[HPforGrownups] Re: Lupin's power and trustworthiness (WAS Support for Fleur, Cho, Lupin - )

[JayKay]

No: HPFGUIDX 28653


--- cynthiaanncoe at home.com wrote:


> 1.  When Lupin transforms into a werewolf, JKR tells
> us that 
> Crookshanks starts backing away.  Hmmm.  What an odd
> detail to 
> include in that scene.  Crookshanks is smart,
> part-Kneazle (so able 
> to identify untrustworthy people) and werewolves are
> only dangerous 
> to people.  So if Crookshanks has no reason to fear
> Lupin as 
> werewolf, why is Crookshanks backing away from
> Lupin?

One possible explanation is that Crookshanks has
primarily served as a guardian, warning of danger.
Remus-as-werewolf is a danger to Hermione (and the
rest of the humans around as well), so his raised fur
and backing away might be a warning of danger, or
Crookshanks going into protective guardian mode in
case Remus-as-wolf tries to attack anyone. 


> By 
> his own admission, Lupin betrayed Dumbledore's trust
> twice -- once as 
> a schoolboy, and most recently as an adult by not
> telling Dumbledore 
> Sirius was an Animagus with knowledge of secret
> passageways into the castle. 

We learn from PoA that Remus wouldn't have gotten an
education if it hadn't been for Dumbledore, and that
the DADA position was the only paying job he'd managed
to get during his adult life. So essentially,
Dumbledore is literally the *only* person (other than
Sirius, James and Peter, I mean) to cut Remus a break.
I can see why Remus might not want to go to Albus and
say, "Gee, I'm sorry, but I've been keeping a Really
Big Secret from you." It'd be a tough call for me to
choose between living with the guilt and having to
admit that I've screwed over the one person who's
given me the most important opportunities of my life. 


> But note that when Lupin teaches the Patronus to 
> Harry, he doesn't ever perform it himself. 

Why would he need to? McGonagall transforms herself
into a cat in Tranfigurations in order to impress the
students on the first day of the third year, but other
than that, we rarely see the faculty teach by
demonstration. Madam Hooch doesn't get on a broom.
Severus doesn't brew potions along with the students;
he oversees them. Same thing for the Transfiguation
and Charms classes we've seen for the most part, IIRC.



> That, coupled with his 
> remark that he's no expert

That could also be attributed to Remus being a
self-effacing character, rather than any lack of skill
on his part. During the boggart in the wardrobe scene,
when he distracts the boggart, the text reads,
"[Lupin] said, 'Riddikulus' almost lazily." That
wording implies to me that he wasn't concerned about
being able to subdue the boggart. It's a different
level than being able to summon a Patronus, yes, but
still I think it's an indication that he knows what
he's doing and can perform well. 

> Or could there just be some magical reason 
> like it takes the power of two wizards to overcome
> Peter's power 
> directed toward maintaining his rat form?

Given how long it took to learn how to become Animagi
and how serious the restrictions on Animagi are, I'd
say that was a safe bet. It sounds like deep, serious
magic to me -- enough that Peter was able to use it to
hide for twelve years, to *live with Wizards* during
that time, with no one suspecting a thing until the
Marauder Map revealed the truth. 

> 
> 5.  I found it odd that Sirius conjures the manacles
> instead of 
> Lupin.  Lupin is clearly in charge, and has just
> raised Snape and 
> splinted Ron's leg, but for some reason, Sirius
> steps in (with 
> someone else's wand) to conjure manacles out of thin
> air.  Could it 
> be that Lupin isn't that great with transfiguration?

Or it could be that Sirius decided to step in and
actually *do* something other than snarl and make
threats for a change, since Remus had indeed been
managing everything up til that point. <g> Or it could
be that since Remus was going to be attached to the
manacles, he shouldn't be the one who conjured them
for some weird magical reason. 

> 
> 6.  In the Leaky Cauldron, the teachers sit around
> talking about 
> James, Sirius and Peter.  They call James and Sirius
> clever, and 
> Peter hopeless.  No mention of Lupin.  I wonder why.
>  Maybe Lupin was 
> just ordinary and didn't stand out either way? 

No, I think it stems from prejudice. Remus mentions in
the Shrieking Shack that the faculty already know
about his condition, and that Albus faced serious
opposition to his appointment, with the implication
that it wasn't only Severus who was against it. I
imagine they'd rather not discuss Remus at all. 


> 7.  No matter how you cut it, Sirius and James
> thought it was more 
> likely that Lupin was the spy than Peter, or they
> wouldn't have 
> chosen Peter as SecretKeeper.  Can it all be just
> prejudice against 
> werewolves, or is there more going on than that?

And nobody raised a protest of his innocence when it
appeared Sirius betrayed his best friend and murdered
Peter and the Muggles, either. Given the dark times in
which they lived, I imagine there was more than enough
paranoia to go around. 

Besides, Sirius says *he* persuaded James and Lily to
change the identity of the secret keeper at the last
minute, so he was the suspicious one. James might not
have been suspicious; perhaps he just decided to go
along with his best friend's suggestion. 

 
> Anyway, as I've said before, the Lupin character is
> nearly perfect, 
> and perfection is usually boring.  I wonder if JKR
> has made Lupin's 
> magical talent rather ordinary so that this is his
> "weakness."

I don't think so... He seems a very grounded and
centered character, but he's got flaws, one of them
being that he chose to live with the guilt of the
Animagi secret rather than admit the truth, but given
his situation, I find it understandable and very
human. Poor guy... <snf>



JK


=====
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
~~Albus Dumbledore, _Chamber of Secrets_

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Find a job, post your resume.
http://careers.yahoo.com