Pottermore Moments Revisited: Tales in the Moonlight

Chapter 19: “The Servant of Lord Voldemort”

Chapter Thoughts: Everything everyone thought they knew was wrong! The truth about the deaths of James and Lily Potter is finally revealed, and Scabbers transforms back from a rat into a man (and we all awkwardly think of him sharing Ron’s bed for three years…). It’s a very dialogue heavy chapter again, with a lot of important information revealed, but the only real action-y moment is Peter’s transformation.

Moment 1: Peter’s Transformation

And that’s the moment they chose! However, there’s not much to do. There are a few items to collect, but that’s it. In addition, Peter’s transformation seemed to happen too fast when I opened the moment; it would have been nice to have a little more of the tension from the chapter as he goes from rat to man.

Chapter 20: “The Dementors’ Kiss”

Chapter thoughts: There’s a LOT of action in this chapter, so I was expecting good interactive Moments. We see Lupin transform into a werewolf, and he and Sirius fight, leading us down to the lake and the encounter with the Dementors. There’s a lot of great description, including the answer to the question Harry posed early in the book about what is under a Dementor’s hood. Of course, a mysterious Patronus saves the day…

Moment 1: Full Moon

We get some really lovely information about werewolves in this moment. It’s nice to have some of our questions answered about how werewolves work (for lack of a better word) in Rowling’s world. There’s also some information that seems specifically targeted toward questions readers will end up having about Lupin (specifically about his concern that Teddy would have the same werewolf condition – the answer is no, thankfully). The art of this moment is particularly fierce, with Sirius and Lupin fighting in their respective dog and werewolf forms.

Moment 2: The Lake Shore

The Dementors, for some reason, don’t look as terrifying in this moment as they are described or even the way they are portrayed in the movie. Harry’s small, weak Patronus is barely visible – it would have been nice to see his attempts at producing one in a more interactive way. It also would have been great to see the stag coming across the lake. A bit of a missed opportunity there.

Someone may have saved them from the Dementors, but Harry and his friends are still in danger, and Harry’s happy little bubble of living with his godfather seems to have popped if the Dementors have their way…