Lupin's Potion

[caliburncy at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 28760

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., a r <a0cruk at y...> wrote:
> When Harry is visiting Lupin in his office (while the
> others are on the first trip to Hogsmeade)Snap
> delivers a goblet of potion.  Why does Lupin so
> pointedly mention that it is a shame that sugar makes
> the potion useless?  I didn't see that detail as being
> in any way relevant unless it is a clue for a future
> storyline...  Have I missed something?

Ooh, I missed this question before now as it was asked during my 
period of undesired absence (harddrive crash--not fun).

I do not believe this is the key to any great mystery, but I do 
believe it serves a purpose.  And that purpose is simply to establish 
the fact that the Wolfsbane tastes disgusting.  Why?  So that just a 
little later on we can have this excerpt:

   Professor Lupin took another sip and Harry had a crazy urge to 
knock the goble out of his hands.
   "Professor Snape's very interested in the Dark Arts," he blurted 
out.
   "Really?" said Lupin, looking only mildly interested as he took 
another gulp of potion.
   "Some people reckon--" Harry hesitated, then punged reckessly 
on, "some people reckon he'd do anything to get the Defense Against 
the Dark Arts job."
   Lupin drained the goblet and pulled a face.
   "Disgusting," he said.

This is highly suspect as a piece of double (or triple) entendre.  
What is Lupin describing as disgusting?  The most obvious answer is 
the potion and of course this is implied heavily (as a double 
entendre should).  But it is equally plausible for him to be 
referring to something else, like Snape doing anything to get the 
DADA job is disgusting, or the spreading of such a rumor is 
disgusting.  David Frankis wrote a very nice post on this in the 
past, which I sadly do not have the message number for handy.  I 
think this line is suppose to be one of those things that JKR intends 
us to wonder about, but that she will never really give an answer to, 
because she doesn't have to.  It just seems intended to make for some 
intriguing speculation and curiosity.  And so I interpret the line 
about the sugar as just being a way to lead into this "Disgusting" 
line, so that it's already established beforehand that the potion 
tastes bad.

-Luke