Lupin as DADA teacher - sorry Amy!

[dfrankiswork at netscape.net]

No: HPFGUIDX 28860

This one has been brewing for a few days and I was on the verge of posting it when I read the following, from Amy:

> BTW, can we please declare a moratorium on Lupin talk while I try to finish 
> this #@*%& FAQ?!

Amy, you could follow the example of Evil Overlord Bill Gates, call the FAQ 'finished' and any further changes 'maintenance' or 'upgrades'.

In my view, Lupin is a very good teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts.

A number of separate aspects of his character come together to make this so.

1. Lycanthropy.  Lupin has been fighting against the 'Dark Side' (awful Star Wars expression - when did Hagrid get to see that movie?) ever since he was little.  He has used this experience to hone his skills.  His controlled and understated manner shows this, as well as a number of specific incidents:

- the Patronus on the train. After speaking to the Dementor, he gets rid of it efficiently. It doesn't matter if his Patronus doesn't look good - it works.

- he doesn't bother arguing with Peeves, he just selects a course of action and carries it out.  Note that he makes it an object lesson to his class as well.

- when summoned by Snape, he is very mild in his manner, and gives away as little as possible: this prevents Snape from retaining the initiative and makes it difficult for him to formulate a coherent attack.

- in the Shrieking Shack, he acts quickly and decisively, taking and giving up wands, embracing Sirius, and so on.

2. Humility. The life he has been forced to lead (and, of course, the way he has responded to it) make him seem almost completely without pride, as far as the bulk of the wizarding population is concerned. (Though he doesn't want Dumbledore to see the full truth about him.)  So, to him Peeves' rudeness is as irrelevant as Hermione's reaction in the Shack.  It's important that Hermione knows the truth, for her sake and Sirius' - but Lupin does not defend himself.  Considering that Hermione, of all people, throws his lycanthropy at him, this is remarkable.

3. Personal coaching of Harry.  I find it hard to express what it is about Lupin that comes across in the Patronus sessions - maturity, fatherhood?  But at any rate he helps Harry to find his own father inside himself (not James but a reference point for his own identity) - arguably *the* crucial step in growing up.  Considering the memories that Harry has to overcome to do this, this is fighting demons in a way that causes the graveyard scene in GOF to pale into insignificance.  Of course, the time turner, Hermione, Sirius, and Harry himself all play their part, but Lupin lays the foundations.  Although there is no direct canon evidence of this, it seems plausible to me that these foundations also help in Harry's ability to resist Imperius and to wand-wrestle Voldemort.

"You're the best defence against the dark arts teacher we've ever had".

David


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