Lupin is worse was 'Re: Are there no depths

[elfundeb2]

No: HPFGUIDX 99553

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "pippin_999" <foxmoth at q...> 
wrote:
Pippin:

> *Finally!!!!* Somebody gets it!  ::blushes:: er, yes. If Lupin 
were 
> tricked  or blackmailed or jinxed into serving Lord Voldemort, 
> how would he get out of it, given how weak and afraid he is?
> Would he tell the truth to  Dumbledore?
> 
>  Or would he find an excuse not to tell...continue to serve the 
> Dark Lord in secret, hoping against hope that Voldemort would 
> overreach himself in the end. 

 
I agree that Lupin's flaw is quite dangerous, possibly more so than 
his disease, as there's a limit to how much killing he could do in 
one full moon, but his silence endangers many.  The trouble I have 
with Pippin's scenario, though, is that Lupin's sins are sins of 
inaction which he rationalized to himself (e.g., "I convinced myself 
that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned 
from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it"), 
whereas serving the Dark Lord would require positive betrayal. 
Inaction is easy -- and reversible at any time -- but succumbing to 
blackmail is a big step further than we have seen Lupin go to 
protect himself.  He's seen the effects of Pettigrew's betrayal; why 
would he follow that same path?  And how would this advance the 
story?  

Moreover, if Lupin were jinxed, or imperio'd into doing Voldemort's 
bidding, I'm not sure I see how Voldemort could use that fact to 
coerce further support.  The WW is full of respectable wizards and 
witches who acted -- or claim to have acted -- under a curse.  
Remember Hagrid telling Harry that on Voldemort's fall "People who 
was on his side came back ter ours.  Some of 'em came outta kinda 
trances."  We also have Imperius!Arthur theories on this list, but 
no one talks of betrayal.

One more point.  Lupin's biggest failure to act, IMO, was not 
telling Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus during PoA.  However, 
Dumbledore did not reject him because of this failure.  In fact, 
Dumbledore specifically mentions Lupin when he calls for Sirius to 
round up the old crowd at the end of GoF.  I expect he'll remember 
that if Voldemort does come calling.

Justine wrote:

> Remus is the wizarding world's version of a child who has been 
given a blood transfusion and has contracted AIDS, especially when 
thinking of the 80s when so many were afraid to even be in a room 
with someone who had it.  Wouldn't turning Remus into a traitor 
equal telling these children that such reactions are acceptable and 
even right?
>  
I think the most apt analogy is mental illness.  They are similar in 
the public reaction they elicit, but mentally ill persons can be 
uncontrollably dangerous to themselves as well as others.  And 
though mental illness often can be controlled with medication, the 
medication can have side effects (recall how ill Lupin seems around 
the full moon) and a mentally ill person who forgets his medication  
can become quite dangerous.  But such people are uncontrollably 
dangerous.  They don't make a conscious choice to hurt others.  Nor 
does Lupin.

> Pippin
> who has been saying that Lupin is definitely dodgy since post 
> 39362

Debbie
who has been defending Lupin against ESE charges since post 39964