Nitwit? - Remus John Lupin

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 167985

> 
> Alla:
> 
> What I said was that I saw nothing of Lupin **arranging** for Snape 
> to be publicly humiliated and I stand by this intepretation.

Pippin:
Lupin  suggested the means by which boggart Snape could be ridiculed,
and then had Neville demonstrate this for the class. Sounds like an
arrangement to me. You might as well say that Bella didn't arrange
to attack Sirius, she just thought it was the best way to get the
prophecy.

Alla:
I  believe Lupin chose the way that worked better for Nevile. He 
> managed to make him laugh at greasy bastard, good for Neville I 
> would say.

Pippin:
But it wasn't good for Neville. Fun for the readers, a laugh for
three fourths of the school, but not for Neville. He ended up being 
bullied worse than ever, meaning there wasn't any real boost in 
his confidence. 

Anyway, why should Lupin be so interested in what's good for
Neville when he's not interested in what's good for Hermione,
who never learned to fight her boggart at all, or for Harry, who
left the lesson feeling  humiliated that he wasn't thought capable
of facing a boggart? Guilty conscience, maybe?
 
> Alla:
> 
> Actually I saw **a lot** of similarities between how Mcgonagall 
> dealt with Harry's fears after Trelawney's predictions. Sure, she 
> **said** that she does not speak bad of her colleagues, but  IMO the 
> way she talked about Trelawney's predictions was indeed rather 
> subtle or maybe not so subtle way of speaking bad of her colleague, 
> who I maintain deserved that. 

Pippin:
It wasn't only subtle, it was mild. Even Lavender and Parvati didn't
find anything to complain about. What could they say..."McGonagall
is so mean, she refused to say anything bad about Trelawney but
you could just tell she really can't stand her." Hardly something that
would have "traveled through the school like wildfire". And 
McGonagall also let  Harry know that Trelawney's  scariness need not
to be taken seriously, something Lupin did *not* do with Neville. There
was no hint that the real Snape need not be feared so much.

> Pippin: 
> > Lupin might have dealt with Neville's loss of confidence in
> > a similar way, and arranged for Neville to deal with his 
> > boggart privately, as he did for Harry (but not for Hermione,
> > who flubs her exam thereby.)
> 
> Alla:
> Eh, he might have been of course, but why should he? 

Pippin:
Besides the plain fact that canon indicates that humiliating 
people in public is *wrong*,  it increased the tension between 
the Houses, it got Neville bullied worse than ever, and it
wasn't very kind to Grandma Longbottom either. It's just
seems typical Lupin -- thoughtless, carried away by his own 
cleverness and not really caring for anyone's welfare as
long as he makes himself popular with the people he wants
to accept him. It might be forgiveable in a boy of sixteen, but
Lupin is supposed to be in his thirties here. 

> Alla:
> 
> Why? Because she did not say I want Lupin as if he existed in ou 
> world teaching my daughter. Because I do not see her imagining that 
> the character  who went evil for any reasons would teach her 
> daughter. Social pressure, whatever, any reason IMO.

Pippin:
Then I think you might be missing the whole point of someone
who has links to Amnesty International on her website. We 
wouldn't need civil rights if we were all like Harry. But in the
real world, if those rights aren't defended, anyone, any
ordinary person, might succumb to those pressures, IMO.
 
That is why Dumbledore says it's such a wonder that Harry hasn't. 
He's unusual.  He's not only virtuous, he's *lucky*. If he was the 
standard, then there probably wouldn't be anyone available to 
teach  JKR's daughter, because people like that are *rare*. Do
you think Jessica's teachers in real life are all saints or something?
<g>

JKR gave Lupin the teaching skills and the style that she admires,
*that*'s why she would like him to teach her daughter, IMO.
And where could that happen, except in our world? I'm sure 
JKR is not wishing her daughter were fictional!

Pippin