Maligning Lupin

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 149837

Christina:
> Sirius may have been a good wizard back in the day, but there wasn't 
> really any reason for him to brush up on his skills while moping 
> around GP - he wasn't supposed to leave the house.  And he obviously 
> *wasn't* the wizard he used to be, if he got hit square in the chest 
> in the DoM.

Pippin:
Sirius was still in the fight when trained aurors Alistor and Tonks
were down. I'd say he was giving a good account of himself.
 Sirius wasn't expecting an ambush by Lupin and wouldn't have seen 
what he was doing in time to save himself. That's why he was able to 
duck the first jet of light and not the second. IMO, of course.

Christina:
> I'm still unclear on just how Sirius living would have hurt Lupin.  
> If Sirius had inquired about the prophecy, Harry would have given 
> him the same answer DD gave Harry when he asked about it himself -
>  "It's fine, Sirius, DD was the one who heard it and he can remember 
> it."  Of course, ESE!Lupin would never have had a problem if he 
> just hadn't told Sirius about the prophecy in the first place, so 
> I'm a bit confused as to why he would have done so.

Pippin:
As for why Lupin told him, their whole relationship was based on 
shared secrets. 

But  Sirius blurted out his knowledge of the prophecy 
in front of a roomfull of  people. The cat was out of the bag as far
as he was concerned, He wouldn't see any reason not to explain why
he thought the prophecy had to be kept safe at the risk of Harry's life. 
If that idea came from Lupin, Lupin might find it difficult to account
for. 

> Christina:
> 
> In terms of Lupin's character, it isn't so much an objection to the 
> possibility that he could betray his friends.  I just don't see the 
> motivation.  I don't see Lupin's good time with his friends as 
> a "lark."  I see it as a young boy finally discovering the joys of 
> friendship and getting carried away with that.  
> 
> It isn't a matter of being for or against werewolf liberation.  Each 
> side of the war has a different view of what "werewolf liberation" 
> means.  For LV, it's giving the werewolves fresh meat and the 
> ability to get revenge on wizardfolk.  For Dumbledore, it's 
> providing the werewolves with education and jobs.  I think Lupin can 
> tell the difference. 

Pippin:
I don't think the werewolves are divided into good people and
Voldemort supporters.

In any case, Dumbledore hasn't been able to do much to provide the
werewolves with education and jobs. You're saying you don't
understand why a well-educated young man who has been
treated well by individuals but finds there's no hope of ever being
more than a second class citizen  would turn 
to terrorism, and I'm saying that's absolutely the history of 
terrorist groups. 

Cheerful and resigned to his lot is the Uncle Tom stereotype.
It's hollow and demeaning and I'll be surprised if JKR doesn't
point that out in the end.

Christina:
 Also, I don't think Lupin would be stupid 
> enough to fall for LV's claims of werewolf freedom when he's 
> advocating discrimination aganist Muggleborns.  

Pippin:
::shrug:: To paraphrase Arthur, when you're dealing with a witch 
like Umbridge, sometimes you have to join forces with people 
you'd rather avoid.

 The US supported Stalinist Russia during WWII. It
wasn't because all Americans thought Stalinism was a good idea.
But there were people, intelligent well-educated brilliant people,
who did think  Stalinism was a good idea, and spied for the Soviet 
Union, because they thought anyone who opposed Fascism couldn't 
be all bad. They told themselves what they were hearing about 
anti-Semitism, gulags and purges was lies.

Lupin was naive enough not to believe what he'd heard about Fenrir. 
Maybe he was naive enough not to believe what he'd heard about 
Voldemort too. He'd find out the truth, I expect, just as he 
eventually realized that James was a bully. We know what he did
about that. 


Christina:
> The bottom line for me, theoretically, is that ESE!Lupin completely 
> fails the litmus test I give to all theories - What questions does 
> this theory answer? 

Pippin:
Why did Snape enter the tunnel? Why was Snape so convinced
that Lupin was part of a plot to murder him?

How did Peter Pettigrew elude Albus Dumbledore, who
knew someone close to the Potters was  a spy? 

Why didn't James want Dumbledore to be his secret keeper?

Why did Sirius think that Lupin was the spy, and why
did James go along with not telling Lupin about the secret 
keeper switch?

Who sent the Lestranges after the Longbottoms?

Who killed the unicorns? Who was the stranger Hagrid met in the
Hogs Head?

Why couldn't JKR tell us why the diary plot  would have
made present day Voldemort stronger?

Why is there an anvil-sized  hint that Lupin is an occlumens?

Why was Lupin so willing to kill Peter Pettigrew, when it
is against the philosophy of the Order to kill DE's who
have given themselves up? Why does he show more 
emotion at the thought of losing Dumbledore's trust
than at killing a helpless man who is begging for his life?

Why does the  moon appear and disappear 
 *before* Lupin transforms? Why did JKR give an evasive
answer when asked whether Lupin transformed inside the shack?
She's usually  willing to admit it when she just flubbed up.

What drove Peter Pettigrew to return to Voldemort and
forced him to stay when he wavered in his loyalty?

How are Order members once again being picked off one by one?

And thematically the biggest mystery of all-- how do we 
tell when remorse is genuine?

The authors of the Talmud say that the true test of
remorse is when you face the same temptation and
don't repeat your sin. That sounds like a good test to me. 
So far, Lupin has failed.


Pippin