Werewolf Mystery

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 153724

Lanval: 
> In common werewolf folklore, werewolves attack to _kill_, and 
> occasionally, if a victim manages to escape and survive 
> the wounds, this person will then become a werewolf also. At least 
> that's the impression I've always had. 
> 
> Now along comes this explanation. For a simple mistake, it's too long 
> and detailed. It plainly raises some questions, however. 
> 
> If werewolves do NOT as a rule attack to kill (note that Harry 
> is 'shocked' at the idea), then the entire story about Snape owing a 
> life debt to James falls apart. Snape's life 'may' still have been in 
> danger, but if most of Greyback's little victims -- unarmed, 
> untrained, unaware and fragile-- survive, and are in fact _expected_ 
> to survive... then surely a sixteen year old wizard, armed with a 
> wand and an astounding knowledge of spells for his age, who quite 
> possibly knew what he was about to face, shouldn't have much to fear?

Pippin:
I think the werewolves are under no magical compulsion to eat people,
but will eat people or anything else if they happen to be hungry. In PoA,
Hagrid worries that Lupin might have attacked Buckbeak, "but Lupin
says he never ate anythin' last night." (ch 22)

Lupin says in HBP that his people steal, and sometimes kill, to eat. I
thought he was talking about victims accidentally killed in the course
of a robbery, but it's also possible that starving werewolves "get
carried away" not by magic but by hunger. 

Since Snape believes that Lupin was in on the "joke" and its purpose
was to kill him, he could assume  that Lupin made sure to be 
hungry that night. 

There is another alternative. We don't know how soon the first bite 
takes effect. It doesn't sound as though a bitten person transforms 
immediately. Perhaps wizards consider the honorable thing to do if 
bitten by a werewolf is to fight it to the death. Dumbledore is 
certainly very clear that Snape was in peril of his life. 

Lupin suffers when transformed from the urge to bite and scratch
himself if he is deprived of humans. The potion alleviates this
and allows him to keep his human mind. Of course we should
not forget that human minds are  capable of evil to a far greater
extent than any wolf :)

Pippin