Three things stood out while re-reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (which is amazing to read while listening to Arcade Fire's Neon Bible CD).First, on page 204, as Cornelius Fudge is talking to Madame Rosemerta, Hagrid, and Profs. Flitwick and McGonagall he says that "not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them." As Shelley brought up in an e-mail to me, it seems like a revelation about the Potters life post-Hogwarts should/must be coming. Since Harry has been so integral to Voldemort's plans, I'm forced to wonder whether James and Lily might have been people he tried to recruit at some point.
Secondly, on page 213, as Harry is having a nightmare about Black (whom at this point he believes to have betrayed his parents) he notices that Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew resembles Neville. Throughout the series Neville is referred to as being meek, unconfident, "weak" in skills and as a character who orbits around Harry, Hermione and Ron. I also know that in Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore notes how Neville has some parallels to Harry. At one point he wasn't sure if Neville was the Boy Who Lived. Bottom line here, I think that Neville will have an important role to play before the series concludes.
Finally, on page 427, Dumbledore notes that since Harry ordered Lupin and Black to spare Pettigrew's life, Pettigrew would be indebted to Harry forever. That owing one's life to another "creates a certain bond between them." And that he's "... much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter." At this point, I don't remember whether this has proved salient/relevant already in the later books. But I don't believe that it has, at least not in Goblet or Phoenix.
And one more thing ... what's up with Crookshanks? Clearly a super-intelligent animal. It "communicated" with Sirius while in Padfoot form. I wonder ...
1 comment:
You and I discuss this on a regular basis, so I feel the need to reply.
On the Neville thing- I totally agree. We know now that the prophecy had NOTHING to do with him, which has been confirmed by JKR. Still, I think he'll be important.
As for Crookshanks, JKR has said many, MANY times that Crook is not an Animagus, and Sirius calls him "the most intelligent of his kind that I've ever met." Now, I dunno if that means he's some OTHER type of creature, or just an especially smart cat.
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