The TQ Archives Please Do Not Litter!

With the critically acclaimed release of the newest Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, comes the inevitable question—what did the muggle author of the book on which it is based, J.K. Rowling, think?

In a recent interview given about the making of POA, Rowling replied that she was delighted with the interpretation Alfonso Cuaron had done, and was generally pleased with the way the movie had been made, despite its venturing from canon a bit.

Within the interview, however, she made a cryptic statement that sent muggle fans reeling—that Cuaron had very good intuition, because within the film, he’d very blatantly foreshadowed events that will take place in yet-to-be-released Potter books 6 and 7. So much so, in fact, that Rowling worried people would believe she had revealed to him some future plot points (which she hadn’t).

Of what was she speaking? The editors of the Quibbler have ventured a few guesses as to what those foreshadowing elements could be…and why they might or might not work.

1. Protective Snape: In the film, Severus Snape is his ever severe self. Played by Alan Rickman, a highly acclaimed muggle actor, Snape follows his true-to-book form through the majority of the picture, including the confrontation between he, Sirius and Remus Lupin. But his character takes a slight turn from book form when he emerges from the Whomping Willow to find the three kids cowering in the shadow of Professor Lupin’s terrifying transformation. In an action unusual for Snape, the professor turns, pulling the three children behind him, and protects them with his body. When the werewolf strikes, it is Snape whom he knocks over; the Professor promptly steps back up, pulls the kids behind him once more, including Harry, whom he physically grabs and pushes behind him, protecting them again. When Harry takes off after the battered Padfoot, Snape tries to pull him back; he misses Harry but succeeds in grabbing Hermione, who has started off after her friend.

a. Why it works: This version of Snape is very different from anything we’ve been presented before in the books. Though we saw a bit of the “concerned” Snape in Book 5, when he checks on the welfare of Sirius Black, we’ve never seen Snape place his own life before Harry’s. In this case, it appears he does.

b. Why it doesn’t: Snape’s loyalties have always been in question; it may not be the best foreshadowing element, because we’ve been taught to question his “nasty side” already, particularly when book readers saw him attacked by Harry’s father in the pensieve flashback of Book 5. However, because of the unusual nature of Snape’s overly protective actions, this appears to be the best chance for the foreshadowing of which Rowling is speaking.

2. Lupin on Lily: In one particularly poignant moment between Harry and Professor Lupin, the professor reveals a bit about Harry’s mum that no one had known before. Though she was often described as a kind and talented witch, Lupin elaborates on her personality, describing her as a person who could see beyond the outside, and find the goodness within anyone, no matter who they were.

a. Why it works: This little snippet of a statement reveals even more of Lily Potter’s nee Evans' character. That she could look beyond outward appearances indicates that she not only saw the good in Remus, but perhaps in characters like Snape as well, and might be the source of his redemption, if he has been redeemed.

b. Why it doesn’t: Fans of the book series already knew that Lily was a singularly gifted witch with a kind heart. We’re told as much in Book 5, during the flashback, when Lily is seen defending Severus Snape (to a certain extent) against James Potter and his gang of Marauders. Further, Rowling pointed out that Cuaron had good intuition; but it was Steven Kloves, the screenwriter for HPPOA, who put in that bit about Lily—a story element he’d spoken with JKR about to make sure it didn’t contradict her later version of Harry's mum. There was nothing directorially that made the scene an intuitive one beyond the words—so why would she praise Cuaron for something Kloves developed and of which she’d already been aware?

3. Sirius’s Cryptic Endearment: Sirius, once he’s been proven innocent, makes quite a few cryptic statements to Harry near the end of the film. For one, he says that he’d like to walk through Hogwarts doors as a free man. For another, he tells Harry that “the ones who love us never really leave us. You can always find them—in here [gesturing to Harry’s heart].

a. Why it works: The statements leave an open question about the fate of Sirius, which book readers believed had been solidified by the events at the end of book 5. But is he speaking of what might happen after that time?

b. Why it doesn’t: As aforementioned, we already know the fate of Sirius. Further, JKR has already doubly confirmed that his ending is as it is; she will not change or alter it. And, again, the words he speaks are a scripting element, not a director’s element, which brings up the problem of it being Kloves' intuition, not Cuaron's.

4. Ron/Hermione: The most obvious sense of foreshadowing lies in the burgeoning, if erratic, relationship between Harry Potter’s two best friends. The movie version of POA adds more detail to the fights that erupt between the two over their cat and rat. There is subtle handholding, and a bit of discomfort between them when they are alone together; showing that perhaps all that fighting is really just to cover up that they like each other.

a. Why it works: Everyone on the film has mentioned this relationship as the most significant change in the story. Producers Chris Columbus and David Heyman, in a recent junket with a few notable Harry Potter sites, even ventured to guess that it was this relationship Rowling was referring to with regards to foreshadowing. And those who know nothing of the books will see this as a new development (although it had also been hinted at in the film version of Chamber of Secrets).

b. Why it doesn’t: Simply because it IS so well known, particularly by Potter fans, that it seems moot to call it foreshadowing. Even Heyman noted that the R/Hr storyline foreshadowed the events in books 4 and 5, not necessarily 6 and 7, to which Rowling was referring. Even she knows of how well aware people are this relationship is developing; she’s listed the question as among her most Frequently Asked on her website. Whether this is what she was speaking of will depend on what audience she was thinking about. If she was referring to those who’ve never read the books, then this might be foreshadowing a romantic relationship that develops over books 6 and 7. If she was referring to book readers (which is seems she was) it is not exactly the kind of foreshadowing that would cause “chills” (as she described them) because about 80% of the Harry Potter book fans believe this romance will develop anyway.

5. Harry/Hermione: There are quite a few “bonding” moments between Harry and Hermione in the film version of POA. Hermione is closest to him all three times he is injured; it is she was goes to him when he has discovered Sirius apparently “betrayed” his parents. She also constantly pulling him back and away from harm. He does the same for her, particularly in the Time Turner sequence, and Cuaron does incorporate a bit of hand-holding/moments of closeness between the two of them, and even, perhaps, a few unspoken understandings.

a. Why it works: Book fans know perfectly well that Harry/Hermione is a non-entity, contrary to Ron/Hermione, up until book 5. In the next movie, Harry will become interested in Cho Chang, which he will not let go of until the end of book 5; Hermione wavers between Victor Krum and Ron. But if JKR is intending to develop something between the two characters in books 6 and 7, then Cuaron’s directing choices—the way the characters look at one another, how close they are, that they do hold hands—could be foreshadowing that she, knowing what is to come, sees as blatantly obvious, but which the HP world, who don’t believe Harry/Hermione are romantic potentials, would miss. That Cuaron had the ability to sense the bond between them despite his understanding of Ron and Hermione’s relationship might be the intuition of which she was speaking. And even he has been heard saying more than once “this is a story about two guys and a girl.”

b. Why it doesn’t: For that same reason. Harry/Hermione have never been hinted at in the books, beyond the strength of their friendship, which has been developing for five years now. When posed with this question, JKR often replies “it seems so obvious” which would hint at the more ‘obvious’ pairing between Ron and Hermione. Cuaron’s sense that Harry and Hermione are close may be a reflection of book 5, in which Hermione is one of the few people who can calm the often spiteful and agitated Harry down. They spend a great deal of the last half of the book together, much as they did in both film and novel of POA, but nothing, other than a very strong bond of platonic friendship, ever came from it. Chances are this relationship will remain a strong friendship because Harry will need his emotional support more and more as the story draws on. But the majority of the HP world believes that his friendship with Hermione will remain just that, and all preliminary evidence, including author “hints”, canon, and even cast opinions, shy away from this idea.