241)

This milk jug was in Hagrid's cupboard. Implies to me that Peter fell in and couldn't get up the side, as rodents frequently do. But I wonder what he was doing in Hagrid's hut anyway... maybe he thought Hagrid would take him in, being an animal-lover. But it's unclear what Peter's plan was at this point. What was he waiting around for, knowing that Sirius was in the area? Why not just run for it, as he does in the end anyway?


Past re-read posts are here.

Comments

[shocolate.livejournal.com]

I've heard that in British secondary school, final exams count for your entire mark in a class. Is that right?

In British secondary schools there may be some sort of informal end of year tests in other years, but only the GCSEs (aka OWLS) and A-levels (aka NEWTS) count for anything. You don't have to 'pass' anything to move on a year.

These days there is a continual assesment coursework part of the GCSEs, but in my day it was all on a couple of 3 hour papers.

[muridae-x.livejournal.com]

My day too. And, of course, J K Rowling's day. Which may or may not be significant, but it definitely feels like she's not trying to be too contemporary with her schooling parallels.

I suspect there are very good reasons why continuous assessment of coursework doesn't get a showing in the wizarding universe. Not only is it suggestive of the more old-fashioned feel of that universe than that of the muggles - and it strikes me that the OWLs are a more direct mirror of the GCE than the GCSE, since the latter came in alongside the greater emphasis on coursework - but also staking everything on the final exams is much more effective dramatically. It allows the characters to angst, it lets Hermione get even more stressed out than a year of triple-timing it has already made her, and the brief relief at their being over allows that calm before the storm moment which segues neatly into the final dramatic events of this particular book.

I also imagine that exam emphasis will turn itself into a device to allow certain people who are less than consistently conscientious about their academic students to have old flashes of exam brilliance to get them into whatever NEWTs classes the plot requires them to be in for books six and seven, but I could be wrong about that.

[pauraque]

I also imagine that exam emphasis will turn itself into a device to allow certain people who are less than consistently conscientious about their academic students to have old flashes of exam brilliance to get them into whatever NEWTs classes the plot requires them to be in for books six and seven, but I could be wrong about that.

No, I think you're quite right. If that's the way it works, it'll be very convenient for JKR. If Hogwarts worked like an American high school, I'm afraid some of these kids would have been held back... though on the other hand, if coursework actually mattered, perhaps the kids would work harder and/or the teachers would grade more leniently.

[pauraque]

Then what was the motivation to do any coursework at all? Why do Harry et al care if they get their assignments done or not? Is it fear of losing house points?

[shocolate.livejournal.com]

I suppose so.

The thing is, whatever you are used to is a motivation.

In the States you have to pass everything to move on; here you have to do your homework, because otherwise you get told off.

It may not seem like much of a motivation when written down, and there are plenty of students at real schools who totally switch off and leave school at 16 with no qualifications, but I suppose once you are into the swing of things, you just keep doing the homework.

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

When I was at school pupils were belted (hit with a leather strap) for not doing homework and our exams counted for everything (although in Art we also submitted a piece beforehand). I think for Harry et al it's a point thing, the system seems to be quite strict.

[pauraque]

Yipes! Unpleasant.

[muridae-x.livejournal.com]

House points. Definitely. :-)

At my school there was a little more to it than that. You got points for doing particularly good work, and they did count towards house competitions, but they were also a mark of individual recognition. There were a series of certificates you got for managing to rack up x points, and you had a little card that the teachers added them to so that they'd count towards that, and so on.

So it was as much about motivating you to go up to the stage at assembly and get presented with a piece of brightly coloured cardboard as it was about helping your house win. :-) Incidentally, I don't think I'm being overly suspicious in noting that teachers' interest in giving the things out tended to dwindle once you hit the fourth form and beyond, by which time you were well embarked upon your GCE/GCSE/OWLs and getting decent results in them was an end in itself.

As other people have already said, whatever can be used to motivate kids and whatever they're used to, works.

Other factors: some subjects at least tended to be graded by ability. Unless you really, really don't care, you work to stay up in the top band with your friends rather than getting bumped down to the class with all the stupid people. :-/ And then there are the seriously scarifying teachers with tongues like acid who put the fear of god into you and whose homework assignment you would Never. Dare. Skip.

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

Perhaps Peter has to be careful about how he runs for it. There are an awful lot of owls swooping around on a regular basis. Not to mention cats and giant spiders...

Hagridore. Dumblegrid. Cough.

*blink*

As for exams: They're like SATs, and you're trying to get into a college that cares ONLY about your scores, GPA and extra-curriculars be damned. Except here, college would be NEWT-level classes, which would be like british A-levels (same age as junior and senior year, different concept), and instead of going to University with your A-levels, you head straight for career...

...Why do I feel as though I've given the most confusing explanation possible...?

[pauraque]

Well, I can certainly say I didn't understand it! So GCSEs qualify you for particular A-level courses, which allow you to take A-level exams, which... get you into university, I thought. But you're saying they don't? Then what _does_ get you into university?

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

no, A-levels do get you into University, as NEWTs get you into a career, both of these contrasted with the stateside comprehensive method

yeah.... no more three-way comparisons for me...

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

and then again, we have our own system in Scotland!!!!! The WW is so much easier to follow!

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

It only serves to make Ron and Hermione look childish, IMHO.

I've been saying that for a while.

Great read-through. Dumblegrid. Blech.

[pauraque]

You know, on the issue of glorifying bad behavior... frankly, I'm usually not one to harp on it. It's perfectly legitimate for JKR to write young characters who behave in ways that shouldn't be imitated -- who are flawed.

However, for her to go out of her way to create a situation that does not advance the plot or tell us anything of interest, but only serves to say, "Hey, sneaking around where you're not supposed to be, yelling at your teacher and walking out of class, and hitting another kid -- these are great things to do, and will make you well-liked"... That's not cool. The more I consider it, the more it annoys me.

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

i only hope that all this rule-breaking later comes to bite them on their collective ass. hermione certainly has the habit of taking matters into her own hands, regardless of authority and potential life-threatening consequence. harry, well... is harry. and ron apparently missed whatever announcement that stated prefects could take points!!!!!!!!!! JKR certainly seems *aware* of the... rougher edges of their characterizations. only time will tell whether she actually punishes them for it. ~_~ bloody gryffindor-loving, anti-slytherin... *grumblegrumblegrumble*

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

i only hope that all this rule-breaking later comes to bite them on their collective ass.

Well, so far Harry has lost Sirius because he couldn't act within his bounds...

But I really worry that Harry and co. have such a sense of entitlement and justification (fostered by most of the teachers and especially Dumbledore) that they will be unmanageable once they leave schools.

Hermione especially seems poised to create chaos. She's clever, she's been mostly successful, but she is also naive about people's reactions to her blunt crusading. If she pursues House-Elf Rights (or just about any other cause), she's going to cause a disaster, because she's brilliant enough to succeed and dumb enough to not anticipate (and try to mitigate) the consequences.

[pauraque]

But I really worry that Harry and co. have such a sense of entitlement and justification (fostered by most of the teachers and especially Dumbledore) that they will be unmanageable once they leave schools.

And in this particular case, where at least one is an extremely powerful and potentially dangerous wizard... well, it makes you worry about an eventual Dark Lord Potter.

[muridae-x.livejournal.com]

But I wonder what he was doing in Hagrid's hut anyway... maybe he thought Hagrid would take him in, being an animal-lover.

Or maybe he couldn't get past the Dementors safely. They wouldn't care that he was rat-shaped, they'd just suck up all those nice thoughts.

And perhaps, if stranded on the Hogwarts grounds, he thought that Hagrid's hut was the safest place to be. Not because of Hagrid, but because Fang is a big dog would might (a) keep the other big dog away, and (b) keep the cat away too.

As for falling in the milk jug, I'm sure you're right and he fell in by accident while in Hagrid's larder foraging for food, and couldn't get out again.

[pauraque]

Or maybe he couldn't get past the Dementors safely. They wouldn't care that he was rat-shaped, they'd just suck up all those nice thoughts.

But Padfoot is able to get past the Dementors. As Sirius later explains, the Dementors are somewhat confused by his Animagus form.

However, Sirius had loads of experience having Dementors nearby; Peter does not.

[muridae-x.livejournal.com]

Padfoot is able to get past the Dementors. As Sirius later explains, the Dementors are somewhat confused by his Animagus form.

Good point. But Peter doesn't necessarily know that, so he could be playing it safe, and he doesn't really have anywhere else to go. Or nowhere that doesn't necessitate himself turning back into a human and explaining why he hasn't been dead for more than a decade.

I figure he's just lying low and hoping that someone will catch Sirius and cart him off back to Azkaban before Peter's forced to make a decision about abandoning this cosy little hiding place he's made for himself. I think he's spent too long as the Weasleys' pet rat for it not to seem daunting when faced with the possible need to adapt and move on.

[pauraque]

I think he's spent too long as the Weasleys' pet rat for it not to seem daunting when faced with the possible need to adapt and move on.

That, I think, is for sure. Given how little practice he's had being a human recently, I'm impressed at how capable he *is* by the time of the Shrieking Shack.

[arwencordelia.livejournal.com]

can someone tell me if the first name "Walden" is canon, and if so, cite it?

Later in the book (Chapter 21 - Hermione's Secret) Harry and Hermione hear Fudge read the "official notice" of Buckbeak's execution while they're hiding near Hagrid's cabin. Walden McNair is named in the notice: "...sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnair"

That, or he wants to be around to check on the kids when they do all that Time Turner jazz.

This is really interesting because it implies "Chapter16" Dumbledore knows that "Chapter 21" Dumbledore will send the kids back in time. He couldn't know this at this point, but he is the one who instigated the time travel. The Time-Turner scene is happening at the same time this scene is, so there are two each of Harry and Hermione around right now ("now" being Chapter 16). Maybe Dumbledore, being in on it, also has some subconscious knowledge of what's going on, so that if the kids messed it up, he would figure out what happened.

Time paradoxes boggle my mind...

[pauraque]

Time paradoxes boggle my mind...

Oy, mine too. Maybe it'll become clearer when I get to Chapter 21. Though I somewhat doubt it. :)

[secretcodename.livejournal.com]

'The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight, the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever before. Tonight ... before midnight ... the servant ... will set out ... to rejoin his master ...'

Maybe I'm on crack, but I always thought this referred to Barty Crouch. It doesn't seem to fit well with Peter at all, who after all hasn't been either chained, or much of a servant, for those 12 years.

Harry leaves his cloak behind for no real reason, just so that Hermione can go get it, and Ron can say this. It only serves to make Ron and Hermione look childish, IMHO.

I disagree. It draws more attention to the scary side of Hermione's personality, having Ron notice her changing behavior like that. She really can be ruthless and increasingly has no problem breaking rules, or even laws, what with the upcoming reporter-in-a-jar, using Voldemort-inspired hexes on the DA members, and sending Umbridge to her fate. I don't think JKR is glorifying it exactly. As for Ron, well, he's a 13 year old boy here, after all.

But it's unclear what Peter's plan was at this point. What was he waiting around for, knowing that Sirius was in the area? Why not just run for it, as he does in the end anyway?

I wonder about this too. Did he think he might be able to wait out the situation until Sirius was caught and Kissed, and then return to Ron and the Weasleys? If Peter had any idea that Remus had the map, this would be just about the stupidest idea in history. Maybe he wanted to be on hand in case it looked like Sirius was about to spill his guts to somebody so Peter could pop up and give his side of the story -- again, not a very good plan, and in fact no one bought it for a second when he did try.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Maybe I'm on crack, but I always thought this referred to Barty Crouch. It doesn't seem to fit well with Peter at all, who after all hasn't been either chained, or much of a servant, for those 12 years.


!!!

Wow. You're right about it probably being Barty. After all, to set up the scheme to grab and replace Moody, Barty needs to be active in the summer between PoA and GoF... and early enough to hook up with Peter and DemonBaby!Voldemort, so that they can cook up the showdown at the end of the Tri-Wizard tournament.

Wow. JKR had us totally bamboozled. *Very* nice sleight of hand there.

[pauraque]

Maybe I'm on crack, but I always thought this referred to Barty Crouch. It doesn't seem to fit well with Peter at all, who after all hasn't been either chained, or much of a servant, for those 12 years.

I'm not as convinced by this idea as neotoma is. For one thing, I'm not sure it makes any difference... Peter and Crouch were working towards the same goal. It doesn't add anything, really, if it's Crouch. Are we supposed to notice that the prophecy is just slightly ill-fitting, and take that as a suggestion that there's another servant out there? Is Harry? What is Harry supposed to do with this information?

Huh. I don't know, it just doesn't ring true for me. There's not enough to it.

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

well, i think it would fit with JKR's style of mentioning things/people before their significance is at all apparent. plus it could be another jab at the accuracy of soothsaying (if we go by firenze). it when it seems pretty straightforward, it's not.

never underestimate that woman's will or ability to fuck with our heads. O_O

[maidenjedi]

never underestimate that woman's will or ability to fuck with our heads.

Exactly.

And I don't know that Peter and Crouch *were* working towards the same goals, Eo. Peter just wanted to survive, not get back to Voldemort - going to Voldemort was a last resort when his story in the Shrieking Shack failed to gain him any support. If his intention was to go back to his master, he could have done it at any point once Voldemort's whereabouts were guessed at (Albania). Barty Crouch, Jr., on the other hand, has been prevented from going to Voldemort's aid (even if Crouch, Sr. didn't recognize that that's what his son would ultimately do). He's been "chained" by the Imperius Curse, and prevented from leaving the house.

Of course, Barty Jr. doesn't actually leave his father's house until the timeframe of Goblet of Fire, so there *is* a hole there. It could refer to Barty Jr. being able to overcome the Imperius Curse for the first time, but even that's a stretch.

Hmm. Well, prophecies are vague things anyway. :-)

[(Anonymous)]

Tonight ... before midnight ... the servant ... will set out ... to rejoin his master ...'

This part is what conclusively eliminates the possibility of it being Crouch-"tonight before midnight". Crouch isn't freed till about two months later. It's Peter. The "chained" bit is probably figurative.