MD Alternative: Lupin is the agent. (WAS Objections to Magic Dishwasher - Shriek

[Tom Wall <thomasmwall@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51855


I wrote previously:
One more thing. Someone (can't remember 
who, just now, nor can I find the post - 
sorry about that) has suggested previously 
that Dumbledore might have hired Lupin 
expressly because he knew that Sirius 
Black had escaped from Azkaban, and that 
there were indications that he was going 
to come to Hogwarts. And that as an old 
friend, Lupin might be the best person to 
reason with him. Or else, Dumbledore would 
have all three of the possible traitors under 
his nose.

Annemehr replied:
That may have been me. I did post these ideas in 
#49095 (a TBAY post where I explained myself as 
sitting on the fences between three theories: 
a straightforward reading, where all is as it 
seems, an Evil!Snape reading, and MD). I was 
actually contemplating emailing you offlist 
with this post number just to muddy the waters 
in your mind! ;)

I reply:
You well might have muddied the waters in my mind... since they're 
already swimming with all of this stuff anyways. *chuckle* 

Thanks for pointing out the post number - sorry that I couldn't 
reference it, but there are just so many posts and threads to look 
for, and I haven't quite reached the point where I bookmark them 
yet. ;-)


I wrote previously:
First of all, from my perspective of Dumbledore's perspective 
<grin>, it seems far more likely to me, to be sure, that:
a) Dumbledore would send someone the kids trust, and
b) Dumbledore would send someone who was reasonable and not *openly* 
bent on a revenge that could foul everything up, and
c) Dumbledore would send someone that Sirius Black would listen to, 
so that
d) That person will be able to manage everything calmly, get the 
answers out of both Black and Pettigrew, and without saying anything 
obvious, get Harry to grant the life-debt, and finally
e) Dumbledore would send someone who could make it look most 
plausibly like an accident that Pettigrew escaped.

Annemehr replied:
So is it your premise that Dumbledore and Lupin knew about Pettigrew 
all along? Because in my view it is more likely that they always 
thought that Sirius *was* the traitor, and thus, in this theory, they 
would have formulated the "life debt" plan for Sirius. Then, Lupin 
was genuinely shocked to see Pettigrew appear on the map. I also read 
Lupin's and Sirius' reconciliation scene in the Shack as genuine. 
This leads me to a big problem, here. If Lupin thought that Sirius 
was the traitor, he would have had to be absolutely willing to kill 
him in order for Harry to truly save his life.

I reply:
Well, no, I'm not sure that think that they have to have known all 
along. IMHO, if we think a little laterally here about what was going 
on in Lupin's mind when he was perusing the Marauder's Map, one thing 
comes into my head... once Lupin saw Pettigrew, he'd have *immediate* 
reason to doubt Sirius' guilt, right? I mean, since Pettigrew's 
supposed to be dead as a result of Sirius' actions, any sign of 
Pettigrew means that something is wrong with the situation. And that 
just maybe, Black might be innocent. Innocent, somehow, but that 
wouldn't be clear until Lupin was inside the Shrieking Shack.

And then, I was re-reading the ending of PoA, and I noticed that, 
time-wise, Dumbledore, with Fudge and Macnair enters the castle just 
a few minutes before Lupin comes out. So, *totally* off canon, that 
might be just enough time for him to tell Dumbledore that, whatever 
the case about the animagical stuff, Pettigrew is around, and that 
that's fishy. 

So, Dumbledore, perhaps, might have had a plan in development, so to 
speak, over how to limit Voldemort's options in the resurrection 
field... it's *possible* that he did a little quick thinking and 
realized that if Pettigrew is around, there would be a good chance 
that Sirius *might* be innocent. He could have sent Lupin with vague 
instructions, something to the effect of "find out the story and get 
the traitor indebted to Harry." 

So, if Lupin just has a vague idea that something's wrong with the 
status quo, and he's going just to ascertain the truth, then his 
questions at the outset might be read from the perspective of 
seriously *wanting* to believe, without yet having proof.

Again, that's totally off canon, but it's plausible, right?


I wrote previously:
1) Lupin says Dumbledore "never knew," not that he "doesn't know."
2) Lupin says "...wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore," not 
"I haven't" told Dumbeldore.
3) Lupin says "...whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was 
an Animagus," not that "Pettigrew, James, AND Sirius are animagi." 

And Annemehr replied:
All of this applies if Dumbledore and Lupin know that Pettigrew was 
the secret-keeper and has been hiding out as a rat. If they thought 
that Sirius was the traitor, all Lupin's angst about revealing 
animagi could have just been true all along.

I reply:
Yeah, you're right. I didn't like writing that bit at all. And if 
something along the lines of a quick discussion with Dumbledore 
happened after Lupin noticed Pettigrew on the map, then none of this 
analysis would be needed... because then he could have been genuinely 
surprised about Pettigrew, and the angst could have all been real. 

<sighs with relief>
Phew! I didn't like it anyways. Just did it to fill the hole. ;-)
Thanks for pointing that out!


Annemehr wrote:
You know, I like this, mostly. The only part that bugs me is wanting 
to read Lupin as genuinely surprised that Pettigrew is alive and 
Sirius was innocent. Can we get around this somehow?

I reply:
Well, if we can agree that Lupin might have realized almost 
immediately when he saw Pettigrew that something was awry, without 
totally exonerating Sirius in his head, and if we can agree that he 
went, under some kind of instructions to "find out the truth," or 
something like that, then I think we could get around it.

Whaddaya think?

-Tom