Sirius & Remus post-Hogwarts (was: Snape and McGonagall)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 119527


Carol earlier:
<snip>
> > But meantime there seems to have been some sort of distancing 
between him and Remus Lupin, a mutual mistrust that probably had some
relation to Lupin's being a werewolf. 
> 
Siriusly Snapey Susan responded:
> I was with you up to this point, Carol, but unless I'm 
misinterpreting what you mean, I disagree with the last statement.  
> I've got nothing firm upon which to base this, other than how
quickly Remus & Sirius forgave one another in the shrieking shack, but
I really do not believe that any mistrust or distancing on Sirius'
part was in relation to Lupin's being a werewolf.  Unless by that you
mean simply because of his monthly absences they were together less
often?  But I can't imagine the fact of his being a werewolf having 
caused Sirius to pull away or to doubt Remus. <snip>


Carol responds:
I should have said "possibly" rather than "probably." I was thinking
of previous discussion on this list relating to Voldemort's attempting
to recruit goblins, giants, and other alienated groups, which may well
have included werewolves. So instead of being their dangerous
once-a-month playmate, he could have become an object of suspicion.
His identity as Remus Lupin, the quiet, studious boy who never
asserted his authority as prefect, might have given way to the view of
him as a werewolf, not a monster or even a part-human but a member of
a disadvantaged group being recruited by the DEs. It's like Ron's
sudden realization that Hermione is a girl, but not at all funny.

So while Lupin probably felt distanced from the former companions who
had once transformed themselves into animals to run with him at the
full moon but now lived very different lives from his, not sharing his
poverty or his struggle to support himself or the prejudice he faced,
Lupin would, being Lupin, have felt reluctant to express his feelings
to the others, especially if they involved any degree of jealousy or
resentment. If so, Sirius and the others might have noticed the change
in him and attributed it to something worse than its real cause, e.g.,
a temptation to desert the Order and join Voldemort as other
werewolves had (probably) done.

Clearly James and Sirius suspected him of being the traitor later on,
and that suspicion had to have some sort of basis, something more than
James's unwillingness to distrust Sirius or the supposed impossibility
that the traitor could be Peter. It must have originated in some
change in behavior by Remus himself, which was misunderstood by the
others. Also, the suspicion was in place as early as Harry's baptism,
fifteen months before Godric's Hollow, at which Lupin was
conspicuously not present, even as a witness. So I'm guessing that
James's and Sirius's mutual suspicion of Remus, whether or not they
sensed the alienation he must inevitably have felt under the
circumstances, is somehow related to the one thing that made him
conspicuously and irrevocably different from them, his being a werewolf.
 
His poverty, which also made him different, was caused by his being a
werewolf. That condition in essence ruled Lupin's life. (It does not,
IMO, make him a tragic character since it's not a flaw in his
character and we don't yet know his fate, but it makes him a
sympathetic one despite his personal weaknesses.) I also think that
Lupin's habitual tendency to secretiveness, which we see very clearly
in PoA and again in the Pensieve scene in OoP, may have played a role
in the misunderstanding. He kept his feelings to himself and paid the
penalty.

At any rate, I see a wedge driven between Sirius and Remus and between
Sirius and James during the years following Hogwarts that resulted in
Remus's exclusion from Harry's baptism. Other possible causes include
innuendoes from Peter about Remus's untrustworthiness (which might
well bring in the werewolf factor) or jealousy of James's continuing
closeness to Sirius even after James's marriage, which may have
affected his behavior toward them. But I don't think those things are
as important as his being a werewolf in making him a target of their
suspicion. 

I'm speculating on possible causes for that separation. I'd welcome
other speculations as well. We don't have much canon to base them on,
but we do have a pretty good idea of the character traits for at least
two of the young men involved, Sirius and Remus. And given Sirius's
arrogance toward Remus in the Pensieve scene, I think it's highly
unlikely that Remus would confide in him or that Sirius would reflect
thoughtfully on the changes he saw in Remus and ask him what was
wrong. Or am I misreading both of them?

Carol, noting that she mistyped Voldemort as "Voledmort" in the
subject heading for another thread and hoping that someone responding
to her post will correct the error