Against Evil!Lupin responses (long)

[marinafrants <rusalka@ix.netcom.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49581

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999 <foxmoth at q...>" \
> 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. 

That lupin took unjustifiable risks, concealed vital information and 
violated Dumbledore's trust is not in dispute, either by me or by 
Lupin himself, or by any of the other characters who know what's 
going on.  But I think you're using words like "treacherous" 
and "perfidious" a bit cavalierly, which tends to dilute their 
meaning.  Lupin's wrongful actions resulted from a combination of 
youthful recklessness, failure of nerve, and the inability to 
properly balance conflicting emotional pulls.  They did not result 
from moral degeneracy.  It's not like Peter's betrayal of the 
Potters or, say, Karkaroff's selling out his comrades to save his 
own skin, which is the sort of think I like to reserve words 
like "perfidious" and "treacherous" for.

Lupin's actions are really not so different from Harry's in CoS.  
Harry doesn't tell Dumbledore about hearing the basilisk's voice in 
the walls.  He knew perfectly well it was important information, but 
he didn't tell because he was afraid Dumbledore would think he was 
crazy.  If he had told, Dumbledore and Snape might've figured out 
early on that there was a basilisk involved.  It's sheer luck that 
no one died as a result of Harry's silence.

The fact that Lupin has character flaws that have led him astray in 
the past and may lead him astray again in the future doesn't make 
him any different from anyone else in the books, with the arguable 
exception of Dumbledore.  Look how often we find ourselved 
discussing the harm that has been done, or may yet be done, by Ron's 
jealousy, Percy's blind respect for authority, Sirius' temper, 
Hermione's high-handedness, Snape's grudge-holding, etc, etc.  I'm 
sure that everyone's personal foibles will be used for plot fodder 
in the future, and I don't expect Remus to be immune.

Marina
rusalka at ix.netcom.com