Lupin and the Cloudy Moon

[Elizabeth Dalton]

No: HPFGUIDX 32386

Hi,

It's another common "plot hole" that we love to hate: why doesn't Lupin
transform until the moon breaks through the clouds?

I ran this question by my husband and our best friend, neither of whom have read
the HP books, but both of whom read plenty of SF&F/Horror, watch movies, and
play tons of RPGs. They both said (nearly simultaneously), "It's the Lon Cheney
effect."

I haven't seen this classic film, but it seems JKR might have. I gather Lon is
outside when the moon breaks through the clouds, and *then* he transforms. The
consensus of my non-HP-reading fantasy/horror experts was that perhaps Lupin
wouldn't transform if he didn't see the moon/get exposed to rays of moonlight,
but that the urge to go look at the moon when it is full would be irresistable,
due to his curse. The potion lets him just succumb to this urge, look out the
window, then take a nap as a wolf with a sane human mind. Chaining him up in a
windowless dungeon might work, too, but being denied moonlight at the full moon
(especially repeatedly) might drive him insane. And I can't see Dumbledore
letting anyone set the precedent of chaining up a student in the dungeons. ;)

(BTW, the guys then went on to describe a Tiny Toons spoof on this film, in
which a character changes back and forth from wolf to wimpy dog, as the clouds
sporadically block the moonlight... not HP related, but the image this caused
was funny enough that I thought I'd pass it along.)

Elizabeth
(who probably won't be able to even look in the folder this list gets
automatically filed into for several more days... not if she's going to get any
work done....)