PA22: Owl Post Again – Harry Potter Lexicon

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced. I'd watch out for him, if I were you, Dumbledore."
-- Cornelius Fudge

Harry and Hermione safely return to the Hospital Wing, where Professor Snape arrives to blame them for Sirius Black’s escape but cannot prove it. Professor Lupin resigns, returning the invisibility cloak and Marauder’s Map to Harry. Term ends, Harry, Ron and Hermione return home on the Hogwarts Express, Harry gets owl post from Sirius, and Ron gets a new owl.

Calendar and Dates

The action of this chapter takes place later on the same evening (6th June) as that of the previous chapter and extends until the end of term later in the month.

Time Line: The End of PA - essay by Hollydaze
Chart showing the events of the evening of 6th June (NB the chart shows this date as 9th June in error):

Interesting facts and notes

The chapter title refers back to that of Chapter 1: Owl Post.

They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tightly spiralling stone staircase.

Although we will learn the following year that the Owlery is at the top of West Tower (GF15), there is no mention of it here.

...then started to run in the opposite direction. Down one staircase, then another, along a new corridor -

We note that the entrance of the staircase leading up to the top of West Tower is two floors above where Harry and Hermione encounter Peeves.

They had reached the end of the corridor with the hospital-wing entrance.

We're not sure whether this Hospital Wing corridor is still the same corridor in which Harry and Hermione encountered Peeves, since the pair have been running for some little time before they reach this point. However, even if they ran through some intervening corridors that haven't been mentioned, it seems likely that they're still on the same floor as that corridor, since no staircases are mentioned during their race to the entrance.

"HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT -"

And of course, Snape is quite right.

"Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Dumbledore, you are a bad man. :)

"When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them..."

As has been pointed out by many people, Harry is in Snape's debt just as Snape was in James', to name two such debt relationships.

"But trust me...the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life."
Harry couldn't imagine when that would be.

Not until Book 7, from the look of things (DH23). This is somewhat reminiscent of the complicated situation between Bilbo Baggins, his cousin Frodo, and Gollum in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Who was the most evil of the two: Peter Pettigrew or Gollum?

"Yeah...I bet the Dursleys would be pleased to let me come...especially after what I did to Aunt Marge..."

Personally, in Petunia's place I might even give Harry a bit of a break just for that.

"Here – I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night,’ he said, handing Harry back the Invisibility Cloak. "And …" he hesitated, then held out the Marauder’s Map, too. "I am no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving you this back as well. It's no use to me, and I daresay you, Ron and Hermione will find uses for it."

Remus is still a Marauder underneath it all.

Exceptional character moments

Fudge, whose reaction to the capture of a supposedly dangerous and insane murderer is relief - not at the end of a public danger, but that he can now boast about the capture to the Daily Prophet. He has no qualms at all that we can see at the idea of having the Kiss administered.

Lupin, resigning from a job he badly needs (and wants), because the precautions protecting others from his werewolf state have been shown to be inadequate.

Lupin's opinion that James would have been "highly disappointed if his son had never found any of the secret passages out of the castle".

Ron, who asks for Crookshanks' opinion of Pigwidgeon before committing to keeping him.

Memorable lines

"Unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further." [Dumbledore]

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced. I'd watch out for him, if I were you, Dumbledore." [Cornelius Fudge]

"I was worried this mornin', mind...thought he mighta met Professor Lupin on the grounds, but Lupin says he never ate anythin' las' night..." [Rubeus Hagrid]

"Who'd have thought it? That brings her total of real predictions up to two." [Dumbledore]

"Hasn't your experience with the Time-Turner taught you anything, Harry? The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed..." [Dumbledore]

"You haven't got a godfather!"
"Yes, I have," said Harry brightly. "He was my mum and dad's best friend. He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of wizard prison and he's on the run. He likes to keep in touch with me, though...keep up with my news...check I'm happy..." [Vernon] and [Harry]