Perfidious!Lupin(WAS: Against Evil!Lupin responses (long))

[susannahlm <susannahlm@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49602

Marina wrote:

>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.

Um. . . No, look, I'm sorry, but I *really* have to disagree here. 
First of all, Harry did not "know perfectly well it was important 
information." He didn't have a clue *what* it was. Sure, it might 
have been "important information," and from an objective point of 
view, it pretty obviously was. But there was still that slight 
uncertainty there for Harry; so his rationalization for not telling 
Dumbledore could be something like: "I don't want him to know--*and* 
it might not be pertinent, *and* I might simply be losing my mind." 
There was still a slight, justifying doubt. By contrast, Lupin "knew" 
that Sirius was a danger, and he knew that Sirius could, at least, 
disguise himself as an Animagus.  And while Harry's speaking 
up "might've" tipped off Dumbledore (though Harry didn't know that), 
Lupin's speaking up *would've* tipped off Cornelius Fudge; the man 
he's looking for is a dog Animagus. That would, quite obviously, be a 
good thing to know whilst one is conducting a man-hunt. Lupin didn't 
have even a *fig leaf* of doubt as to the pertinence or the    
usefull-ness of his information. For Lupin, the rationalization is 
simply, "I don't want him to know." 

The second point is this: Harry was a twelve-year-old boy. Lupin was 
a grown man, in a position of responsibility. And, as Harry is the 
boy particularly "at risk from Sirius Black," Lupin has a 
responsibility particularly to him. So, instead of facing up to this 
responsibility, he withholds information from the *child* most at 
risk from an escaped terrorist/murderer, even though said child 
happens to be the offspring of Lupin's own dead best friends, and 
even though said best friends (Lupin thinks) died at the hands of the 
very man whom Lupin is now *shielding?* And he does all this 
*knowingly,* in order to cover his own. . . derriere? Harry's silence 
in COS is not a commendable thing, to be sure; but at least Harry 
isn't abusing/neglecting his position. Harry did a cowardly act; 
Lupin did a cowardly act and a betraying one. Really, Lupin's actions 
are a whole lot worse here. 

Derannimer (who still wouldn't go as far as "perfidious")