Lupin and a cure for Lycanthropy

[Blaise]

No: HPFGUIDX 2704

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, Amanda Lewanski <editor at t...> wrote:

<<Perhaps there *are* two kinds. "Natural," or "animal," the wild 
ones, who are wolves most of the time, live in forests, have the 
minds of wolves, but can shape-change and can infect humans via their 
bite. And "human," the people born human who are infected by another 
werewolf, natural or human. The humans so infected develop the curse 
and change into wolves---mind *and* body. The werewolf 'virus' is 
similar to other animal-borne diseases which affect humans, and for 
which there is no cure, like rabies or that thing monkey-handlers get.
>> 

Yes, I like this explanation, it makes good sense.  Possibly the 
werewolf Lockhart was referring to was one of the 'animal' sort?  

<<As I'm sitting here, without researching or anything, as I recall 
it's always the light of the moon, not the time, that causes the 
change. I don't see anything strange about them being safe while the 
moon was covered....?>>

Ah, let me explain.  Remus says that he transforms once a month, at 
the full moon, for one night (at least, those are the implications of 
his words and I can't see that there could be any others).  Therefore 
the moon must have been full that night in the Shrieking Shack.  

BUT, if Remus only transformed when the moon shone on him, how could 
he have transformed in the boarded-up Shrieking Shack all through his 
childhood?  And if he only transformed in moonlight then all he'd 
have to do is stay inside on full moon nights and he'd be fine.  
Thirdly, anyone who's lived in the British Isles will know that it's 
very often cloudy. So, in order for Remus to transform if the 
transformation were triggered by moonlight, it would have to be a 
clear full moon nights and he would have to be exposed to the 
moonlight.  This is patently not what he was describing in the 
Shrieking Shack when he talks of his childhood transformation, nor 
indeed what happened when he transformed in his office after taking 
Wolfsbane.  

So the transformation cannot be triggered by moonlight, but by the 
rising of the full moon.  And the moon was long since risen when 
Remus transformed.  So there's a plot hole, and it's been driving me 
nuts!  

-Blaise, hoping she's explained clearly.