PoA Foreshadowing

by Jenna

“Alfonso had good intuition about what would and wouldn’t work. He’s put things in the film that, without knowing it, foreshadow things that are going to happen in the final two books. So I really got goosebumps when I saw a couple of those things, and I thought people are going to look back on the film and think those were put in deliberately as clues.”~ J.K. Rowling, ‘Creating the Vision,’ PoA DVD

Jo doesn’t let things like this slip.You know it, I know it. The moment I heard these words uttered (about 12:47 a.m. 11/23/04) I became immediately aware of my new mission, delegated to me by none other than J.K. Rowling: to watch PoA over and over again until I at least had a good idea of which ‘clues’ she was referring to.

It was difficult to choose out of every scene, action, and quote what could possibly be foreshadowing the last two books. I quickly decided that it would be something that wasn’t in the books at all, and that it would have to be something quite specific.

Having said that, there are a couple of theories I’ve heard, as well as one or two of my own I would like to discuss.

Ron/Hermione

Okay, I just thought I’d get this one out of the way; I don’t think this is what Jo was talking about. Yes, it seems like obvious foreshadowing of a romantic connection, but it doesn’t really seem to fit her statement. Also, on the CoS DVD interview with Steve Kloves, Jo said that she’s told Steve more than she’s told anyone about what’s coming, and that he hints at feelings amongst the Trio sooner than she does in the books. I think Jo has told Steve who’s going to end up with whom, it’s important enough to the movies, but not so horribly important that it would ruin a surprise. Having said this, this would be a deliberate clue and not a clue of accident. The same goes for any Harry/Hermione hand-holding.

Hermione the Werewolf

I’m sure we’ve all heard this theory before. The werewolf only responds to the call of it’s own kind, and it responds to Hermione’s howl.

First of all, Hermione is not a werewolf. I’m sorry, but we [Harry] would have noticed something by now. I mean, he didn’t know about Lupin, but the clues were all there and he knew something was amiss.

As for Hermione becoming a werewolf in a future book, well that makes more sense, but I still don’t think it’s going to happen. This is something that would have fit books 1-3 better – before Voldemort was our top priority, when our Trio was in danger from slightly more obscure villains. I can’t think of any reason why Jo would have Hermione bit by a werewolf – it doesn’t serve any kind of purpose. So clearly I don’t think Jo was referring to this scene either.

Sirius: “The ones that love us never really leave us. You can always find them – in here” [places hand on Harry’s heart]

Aha! Now we’re getting somewhere. This is something I find very ‘foreshadowey’. We know Sirius dies, and we all keep asking if we’ll see him again, but Jo won’t give us a straight answer. The fact that Sirius himself said this to Harry could be a huge ‘clue’ Not only that, but it could easily be added into the film as a nice emotional little line without knowing that it could serve a greater purpose. Not only do I think it could possibly foreshadow something to do with finding Sirius after his death, but we know that Harry’s heart is central to the power he must use to ‘vanquish the Dark Lord’. Whether that power is love, sacrifice, courage, etc; It could also mean something for the heart of Tom Riddle.

Reflections

There are several elements Cuaron uses throughout the movie: moonlight, time, and reflections. The first two are very important to the theme of the movie itself, but the third one seems more of an artistic touch, something that is completely unrelated to the story. We see Harry’s reflection on the train after the dementor attack and when he’s flying over the lake on Buckbeak. We are introduced to Lupin’s DADA class through the reflection of the wardrobe, and we exit the class with Harry looking into the wardrobe mirror as well. It seems Jo isn’t the only one obsessed with reflections. Of course I have no specific theory to back this one up, but since this element of the movie is purely Cuaron [it wouldn’t be Kloves, because it wouldn’t be part of the script] and because of Jo’s constant use of mirrors in the books, I think this could be important foreshadowing of something, as well.

Of course, I have not finished my study of the PoA DVD, but I think that I’ve definitely caught some of the aspects of the movie that are more likely to be what Jo was referring to. And now I have passed on my observations for your own speculation. But the job is not done, we must all go forth and heed Jo’s indirect advice and find out just what tiny tidbit Cuaron has unknowingly thrown us, lest we MuggleNetians fall short of our infamous reputation and let this clue slip through our fingers.