[HPforGrownups] Re: Against Evil!Lupin responses (long)

[srsiriusblack at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 49567

In a message dated 10/01/2003 12:43:01 Eastern Standard Time, 
foxmoth at qnet.com writes:


> But that's not what Dumbledore said. The words are, "It is our 
> choices, Harry, that *show * what we truly are, far more than our 
> abilities." [emphasis mine.] That is not  saying  our 
> circumstances don't make us what we are. They may, but it's 
> what we choose to do with what we are that's important. Harry is 
> the one who doesn't let his Slytherin leanings define his 
> character. Lupin, unfortunately, has twice chosen to behave in a 
> most untrustworthy way. This is canon.
> 

Not saying you are wrong, but inpo, it is an interpretation of canon. Lupin 
while can be seen as untrustworthy shows difficulty in making decisions which 
in the way JKR writes them are understandably difficult for him. Lupin has 
the option of admitting to Dumbledore immediately that Sirius, James, and 
Peter were illegal Anamagi. This may seem an easy decision to others, but I 
understand his conundrum. Informing Dumbledore of the Anamagi would betray 
the bonds of friendship between all of the Marauders. It would show 
Dumbledore that not only Remus, but Sirius, Peter, and most importantly James 
had deceived him for years. Tarnishing James and Peter 's( note Peter 
previous to the discovery of the truth) image to Dumbledore after their 
deaths, soiling thier memories, and breaking the trust would have been 
difficult. 

Of course betraying Dumbledore *is* difficult for Lupin. He knows that he 
should step forward, but he has doubts, he has shame, and he has the weight 
of the only friends he has ever had on his shoulder. I also think there is a 
part of Lupin who may have thought there was a possibility that Sirius was 
not guilty.

> DeathEater!Lupin is conjecture, but perfidious Lupin is beyond 
> all doubt.  He betrayed Dumbledore's trust while he was at 
> Hogwarts the first time, and then betrayed Harry and 
> Dumbledore both by keeping back what he knew about Black. 
> Harry does not yet  realize how dire a thing this was, but Lupin 
> surely must. If he is not an evil man then he is beyond doubt a 
> weak and treacherous one. 

in that line of thought, James, Sirius, and Peter are also treacherous. They 
lied to Dumbledore as well. James, who remained friends with Dumbledore after 
Hogwarts never told Dumbledore he was an illegal unregistered Anamagus. Also, 
take into account the scene in the Shrieking Shack where Lupin and Sirius 
speak to Peter making the point that one should be willing to die for his 
friends and not betray them. this gives a great insight into how deep the 
bonds between the Marauders were/are. They kept each others' secrets, and 
again, Lupin is forced to struggle between that and his loyalty to 
Dumbledore.

> 
> We can't have it both ways. If Lupin was sincere when he asked 
> to be forgiven for thinking that Sirius was the spy, if he was 
> sincere when he said that he convinced himself that Sirius was 
> using Dark Arts he had learned from Voldemort to enter the 
> castle, then Lupin did *not* believe there was some chance that 
> Sirius was an innocent man. He did not doubt that Sirius was 
> capable of murder and terrorism. He knew about Pettigrew and 
> the twelve Muggles. He also knew already what the readers do 
> not learn first-hand until the opening chapters of GoF: the Death 
> Eaters were terrorists who had no regard at all for innocent lives, 
> and would kill and torture for sport. 
> 

Asking Sirius for forgiveness for thinking that he had been Voldemort's spy 
does not show  anything to me but regret for thinking that one of his best 
friends had been something so evil. But, if you look at GoF, it is said on 
many occasions that the period of time around Voldemort's fall was a time 
when no one knew who they could trust. Depsite the bonds with which Lupin 
struggles during GoF, everyone knew someone in the Marauders was passing 
information to Voldemort. No one knew who could be completely trusted, 
although they wanted to trust each other as they always had, and no one knew 
if people were acting of their own will or under the Imperius Curse. 



> They were [insert name of real-life terrorist gang] with wands.  If 
> you knew one of them was trying to break into your workplace, 
> would you keep back information that could protect a thousand 
> innocent lives to save your own skin? Lupin chose. He 
> committed an act of breathtaking selfishness,  and not all the 
> Dementor-fighting lessons in the world can make up for it, IMO. 
> Once you realize what the Death Eaters are, once you admit that 
> Lupin thought Sirius was one of them,  can there be an excuse 
> for what Lupin did?

I understand your arguement. I really do. I just believe that the 
complexities of the Marauders' relationships made for a most difficult 
choice. Did Lupin make the correct one? Well, I tend to think in the end, his 
poor choices- whether selfish or out of some sort of loyalty to his friends- 
made for a better outcome. Were Lupin to have told Dumbledore about Sirius's 
dog form - black shaggy dog with ... maarkings.- Dumbledore would have had to 
inform the MoM, Sirius would most likely have been discovered and would have 
had the Dementor's Kiss administered to him immediately without question. No 
one would have ever learnt the truth. Harry would have never known Sirius was 
his Godfather or of his innocence.

I do not deny that Lupin's choices were not always the best. But, I still 
think that Evil!Lupin is not a real option. Lupin wasn't evil or truly 
malicious in the intent behind his decisions. He was a man who faced a 
srtuggle between his friends- who reasonably I consider family- and his 
mentor/teacher Dumbledore. He shows strength and weakness in the battle 
inside his mind. Perhaps he chose wrongly. Yet, in the end his choices did 
make for truths to be learned. Lupin's heart, I think was/is in the right 
place. 


> 
> Lupin has admitted to cowardice and thoughtlessness. But he 
> has yet to say, "My selfishness could have cost you your life, 
> Harry Potter,"  and until he does, I wouldn't trust him as far as I 
> could throw a hippogriff. <g>
 
Again, I go back to the Shrieking Shack scene. i think in Lupin's admission 
guilt to Harry over his choices regarding Sirius and telling the truth to 
Dumbledore, he is asking for forgiveness. Maybe not as directly as he should, 
but he shows Harry how difficult the decision was and how he laboured over 
it.

Is Lupin a great role model? Maybe not, but evil? Most definitely not, imo. 

And just how far can you throw a hippogriff? They seem to be awfully big to 
me. <weg>

-Snuffles

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty 
recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the 
dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with 
open eyes, to make it possible. This I did."  T.E. Lawrence- Seven Pillars of 
Wisdom


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