James' Choice (Was Marauders' Map, Marauders and Voldemort)

[mhbobbin]

No: HPFGUIDX 109353

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "mhbobbin" <mhbobbin at y...>
wrote:


>
> Sirius suspected Lupin. Lupin suspected Sirius [ Shrieking Shack
> scene]. James had to make a choice as to who the most likely spy
> was. I wonder how James made that choice. We know DD tried to
> persuade James to make him the Secret Keeper. James rejected that
> idea. DD then was not certain of which of James' three friends was
> the spy, however, DD did not want Sirius to be made the Secret
> Keeper.
>
> We know James chose Sirius rather than Lupin---the inference is
that  James thought Lupin was the spy. We're told why Pettigrew was 
not  thought to be the spy and was still trusted. Did James think 
Lupin  was the spy because he was a werewolf? Did James have other 
yet  unrevealed reasons to suspect Lupin had an alliance with 
Voldemort?


Meri now: I don't think that the fact that James eventually chose
Sirius (before choosing Peter) is any indication that he didn't
trust Lupin. I think it is more of an indication that Sirius was his
*best friend*. He and Black were, as is said by many people, like
brothers. And Lupin, no matter how much he and James cared for each
other, just weren't close as sibs. 
snip

 Who knows, maybe he flipped a coin.
Meri - who can't wait to reread 1-5 once more before summer is
over...

mhobbin writes:

Perhaps it was as simple as James and Sirius being inseparable, 
causing James to choose Sirius. And perhaps it was as 
straightforward as the process of elimination that made Lupin the 
odd man out in the foursome, and the likely spy. After all, the last 
minute switch of Secret Keeper was not even revealed to DD and I 
hardly believe that DD was under suspicion.

But Lupin was under suspicion. In the Shrieking Shack ,  <<PoA 
Chapter 19:  The Servant of Lord Voldemort>>, Pettigrew says to 
Lupin " You don't believe this...wouldn't Sirius have told you 
they'd changed the plan?"
Lupin: "Not if he thought I was the spy Peter. I assume that's why 
you didn't tell me, Sirius."
Sirius: "Forgive me Remus" And so forth.

If James trusted Sirius as a brother, as Meri describes above, it is 
also likely that James shared Sirius' mistrust of Remus. The last 
minute switch was perhaps designed to fool Remus--after all, Remus 
believed that Sirius was the Secret Keeper. That information alone 
would have been useful to LV.

What I'd like to know is what about Remus made James and Sirius 
think he was the spy. Process of elimination? Prejudice of 
werewolves? Or something else not yet revealed?  Or did James hedge 
his bets, allowing one friend to believe he agreed with him about 
the other, while taking a separate course of action? The answer to 
the last cannot be known, IMO, by what is available. Only that 
there's something weird about how Lupin relates to Harry [shiver].

mhbobbin