as the Minister said to the Veela. What do I want to know? Even sticking to plot-related questions and ignoring things like the galleon/sterling exchange rate, there’s a lot. Why James and Lily defied Voldemort – how did they get the chance? Why was Wizarding society of the period vulnerable to the Dark Lord? Why did Sirius Black choose to play such a ‘highly amusing practical joke’ on Snape? I’m more interested in knowing the details of what has happened in the past, than speculating on what is to come.
So:
- Andromeda. However JKR imagines her, a Slytherin of her generation who marries a man presumably not such, a woman of a then thriving family connected by blood or marriage to so many other pureblood families, she would surely be able to provide a perspective on events of the past forty years rather lacking from Harry’s narration. If she’s been largely a non-participant, that in a sense is even better as there might be hope of a bit of distance. On the other hand, it’s possibly she was the dull one of the family, and even if not, there are some things I want to know that she just can’t tell, even if she does know which close family member other than Nymphadora is the metamorphmagus and whether Ted is the newsreader at the start of PS who hands over to a weather-forecaster named McGuffin. - Snape. He really is the one with the answers; not least “whose side is he really on”. He might even be persuaded to talk; I bet he’s bursting to justify himself and have his line accepted. Unfortunately, whilst he might speak the truth I’m afraid that the truth as he perceives it might not give the complete picture. After pouring vodka down his thought, I’d ask him whether he really was in love with Lily (sorry!), and, if the chips were down, which Malfoy would he try to save from certain doom? - Dumbledore. If the drink contains Veritaserum, Dumbledore is the obvious choice. He does know everything; he knows about Snape, he knows about the Potters, he knows more about Voldemort than he’s told Harry, he know the history of the Ministry’s politics. If I got him really drunk, I’d try to make him swear an Unbreakable Vow to produce back-up plan. - Alas, Dumbledore is dead. Moreover, I suspect he has planned against Veritaserum. McGonagall would probably be a canny drinker and not succumb. Arthur Weasley would get really enthusiastic about kitchen equipment. This leaves the usual suspect, Lupin. He’s been around long enough, and closely involved enough (on both sides) to know a good deal of the history and personalities. He knows the truth (we may hope) about the mystery of the Werewolf Incident, with its symbolic function as the disaster around which crystallizes the tragedy of the Marauder generation. He knows about James and Lily, he has experience of the Ministry, it’s even reasonable to suppose that he was approached by the Death Eaters/Voldemort’s forces back in the late 1970s. He’s also that rare HP character who seems to be able to present a relatively nuanced narrative, with an appreciation of his own bias and weaknesses. I can’t really see an advantage to getting him drunk, but he’d be a good dinner companion.
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The old ones are the best,
Date: 2006-06-20 08:17 am (UTC)So:
- Andromeda. However JKR imagines her, a Slytherin of her generation who marries a man presumably not such, a woman of a then thriving family connected by blood or marriage to so many other pureblood families, she would surely be able to provide a perspective on events of the past forty years rather lacking from Harry’s narration. If she’s been largely a non-participant, that in a sense is even better as there might be hope of a bit of distance. On the other hand, it’s possibly she was the dull one of the family, and even if not, there are some things I want to know that she just can’t tell, even if she does know which close family member other than Nymphadora is the metamorphmagus and whether Ted is the newsreader at the start of PS who hands over to a weather-forecaster named McGuffin.
- Snape. He really is the one with the answers; not least “whose side is he really on”. He might even be persuaded to talk; I bet he’s bursting to justify himself and have his line accepted. Unfortunately, whilst he might speak the truth I’m afraid that the truth as he perceives it might not give the complete picture. After pouring vodka down his thought, I’d ask him whether he really was in love with Lily (sorry!), and, if the chips were down, which Malfoy would he try to save from certain doom?
- Dumbledore. If the drink contains Veritaserum, Dumbledore is the obvious choice. He does know everything; he knows about Snape, he knows about the Potters, he knows more about Voldemort than he’s told Harry, he know the history of the Ministry’s politics. If I got him really drunk, I’d try to make him swear an Unbreakable Vow to produce back-up plan.
- Alas, Dumbledore is dead. Moreover, I suspect he has planned against Veritaserum. McGonagall would probably be a canny drinker and not succumb. Arthur Weasley would get really enthusiastic about kitchen equipment. This leaves the usual suspect, Lupin. He’s been around long enough, and closely involved enough (on both sides) to know a good deal of the history and personalities. He knows the truth (we may hope) about the mystery of the Werewolf Incident, with its symbolic function as the disaster around which crystallizes the tragedy of the Marauder generation. He knows about James and Lily, he has experience of the Ministry, it’s even reasonable to suppose that he was approached by the Death Eaters/Voldemort’s forces back in the late 1970s. He’s also that rare HP character who seems to be able to present a relatively nuanced narrative, with an appreciation of his own bias and weaknesses. I can’t really see an advantage to getting him drunk, but he’d be a good dinner companion.
That was a long answer, wasn’t it?