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

[Susanna Luhtanen]

No: HPFGUIDX 28811



Susanna Luhtanen
s_luhtanen at hotmail.com


>
>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?

As a warning to others: Back off. Danger.
Lupin isn't dangerous except during full moon.

>2.  To date, I've dismissed all of the talk of werewolves being
>untrustworthy as just talk.  But maybe there is something to it.  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.  That's some pretty serious stuff to keep hidden when Black
>is breaking into the castle twice armed with a knife, slashing
>pictures and hangings along the way.

Maybe he also doubted that Pettigrew was alive and therefore was keen to 
believe Sirius as innocent?

(He did not recognise Wormtail immediately, but the picture may have nagged 
at the back of his head, or seeing Ron's rat in nature... He /had/ seen 
Pettigrew as rat before, had he not? So he doubted, but was not sure).

And, maybe he had a life-debt to Sirius? (Sirius saving him from Snape who 
tried to kill him with some Silver-thing)

And um-- How did Lupin break Dumbledore's trust as schoolboy?

>3.  As I mentioned before, Lupin's Patronus is described as formless
>on the train.  True, JKR may have reasons for keeping the form of his
>Patronus a secret.  But note that when Lupin teaches the Patronus to
>Harry, he doesn't ever perform it himself.  That, coupled with his
>remark that he's no expert ("I don't pretend to be an expert at
>fighting dementors, Harry, quite the contrary . . . "), makes me
>wonder whether Lupin is strong enough to conjur a proper Patronus.
>After all, if anyone should be an expert at fighting dementors, it
>ought to be the DADA teacher.  Maybe these things are difficult for
>him because he gets drained of energy once a month -- I don't know.

It took Harry a very happy thought to do it. Happy enough to overcome the 
Dementors (Letter from Hogwarts, thought of living with Sirius) - overcome 
the death of his parents. With Lupin - he hasn't had many happy thoughts. 
His happiest thought was about his friends becoming animaguses for him, 
being with him (That's my guess) - and his worst was, being bitten by 
werewolf, followed by the events he did while a wolf...) It's about finding 
happy memories, I think, rather than strength.

>4.  Parts of the Shrieking Shack scene make me wonder, also.  Lupin
>is holding Peter, and Lupin and Black together transform Peter back
>into a man.  Do they do it this way because Lupin isn't powerful
>enough to do it himself?  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?

UM... I'd go for the magical reason. It's Peter's body - he'd be able to 
block one spell, I think, but not two at the same time.

>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?

Lupin's terrified of transfiguration. He isn't animagus. He also missed his 
classes once a Moon - and they say it's difficult subject. He's not good at 
potions either. Possibly he was good at DADA (inherent info gained as 
Werewolf), herbology, astronomy (with a special need to pay attention to the 
Moon). Possibly Care of Magical Creatures. And, healing Spells - at least he 
knows to give chocolate to Harry who'd been attacked by Dementors.

>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?  In any event, it may
>suggest that Lupin was more peripheral to the group, suggesting that
>maybe, just maybe, he wasn't as close to the other three Marauders as
>I've always thought.

Well, Lupin was missing his classes quite regularly. Maybe they didn't 
remember him well - possibly were under Memory Charm cast by Dumbledore?

>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?

Lupin /had/ lied to them before (to avoid telling he's werewolf) and was 
pretty good at it. They also considered Peter Pettigrew too stupid to be a 
DE, and too weak. (Even though it's said that being animagi takes quite a 
strong wizard or is difficult! But Marauders obviously didn't believe that) 
And maybe a tiny bit of prejudice.

>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."

Hmm... I thought it was being a werewolf. He's great character, though... 
Wonder if Sirius had, before Lupin went to Hogwarts, sent him a letter: 
"Protect Harry in train. Sorry we doubted you. Wormtail was the traitor and 
is a pet to the Weasley boy. He dropepped his finger, transformed and 
escaped. Meet you in Moon Place"... so that he'd have known - not really 
sure yet, but he gave Sirius a benefit of doubt, at least. (And he might 
have told THAT to Dumbledore. That it was possible Sirius was innocent. (A 
guilty man sending a letter telling him to protect the godson? Think not) 
He'd mention about the animagi part, too... and Dumbledore knew the truth 
already!)

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