[Re: Evil!lupin: a rebuttal

[nobodysrib]

No: HPFGUIDX 53443

I'm jumping into Pippin and Cathy's Evil!Lupin discussion...

Cathy wrote: 
> I like Lupin.  I think he is a good and kind teacher who just 
> happens to be a werewolf.

I adore Lupin, and every time I reread PoA I fall a little more in 
love with him - but I think that's part of the genius of having him 
be a, uh, wolf in sheep's clothing.  I do not think I am alone in my 
Lupin-love; in fact, I think he is purposefully set up to be a 
sympathetic character for readers to like.  And if a reader does not 
specifically like him, they are at least set up (with the anti-
werewolf sentiments of the WW fully discussed) to sympathize with his 
ostracization.  *No one* (ahem, except for us investigative listees) 
would suspect him.  Which makes him the perfect mole.

Pippin wrote, making a case for vindictive!Lupin: 

> There's the Snape-boggart, the vampire essay, the chilling exchange
> >"Forgive me, Remus," said Black.
> >"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin...

(quick side comment for me:  Could someone fill mein on the vampire 
essay?  I have flipped through PoA, but cannot find the reference.  
Is this part of a Vampire!Snape theory, and Lupin assigned a vampire 
essay in the same way that Snape assigned the werewolf essay?  As 
always, if this has been discussed ad nauseum and you do not want to 
waste board space, please feel free to email me directly...  now, 
back to the main discussion...)

Cathy's reply:  

> I"m confused - Lupin followed this by saying "And will you in
> turn, forgive me of thinking *you* were the spy?"  There was nothing
> vindictive about this at all.  Lupin forgave Black and Black 
> forgave Lupin.  Each of them had thought the other was the spy for 
> Voldemort.  

I have several, different, Evil!Lupin interpretations of this 
exchange: (1) Black asking for forgiveness, and Lupin using clever 
wording to deny him forgiveness, (2) Black asking for forgiveness, 
and Lupin (keeping his sheep's clothing firmly in place) playing the 
good!Lupin role that he has played for so long, and (3) Black asking 
for forgiveness - for thinking Lupin was the spy, and Lupin forgiving 
him - for thinking Black killed Lupin's cohort Pettigrew.  (I'm not 
sure which of these interpretations best fits the Evil!Lupin theory 
that has been tossed around on the board.)

Pippin wrote:
> Lupin could have had evil reasons for teaching Harry to resist the
> Dementors, just as Fake!Moody taught Harry to resist the
> Imperius curse. And of course, Lupin could have learned about
> Pettigrew the same way Sirius did.

and Cathy replied: 
> Wouldn't it have been far more evil to not even attempt to do so 
> and let him suffer?  Of course I don't think Crouch!Moody's reasons 
> were evil, either.  I think he just got carried away in his 
> teaching role and forgot himself.  

I agree that Lupin and Crouch may have had evil reasons for teaching 
Harry DADA techniques, but they could have also been following the 
motto of "keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer."  I'm 
going to specifically examine Lupin: First of all, Lupin put off the 
patronus lessons for as long as he could while still keeping his 
sheep's clothing intact.  Then, once he submitted to the requests, 
Harry's tutorials gave him an increased amount of face-time with 
Harry, and he also learned what may have been valuable information 
for the future (ie what Harry heard when encountering dementors.)  Is 
it not to the enemy's advantage to know what his adversary most 
fears?  (And might he have told Crouch!Moody of these successes, 
leading Crouch!Moody to follow in his footsteps and also teach DADA 
tachniques?)  

I have two other minor points to discuss.  Teaching Harry DADA 
techniques is a grand way to gain Harry's trust - and keep him from 
being suspicious that his DADA teacher is not who he appears to be.  
Also, in this instance, Harry's successful patronus charm turned out 
to be of benefit to Voldemort; Voldemort wished to have Harry remain 
alive so that his blood could be used in aiding his "rebirth," and 
had Harry not known the patronus charm, his demise would have 
negatively effected Voldemort's grand plan.

Cathy responded to Pippin mentioning the Neville/ Snape/ boggart 
incident as an example of Lupin's choices not speaking well of him: 

> Lupin had no control over Neville's boggart.  Snape is what
> Neville is most afraid of (and I suspect that everyone rather knows 
> it).  <snip> Think about it, you have a classroom full of children, 
> about to be confronted with their worst fear. <snip>  No one else
> in the room was as terrified of Snape as Neville, so they could 
> learn and get the point of the whole thing without being scared out 
> of their wits.

My interpretation of Lupin's choice to start with Neville:  
Neville going first also meant that Lupin used Neville as an example 
for the class, intructing him to picture Snape in drag, etc.  
Regardless of his Evil or Good status, it serves no purpose having a 
loose boggart in the room (it makes him appear incompetent, endangers 
his ethos, etc.).  If Neville had not gone first, he would not have 
received this careful instruction and, when the boggart finally did 
appraoch him, Neville might not have succeeded.  Also, Neville's 
confidence in facing boggarts is now raised, but if Neville were to 
come across a boggart unawares, I doubt he would be as successful in 
a candid situation.  This, too, may be of use to the dark side.

There's also the argument that both Lupin and Crouch!Moody used 
befriending Neville as a way to gain Harry's trust, but another angle 
to consider is vindictive!Lupin.  Lupin, knowing that Neville fears 
Snape, knows that whichever student goes first will have the boggart-
image that most sticks in the students' minds (with perhaps the 
exception of their own.)  Lupin, hating Snape, would love to have the 
students having a humiliating image of Snape in their heads.  (Having 
Snape actually have knowledge of this is just an added bonus.)  While 
this does not strictly support the Evil!Lupin theory, it does tarnish 
his not-so-pristine reputation.

Pippin wrote: 
> Lupin doesn't tell all he knows about the escaped terrorist 
> murderer Sirius Black. That's very odd, if he's sworn to protect 
>Harry at all costs.

And Cathy replied: 
> I think that was explained.  He didn't want to have to explain to
> Dumbledore that he had betrayed his trust when he was in school by 
> running around the school with three illegal animagi (also breaking 
> the rules).  

My addition to this discussion:

To me, this is one of the most telling aspects of Lupin's character.  
Regardless of a desire to protect *Harry*, a dangerous person is on 
the Hogwarts grounds, and Lupin is aware of a way the dangerous 
person might be able to disguise himself.  It doesn't particularly 
matter if Lupin knows whether or not the dementors can detect 
animagis - as an animagi, Black is able to hide himself and make it 
easier for no one to spot him.  And Lupin knows this!  He doesn't 
share this information with Dumbledore (who is known to give people 
second chances.)  Evil!Lupin wants to find black first...  but even 
if you take Lupin's words at face value, there should be cause for 
alarm: Good!Lupin is suspicious here - because Lupin chooses to 
protect his own hide at the potential expense of others' lives.

Pippin, noting the likeliness of Pettigrew's redemption, wrote:

> Shouldn't there be at least one dyed-in-the-wolf, er, wool, member 
> of MWPP who goes bad and chooses to remain so? Though I'm sure 
> he'll [Lupin] be offered the chance to repent.
 
Cathy: 
> I don't know if Pettigrew will be redeemed or not.  I see him as
> a sniveling little coward that hangs out with the biggest bully 
> around.  He handed over one of his best friends to Voldemort.  It 
> just doesn't say a lot for his character.

The biggest bully around?  Does that mean that you see MWPP (er, MPP, 
that is) as bullies?  I think Pettigrew lacks confidence and enjoys 
the ego-lift of hanging out with the "popular" crowd.  In his youth, 
this resulted in MWPP.  He roots for the winning team, because he's 
too afraid of having to look inwards and find his own strength (or, 
worse so, discover his worst fears are true and he has no inner 
strength...) should his team lose.  He sided with Voldemort, not 
because he was the "biggest bully around" but more so 
because "everyone" was siding with Voldemort.  V was captain of the 
winning team, and Pettigrew, afraid of losing, felt this was the 
safest way to go.  

As for poor Pettigrew's redemption, one of two things (or both) would 
have to happen:  either the good side will be obviously winning and 
Pettigrew will switch sides again (his past behavior shows precedent 
for this decision) or Pettigrew will discover an inner strength that 
allows him to choose sides based on moral convictions rather than 
popularity.

The first option I presented is unlikely - mostly because I can't 
imagine "the old gang" welcoming him back into the fold, even if 
Pettigrew were to make a grand gesture.  They just wouldn't trust 
him.  This would be a dangerous place to be in - hated by one side 
and not trusted (or protected) by the other.

I find my second option much more interesting...  especially since it 
actually has some precendence.  Pettigrew is currently a Voldemort 
supporter, and that goes against popular opinion.  Sure, he has been 
hiding out so he doesn't have to face the anti-V WW, but he has still 
gone against public opinion.  (In addition, now that his animagi 
status has been uncovered, he no longer has that cover to rely upon 
should he make another poor decision.)  This action, small though it 
may seem, may be enough for him to have the seeds planted inside 
himself to later on discover an inner strength and be able to think 
for himself.

The concept of making choices/ doing what is right vs. doing what is 
easy is a common HP theme.  example: 
> "Remember, if the time comes when you have to make a choice between 
> what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy 
> who, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of 
> Lord Voldemort.  Remember Cedric Diggory." 

 - Dumbledore addressing the students, US Hardcover GoF, page 724.)
IMHO this theme will be fully explored.  This necessitates seeing all 
different kinds of Evil! and Good! characters making all different 
kind of "right" and "easy" choices, as well as choosing/ not choosing 
redemption.  

(Side note: although Dumbledore is obviously referencing Cedric with 
this statement, he could just as easily be talking about an Evil!
character...  Remember, Dumbledore's should not always be taken 
solely at face value for they often mean more than their literal 
interpretation.  In this instance, rearrange the words a bit (and 
removing "brave") and he could just as easily be talking about 
Pettigrew or Evil!Lupin...)

In regards to Pettigrew: is there any other character (save 
Voldemort) whose making a "right" choice and eventually being 
redeemed would be more meaningful and carry more weight?  Even the 
redemption of Lucius Malfoy would not rival this.  

In regards to Lupin: is there another character whom Harry trusts 
more (save Dumbdledore) whose making "easy" choices, Evil! status, 
and not opting for redemption would carry more weight?  Any Evil!
student (even Ron or Hermione!) could be explained as youthful fear, 
etc., giving them an easier option for forgiveness.  But Lupin is an 
adult and is fully aware of the consequences of his behavior.  

You could make the argument that Evil!Black would be more terrifying 
to Harry, but, as discussed in previous posts, Black has already 
been, ah, black listed by the WW, thus making his Evil! status less 
surprising to the WW population.

There have been so many surprises, twists, and turns in the first 4 
HP books, and I believe the best/worst are yet to come.  Would it not 
be in true HP form for a beloved character to be more than he seems?
Restating an aforementioned comment, we have been taught to love him -
 or at least empathize with his ostracization - but could the biggest 
clue be masked within this?  I think he really could be a *wolf* in 
Good!Wizard's clothing.

- Nobody's Rib, who is delighted to have looked out the window and 
discovered that it is snowing :)