/ESE!lupin questions (long)

[spotsgal]

No: HPFGUIDX 146134

> Sherry now:
> i think the answer to how Sirius and Lupin knew the prophecy is so 
> obvious and easy to understand.  I believe Alla mentioned it last 
> night, but i will again.  i am sure that James and Lily would have 
> told Sirius about the prophecy.  possibly Lupin as well.  We don't 
> know if the potters suspected Lupin, only that Sirius did.

Christina:

You're absolutely right; even if the Potters did suspect Lupin, once
Voldemort's special interest in the Potters surfaced, it probably took
the Order a little while to even suspect a traitor.  In that amount of
time, the Potters would be hopping from place to place without yet
realizing that somebody within the Order was betraying them.


> > Pippin:
> > I think at the heart of things is a choice Harry will make: to 
> > recognize that a person he likes as much as Lupin could fall into 
> > evil, along with a choice to recognize that a person he hates as 
> > much as Snape could turn to good.
 
> Christina:
> I have similar thoughts to yours, but I think that Harry must learn
> that even people who are nice can do bad things, while people who 
> are mean can do good things.  Snape comes in as an example for the 
> latter (IMO), while examples from the former include pretty much all
> of our good guys (James comes to mind as a biggie).
 
> sherry now:
> I don't think Harry needs to learn that lesson again.  He's already
> been betrayed by people he liked or trusted.

Christina:

Precisely.  There's no need to belabor the point just to torture Harry
a bit more.

> Sherry:
> On a purely emotional level, i can't stand the idea of Harry's last
> connection to his parents and Sirius turning out to be evil.

Christina:

I couldn't agree more, but I think there are also huge practical
reasons why Good!Lupin is important.  Lupin is Harry's last remaining
link to his parents, like you said.  He has shown a willingness to
talk about James, and when he tells Harry about his father in HBP, it
actually seems to cheer Lupin up.  The fact that there's quite a bit
of information missing about the Potters (particularly Lily), and
JKR's brush-aside of Lupin in HBP leads me to suspect that it'll be
Lupin that will fill in the details that Harry needs to know.  Unless
some mysterious best friend of Lily's comes out of the woodwork at the
eleventh hour, Lupin is probably the one still alive who knew her best
(not counting possibly Peter or Snape, but they aren't in any position
to impart information of that sort to Harry).  Lupin is somebody that
Harry likes and trusts.  He is also accessible to Harry.  ESE!Lupin
basically renders this connection useless, and destroys the most
direct way for Harry to learn about his parents.  The book can't be
2,000 pages.  Harry has to get the information he needs as fast as
possible.  Also, Sirius.  JKR keeps telling us that we'll learn more
about Sirius-related things (she's even promised to tell us what's
happened to his motorbike).  The mirror will probably return, and if
Regulus Black is RAB, then Sirius will play a heavy (if absent) role
in Book 7.  Who, that is still alive, had a close relationship with
Sirius?  Lupin, of course!  He is a virtual fountain of information.

Not to mention that Lupin is, like Hermione, an unbiased, fair figure.
 If Snape is DDM, then somebody has to convince Harry to trust him
again.  He's also an extremely talented wizard and a cool head in a
fight.  If Harry decides to go to Godric's Hollow, I'd say that Lupin
would also be the perfect person to go with him.  Thematically, Lupin
and Harry are very similar, and it would be nice to see them lay their
ghosts to rest together.

Again, book seven has a definite length, and JKR has a *ton* of
plotlines to wrap up.  I just don't think there's enough time to throw
Lupin into the bad guy pot.  We already have the is-he-good/is-he-bad
character in Snape; I honestly don't think we'll get blindsided by yet
another person popping up ESE.

> Sherry:
> When the war is over and Voldemort vanquished, i want Harry to be 
> able to listen to Marauder stories and stories of his parents life 
> together, his months of life before Voldemort killed his parents.
> For even deeper emotional reasons, because of the resonance with
> which the marauders story touched my heart, I want there to be one 
> marauder still standing at the end.  Standing and happy at last, 
> standing for James and lily and Sirius.  Harry needs that, i think.
 > he doesn't need anymore betrayals.  

Christina:

I love the story of the Marauders too, but I've always thought that
all of James's contemporaries (Peter, Snape, and Lupin are left) would
have to die in order to bring the story to a smooth close.  There is
so much emphasis on the past that I've always felt that each person
from the previous generation needs to serve their purpose and then
die, so that Harry's generation can emerge and stand on its own.  I've
always liked the idea of *Harry* being the last Marauder standing. 
However, really thinking about Lupin dying makes me sniffly, so maybe
I'll convert to your side.  With the whole Lupin/Tonks storyline in
HBP, I now doubt JKR will kill him off anyway.  And if anybody
deserves a spot of happiness in the wizarding world, it's Lupin.

And, what are the odds that there were TWO traitors among the
Marauders?  I mean, please.  Half of the group betrayed the good side?
 In my mind, the traitor!Marauder storyling is a been-there-done-that.

Christina