Werewolves in the Forbidden Forest (WAS: thoughts about the forbidden forest

[elfundeb at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 40305

In a message dated 6/21/2002 11:23:59 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
hp_lexicon at yahoo.com writes:

> The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that the forest 
> is not just in one place, but in fact occupies a huge area which 
> partially surrounds the castle. [snip] 
> 
> Another thing to consider is that the forest might have a magical 
> aspect to its geography. [snip] 
> 
> If the forest has connections to other forests or wild places, it 
> might explain why, when Barty Crouch Sr. managed to get to Hogwarts, 
> the place he appeared was the forest. If so, one wonders which 
> forest elsewhere in Britain he entered to start his journey.
> 
> The forest certainly is an amazing, mysterious place. I wonder if 
> even Hagrid knows all its secrets...
> 
Indeed -- and here's another oddity I noticed when I checked out the Lexicon 
map.  The Lexicon notes that according to canon, there are werewolves in the 
forest.   I had thought it was just a rumor invented by the students to 
explain why the forest is forbidden.  Draco is the first to mention it, in 
PS/SS ch. 15 ("We can't go in there at night--there's all sorts of things in 
there--werewolves, I've heard.")  And in CoS ch. 15, Ron raises the same 
concern ("Er--aren't there--aren't there supposed to be werewolves in the 
forest?"), but Harry responds, "There are good things in there too. . ." with 
the "too" suggesting that he also believes there are werewolves in the forest.

It doesn't make sense that there would actually be werewolves in the forest.  
If there were, all sorts of problematic questions would be raised.  As in:

1.    They're not beasts except at the full moon.  FB&WTFT indicates that 
werewolves are all humans bitten by other werewolves.  So even if there were 
werewolves in the forest, why would anyone care unless the moon was full?  
(The night they went into the FF in PS/SS the moon is described as "bright" 
but not full.)

2.    If there are werewolves in the forest, what do they do when it's not a 
full moon?  Do they live elsewhere and come to the forest only at the full 
moon, via the magical entrances Steve suggests?  Surely they don't live there 
all the time, or Lupin would have been introduced to them.  

3.    If Steve's magical entrances theory is right, why aren't these other 
werewolves locked up as Lupin is during the full moon?  Why would they be 
allowed to roam in a forest where they could transport themselves to 
Hogwarts?  Isn't the purpose of the Werewolf Registry and Werewolf Capture 
Unit mentioned in Fantastic Beasts to keep tabs on them?

4.  If the werewolves do get into the forest, why have they never left the 
forest and attacked a student who sneaks out at night?

5.    If they don't leave the forest during the full moon, why did they have 
to plant the Whomping Willow and build the Shrieking Shack for Lupin?  Why 
couldn't they just send him to the forest?  And in fact, in PoA, he did spend 
his night as a werewolf safely in the forest.  (One possibility here is that 
if Lupin took all but his last dose of Wolfsbane, he retained more of his 
mind and wasn't as vicious as he might have been otherwise.  That's how he 
knew he didn't eat anyone.)

6.    If 1-5 are valid objections, I can understand why Filch encouraged the 
rumor ("Should've thought of them werewolves before you got in trouble, 
shouldn't you?") but Hagrid?  Yet Hagrid, who ought to know, doesn't ever set 
Harry straight.  Harry asks, "Could a werewolf be killing the unicorns?"  And 
Hagrid's response is that werewolves are "not fast enough."  

The only possible answer I can come up with is that it *is* just a silly 
rumor and that Hagrid's not supposed to disabuse anyone of the notion, 
because it keeps the students out of the forest.  Except for one problem.  
Werewolves are on the third-year DADA curriculum, so by that time everyone 
should have figured out that those supposed werewolves in the forest aren't 
such a deterrent after all.  So I can't see any reason for Hagrid, who ought 
to know better than anyone what's in the forest, to go along with such a 
silly rumor.

Did it take JKR three books to figure out that there can't be any werewolves 
in the forest?

Debbie, who knew all about werewolves when she was 11 from watching "Dark 
Shadows" on TV




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