The co-protagonists and minor characters in Book 7

[lucianam73]

No: HPFGUIDX 143035

> Lucianam:
(snipped almost everything)
> > I'd also like to know why Lupin chose Defense. 
> 
> MercuryBlue:
(snipped)
> Lupin didn't choose squat.
> 
> Dumbledore needed a Defense teacher. More to the point, Dumbledore 
> needed someone who was familiar enough with a certain recently-
> escaped mad mass murderer to be able to predict his moves and plug 
> any holes in the wards that he might be able to use to get at a 
> certain thirteen-year-old. And there was Remus Lupin, old school 
> friend of Black's, knew him very well...also conveniently 
> unemployed. Well, let's solve two problems at once: give Remus the 
> Defense position!

Lucianam:

That's an interesting idea, but I'm under the impression that was 
very unlikely to have happened. I figured, from Dumbledore's answers 
to Snape (when he said he suspected Lupin of helping Black), that he 
regarded Lupin just as any other teacher at Hogwarts. No more 
suspicious, no less. If he didn't see Remus as a possible spy, I 
think he didn't see him as possible help against Black breaking into 
Hogwarts, either. At least I never saw any hints of that in PoA. I 
didn't see Lupin giving Dumbledore any special help.

 
> MercuryBlue also wrote:
(snipped)
> And, had Remus decided on his own to become a 
> teacher, somehow I doubt he would have chosen Defense. He did know 
> he would be chased out of the school the minute it became public 
> knowledge that he was a werewolf, and werewolves are, after all, 
on 
> the Defense curriculum.
 
Lucianam:

But how did Lupin become a DADA teacher if he didn't choose to be 
one? A person doesn't suddenly 'become' a teacher, whatever subject 
they're teaching, they need years of study and preparation. I 
suppose they have to go through examinations, too, so they can prove 
their proficiency. There's a syllabus to be followed, the kids have 
books, there are O.W.L.S. in 5th year... It'd be a very weird 
arrangement if just any person who Dumbledore thought 'useful' at 
Hogwarts, in a given moment (and I don't even agree with this 
particular idea of yours) could teach the students.

Lupin was presented as a capable teacher. He was presented 
as 'professor' since we met him (Professor R.J.Lupin, written in his 
case). I don't see any good reasons to think he didn't study to be 
DADA teacher. Unless you are assuming a wizarding teacher studies 
all subjects, Charms, Transfigurations, etc and they take the job 
they're offered? That'd be reasonable. I wish JKR would explain this 
further. Actually we have Snape's example, he's both a Potions and 
DADA teacher.

All subjects seem a little too much. Maybe Snape was a special case, 
or maybe a teacher will choose two or three subjects he or she likes 
and specialize in them. If that's the case, the fact remains that 
Lupin still is a very, very good DADA teacher, and therefore he must 
have studied the subject very hard. He certainly seemed to like 
teaching it.

Lucianam

Lucianam