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

[Barb]

No: HPFGUIDX 45829


I wrote in response to Eloise:

   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? 
 Debbie wrote:
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?"

Me, again:
Ah, I see what you mean.  However, while his statement is somewhat ambiguous, I believe that an exchange that immediately precedes it makes my interpretation more likely:
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him.  "You don't believe this...wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"
 
"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin.  "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.
-------------------------------------------------------------
While it is clear that Lupin meant that Sirius thought Lupin was the spy back before the Potters were killed, it is unlikely that Lupin meant that he thought Sirius was the spy at the same time, since he knew Sirius was the Secret Keeper (this is the "change" that Peter was referring to).  I always thought Lupin's statement referred to his having believed Sirius was the spy AFTER he was captured and sent to Azkaban, and all of the years since then (particularly during PoA). I think this passage, in which Peter as much as says that Remus knew Sirius was the Secret Keeper, supports this interpretation.  In fact, Sirius' plan may have been to specifically tell Remus, the suspected spy, that HE was the Secret Keeper, and then make it Peter instead.  Sirius would know, if someone came after him, that it was possibly because of Remus telling someone.  OTOH, Sirius would have been a very obvious person to go after in any case, so it wouldn't have been a definitive test of Remus' loyalty.
 
Debbie wrote:
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.


Me:
I find it hard to reconcile this to canon.  First, I've already said why I DON'T think Lupin was suspecting Sirius until after the fact.  Second, I hardly think Lupin would have felt at the fringes with three friends who went out of their way to become Animagi and accompanied him during the full moon.  If anything, he was the linch-pin of the group because of this.  James and Sirius may have been the leaders, but without Lupin, they would probably not have thought of becoming Animagi.  They were specifically looking for a way to spend the full moon with him.  He was central to the group in a way that Peter never could be.  And he must have been overwhelmingly important to them for them to go out of their way like this.  That doesn't sound like a person at the fringes.  As for animosity because of the prank--I think only Snape is still carrying that resentment around, as he was the almost-victim.  It still seems that Lupin was out of touch with the others because he was suspected of being the spy, which is stated clearly in the above passage from PoA. (Chapter 19, "The Servant of Lord Voldemort")
 
elfundeb wrote:
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.

 

Me:

I find it more likely that he was afraid that revealing his friendship with James would lead to revealing his friendship with Sirius.  If Harry suspected that Lupin was still friendly toward Sirius, he might suspect him of conspiring with Sirius to get into the castle.  (As Snape suspected.) And in a way, this suspicion would have been on the mark.  I think it was his friendship with Sirius that was giving him guilt-pangs, not the friendship with James.  But Harry finding out of that would have opened up all of the other information, so he kept it quiet.

 

--Barb


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