LJ-versary :: PoA 7

[pauraque_bk]

On May 6, 2003, I made my first post to LJ. I joined at the urging of the good people at haremxf, and soon discovered the infinite carnival midway that is LJ HP fandom. Since then I've met hundreds of fans, befriended many, quarrelled with a few, and admired many more from afar.

Sometimes I feel like a naive farmboy coming to New York City. This fandom is bigger and louder and brighter than anything I've ever seen online. Sometimes it's too much. But most of the time, I just plain feel lucky to be a part of it. If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere. ;)

*hugs fandom*


Eeew... sticky. *brushes himself off*

*

PoA 7: The Boggart in the Wardrobe

Ron had spent the last quarter of an hour carefully shredding his own roots into exactly equal pieces. (95)

It's struck me before that Ron doesn't seem to do too badly in Potions or particularly incite Snape's wrath (except as a Gryffindor in general), and here he's being more careful than I would have expected. He does hate Snape on behalf of Harry, but he still tries hard in his class.

'Of course, if it was me,' he said quietly, '[...]I'd be out there looking for [Black].'
'What are you talking about, Malfoy?' said Ron roughly. (96)

'What did Malfoy mean?' [...]
'He's making it up,' said Ron, savagely, 'he's trying to make you do something stupid...' (97)

How much does Ron know, here? I can't remember if he seems surprised when Harry finds out what Sirius did, but it reads here like he's trying to protect Harry from the truth.

This is a well-done scene. We keep up on other plot threads while the Snape-Neville interaction is set up so that the Boggart scene will be effective without any need for exposition.

'Good afternoon,' he said. 'Would you please put all your books back in your bags. [...]' (99)

From the moment he enters the classroom, Lupin is nothing but collected and competent. Another possible suggestion that he's taught before.

'Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear.' (100)

In case anyone still had doubts on whether Snape picks on Neville above the other kids. Lupin, of course, perceives this immediately and comes up with a way for Neville to take back control of the situation. It doesn't seem likely that he planned the Drag!Boggart!Snape in advance.

This is an important turning point for Neville's character, but the real conflict is the power struggle between Snape and Lupin. We already know Snape hates Lupin (72), and now we see him trying to exert power over Lupin's class. Lupin fights back in kind, undermining the power Snape has over his own students, and does it in such a way that Snape has no real recourse. As usual, Lupin is calm and polite -- the same defense he used to show his students he wasn't shaken by Peeves's taunting (99), a potentially rattling reminder of his school days.

'He seems a very good teacher,' said Hermione approvingly. 'But I wish I could have had a turn with the Boggart--' (106)

Why didn't he let her, I wonder?


Previous re-read posts are saved in memories here.

Comments

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

Happy Fanniversary!

[pauraque]

Thanks!

[scribbulus-ink.livejournal.com]

I've been reading your breakdowns of the chapter with great interest, and it's given me a lot to think about so thanks for taking the time to share. :) I do have one thing to add regarding the question of whether Lupin has taught before. Unless JKR completely contradicts herself in a later book, he can't have. At the end of chapter 18, when he's telling the trio about himself and the history of the Shrieking Shack, he says that, "[Albus] gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am". So the implication there is that he's never taught before, and his ability in the classroom is innate, and/or he might have got tips from his future colleagues before he started.

[fernwithy.livejournal.com]

Not necessarily. "Unable to find paid work" may just be an exaggeration on his part--he's done something to stay alive. Probably bit jobs here and there, with a bit of teaching, and maybe an apprenticeship to a teacher at some point. Tutoring. Scraping by. Never having a permanent position. Or losing that position as soon as they figured out he was a werewolf--that would also be a literal interpretation of the line. That as soon as he was "who he was"--a werewolf--he coulnd't hold a paying job.

However, in OotP, it seems like the real hardships came after his year at Hogwarts, as he has apparently seriously mouthed off to Sirius about Dolores Umbridge having written laws that "made it nearly impossible" for him to find work, and Harry reflects that he looks even shabbier. So he must have been doing something previously that he could no longer do.

[mollymoon.livejournal.com]

So he must have been doing something previously that he could no longer do.

Damn that Umbridge for creating a law that bans werewolves from working in strip clubs...

*grin*

I agree with what you said though... more than likely he worked as a tutor (which for 11+ age students, would only been summer or holiday work) or was continually losing jobs because of his illness.

Additionally to pauraque: Your new icon really worries me. I hope that you don't have any pet rats at your house ;)

[pauraque]

I hope that you don't have any pet rats at your house ;)

None that aren't consenting. ;)

I quite like your icon! Young!Timmy.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

So he must have been doing something previously that he could no longer do.

Private tutoring, perhaps? Something where he needed an unreproachable moral record?

He's a Defense expert with an excellent knowledge of Dark Creatures. You'd think he could at least get work as a freelance doxy exterminator, because who cares if the man exterminating the vermin is a werewolf (or an ex-con) as long as he does the job and doesn't steal the silver...

[fernwithy.livejournal.com]

I think some of that would depend on exactly what sorts of beliefs your average witch or wizard has about werewolves. If some morons out there believe that you can catch lycanthropy by handling a dish a werewolf touched or using porcelain throne after he finished with it--both things people believed erroneously about AIDS patients at one time--then they wouldn't want a werewolf in their home, even to exterminate doxies. (Heck, doing a Remus fic, I looked up ways people have believed you can become a werewolf... drinking water downstream from one is on the list!) Or it could just be plain old bigotry, the "No Irish Need Apply" sort of attitude that kept a lot of people from even menial work.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Lupin fights back in kind, undermining the power Snape has over his own students, and does it in such a way that Snape has no real recourse.

Yeah, Lupin is almost Slytherin there. The one problem with this technique is that it will only work as long as Snape is willing to avoid a scene.

Someday Lupin is going to goad Snape with one of his "you can't touch me!" remarks, and Snape is going to decide that choking the life out of Lupin is *worth* the trouble he'll get into -- we have seen Snape totally lose it once at the end of PoA, and also outright defy Dumbledore's wishes in OotP over the Occlumency lessons.

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

Actually, Severus does do this, at the end of PoA. Why choke the life out of someone with your own hands when you can insure that they will be shunned by the community at large? Snape has learned his lessons well, and shunning and humilation works wonders. I would not be be surprised at all if the anti- werewolf laws were started as a result of Remus' exposure as a teacher at Hogwarts, ala sex offender shaming.

And once again, screw Dumbledore. Dumbledore puts Snape to the tasks because Dumbledore cannot bring himself to trust Harry.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Frankly, Snape did the right thing in exposing Lupin at the end of PoA. He'd just *proven* he couldn't be trusted to take the Wolfsbane every time by *not taking* it. I don't care what the trouble is, going off your anti-psychotics when you know you need them and will attempt to KILL if off them, is one of the most irresponsible things an adult does in the series.

Not, that's not to say that Snape didn't *enjoy* spilling the beans about Lupin and forcing him to resign. It was at least two parts gleeful spite to one part dutiful responsibility when Snape told the Slytherins. And it might have been backhanded revenge against Dumbledore for hiring Lupin over Snape's (as it turned out) reasonable objections.

[fernwithy.livejournal.com]

It's struck me before that Ron doesn't seem to do too badly in Potions or particularly incite Snape's wrath (except as a Gryffindor in general), and here he's being more careful than I would have expected. He does hate Snape on behalf of Harry, but he still tries hard in his class.

That's a good observation. Ron's not the top of the Potions class, but we never hear about severe Potions mistakes from him, either. He seems to do better than Harry, though no one ever makes anything of it. And it's likely that's because of this work.

Hmmm. I need to think about this.

This is an important turning point for Neville's character, but the real conflict is the power struggle between Snape and Lupin. We already know Snape hates Lupin (72), and now we see him trying to exert power over Lupin's class. Lupin fights back in kind, undermining the power Snape has over his own students, and does it in such a way that Snape has no real recourse. As usual, Lupin is calm and polite -- the same defense he used to show his students he wasn't shaken by Peeves's taunting (99), a potentially rattling reminder of his school days.

That's why I love him... "Cool, Sir." :)

Yes, it's a direct cut to Snape, but Snape had earned it in spades this time, so no sympathy. Snape's bizarre hatred of Neville--at least Harry can be explained!--is totally unacceptable, and I think as a teacher, it offends Remus, so he strikes back. (I know, as a librarian, nothing annoys me more than nasty librarians who treat patrons badly and make them afraid of the library.)

'He seems a very good teacher,' said Hermione approvingly. 'But I wish I could have had a turn with the Boggart--' (106)

Why didn't he let her, I wonder?

I've wondered this as well. With Harry, we get an explanation (which he takes so for granted that I'm willing to take it at face value), but Hermione? Could it be he just missed her in line? Or maybe he thought she was likely to flake? (She does stress a bit, and to be fair, it is the boggart that gets her on the exam.)

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

Snape hatred of Neville is very understandable. This fornmer biology/chem,istry has had a lot of fun with clumsy students who simply did not apy attention or wouldn't do their homework, and cause accidents in the classroom, taking away precious teaching time to clean up after them. His remark about Hermione holding his hand is especially apt- Hermione can do the homework, why can't he?

[millefiori.livejournal.com]

Is there some indication in canon that Neville doesn't pay attention or do his homework? I always got the impression that he made mistakes in class because he was nervous, creating a vicious cycle of nerves leading to mistakes leading to Snape's anger leading to more nerves leading to more mistakes, et cetera ad nauseam, and that Hermione's 'hissed instructions' weren't so much about doing his work for him as an attempt to keep him from self-destructing in class.

[pauraque]

I do think Remus is offended by Snape's inexplicable bullying of Neville, but knowing what we know now, it seems clear that the rivalry is also very personal. Remus strikes back at Snape partly to protect Neville, but also to defend himself against being dominated by Snape in this new work environment. He knows Snape, expects the aggression, and knows he has to establish himself as someone to be respected.

Could it be he just missed her in line?

That, I doubt. Remus is extremely conscientious about everyone participating in his class. He knows his students' names right away (as with Dean), and gives each one of them points at the end of the class -- Harry and Hermione for answering questions correctly, and everyone else for tackling the Boggart. That's why it struck me as odd that he didn't let Hermione have a go at the Boggart, since he's so careful about things like that.

I'm also not entirely sure what Remus was protecting Harry from. He barely knows Harry at this point, but jumps to the conclusion that he can't handle a Boggart... even though Neville just did.

[ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com]

But he doesn't jump to that conclusion! Harry asks him, in the scene when Snape brings in the Wolfsbane, why Lupin didn't let him face the boggart, and Lupin tells him he assumed that Harry's boggart would be Voldemort, and he didn't think the other students would be able to handle facing a simulacrum of the Dark Lord.

(And, Happy fanniversary, Eo!)

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

I do think Remus is offended by Snape's inexplicable bullying of Neville, but knowing what we know now, it seems clear that the rivalry is also very personal

After reading OotP, I'm not as sure as I used to be that Remus is offended by the bullying. That wouldn't make much sense, as bullying seems endemic to the culture and tolerated if not encouraged by authority figures. Remus *might* be offended that it is superior-to-inferior bullying, instead of between presumed peers.

[maidenjedi]

:::fangirl hugs eo:::

So glad you joined us over here, as you should know very well by now.

[pauraque]

Thankye! *fanboy hugs*

[millefiori.livejournal.com]

Happy anniversary -- I'm very glad you decided to take the plunge!

[pauraque]

Thanks! I'm glad too.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

Happy fanniversary! And I swear I made this icon before I saw yours. *grins* The Not as Famous Hug.

Snape's complete and utter (not to mention vocal) distaste of Neville is quite interesting, since it would seem that Neville couldn't possibly be the only student who does poorly.

[pauraque]

We're icon twins!

I haven't heard the Snape-Neville interaction explained to my complete satisfaction. We had a very interesting #snapesupport chat on the subject once, the link to which is here.

It seems to me that Snape has learned to become an aggressive, preemptive bully, simply to avoid being trod on himself. When the target fights back, as with Lupin in this chapter, he turns in on himself and stews. When the target shows weakness, as with Neville, he goes after them ever more savagely as a way of demonstrating his power. The weaker they look, the worse he gets. I don't know that Snape does hate Neville -- it may just be that Neville is an easy target, and makes himself a ripe opportunity for Snape to assert his dominance.

There's also the theory that Snape is ticked off because Neville isn't the child of the prophecy, and essentially blames Neville for allowing James's child to become so important.

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

it may just be that Neville is an easy target, and makes himself a ripe opportunity for Snape to assert his dominance

I'm quite tempted by this argument, Neville really is an easy target and it's a typical bullying approach. On the other hand I have wondered if there is perhaps something which goes further back, perhaps to Neville's parents. At least one of them was an auror (I think there's some debate as to whether they both were) and possibly something happened that has made Snape bitter towards the family in general - and of course, that wouldn't be like him, would it?!
I think Snape can be a bit of a show off too, or perhaps I should say, he likes attention - losing the Order of Merlin was obviously a huge disappointment and in OoTP there's a reference to a large group of witches and wizards in the hall at Grimmauld Pl. with Snape in the middle. He is quite dramatic with his swirling/swishing robes and he's never far from the action when something happens. I get the feeling that the Snape/Lupin exchange in the staffroom is a similar thing; Snape is showing off as well as treating Lupin as the new start still - in a 'let me help a little, I know these children better' kind of way.

[chresimos.livejournal.com]

Aaaah. Have been reading through all these today and I want to make lots of shiny comments but I'm out.of.time.for today and it's all so interesting and it's so unfair I have to stop! *pouts like small child*

I interpreted that Ron bit as poor Ron trying *extra* hard, because he knows that Snape will pick on him if he's even a little sloppy!

And he didn't let Hermione see the Boggart because he ran out of time
and her Boggart had to be dramatically revealed at the end!1!

(I'm going to compile my Peter-related confusions into a post at some point, too. Do you know any good Peter essays, besides, you know, your one? :D)