Chapter 42 is utterly pointless except as foreshadowing of his motivation for returning.
It took me a bit to come up with a hypothesis about what this means, but… are you referring to the fact that Chapter 42 mentions male homosexuality? I really can’t see what else it might have to do with Grindelwald, but that’s… that’s something alright.
“Did Black have any unfinished business with Peter Pettigrew?” Harry said. “Anything that would make him seek out Mr. Pettigrew, even if it wasn’t a killing matter? Like a secret Mr. Pettigrew knew, that Black wanted to know himself, or wanted to kill him to hide?”
[...]
“They were lovers, weren’t they?”
There was an awkward pause.
Remus gave a slow, grave nod.
“Once,” Remus said. “A long time ago. A sad affair, ending in vast tragedy, or so it seemed to us all when we were young.” The unhappy puzzlement was plain on his face. “But I had thought that long since over and done and buried beneath adult friendship, until the day that Black killed Peter.”
I don’t expect Sirius to show up, since his tale was told to its conclusion. His nemesis was Peter, and Peter is dead. Which leaves open the question of why we heard so much about him. One reason for recounting his story in MoR would be to establish a parallel motivation for Grindelwald’s return as an antagonist.
I don’t expect Sirius to show up, since his tale was told to its conclusion. His nemesis was Peter, and Peter is dead.
Uh...
“Gosh,” Harry said half a minute later, “you get a seer smashed on six slugs of Scotch and she spills all sorts of secret stuff. I mean, who’d have thought that Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were secretly the same person?”
and
The old wizard reached out toward another metal door, from behind which came a endless dead mutter, “I’m not serious, I’m not serious, I’m not serious...” The red-golden phoenix on his shoulder was already screaming urgently, and the old wizard was already wincing, when -
Another cry pierced the corridor, phoenix-like but not the true phoenix’s call.
The wizard’s head turned, looked at the blazing silver creature on his other shoulder, even as ephemeral and substanceless talons launched the spell-entity into the air.
The false phoenix flew down the corridor.
The old wizard raced off after, legs churning like a spry young man of sixty.
The true phoenix screamed once, twice, and a third time, hovering before the metal door; and then, when it became clear that its master would not return for all its calling, flew reluctantly after.
It took me a bit to come up with a hypothesis about what this means, but… are you referring to the fact that Chapter 42 mentions male homosexuality? I really can’t see what else it might have to do with Grindelwald, but that’s… that’s something alright.
Yes, that would be awful. But I meant this:
I don’t expect Sirius to show up, since his tale was told to its conclusion. His nemesis was Peter, and Peter is dead. Which leaves open the question of why we heard so much about him. One reason for recounting his story in MoR would be to establish a parallel motivation for Grindelwald’s return as an antagonist.
Uh...
and
Second quote: Excellent catch.
Re. the second quote, in light of Eliezer’s statement that the story contains no red herrings: good point.
In Azkaban, a prisoner kept repeating
“I’m not serious. I’m not serious. I’m not serious.”
And Fawkes wanted to go in. Likely that’s Pettigrew. Whoever it is, I expect the Black/Pettigrew storyline to come back.