"You heard James?" (Was: Harry bezoared)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 93894

> Lynette wrote:
> Then I think of Lupin's remark in PoA. He said "you heard James?"
> (paraphrasing) to Harry during the patronus lesson.  Why?  He didn't
> question Harry's hearing Lily's scream. Does he know something about
> James yet to be told?
> 
> Carol wrote:
> I think this remark is one of our first clues that Lupin was a good
> friend of James's, a fact he's been concealing from Harry and now
has to partially admit. 
> 
> vmonte responds:
> Everyone knows that Lupin was friends with James -- why would he
hide that from Harry? <snip>


Carol again:
I'm not sure whom you mean by "everyone." Certainly the teachers know
it, but Harry doesn't find that out until he eavesdrops on the
conversation between McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, Fudge, and Madam
Rosmerta (what a motley crew!). Lupin, IMO, conceals his friendship
with James from Harry because it was also a friendship with Sirius,
whom Lupin at that time believes to be a traitor and a murderer, who
also happens (he thinks) to be after Harry. But once Lupin makes that
little slip, revealing that he knew James, he has to admit that he
also knew Sirius, and the walls of his secrecy start to crumble. (He's
still hiding the fact that he and his friends were illegal animagi
even from Dumbledore, and the fact that he's a werewolf from Harry and
all the other students.) So I still think that he was concealing his
friendship with James from Harry at that point in the story, and that
"You heard James?" was a slip. 

Harry responds by saying, "Why--you didn't know my dad, did you?" and
Lupin (realizing what he's said), stammers, "I--I did, as a matter of
fact. We were friends at Hogwarts." But then he hurriedly changes the
subject and starts making excuses to end the lesson. "Listen,
Harry--perhaps we should leave it here for tonight. This charm is
ridiculously advanced. . . . I shouldn't have suggested putting you
through this." it's only because Harry insists that they continue the
lesson. Then, as Harry's about to leave, Harry asks, "Professor Lupin?
If you knew my dad, you must have known Sirius Black as well. Lupin's
response is to ask *sharply* (JKR's word), "What gives you that idea?"
Clearly he is trying to cover up his former friendship with Sirius.
"Nothing," says Harry. "I mean, I just knew they were friends at
Hogwarts, too." Lupin, apparently relieved that Harry doesn't think
he's hiding or aiding Sirius, relaxes and says *shortly* (JKR's word),
"Yes, I knew him. Or thought I did." And he closes the discussion:
"You'd better be off, Harry., it's getting late." (PoA, Am. ed. 242-43).

This conversation indicates to me that Lupin was indeed concealing his
friendship with both James and Sirius from Harry up to that moment,
and he is revealing as little as possible about it even after he
accidentally lets the cat out of the bag. He could have said, "Yes,
Harry. Your father, Sirius, Peter Pettigrew, and I were a foursome at
Hogwarts. We were very close. I never dreamed that Sirius would betray
your father and end up killing Peter" (which is what Lupin believes at
that time). But he doesn't say anything of the sort. 

Why not? I think it's because he's afraid that Harry will associate
him with the "murderer" Sirius, a fear that's quickly eliminated by
this conversation, and he's afraid that his other secrets will be
discovered. So in Lupin's view, the less Harry knows, the better. He
later admits that he was one of the four makers of the Marauder's Map,
but it's only in the shrieking Shack scene, when Hermione confronts
him about being a werewolf and Sirius has convinced him that he's not
a murderer that he finally reveals the closeness of his relationship
and all the other secrets that he's been concealing from Harry PoA Am.
ed. 353).

Carol