pauraque_bk | PoA 17

EDIT: Almost forgot to mention-- Chloe is going to be fine. There'll still be an investigation, but healthwise, things are good. Thanks to everyone for the good thoughts.

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In Chapter 16,

secretcodename suggests that the Second Prophecy doesn't refer to Peter. This isn't a theory I've heard before, so you may want to have a look.

PoA 17: Cat, Rat and Dog

*rubs hands together* Okay, here we go. The juicy stuff.

As was discussed in Chapter 1, PoA's climactic sequence is much more emotional than physical, and in that sense it's very unlike the other four books. How satisfying it is depends a great deal on whether the reader is invested in the emotional and psychological struggle of the four adults, which, as a first-time reader, I was.

Of course, Harry also has an inner struggle, centering on whether he's capable of taking a life -- a thread that picks up again in OotP with the Harry-Bellatrix scene, not to mention the First Prophecy. Harry takes a bit of a back seat at this point in PoA -- for the first time, something isn't about him, and we start to get a larger sense of the forces at work around him, set in motion long before he was born.

I've said a lot about these few chapters in various contexts, so I'll try not to repeat myself too much. But if you want to bring up something I didn't go into, feel free.

Crookshanks darted forwards. He slithered bewteen the battering branches like a snake and placed his front paws upon a knot on the trunk. (246)

'I thought you'd come and help your friend,' [Black] said hoarsely. [...] 'Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful ... it will make everything much easier...' (249)

Sirius could have told Crookshanks not to let them in, and he could have killed Peter as soon as he got into the Shack. He didn't do either of these things, so it looks like he didn't want to kill Peter without Harry there to see it. Then again, he only starts to explain when Harry has him at wandpoint (250). Throughout the scene, he wavers between homicidal rage and a need for Harry to understand what he's doing. As others have pointed out, a great deal of what Sirius feels has to do with James. I wonder if part of him feels that Harry's forgiveness=James's forgiveness. That's the only thing I can imagine could override his need to see Peter dead.

All they could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog pulling him further underground. Then a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had broken, and next second, his foot had vanished from sight. (246)

'If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us, too!' [Ron] said fiercely[...]
Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes.
'Lie down,' he said quietly to Ron. 'You will damage that leg even more.' (249)

At first Sirius couldn't care less about injuring Ron as he drags him off like "a rag-doll" (246), merely using him as bait to lure Harry into the Shack. But something changes when Ron declares his willingness to die for Harry... Sirius suddenly sees Ron as himself, willing to sacrifice himself for James.

On a magnificent four-poster bed[...] (248)

I'm imagining young Remus was tied up there... perhaps the reason Sirius picked that room.

'Going to kill me, Harry?' he whispered. [...]
'You killed my parents,' said Harry[...]
'I don't deny it,' he said, very quietly. (250)

chresimos and I discussed not too long ago, if Sirius was saying this sort of thing when he was arrested, there's no need to accuse the Ministry of railroading him, as fans frequently do. He may well have confessed.

He was going to kill Black. He had to kill Black. This was his chance. [...]
Harry gripped his wand convulsively -- Do it now! said a voice in his head -- (251)

Some see this "voice in his head" as literally being Voldemort, or some remnant of Voldemort left over from the failed Killing Curse. In any case, it's certainly an important moment for Harry -- as in OotP (and as in Chapter 19), he cannot commit himself to killing another human being, even though he has an urge to do so.

Crookshanks leapt onto Black's chest, and settled himself there, right over Black's heart. Black blinked and looked down at the cat.
'Get off,' he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him. [Crookshanks] turned his ugly, squashed face to Harry, and looked up at him with those great yellow eyes. To his right, Hermione gave a dry sob.
[...]So what if he had to kill the cat, too? It was in league with Black ... if it was prepared to die, trying to protect Black, that wasn't Harry's business ... (251)

He also decides he can accept killing Crookshanks as collateral damage, though he is aware of Hermione's anguish at the prospect. The situation parallels Harry's decision here with Peter's -- Peter also had to decide to kill bystanders and devastate families. It's important to the flow of the sequence that while Harry can't commit to killing, he also can't decide not to -- that decision is left for later, when he actively saves Peter's life.

Sirius's reaction is fascinatingly understated. Is he thinking of Crookshanks's safety? Or is this the part of him talking that thinks he deserves to die, and doesn't want Harry to hesitate?

Then Lupin spoke, in an odd voice, a voice that shook with some suppressed emotion. 'Where is he, Sirius?' (252)

There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.
'Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione,' he said. (253)

Remus's emotions become more and more deeply buried throughout the Shack sequence, starting at the panic that sends him dashing off across the grounds without his medication, and eventually sinking to his icy "Goodbye, Peter" (275).

'But then...' Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, '...why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless--' Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the rest could see, '-- unless he was the one...unless you switched...without telling me?' (252)

Clearly, Remus doesn't get that Sirius is innocent until this moment.

'[...]as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow --'
'One of us!' Ron said angrily. (255)

Interesting that Ron is angry at this point. He doesn't know to be defensive yet, unless it's just general pain and upset, or unless he's already figured out that Scabbers is somehow involved.

Past re-read posts are here.

ETA: "All By Myself" and "Don't Cry Out Loud" are basically the same song. I'm just sayin'.