NixThe Bewitching Hour, It's The Moon I Tell Ya! /Lupin&Potions/The Boggart Moon

[aldrea279]

No: HPFGUIDX 39347

****The Bewitching Hour

Even though I do very much like this theory, it DOES have it's flaws. 
I noticed them today as I finished re-reading PoA, with this theory 
on my mind.


To quote Mahoney:
<> Do we have any concept at all as to what time it was when Lupin 
> transformed?<>

Yes, indeedy, we sure do!

<> So out he runs...events happen...things get out of hand...and when 
> they leave the tunnel under the Whomping Willow, it's not the fact 
> that the moon breaks through that causes Lupin to change. The 
> appearance of the moon is simply what alerts Sirius to the reason 
> behind Lupin's sudden change in attitude. The cause of the change 
>is simply that Lupin's time has run out. Midnight of the first 
>full moon is at hand.<>

Afraid this is where the theory falls apart.  We do, infact, know 
that it was BEFORE midnight.  Atleast an hour before midnight, I'd 
say.  Canon definately supports this.

*"I am going to lock you in. It is-" [Dumbledore] consulted his 
watch, "five minutes to midnight."* PoA, US Edition, Paperback, Pg. 
393

That's when Harry and Hermione are lying in the hospital wing, and 
Lupin is romping around in the Forbidden Forest as a werewolf. So 
obviously, midnight doesn't seem to affect him. Nor does any hour 
before midnight, since he was out of the castle for, at the very 
least I'd say, about two hours before transformation. Now, if someone 
wanted to go through the last few chapters of PoA and figure out how 
the hours measure up(I know it says something about how Hary and 
Hermione waited an hour outside the Womping Willow, or such things 
like that) then they would definately be able to get a rather good 
timeslot of when, exactly, Lupin transformed.  So yes, we do have an 
idea of when he transformed.

But I'm not entirely positive that the HOUR has anything to do with 
it.  Canon places more emphasis on the Moon that it does on the 
hour.  And this confuses the heck out of me.

Look at this...

*A cloud shifted.  There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground.  
Their party was bathed in moonlight." <snip> Harry could see Lupin's 
silhouette.  He had gone rigid.  Then his limbs began to shake.* PoA, 
US Paperback, Pg. 380

Lupin is completely fine wandering around on the Hogwarts grounds, 
until the moon pops out.

Again...

* "Here comes Lupin!" said Harry as they saw another figure sprinting 
down the stone steps and haring toward the Willow.  Harry looked up 
at the sky. Coulds were obscuring the moon completely. * PoA, US 
PaperBack, Pg. 404

More emphasis on Lupin and the moon.  This really confuses me.  If 
Lupin has to be in the moonlight to transform, then why doesn't he 
have just stay inside when the full moon comes?  

But, from what canon says, I don't believe Lupin and the moon have 
a "Cinderella" sort of relationship, but a "Swan Princess" one does 
seem only slightly more likely...


****Lupin and his Wolfbane Potion

Cindysphynx wrote:
> Um.  I'm thinking that this Bewitching Hour calculation that Lupin 
> does before he runs out that night is very, very complex.  It 
> depends on the phases of the moon.  And the time.  And whenever 
> Lupin last took his potion.  And on how healthy he is feeling.  As 
a result, Lupin can only pinpoint a *range* when the transformation 
> will happen.  
> 
> So why doesn't he hurry things along in the Shack?  Because Lupin, 
> bless him, was *way* off on this one.  He figured he had *hours* 
> left.  He saw no reason to hurry, particularly since hurrying was 
> going to speed up the execution of a dear friend and increase the 
> chances of a blunder.  No, Lupin was being methodical because he 
> thought he had time to be methodical.  


In defense of Lupin not taking his potion-  Snape seems to be the one 
always bringing it to him, but as Lupin tells Harry, it's because 
Snape is the one that brews it for him.  So perhaps the reason why he 
ran out all dangerous like(besides the fact that he had just 
discovered that one of his good friends from school that he had 
thought was dead for 13 years is suddenly alive, and that his other 
good friend from school that he had thought was a murderer was 
cornered with his dead good friend's son), is because Snape had yet 
to bring him his potion, and he just didn't have time to go and get 
it. 

OOh, even more defense for Lupin-  

* "The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very 
recent discovery.  It makes me safe, you see.  As long as I take it 
in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I 
transform...I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and 
wait for the moon to wane again." *  PoA, US Paperback, Pg.352-353

-the week preceding the full moon- Does this mean that he has to take 
the potion for a full week before the full moon, and then on the 
night of the full moon he's perfectly harmless?  Or does it mean that 
during the whole week of the full moon is when Lupin changes?

Well, it certainly means that he does have to take the potion more 
than once a month. Infact, when Snape first brings him the potion he 
tells him to give him another one the next day, I believe.  So 
perhaps the reason he rushed out without his potion is because he 
thought/hoped that he had taken enough the last time he had drank 
some to last him an extra couple hours...?

Hm...well, there's some definately quite a few things to chew on 
about Lupin's werewolfness.  But I'm thinking on the night of the 
Shrieking Shack incident, Lupin just made a miscalculation.


****The Boggart Moon

Cindysphynx wrote: 
> I've never been taken with the idea that Lupin's transformation is 
> entirely a subjective reaction to the moon.  If that were it, then 
> he could be kept indoors or simply stunned when it is time for the 
> full moon, I'd say.  Lupin ought to have the same subjective 
> reaction to the boggart moon as he does to the real one.  
> 
> And of course, if the transformation is triggered by the objective 
> power of the moon, then Lupin should transform when the moon comes 
> up, not when the cloud cover breaks.

But the Boggart is a FAKE moon.  And the moon definately seems to 
have some magical powers, and I don't think the Boggart can quite 
copy that-  the moon has been around for milenia, after all.  And if 
you want to go extremely technical, the Boggart wasn't copying the 
moon; it was copying the way the full moon looks on a clear night if 
you look up at it from Earth- an actual size moon definately wouldn't 
fit inside a classroom. <g>  And since Lupin's biggest fear is 
looking up and seeing that full moon, then I think  his 
transformation -does- have something to do with him seeing it.

~Aldrea, who has definately succeeded in confusing herself on a few 
matters.