Lupin in Book 7 (Re: The co-protagonists and minor characters...)

[spotsgal]

No: HPFGUIDX 142729

> Jen: 
> Harry will gladly hand over the house to Lupin and Tonks 
> permanently if they'll accept it.

Christina:

SO GLAD somebody brought up Lupin specifically.  I actually think that
he would see 12GP in much the same way Harry would.  I think he'd be
too reminded of the time he spent there with depressed!Sirius.


Jen:
> Why else did JKR leave the last Marauder standing if not to help 
> bridge the gap between the past Harry is finally exploring and the 
> onerous task he has left to accomplish?

Christina:

When asked whether JKR would write a "prequel" series about the
Marauders, she said no because after this series is done, we'll know
everything there is to know about them.  I am convinced that Lupin
will be playing a role in relaying this information (because really,
who else can?).

Jen:
> I expected to see 
> this relationship develop in HBP, then realized it made perfect 
> sense to shunt him off to the werewolf camp with nary a letter, so 
> Harry could focus on Dumbledore bonding.

Christina:

Ditto.  While I was reading, I kept saying "where the heck is Lupin?"
but by the end it made a bit of sense.  The werewolf thing seemed
super plot device-y.  I think that keeping Lupin away from Harry in
HBP served two purposes: an opening for Harry to get much closer to
Dumbledore, and it separated Harry from somebody that knows a *lot*
about his past that he (and we) aren't allowed to know about yet.

Jen:
> There's so much Lupin can do for himself and Harry in this one *Rubs 
> hands togther with anticipation*. For starters, he could go to 
> Godric's Hollow with Harry, to put his own ghosts to rest as well as 
> fill Harry in on vital information such as why Sirius/James 
> suspected him to be the spy, Lily's and James' funeral, and perhaps 
> even give us the final piece of information JKR promised about the 
> Prank.

Christina:

YES.  There's no way Harry can go to GH alone (he doesn't know his way
around, and it's much too dangerous), and I think that it would be
awkward and out-of-place for Hermione and Ron to be there with him. 
Putting Harry and Lupin together for GH could kill about a billion
birds with one stone, which is attractive considering how much needs
to be packed into book seven.  I see Lupin as the most tragic figure
of the entire series (sorry, Harry), and I'd love to see him lay his
demons to rest.  I think that facing GH together would be a nice
bridging of the two generations.  Talking about James seemed to cheer
Lupin up in HBP, so I think he would be very receptive to Harry's
questions about his folks.  I also think that Lupin will want to take
more responsibility for Harry now that both Sirius and Dumbledore are
dead (I think he would have done so in HBP had he not been shipped off
to the werewolves).

> Jen:
> I'm waiting for Lupin to reveal himself as a Legilimens & find out 
> how that figures into the plot <snips examples>

I agree, and I think there are tons of instances in which Lupin seems
to be a bit extra-perceptive.  I wish we knew whether Legilimency was
more a learned skill or a natural talent that can be developed.

> Jen:
> I *think* his skill will help Harry understand the scar connection 
> and perhaps, as we debated in the possession thread, any other 
> powers Voldemort transferred to Harry such as possession and/or 
> legilimency.

Christina:

I've never thought of that before, and I like it because I feel like
Harry still doesn't have enough information to know what to do when
the "final showdown" occurs.

> Jen:
> ...and why he had that battered case for his 'first' teaching gig, 
> while JKR is at it.

Christina:

I've been wondering that for a long time.  Why bother to have him have
a case with his name on it all?  Was it really necessary to the plot?
 It has to have some sort of significance, although I think this bit
of backstory might be type of thing JKR will feed us after all of the
books are finished.  I figure she has some kind of cute little story
about it that won't make it into the books (it's a really battered
case- maybe the Marauders gave it to him long ago as a sort of funny
gift?).


> Jen:
> Oh, and finally, Lily. I was so hoping a woman friend would fill us 
> in on her, but they all seem to be dead or insane at the moment :(

Christina:

When Slughorn first mentioned her, I said to myself, "finally!" but
not much came out of that, which only reinforces the idea that there
are Super Top Secret things about Lily that we can't know until the
seventh book.

> Jen:
> Nope, Lupin will be the one--I'm convinced after JKR made the 
> comment "Lupin was very fond of Lily, we'll put it like that, but I 
> wouldn't want anyone to run around thinking that he competed with 
> James for her."

Christina:

Lupin and Lily were prefects together before she started to date
James.  Lupin is polite, unassuming, and puts time into his studies,
and I definitely could see why Lily would like him (I can just see her
running into Lupin in the library or after a meeting or something and
saying, "You're such a decent person, Remus, why do you run about with
those arrogant bullies?").  


> Jen:
> Yep, Lupin loved Lily I think, although in a very platonic way. It 
> wouldn't surprise me to find out he was 'that awful boy' Petunia 
> referred to, visiting Lily over summers as a friend before she and 
> James got together.

Christina

I agree on the platonic love part, but I'm actually convinced that the
"awful boy" was Snape, just because I have difficulty accepting
Petunia describing any of the Marauders in that particular way.  Even
Lupin is so civil and polite that I think Petunia would have chosen
some other sort of adjective.  I think that Snape, with his long
greasy hair and rough edges, would be much more likely to be described
as "awful."  And I think that he would probably be the one who would
actually know about Dementors.


Christina