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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