Lupin Is Not An Airhead! (WAS Remus: Once more with feeling, )

[bluesqueak]

No: HPFGUIDX 39257

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "cindysphynx" <cindysphynx at c...> wrote:
> Pip wrote about our dear, self-effacing, delightful, prematurely-
> grey but-still-looking-young Lupin, who is so desperately in need 
of 
> the love of a good woman:
<Snip>

> What's this?  Another spirited attack on Lupin premised on the idea 
> that Lupin is forgetful and deserved to lose the only paid work he 
> has been able to find?  Based on the assumption that Remus, that 
> Knucklehead, just forgot to take his potion that night?  He's so 
> darn forgetful that he is an out-and-out menace to the entire 
> Hogwarts student body, so Snape's revealing Remus' secret was the 
> best way to protect all of those helpless students?

Errr...[thoughtful pause] ...yeah, I'd say that was a pretty fair 
summary. ;-)

> 
> Well!  I must draw a line in the sand on this one.  
> 
> <plants hands on hips>
> 
> Remus Lupin Is *Not* An Airhead!
> 
> Where's the canon?  Did you ask whether I have *canon*?  You betcha!
> 
> First of all, Remus never once tells us that he "forgot" his 
> potion.  
> 
> The only one who says that Lupin forgot his potion is *Snape*, who 
> says, "You forgot to take your potion tonight."

Canon indeed. Unfortunately, canon never once tells us that Remus 
actually "remembered" his potion. 

And it subtly supports the 'It's a good thing Remus isn't a member of 
the Headless Hunt because he wouldn't remember his own head if it 
wasn't firmly attached to his shoulders" school of thought by having 
Snape bring the potion to Remus the only time we see him taking the 
potion.

> 
> Now, is there any good reason to believe Snape here?  

Just here? Is there ever any good reason to believe Snape at any 
point in the entire series to date? [grin] ( Except possibly when he 
thinks Harry isn't watching him).

<Snip> 
> So what's the best theory to explain why Lupin failed to take his 
> potion?  For that, we have to turn to Mahoney's great Bewitching 
> Hour theory (Message 32,725), from which I will boldly copy the 
> following: 
> 
> Mahoney:
> 
> > Do we have any concept at all as to what time it was when Lupin 
> > transformed? <Snip>

> > But what if he thought he had time?  <Snip>

> >It's evening, but on the first night of the full moon the 
transformation 
> >does not occur until (to pick a common 'witching hour') midnight.  
> >So he has time to check the map, make sure Harry & Co. are either 
> >safe in their dormitory, or else to go collect them from wherever 
> >they've snuck off to ~ and still get back, take his potion and 
> curl up under his desk.  
> > 
<Snip>
>>In the excitement of the moment, he still 
> >has at the back of his mind the full moon, but also the disarming 
> > thought "*I still have time*."  Running out now without taking 
> > his potion will be cutting things close, but his split-second 
> >decision is that he must. <Snip>
> > 
> > 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.
>  

 Yup, I agree that a special timing was the probable reason Lupin 
only started to change at that moment. Old magic often believed there 
was a very *specific* moment when the moon changes from old to new, 
or into 'full' mode.

> <snip> 
> Mahoney again:

> >On the other hand, it explains, to me, four things that have 
> >bothered me:
> > 
> > 1.  Why did he forget to take his potion, when it's so critical?  
> >(He didn't; he just put it off, because he thought he would have 
> >time to get to it later.)
> > 
> > 2.  Why did he run out of the relative security of his office on 
> >the night of his transformation?  (Again, he thought he had time 
to 
> >get back to the potion/his office before he transformed.)
> > 
<Point 3 about why Remus transforms at a particular time Snipped>

> > 4.  Why did he berate himself and consent to leave Hogwarts, when 
> > he'd only made the one mistake, and knew that so long as he stuck 
> >to the potion he would be harmless in the future?  (Because it 
> >wasn't just that he'd put innocents in danger by forgetfulness; it 
> >was because he'd made a conscious choice to take a risk, and in 
> >doing so he realized that he'd taken his dangerous condition for 
> >granted.  He didn't forget his potion, he forgot to keep in mind 
> >how dangerous he was.  Which is almost scarier. Er, you know?)
> 
> <Cindy nods with satisfaction> 
> 
> That's pretty nice work Mahoney did there, don't you think?  

Yup. It's a good argument. In fact, it's a *very* good argument.  
It's even pretty close to what I say, which is that Lupin forgets his 
potion *because* he refuses to keep in mind how dangerous he is.

> 
> The best part is that it makes Lupin out to be a thoughtful person 
> who made a rational decision (consistent with his character) 
> instead of an incompetent who can't remember the one thing he has 
> to remember in order to avoid killing people.  That's definitely 
> moving in the right direction.  It is also consistent with Lupin's 
> characterization as careful, guarded and thoughtful. 

Lupin? Incompetent? No. In denial and therefore refusing to remember 
he is a werewolf? Yes.

> 
> Now, the theory isn't perfect because Lupin shows no 
> signs of keeping an eye on the time once he is in the Shrieking 
> Shack. He doesn't say the obvious thing like, "You know, we'd 
> better get a move on because I'm going to transform in about 90 
> minutes and eat all of you." But then again, he has just received a 
> real jolt by finding Peter alive, he doesn't anticipate Snape's 
> interference, and he is multi-tasking (dealing with 
>Peter/Snape/Sirius and being outed as a werewolf).  

Isn't perfect? Two kids are screaming 'werewolf' at you and you don't 
think 'Ah, yes and I'm a werewolf who currently has a bit of a 
scheduling problem? Maybe I should miss out telling them my life 
story'? 

Snape comes in and makes snide comments about forgetting potions and 
you don't think 'Ah, potions, what does that remind me of? Yes, 
possibly a calm, reasoned (and slow) interrogation of Pettigrew is 
not the best choice of tactics when I'm a ticking time bomb in a room 
with three children'.

Sorry, Cindy, but this is Mr In-Denial here.

> 
> And heck, they were only minutes away from the castle when Lupin 
> transformed.  So his calculations were only off by a hair, weren't 
> they?  And if Snape had kept his hooked nose out of the whole 
> affair, or had Snape been willing to listen in the Shack, Lupin 
> would have made it back to the castle in *plenty* of time, right?

Oh, and if Lupin had said in the tunnel, when they were moving so 
slowly that Sirius has plenty of time for his moving conversation 
about making a home for Harry, that it might be a *really* good idea 
if they figured out how to travel a bit faster, they'd have also made 
it back in *plenty* of time. 

In fact, if he had ever mentioned *at all* that there was a slightly 
important deadline pending, then I would be perfectly happy to 
believe that he was in complete acceptance of his werewolfhood and 
that he *wasn't* putting it so far out of his mind that it was 
probably halfway back to King's Cross on the Hogwarts Express. :-)

> 
> A fabulous additional benefit of Mahoney's theory is that it neatly 
> explains Lupin's failure to transform when the boggart turns into 
> the moon. <Snip>

My theory is that he doesn't transform because a boggart-moon is not 
a true moon.  When Lupin describes the boggart-dementor he says "It's 
the nearest we'll get to a real Dementor." ( PoA, UK hardback, 
P.175. ) Not 'it'll be the same as a real Dementor.'

> 
> So, Lupin critics, does Mahoney's Bewitching Hour Transformation 
> theory put you at ease?
> 

NO! 

Pip

(Who thinks it was a very good try, though. ;-)  )