Is Lupin James?

[drliss at comcast.net]

No: HPFGUIDX 109827

charme:

I also agree that James is definitely dead. That being said, this 
whole
thing about Lupin is kinda freaky, simply because I noticed in OoP JKR
doesn't write *anything* about him fighting anyone in DoM. He simply 
jumps
in front of Malfoy while Malfoy is aiming at Harry at the last 
minute -
everyone there has detail surrounding who they're fighting, when they 
fall,
etc. If Lupin was James, don't you believe James would have been in 
the
thick of it? Something is fishy there...or maybe I'm being 
paranoid....

charme

Snow:

Ohhhhh! Another one for Pippin's ESE Lupin theory! I never noticed 
this Charme, you are good! 
Have to go have a look at this for myself, thanks Charme!


Lissa:

I've been thinking about this one myself, too.

There's a LOT going on in that scene.  I wonder if Lupin IS fighting someone Harry just doesn't identify, or if he's out of Harry's range?  Or it got edited out because the scene was too busy?

My real belief is that Lupin is there in a literary sense for two reasons: to actually SEE Sirius die, and to pull Harry back from the veil.  I really need to re-read the scene, but do we get a good picture of what -everyone- is doing?  Writing combat is not easy, and perhaps Lupin wasn't focused on because he becomes a focal point later in the battle, when Sirius dies and he holds back Harry.  He had to be doing SOMETHING- if he'd been standing against the wall twirling his wand, Harry certainly would have noticed.

I'm also wondering if Lupin doesn't touch Harry because he's afraid.  I don't think Lupin lets people in easily at all anymore (can you blame him?) and he's very, very afraid of getting close to Harry, especially if he knows about the prophecy.  I think he's simply lost too many people, and he's not going to let himself get too close to Harry so that if Harry dies, he won't feel the pain as intensely.  I also wonder if he can't look at Harry and (despite his you-know-what self gushing about Lily's eyes) not see James.  That's got to be painful.  

There's also very possibly some sort of law about werewolves and physical contact with underaged wizards?
mhbobbin:

Why why why can't we figure out what a werewolf who can't hold a job 
and is in a secret society and who lost all the best friends he ever 
had is still concealing some major secret? JKR is not going to 
reveal this, IMO, till the end of Book 7, probably just before she 
kills him and lets him fall into Harry's arms, saying "Harry, 
there's just one more thing I must tell you. All along, I was ----". 
But then, he dies and Harry never finds out. Crazed readers run 
through the streets, mass riots. JKR writes final 8th book: "Harry 
Potter and the Crazed Internet Posters"

Lissa:

This cracked me up, and I think you have a good point.  (Personally, my take on Lupin's "secret" is simply that he and Sirius had a relationship that went beyond friendship, but that's just me.)  It could be Lupin isn't hiding anything at all- except himself.  He's incredibly controlled and closed off, and maybe that's just the result of 12 years of exile?

Liss

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