Full Moon--Why Lupin Didn't Change at Moonrise

[antoshachekhonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 95151

I was just rereading PoA with my younger daughter--trying to make sure she's ready for 
the movie, doncha know--and thought about the 'flint' of Lupin not transforming until he 
actually sees the moon...

But here's the thing that occurred to me:

Just because the moon has risen on the night of a full moon doesn't mean the moon is 
100% full! It is continuing to orbit the earth, and, at moonrise, may have had, say, a tenth 
of a percent of the surface facing the earth still in shadow. Even though the moon would 
seem full--you wouldn't notice the sliver of shadow the way you would the first sliver of a 
crescent moon--it would not trigger the transformation.

Also, remember, Hogwarts is in the Scottish mountains, so the moon wouldn't appear in 
the sky until some time after sunset.

In any case, that Lupin transformed at that particular dramatic moment would have had 
nothing to do with his SEEING the moon, or with what was happening, but rather with the 
fact that that particular moment happpened to be the one in which the entire visible face 
of the moon was bathed in light...

I tried to see if anyone else had come to the same conclusion, but didn't find it. Forgive me 
if I've duplicated a previous post...

Antosha