Lupin, Snape and Potions (was Re: Is Snape really THAT good in Potions?(

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 119573


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "potioncat" 
<willsonkmom at m...> wrote:

> Neri:
> snip 
> > It is reasonable to suppose that Lupin completed a Potions 
NEWT  with  a good grade: he is intelligent, was probably a good 
student (a  prefect and a "good boy" who started studying for the 
 Transfiguration  OWL minutes after getting out of the DADA 
exam) and he had a strong  study group. He also has the 
disposition for Potions: quiet,  patient,  subtle and motivated. In 
fact, in the Pensive scene 15 yrs old  Remus  seems to be more 
patient and subtle than 15 yrs old Severus. For  all  we know, he 
could have got a better grade in his Potions NEWT than  Snape 
did.
> 
> Potioncat:
> I don't think it is reasonable to think Lupin took Potions after 
OWL  level.  I don't doubt that if he did take it, he did well at it.
  
But I don't think we have any idea what he took.  No, I take that 
 back.  I'll bet he took DADA.  I think he took Charms and 
Transfigurations.  I'm basing that on what I think we've see him 
doing at Hogwarts and at GP. 
> 
> I would bet that neither James nor Sirius took Potions and that 
in  itself may have kept Remus out of it.  Or he may have avoided 
 Potions to avoid Severus. <

Pippin:
Or Severus took NEWT potions to avoid Remus, Sirius and 
James. I think I have found additional reason to think Lupin 
would have a problem with  potions. Snape coments on his lack 
of organization.  If true, that would make Lupin a poor potion 
maker. There's certainly independent evidence of 
disorganized!Lupin in canon--the whole fiasco at the end of PoA. 
Even if you believe that Lupin didn't *actually* forget to take his 
potion and keep track of when he was going to transform,  his 
lack of organization is what makes it credible that he might have 
done so.

 There's also the problem that  polyjuice, for example,  requires 
ingredients picked at the full moon and veritaserum requires 
tending for a full moon cycle. Lupin's illness would make him 
unsuited for a job that required him to make such potions, so 
why take the course?

I also have the feeling that the potions curriculum is becoming 
obsolete and that is one of the reasons Snape keeps angling for 
the DADA job. In  pre-industrial times, many households made 
their own preparations: soaps, dyes, pickles, medicines and of 
course beverages. Nowadays  they're all available commercially 
and only hobbyists and professionals need learn the details of 
how they're made.

 Skele-Gro, Mrs.Skours, and Sleek-easy all seem to be brand 
names, so a similar development could be occuring in the WW. 
It could be that the Marauders saw no reason to bother with the 
subject, unless they were planning to be Aurors or Healers, and 
there's no canon for that. If James had been an Auror, surely 
someone would have mentioned it to Harry by now.

Pippin