Support Your Local Werewolf (somewhat lengthy)

[katzefan]

No: HPFGUIDX 39631

Aldrea (another Lupin supporter) wrote:
>>Pippin: As soon as the moon comes out, Lupin will transform 
>>and kill them, all except Harry. Yes, even under the influence of 
>>the potion, because, alas! Lupin's human mind is just as 
>>twisted and evil as his werewolf one. "It is our choices, not our 
>>abilities..."

>Well, that's certainly overly believing in one's abilities. Lupin 
>thinks he can take on two full fledged wizards plus three in 
>training (Harry certainly isn't going to stand by and watch his 
>friends die)? 
>Hmm...and all in werewolf form, you say? Well, that's certainly 
>something.

But if he can turn into a werewolf at will, why can't he use the 
same willpower to *refrain* from transforming? (Then again, of 
course, if he's Evil, he wouldn't want to.)

********

"booklovinggirl" <katgirl at l...> wrote:

<*large snip*>

> ... What if Remus is a double-agent? Working for Dumbledore 
>as a spy, or even passing falsities and real spy reports to *both 
>sides*. 

If he's passing true and false info to *both* sides, what exactly is 
he playing at?!? Is there another, still-unknown Evil Overlord out 
there somewhere? Why would he risk being disposed of With 
Extreme Prejudice by very angry people on both sides of the 
fight?

>I doubt that Snape would be the *only* one spying 
>for Voldemort-that isn't exactly an airtight plan. What if there are 
>other, undiscovered, spies in Voldemort's inner circle? It 
>doesn't seem that far-fetched, if you think about it....

You mean spying *on* Voldemort, don't you? :-)

<*snip*>

>> He does have one rather frightening hobby: he makes pets 
>>out of  Dark Creatures and then kills them. We know what 
>>happened to  the Boggart in the wardrobe. But what happened 
>>to the Grindylow, eh? Why put in the detail of the empty case?

>Hmmm. This is interesting. Perhaps a bit of torment about 
>being a Dark Creature, a werewolf? Or maybe he sends him to 
>Hagrid. Or maybe Pippin's right and he's a sadist.

True, he didn't seem to be carrying the Grindylow case on the 
train when he came to Hogwarts, or at least it wasn't mentioned 
(Hermione pointed out his suitcase with his initials on it, but 
there wasn't any mention of anything else) — so why was he 
taking it with him when he left? 

But hang on here: I don't have the book in front of me, but I don't 
recall any indication he was making *pets* out of Dark 
Creatures. He captures them for his classes, and then ... well, 
admittedly, we're never told 'and then what.' I always thought he 
just let them go again. (One possibility: he did say he had just 
'taken delivery' of a Grindylow -- p. 116, PoA, paperback -- which 
was presumably delivered in a tank or case, so it could be he 
just kept the case once he let it go.)

And wasn't it the *class* who blew up the Boggart, by yelling 
Riddikulus at it repeatedly? Admittedly at Lupin's instigation, but 
as the DADA teacher, isn't that what he's supposed to be 
teaching them?

Further on Lupin's suitcase: someone asked why the letters 
were peeling. Well, he has trouble getting employment, and 
we're also told his robes are shabby and patched ... could it just 
be that the suitcase is old and he's never had the money to 
replace it?

<*snip*>

>> Sirius Black never planned to murder Snape. Lupin did. And 
>> Lupin hates Harry, just the way he's hated James, ever since 
>> James thwarted his beautiful plan.
 
>> Of all the Marauders, Lupin has the best reason to want 
>>Snape dead, since he has the most to lose if his secret is 
>>revealed. He doesn't think he'll be blamed...the werewolf did it, 
>>not him.

>Ah, but if Remus didn't want Snape to know, why did he set up 
>the Prank in the first place? He might have just wanted to finish 
>Snape off but had a plan that backfired, but you say that Remus 
>wants to finish off Snape because he's scared Snape will 
>reveal the secret, right? But how can he be scared of this if 
>Snape *doesn't know* the secret?

I confess to being a bit lost here; what secret doesn't Snape 
know? He's known that Lupin was a werewolf ever since the 
Nearly Fatal Prank ("Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of 
the tunnel. He was forbidden to tell anybody by Dumbledore, but 
from that time on, he knew what I was ..." PoA, paperback, p. 
261). And I don't think it's ever specifically stated who set up the 
NFP. All we're told, when Lupin is talking to the three kids during 
the scene in the Shrieking Shack, is that Sirius sent Snape off 
and told him how to get past the Whomping Willow.

As for claiming 'It wasn't me; it was the werewolf,' he's got to be 
pretty dim to depend on that as a defence, given the attitude of 
the wizarding world towards werewolves. Even as a Dark Agent, I 
suspect it would be the last thing he ever did (unless he's 
*intended* to be a sacrifical pawn). 

<*snip*>

>> But the plan fails. Tt!Harry conjures Prongs (how horrifying for 
>> Evil!Lupin), then Snape comes around and takes Sirius up to 
>>the castle. Lupin has no choice but to spend the night in the 
>>forest. But, as he tells Hagrid, he didn't bite anyone. How 
>>Lupin would know that, if he was out of his mind that night, we 
>>aren't told.

>You got me on this one. However, Hagrid doesn't think it's odd 
>that  Remus would know, and even though others might 
>disagree with me, I  think that Hagrid's judgement can be 
trusted on this.

><Snip about Remus's resignation>

>-Katherine

But just how far out of his mind *was* he? Could it be that, as a 
werewolf, a person retains at least *some* awareness of what 
they're doing but are powerless to stop themselves ? Think of 
The Exorcist: at some level, the little girl knew she was doing 
awful things (remember the scene where 'Help Me' appears on 
her skin?) but can't do anything to prevent it.

Re: Lupin's Mysterious Background, I wonder if he might not 
have spent at least some of it roaming the Forbidden Forest. 
There are werewolves in there, right? Maybe there's a colony....

Like McGonagall, Lupin's actions could be read either way: 
Terrific Guy with Major Problem or Quick Somebody Start Melting 
Down Grandpa's Silver Beer Stein. And all the other Lupin 
supporters have come up with really good counter-arguments, 
so I have little to add ...

...except that, at the end of GoF, Dumbledore tells Sirius to "alert 
Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher -- the old 
crowd. Lie low at Lupin's for a while, I will contact you there." 
Dumbledore is not perfect, but there have been indications 
throughout all the books that he knows far more about what's 
going on than one might expect. So his "alert Remus Lupin" 
could be a blind, if he knows that Lupin's loyalty is seriously in 
question; to do otherwise might be to alert Lupin to the fact that 
his cover's been blown. 

But Dumbledore also seems to be advising Sirius to just move 
right in with Lupin -- surely he's not dotty enough to basically 
hand the hero over to the enemy -- particularly not a hero who's 
still somewhat shaky from 12 years in Azkaban! Having to be on 
his guard 24 hours a day isn't likely to do Sirius a lot of good. 
He's got to sleep sometime, and putting up all kinds of warding-
off charms and whatnot around his bed is likely to be a bit 
obvious, no? 

If Lupin's loyalty is that doubtful, why not have Sirius bunk down 
at Arabella Figgs', Mundungus Fletcher's, or the home of some 
other member of the 'old crowd'? Surely they could come up with 
some plausable excuse to explain to Lupin why Sirius was not at 
his place, assuming that such an excuse was even needed — 
the two haven't seen each other in over a decade, after all.

Katzefan, who was pleased to see Lupin described in 
Entertainment Weekly as 'one of the most beloved characters in 
the Potterverse.'