[HPforGrownups] Werewolf - Prongs - Phoenix - Snape - Slytherin

[devika261 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 22365

In a message dated 7/11/01 6:40:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
catlady at wicca.net writes:


> Glenda wrote:
> 
> > Perhaps the potion he has been taking has weakened
> > his werewolf blood to the point where it takes the 
> > event of him missing a potion AND being hit directly 
> > by the moon for the transformation to fully take place?  
> 
> Here is how Remus explains the Wolfsbane Potion in PoA: "It makes me
> safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week, preceding the full
> moon, I keep my mind when I transform.... I'm able to curl up in my
> office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again."
> 
> According to that quote, the Potion does not stop him from TRANSFORMING. 
> 
> I WISH I knew whether he's supposed to take the Potion each day for a
> week, or just once or twice during that week...  
> 

You're right.  The potion, according to the book, only prevents Remus from 
becoming a ferocious monster when he transforms.  He always becomes a wolf 
when the moon is full.  
I was also confused by when Remus was supposed to take the wolfsbane potion, 
but I think I've come up with a reasonable explanation.
If Remus has to take the wolfsbane potion the week preceding the full moon, 
why wouldn't he have taken it before that particular night (the night of the 
full moon, Sirius's appearance, Peter's escape, etc.)?  Would the potion even 
work if he took it that very night instead of the week before?
I suppose it could mean that he does have to take the potion every night for 
the week preceding (and the night including) the full moon.  This would also 
be why Snape would have been looking for Remus so that he could take the 
potion that night.
There is also a passage in PoA, that can mean, IMO, that Snape, who makes the 
potion, knows that Remus is supposed to take it every night.  It's in ch. 8 
of PoA, when Harry is having tea with Remus and Snape brings in the potion.

[Snape:]"You should drink that directly, Lupin."
"Yes, yes, I will," said Lupin.
"I made an entire cauldronful," Snape continued.  "If you need more."
"I should probably take some again tomorrow.  Thanks very much, Severus."

It's possible to take this to mean that Snape and Lupin know perfectly well 
that Lupin needs to take the potion more than once, but they don't want to 
say too much in front of Harry.  I think it would have been a bit odd for 
Snape or Lupin to suggest that Lupin had to take the potion every night for 
the rest of the week, since Lupin made light of the matter and told Harry 
that he was only feeling "a bit off-color."

This is the only explanation I can think of for why Snape would be looking 
for Lupin on the night of the full moon when Lupin could have taken it 
anytime during the previous week.  Of course, they both could have forgotten 
or put it off until the last minute, but this seems too irresponsible to me.
Any thoughts?

Devika


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, 
and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them."
--Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's [Philosopher's] Stone
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]