[HPforGrownups] Re: Was Lupin there when Lilly died?

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 45813


  eloiseherisson at aol.com wrote:

  I think his reaction is simply because he was close to James and Lily. He *wasn't* at their deaths, so Harry reliving it in front of him brings it even closer home than it was before, makes real to him something he has hitherto 
  only imagined.  Remember that at that point Lupin probably also blames himself in part for their deaths. He had after all suspected Sirius of being the spy. He must feel that if he had voiced his suspicion at the time, he could have persuaded tham against the choice of Sirius as Secret Keeper.

  And Barb answered:

   I agree with what you wrote above until we get to the part about Lupin suspecting Sirius of being the spy.  On what are you basing this?  I always had the distinct impression that Lupin was actually beating himself up for NOT suspecting Sirius, that Sirius' "betrayal" came out of the blue and blindsided everyone.  Think about what a close friendship Sirius and James are described as having.  In a way, it's good that it turns out to be Peter, as he was evidently somewhat on the fringes.  Peter's betrayal isn't anywhere of the same magnitude as if Sirius had been the spy.  Peter wasn't like a brother to James, as Sirius was.
Me:

I'm not Eloise, but I can answer this.  In ch. 19, in answer to Pettigrew's attempt to convince Lupin that Sirius must be lying because he would've told Lupin about switching Secret-Keepers, Lupin says it was because Sirius suspected Lupin of being the spy.  Sirius asks forgiveness, and Lupin then states, "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

This raises the question why Lupin would have suspected James' best friend.  You suggest, I think correctly, that Peter was on the fringe of the James-Sirius "double act".  I wonder if Lupin also felt himself to be on the fringe, and if there may not have been some lingering animosity between he two over the Prank, as Lupin had everything to lose if Sirius' little joke had succeeded, but I don't get the sense that Lupin would ever have confronted Sirius over the issue.  The slight chill between the two would have provided the impetus for each to suspect the other.

I agree that Lupin felt himself responsible for the Potters' deaths because he had not voiced his suspicions, and that he was far from Godric's Hollow that night.  His reaction to the impact of the Dementor on Harry is understandable, since Lupin himself lost everything the night the Potters died.  His long explanation in the Shrieking Shack makes clear that the friendship of WPP was the most important thing in the world to him, something for which he was willing to take enormous risk.  So hearing Harry's explanation must have brought back emotions he had worked hard to suppress all those years.

Also, Lupin's instinctive reaction was to comfort Harry, which is why he made a move toward him, but he wasn't prepared to reveal his friendship with James to Harry.

Debbie   


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