Reading Journal Post #3

Question: Explain how a character in the book changed or is starting to change in the section you are responding to.

    In chapter 19, when Harry Potter, Ron Weasly, Hermione Granger, Professor Lupin, and Sirius Black are in the Shrieking Shack, trying to kill Peter Pettigrew, who was disguised as Ron's pet rat, Scabbers, Harry realized that Sirius Black was, in fact, innocent and he was not the one responsible for his parents' death. The betrayer was actually Peter Pettigrew who had revealed Lily's and Jame's confidential hiding place to Lord Voldemort. When Professor Snape unexpectedly entered the Shrieking Shack with Harry's invisibility cloak and was about to harm Sirius and Lupin, Harry changed his mind in a split second. The main reason why Snape wanted to injure them was because they made a fool of Snape as kids. Also, he believed Sirius to be a murderer, which gave him an even better reason to injure him and send him back to Azkaban. However, as Harry was with Sirius now, before Professor Snape could take even one step towards him, he raised his wand and yelled, “Expelliarmus!”. Surprisingly, his wasn't the only one that shouted. Both Ron and Hermione had tried to disarm Snape at exactly the same moment. (Pg. 265, Chapter 19) Sirius and Lupin told Harry that it was Peter, not Sirius, who turned Harry's parents in to Voldemort. Even when Peter knew that James and Lily had trusted him over anyone else, he still did not give up on his idea to give away Jame's and Lily's hiding place to Voldemort so he could become one of his best spies, which would result in Pettigrew's increased fame.

    This quote was very significant to the novel because it showed that Harry, Ron, and Hermione understood what the truth was. This means that later, they would be using the information they had gathered from Lupin and Sirius to help prove that Sirius was an innocent and that Peter Pettigrew was the one who had betrayed Harry's parents and murdered several innocent muggles. Also, this showed that Sirius and Remus had valued Jame's friendship and were ready to die for him which Peter was not. Furthermore, this quote was highly important to me as well because it showed that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were now starting to grasp what the truth was, even though it was the majority of the wizards who thought Sirius was the criminal. Because they have different viewpoints than the rest of the people, they are also becoming more independent than they were before, which would help them fight the dark lord, who is supposed to have his powers back according to Professor Trelawney's prediction.