Subject: Re: Let's talk about Lupin - True Love at Last?

[xcpublishing]

No: HPFGUIDX 146169

Lupinlore writes:
>>I'd say a "narrative afterthought" is a wonderful way to describe 
it.  It seems that JKR late in the game decided "what the 
hey, I'll give 'em something they'll like.  Let's do the Remus/Tonks 
thing!"  She wrote the last scene, went back and salted a few clues 
in here and there in the earlier chapters, and there you have it!  A 
nice, neat, popular ship inserted as an afterthought with little or 
no build up and an extremely corny pay-off.

That's exactly what I thought when I read it!  JKR had a nice, easy 
way to stop some of the Lupin craziness flying around online that she 
was likely getting very tired of:  Lupin was in love with Sirius.  
Lupin was in love with Lily.  Lupin was in love with James.  Lupin 
was in love with Hermione's cat.  I always felt the whole Tonks/Lupin 
thing was contrived.  When Harry stumbled upon Tonks wandering the 
halls of Hogwarts, I thought, "Aha!  What is she doing there at 
Hogwarts?  Why is she acting so weird?  I know!  It isn't her!  It's 
someone using Polymorph potion!  But who?  And why?"  Imagine my 
utter disgust when it turned out to actually be Tonks moping about 
Hogwarts to drum up sympathy for her unrequited love for Lupin.  I'm 
thinking, who at Hogwarts even wants to listen to her whine about 
it?  Dumbledore?  He's busy.  McGonagal?  She doesn't have the 
patience for that.  Hagrid?  I suppose, but she'd have to listen to 
him talk about his latest horrific pet in return.  Not worth it.  
Then who?  Frankly, it has always bugged me that Tonks was at 
Hogwarts lurking near the Room of Requirement and I never accepted 
JKR's pat explanation.  I keep hoping there is a better reason.  I 
did feel a lot of Order of the Phoenix was written to shut down 
rumors.  The whole Ginny/Harry thing was another wrap-up to stave off 
the hoards of Harry loves "X" rumors.  I think the Fleur/Bill 
storyline was another to clamp down on the Fleur questions.

Nicky Joe