Lupin the brave, Lupin the mentor

pippin_999 foxmoth at qnet.com
Tue Jul 30 20:27:25 UTC 2002


No: HPFGUIDX 41885

Me:

> > If Lupin did think that Sirius might  be dangerous,
> > was it really 
> > brave to confront him alone? He could have summoned
> > the 
> > other teachers, or Dumbledore himself. 

Amy:
> This may qualify him as foolhardy, but it doesn't diminish his 
> courage.  Do we say Harry is less brave for going into the 
Chamber alone instead of fetching a professor?<<

No, because Harry *did* fetch a Professor. He and Ron took 
Lockhart with them. It seems they weren't  able to let go of their 
belief that he must be a powerful Dark Arts fighter, even after he 
had confessed his deceptions.  People do cling to their 
illusions,<g>

The Trio also tried to convince McGonagall that someone was 
after the Stone. In both cases, Dumbledore himself was off 
campus. 

I asked:
> 
> > Was Lupin
> > also risking 
> > Harry, Ron and Hermione's lives, just so he could
> > keep on 
> > covering up his past? 

Amy:
> 
> Why do you think this is the reason he goes to the Shack?
> 
> He says he was watching the Map because he thought the trio 
might sneak down to Hagrid's hut.  He sees them do so.  Then 
he sees two  new things, one stunning, the other terrifying:  Peter 
and Sirius are 
> on the Map as well.  He  doesn't know what to make of the 
former, and 
> he doesn't stop to sort it out.  He just knows that Sirius, who as 
> far as he knows is a deranged mass murderer intent on killing 
Harry, 
> is racing towards the trio. <<

Me:
Actually, at that point, Sirius is racing *away* from Harry and 
Hermione and has already entered the Willow. Unless Lupin 
thinks that Harry knows a way in, there's no need to rush off and 
rescue him. If Ron has been taken as a hostage, he's not in 
immediate danger either. 

Lupin doesn't give  *any*  reason for his actions. His account 
stops short of his decision to pursue the Trio.

He says, " I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping 
Willow--"
and then Ron interrupts him. When Lupin speaks again, it's to 
ask for a look at the rat.

Lupin's motives for going to the Shack alone are therefore open 
to conjecture. But even Dumbledore, when he has only moments 
to rescue Harry from a dangerous Dark Wizard, takes along 
some backup.  He went alone to rescue Harry from Quirrell, but 
he had no choice there, because of  all the barriers .

But Lupin goes alone, though we know he can summon help 
with a handful of powder. Sloppy plotting? Hmmm.

Lupin says Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that Lupin 
went to try and save the Trio's lives.  But of course Fudge doesn't 
know that Lupin could have given the Ministry information that 
would have led to Sirius' capture. Dumbeldore does--and he 
accepts Lupin's resignation.


Amy:
 Lupin drops everything (including the 
> Map and potion--oops.  At least he remembered his wand) and 
runs as 
> fast as he can to the Willow and then the Shack.  You really 
think 
> he's moving so fast so as to stop Sirius from telling the trio 
> Lupin's secret?  What has that to do with anything?  He's trying 
to 
> save their lives.

Lupin says he didn't reveal   that Sirius was an 
Animagus because he didn't want Dumbledore to know that he, 
Lupin, had disobeyed him. If this was Lupin's reason for trying to 
deal with Sirius and Pettigrew on his own, if it was fear that kept 
him from getting help, then I don't see him as brave. 

 Imagine that you knew one of your old friends had joined a 
terrorist group that murdered innocent people without warning or 
compunction, that the authorities were hunting him, and that you 
had information that might help to capture him.  

I can understand why you'd want to keep the information to 
yourself, if it might ruin you too--say, if you and your old pal had 
been smuggling drugs together and you didn't want that to come 
out.  But I wouldn't call it  brave  if you were still bent on keeping 
your secret  even after you knew the terrorist had targeted an 
innocent child.

That's as poor a way of honoring James and 
Lily's sacrifice as I can think of.

JKR, as others have pointed out, lived in England when it was 
beset by attacks from the IRA. She was, I think, sensible of the
full weight of Lupin's actions at the time of writing.


Pippin
agreeing with Amy that Lupin is doomed





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