raywest

Question: When Sirius is a dog dragging Ron down the hole, why didn't the Whomping Willow attack him? And when they're leaving the hole (Sirius, Ron, Hermione, and Harry) the Whomping Willow stays still. Why is that?

Alex Lynn Cline

Chosen answer: In the books, the Whomping Willow had a knot on its trunk that, when pressed, froze the tree. In the movie, the tree is stilled by using the "Immobilus" spell. When Sirius, in his dog form, pulls Ron into the opening at the base of the Whomping Willow, he does it fast enough that the tree has not responded yet to someone being there. It starts whomping moments later just as Harry and Hermione arrive. Later, when Lupin arrived, he stopped the tree by casting Immobilus. (Harry and Hermione watch him doing this when they go back in time.) The spell was still effect when everyone left the Shrieking Shack.

raywest

Question: When Harry and Hermione were sitting with Buckbeak waiting to see themselves as Lupin turned into a werewolf, why didn't one of them go to where Pettigrew escaped to capture him?

Alex Lynn Cline

Chosen answer: Their focus was to save Sirius from the Dementors. It would have been too dangerous for Harry and Hermione to split up at that time and try to handle each situation separately. They would also risk being seen by the other Harry and Hermione, which could have derailed the entire plan.

raywest

Question: How could Hermione attend classes back in time, when all the others were seeing her? When she travelled with Harry, they were told they can't be seen.

Answer: Hermione had special permission, arranged by Dumbledore from the Ministry of Magic to use the Time Turner to take classes that were scheduled at the same time. Its use was carefully regulated and Hermione was instructed on how to utilize it so that she could attend multiple classes without other students noticing. When she is traveling with Harry to rescue Sirius, she is explaining to Harry that they must not be seen at the same time as the "other" Harry and Hermione that are in the past.

raywest

Question: Not sure if anybody will have an answer to this, but I would appreciate any good guesses. I read the book and it describes Remus' suitcase as having the name "Professor RJ Lupin" in "peeling" letters, so the letters have been there for a while. Did he teach at Hogwarts in the past, or could there be smaller magical schools in Britain?

Answer: Lupin did not work at other schools as none would have allowed a werewolf to teach children. Only Dumbledore ever offered him a teaching position. Regarding the title "Professor" on his suitcase that had appeared to be there for some time, I believe this is actually a movie mistake. He did not previously have this title for any reason.

raywest

Question: Why does Dumbledore purposely hit Ron's injured leg?

Answer: This didn't happen in the book. It appears to be done purely for comic effect in the movie, showing Dumbledore's eccentric and quirky nature. He's seemingly oblivious to what he's doing and how it affects Ron.

raywest

Answer: Ron had previously bragged to Hermione about how bad his leg was injured, and had lied and said his leg might be chopped off. When Dumbledore later hits Ron's leg, he is saying that a child's voice no matter how honest and true. He is giving Ron a little payback for exaggerating.

Highly unlikely Dumbledore knew what Ron told Hermione at the Whomping Willow. Ron's leg was seriously hurt, so he wasn't "bragging" about it, nor did he lie. Ron, who is a bit of a hypochondriac, was simply embellishing to be more dramatic and to gain Hermione's sympathy. Hardly anything Dumbledore would consider worth giving him "payback" by inflicting pain.

raywest

Question: Does Lily Potter scream anything in particular when she dies? Some fans (according to Google searches) seem to think that she is screaming "Always", but it sounds more like "Harry" to me. Has JK Rowling ever answered this?

Answer: She is screaming Harry.

Answer: I've listened to this a number of times, and her scream is just that - a scream, somewhat enhanced with special sound effects. It's too unintelligible to make out if she was saying anything. I have not found anything about J.K. Rowling commenting on whether Lily said anything.

raywest

Question: I'm confused about Lupin's friendship with Lily, James, Peter, and Sirius. Lupin says that Lily was there for him at a time "when no one else was." Was he not friends with James, Peter, and Sirius? Didn't they learn the Animagus spell so that they could spend time with him at night?

Answer: He didn't mean it quite so literally. Yes, he was friends with James, Sirius, and also Peter Pettigrew, but Lily was an especially close and caring friend to him and was among the very first to reach out to him in true friendship.

raywest

Question: What is supposed to happen if you say Voldemort's name? Harry says it throughout the series many times, and nothing happens to him. Why do Arthur Weasley (in this movie) and other people always tell him to stop?

Answer: Actually, nothing happens to anyone who says it. The idea is that Voldemort was so evil that nearly everyone feared saying his name aloud, referring to him only as "You-Know-Who" or "The Dark Lord." Only Harry and Dumbledore freely spoke his name aloud, having no fear of it. However, in HP and the Deathly Hallows, Voldemort, knowing this about Harry, places a jinx on his own name, and anyone saying it will immediately reveal their location. Hermione happened to say "Voldemort" out loud right after she, Harry, and Ron escaped the attack at the wedding and were in the coffee shop. Two Death Eaters appear immediately after she says it, and almost capture the trio.

raywest

Answer: Voldemort can find whoever says his name. That's why people don't say his name - purely for the sake of their life.

That is only true after the death eaters take over the ministry.

lionhead

Question: This occured to me after watching all the movies. Until the end of this movie, everyone thought Sirius Black supported Voldemort. Therefore, if Severus Snape wants Voldemort to believe that he is loyal to him and is only faking his allegiance to Dumbledore, why does he attempt to capture Sirius and turn him over to the Dementors? Wouldn't he have to explain to Voldemort why he attacked a fellow servant?

Answer: This is not explained well in the movie. Snape was motivated purely by hatred toward Sirius that extended back to when they were students at Hogwarts together. Young Sirius bullied Snape relentlessly and nearly got him killed by playing a trick on him. Like others, he also erroneously believed Black had betrayed the Potters. Snape never forgave him and was so blinded by wanting revenge that he would let the Dementors suck out his soul. Snape would not have to explain anything to Voldemort because Sirius, unlike his family, was never a Death Eater nor did he ever serve the Dark Lord. In fact, he joined the Order of the Phoenix and fought against Voldemort. The Dark Lord knew this.

raywest

Question: This is a two-part question. 1. When the Dementors first appear on the train, why does frost cover the windows and the train become so cold? 2. If the Dementors were sent to capture Sirius Black, why would they be on a train full of Hogwarts students?

Answer: The frost appearing whenever the Dementors are nearby never happened in the books. It was solely a creation for the movie as a device to foreshadow their oncoming and ominous presence. This same freezing over plays a part later in the movie when Harry saves Sirius from the Dementors by the lake. The audience already knows it signals something bad is about to happen. Regarding the second part of your question, When Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, it was known that he wanted to kill someone who was at Hogwarts. Because he was convicted as Voldemort's accomplice in Lily and James Potters' murders, it was assumed he was on his way to kill Harry. The Dementors are on the Hogwarts express, and later at the school, to protect Harry as well as hunt for Sirius. However, the Dementors have overstepped their purpose and become a threat to Harry, who has a particularly strong reaction whenever they approach him.

raywest

Question: When the Fat Lady portrait is found shredded (by Sirius) there is a baby crying. In the scene you can see a youngish girl holding a crying baby, off to the left in the screen. Why is there a baby at Hogwarts?

Hide Ledge

Chosen answer: It is not an actual mother and baby. Like the Fat Lady, they are one of the many moving portraits hanging on Hogwarts' walls. Look a little closer and you'll see the picture frame surrounding them.

raywest

Question: In the answer to another question here, it says that Dumbledore wanted the other teachers to keep Remus' werewolf condition a secret. Wouldn't Severus get into trouble for trying to teach the Defense Against Dark Arts class about werewolves?

Answer: Snape is clever enough to know how to circumvent getting into any serious trouble, though Dumbledore probably was displeased by what he did. Werewolves were a standard part of the Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum, though, when subbing for Lupin, he decided to cover the subject weeks ahead of schedule in the hopes a student would recognize that Lupin was a werewolf without it being him directly giving away the secret. Of course, it was Hermione who figured it out, though she kept that knowledge to herself until it became necessary to reveal it.

raywest

Question: Towards the end of the third film, when Harry and Hermione are successful in saving Sirius Black, why does Dumbledore act like he doesn't know anything when they see him outside the hospital room door?

Answer: He does not want it known that he was the one who planned for Harry and Hermione to rescue Sirius, who is still a wanted felon at this point. It would cause Dumbledore serious legal problems (he would be arrested and sent to Azkaban) if was he suspected of aiding Sirius' escape. That is why he acts like he does not know what happened.

raywest

Question: Before Harry gets on the bus for stranded witches/wizards, Sirius appears in dog form and growls at him. Why is Sirius behaving aggressively toward his godson?

Answer: Sirius wasn't being aggressive toward Harry. In the book, Harry merely saw a hulking shape and a pair of eyes in the bushes watching him, but there was no growling. The way it's shown in the movie was played up to make it appear that there is some imminent threat to Harry. The filmmakers were apparently attempting to foreshadow the coming danger and to keep the audience in suspense about Sirius' identity and true intentions.

raywest

Question: Did Harry simply get away with attacking Professor Snape? It happened before the moment that he and Hermione would time-travel back to, so it wasn't erased.

Answer: Harry was acting to save Sirius, who Snape was intending to turn over to the Dementors so his soul could be sucked out. Due to the unusual circumstances, Dumbledore would not have allowed Harry to be punished for protecting his godfather and uncovering the truth that proved his innocence. Dumbledore also knew Snape had acted inappropriately due to his personal hatred of Sirius. In the book, Snape was simultaneously jinxed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Snape later claimed they were not responsible for their own actions and were coerced.

raywest

Question: Except for Remus Lupin in this movie, it seems as though the Hogwarts teachers do not use the Hogwarts Express. How do they arrive at and leave the school?

Answer: There's a variety of ways that wizards can travel including magical vehicles (like the motorcycle that Hagrid drove), broomsticks, port keys, or riding flying animals (like a hippogriff or the threstrals). They could also use floo powder if their fireplace was connected to the floo network like Umbridge had in her office. The other teachers can certainly travel on the Hogwarts Express, and some probably do but just aren't shown. In the book, "Half-Blood Prince", Professor Slughorn rode the train and some teachers live at the school year round.

raywest

Answer: They can apparate whenever they want (as seen in Half Blood Prince).

Some can Apparate, but it's tricky and uncomfortable. In one of the books, Arthur Weasley mentions that many wizards don't like to Apparate. They prefer other ways to travel. Broomsticks, port keys, etc.

Plus you can't apparate into Hogwarts. They would have to apparate into Hogsmead and travel to the school.

Ssiscool

Question: How did Harry send his own patronum at the lake without knowing it ?

Answer: After the first time Harry saw it, as he was being attacked by the dementors, he had convinced himself that it was sent by his (dead) father, who he believed had somehow been resurrected. When he goes back in time three hours, and watches the other Harry across the lake, he realizes that it was he who cast the earlier patronus, not his father. That is when he casts it again.

raywest

Question: Does Professor Snape know about Hermione's time-turner necklace? He doesn't seem to care that she suddenly appears in the Defense Against Dark Arts class out of nowhere, especially after class started. (I haven't read the third book yet, so I apologize if this is answered there).

Answer: Snape, and all the Hogwarts instructors know that Hermione is using the time-turner to take extra classes. A time-turner can only be used under very strict conditions and must be approved by the Ministry of Magic. That is why Snape does not punish Hermione for arriving after class has started. If she was merely being late, he would have been angry and deducted house points from Gryffindor.

raywest

Answer: Snape cannot possibly know about the time turner. At the end of the third book when Harry and Hermione rescue Sirius, Snape storms in and yells that they had helped Sirius escape, however he can prove nothing. This means that he does not know about the time turner, otherwise he would have brought it up in evidence that the pair must have used it to save Sirius, and furthermore that with the time turner they would be able to be in two places at once, which is the original evidential downfall for him. All of this proves that Snape does not know about the time turner. In response to the piece about the class, it's possible he just didn't notice her popping up out of nowhere.

Question: After turning into a werewolf, what is it Lupin mutters as Hermione is walking over to him? It's very difficult to understand, but it sounds like words. Not just whining. (I don't know if it is in the theatrical version. I am noticing it on the DVD copy). (01:40:25)

Answer: He's not saying anything, it's just unintelligible whimpering. It gives the impression that Hermione is able to communicate with him, but once Lupin has transformed into a werewolf, he has no human consciousness.

raywest

Question: When Fred and George were in possession of the Marauders Map, before giving it to Harry, how come they never wondered why Ron was always hanging around with a person called Peter Pettigrew? He shows up on the Map even whilst disguised as Scabbers, as we know from when Harry spots him.

JBrock

Chosen answer: Fred and George used the map to aid them in their mischievous activities at Hogwarts, and probably had little interest in what their little brother was doing or who he might be with at any given time.

raywest

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