Lupin and Legilimency: Why Wait to Reveal?

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 129877

Pippin:
> A proper red herring is part of the plot -- for example, we find out
> the reasons for Bagman's and Karkaroff's actions in GoF, we learn why
> Snape was following Harry around in PS/SS, we learn what Percy
> was up to in CoS and Hagrid in OOP.  But we don't have any answers 
> for Lupin  except the ones we've been making up ourselves.
> 
> It's very hard to reason against ESE!Lupin without calling on Flints
> and plotholes, isn't it? <veg>

Jen: HA! Ain't that the truth? ESE!Lupin is the most canon-tight, hard-
to-defend theory on the boards, IMO. Every defense has to work around 
the ambiguous charaterization of Lupin in POA, which was necessary for 
the plot but frustratingly circular for Lupin defenders. 

Now I do have to disagree with the idea there's been *no* resolution 
to the red-herring. That moment in the Shrieking Shack, when we think 
Snape was right, Lupin was helping Sirius into the castle, then oops! 
no, that's not quite right, then finallly we can affirm Peter is the 
villain in the plot--that's resolution.

But that scene didn't completely resolve the ambiguity around Lupin. 
In my own view, JKR sacrificed Lupin's characterization for Sirius in 
POA, and that's the bulk of the problem. Sirius had to be Good, he had 
to be redeemed. And therefore Lupin *had* to struggle with not turning 
him in, had to act the part of the coward, had to waffle, baffle, etc. 
And really there's a certain symmetry to that. Just as Lupin in 
Potterverse is sacrificed by his friends and the community at large 
for selfish pursuits, JKR is guilty of the same darn thing! It's 
fitting, really.

Betsy brought up the interesting point that Lupin didn't actually want 
to walk down memory lane. I love that perspective. That does throw a 
different light on the matter, on how he interacts with Harry, how he 
struggles with himself over Sirius, how he struggles with 'doing the 
right thing' to please DD when actually *Lupin's* the one doing DD a 
favor! That resolves some of the ambiguous characterization for me and 
fits with Lupin's life, as someone who struggles constantly for mere 
survival unlike most of the other characters he associates with.

Jen, still laughing at Betsy calling Lupin a bad ass and thinking 
maybe she'll upgrade her own view of Lupin to a bad-ass huggybunny.