Lupin's resignation and the legacy of hate

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 99702

Irene wrote:

> >I'm rereading the PoA (to get the last uncontaminated joy :-) ),
> and I noticed something for the first time:
> Lupin gives two completely different resignation stories to Hagrid 
and 
> to Harry.
> It seems that to Hagrid Lupin presented it as his own noble  
decision -
> can't risk it happening again.

That's reading a lot into one line.  We only know one thing that 
Lupin told Hagrid.  He might have said a great deal more, but Hagrid 
quotes only this bit.  

> But talking to Harry, it's all Snape's 
> fault. He even chooses the motive for Snape - as ugly as possible, 
of 
> course. How does Lupin know that order of Merlin was the last 
straw for 
> Snape, not the fact that he forgot his potion? It seemed like 
throughout 
> the school year Snape  stopped just short of spoon-feeding this  
potion 
> to Lupin. 

Yeah, that would drive me crazy if I were Lupin.  I hate being 
nagged.  I'm also a nag, though.  That must be why I relate to both 
Snape and Lupin in the hovering-around-waiting-for-him-to-take-his-
potion scene.

>As good a foundation for the last straw as anything.

You are right that Lupin can only speculate about Snape's motives.  
Considering the context, though, he's being pretty damn calm.  Snape 
informed students of something that Dumbledore, as well as Lupin, 
wanted kept quiet.  Whether Lupin would have resigned without this 
scandal, we can't know; but Snape robbed him of the chance to leave 
with dignity and for a noble reason.  Instead, he forced both 
Dumbledore and Lupin into Lupin's resigning.

If I may do some speculating myself, Snape's obviously been dying to 
do this all year--he argued against Dumbledore's hiring him in the 
first place; brought out his I-told-you-so's when Sirius got into 
the castle; and, when he arrested Lupin, relished being able to 
prove to AD what a big mistake he'd made (and incidentally, 
committing an extralegal worse-than-murder along the way).  

In some ways, as Lupin says, Snape is right; Lupin bears some 
responsibility for Sirius's getting into the castle.  But if Snape 
can be forgiven for so drastically failing to trust Dumbledore (a 
rare event, and I do find it forgiveable*), surely Lupin can be 
forgiven for being just a bit snippy toward Snape the morning he's 
gotten him sacked from the only decent job he's been able to get, or 
is likely to get. 

Amy Z

*I don't forgive the threat of siccing the Dementors on him, 
though.  I can only hope that Snape was just trying to scare Lupin 
with that "perhaps the Dementors will have a kiss for him, too" 
remark and never really intended to do it.  To actually do it would 
truly have been letting an old hatred drive him to a horrific crime.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done," Harry said fervently.