Lupin and Legilimency: Why Wait to Reveal?

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 129854

>>Ginger, who thinks Lupin is a huggybunny.<

>>Pippin:
>Huggybunny my foot.<
<snip>

Betsy Hp:
Agreed.  I don't think Lupin is ESE, but he *is* a bad-ass.  
Probably one of the tougher wizards Harry has met, and his mild meek 
manner is all part of the act.

[fyi - I've re-ordered some of Pippin's questions where I wanted to 
answer a few at once.]

>>Pippin: 
>Why does Lupin seem unaffected by the dementor on the train?<

Betsy Hp:
Because he's a bad-ass. <bg>  Seriously, Lupin does his old "shucks 
ma'm twernt nothin'" act, but he is able to teach Harry about 
repelling dementors because he really *is* that good at DADA.  He 
knows what dementors are and he was able to prepare himself for its 
attack.

>>Pippin:
>What was Lupin doing for twelve years between GH and Book Three?
>Why does Lupin's case say "Professor R. J. Lupin" in peeling gold 
letters, if he's never had paid work?<

Betsy Hp:
I love the idea of Lupin spying - probably out of country.  And he 
*must* have had some sort of teaching experience.  Not just because 
of his suitcase label but also because he's so at ease in the 
classroom.  I like the idea that Dumbledore brings him back 
specifically because of Sirius and that Lupin is not all that 
thrilled to be walking down memory lane.  (Hence his reluctance to 
talk to Harry about his parents.)

>>Pippin:
>What's so funny about a cockroach?
>Is his boggart really a full moon or does the "silvery orb" 
represent something else?<

Betsy Hp:
I think his boggart is the moon, and my out on a limb thought about 
the cockroach is that it's actually a scarab (according to Egyption 
myth, didn't scarabs push the sun across the sky)?  The one flaw in 
this theory is that JKR doesn't *suggest* that the moon turns into a 
cockroach, she out and out states that it turns into a cockroach.  
But I go against all reason and stick with my scarab theory. (Maybe 
Lupin's been doing work in Egypt?) 

>>Pippin:
>Why is he afraid of  Trelawney?
>Why is Lupin absent on Christmas day in PoA when it shouldn't be 
full moon yet?<

Betsy Hp:
Here's another out on a limb idea:  What if Lupin is married?  Maybe 
he went to spend Christmas with his wife and he avoids Trelawney 
because his wife is a bit of a secret (no idea why) and he's afraid 
he might let something slip while repelling her advances?

Or, he avoids Trelawney because she's annoying, and he spent 
Christmas day with his folks (since he hasn't seen them for so long, 
being out of country and all).  I like this better because I do 
admit I like the idea of Sirius/Remus being JKR's little subversive 
addition to her tale.

>>Pippin:
>How predictable is the period of transformation?
>If it's not predictable, how could the prank work?<

Betsy Hp:
I recall there was a really indepth discussion on this list a while 
back (one of many I assume) about Lupin transforming only when hit 
by the rays of the moon.  I honestly think that was a bit of a Flint 
or poetic license on JKR's part (i.e. the moon just happened to rise 
at the exact same moment the clouds cleared).  But despite the 
problems raised by that scene, I believe the transformation *is* 
predictable.  I don't think Lupin could have attended Hogwarts 
otherwise.  It would have also been hard for his friends to know 
when and how to show up at the Shack, and it would have made the 
Prank very difficult to pull off.

>>Pippin:
>Why did Snape think Lupin was in on the prank?
>Why isn't Lupin in any of Harry's photos?
>Why wasn't Lupin at Harry's christening?<

Betsy Hp:
I wonder if part of the reason for the break of trust between Potter 
and Lupin and Black isn't *because* of the Prank?  After all, Sirius 
came very close to turning Lupin into a murderer and a cannibal.  At 
the very least Sirius showed a breath taking lack of respect for 
Lupin.  If there was a break between Lupin and Sirius over the prank 
I imagine James would side with Sirius (in the pensieve scene, their 
relationship seemed the core of the group) and Peter seemed primed 
to go wherever James went.  Which would explain why Lupin doesn't 
show up in any of the pictures of James and Lily.  I feel like they 
start dating after the prank, and at that point Lupin might not have 
been part of the group.

I wonder if Lupin had a hard time forgiving Sirius for the prank?  
So maybe it wasn't that James and Sirius and Peter moved away from 
him, but he moved away from them.

As to Snape, well he was very much on the outside looking in.  Lupin 
was the quiet one to begin with.  (The fact that Lupin gets the 
prefect job suggests that he didn't get caught in Maurader 
adventures very often.)  And Snape and the Mauraders may well have 
stopped having anything to do with each other after the prank.  So 
if there was a cooling of friendship occuring, Snape may well have 
missed it.

>>Pippin:
>What is Lupin doing for the Order?<

Betsy Hp:
He's at Grimmauld Place often enough that I doubt he's doing as much 
out of country work as before (I state like we know for sure that's 
what he was doing in the first place <g>).  And he approaches that 
newly formed werewolf when everyone's visiting Arthur Weasley.  So 
Lupin might be working on recruiting so-called "dark" creatures to 
the Order's side. 

>>Pippin:
>When Lupin leapt between Harry and Malfoy at the ministry battle, 
why didn't Malfoy curse him?<

Betsy Hp:
Maybe Lupin threw a hex of his own?  Or maybe he raised a shield?  
Harry doesn't stick around long enough to find out really.  He turns 
his attention onto Neville almost immediately.  Also, if Lupin was a 
spy for Voldemort, and if Malfoy knew about it (or even if Lupin was 
Malfoy's spy), wouldn't it seem suspicious to *not* strike at him?  
Especially since Lupin is *directly* interfering with Malfoy's 
attempt to get the prophecy.  If Lupin was a spy wouldn't it have 
made more sense for him to hold back for just the few seconds it 
would have taken for Malfoy to accio the prophecy? 

And here's the number one reason I hope that Lupin is not ESE.  
Snape.  I don't know if everyone's picked up on this, but I kinda 
dig Snape and would very much like to see him survive and thrive at 
the end of the series.  Amandageist predicted that Snape would die 
by series end (see message here:   
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/129605 ) because 
he's trapped in the past.  This particular prediction made me cry, 
because it does make sense.  However, if Snape is able to let go of 
his past and move on, then the chances of his survival would, I 
think, start to raise.  And I think Lupin could be a key element in 
Snape finally laying the old demons of his childhood to rests.  But 
I don't think that could work if Lupin is ESE.

Betsy Hp