Father Figures

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 164781

Debbie:
<snip> 
> Lupin's avoidance of that role [father figure] is consistent with
his overall portrayal.  He is an example of a good person whose
affliction and status as victim has affected him to the point of near
paralysis.  He has absorbed the WW's fear of werewolves and turned it
into a form of self-loathing, so that *he* believes he is unsuited to
teach at Hogwarts.

Carol responds:
Considering that he "forgot" to take his potion, endangered three
students by transforming in their presence on a full-moon night,
failed to tell Dumbledore how Sirius Black could get into the castle
even after Black had slashed up the Fat Lady's painting and terrified
Ron with a twelve-inch knife, and nearly committed murder in front of
those same three students, I'd say his judgment is fairly sound in
terms of his unsuitability to teach. (Or we could blame it all on the
DADA Curse. :-) )

Debbie:
  I've wondered how hard Dumbledore had to cajole him to take the DADA
position.  I bet it was very hard.

Carol:
While I realize that DD *may* have chosen to hire Lupin for Harry's
third year expressly because Lupin knew Sirius Black and could
(theoretically) be helpful in catching him or protecting the students
from him, we really don't know that it was DD's decision. It may have
been coincidence, or Lupin may have come to Dumbledore because of the
pending anti-werewolf legislation (which, IIRC, was passed while he
was teaching, not as a result of his exposure as a werewolf). At any
rate, we don't know who came to whom. As hard as it was for a werewolf
to get (and keep) a job (hiring is one thing; all those absences at
full moon are another), he was probably glad of the offer/opportunity.
(And BTW, we know that DD placed an ad in the Daily Prophet after
Lockhart was incapacitated; it's one of the things he mentions in the
post-Basilisk interview with Harry. So probably that's how Lupin found
out about the job, and DD, given both the Black situation and his
policy of sheltering strays, not to mention that he actually knew
something about Dark creatures, would have been happy to hire him.)

Debbie:
  OTOH, I would not be surprised if he volunteered to go undercover
with the other werewolves.  He gets to punish himself in the guise of
making himself useful.

Carol:
Well, he did make rather a mess of things, making possible Peter
Pettigrew's escape and the Dark Lord's resurrection and all, so I can
see why he might be beating himself up a bit, not for being a
werewolf, which is not his fault, but for rushing out without his
potion and all the subsequent events. If so, he's forgetting the one
good thing his presence accomplished, giving Sirius Black a chance to
tell his story without first murdering Scabbers and terrifying HRH,
none of whom would have believed him without Lupin's commonsense
suggesting of turning him into a man first and proving the truth of
Black's seemingly preposterous story. Still, in light of what actually
did happen (and possibly the death of Sirius Black after all Lupin
went through to prove him innocent to HRH), I can see why he'd be
unhappy with himself. If only he'd just explained everything to
Dumbledore in the first place. DD would have talked to Black, found
out about Scabbers, had Pettigrew arrested, and Voldie would still be
vapor. 
> 
Debbie:
> It's also worth pointing out that Lupin's errors are ones of
omission.  He *didn't* tell Dumbledore about the Marauder's
activities.  He tried to avoid telling Harry he knew James.  And, of
course, he didn't take his potion the night of the Shrieking Shack. 

Carol:
He also didn't tell Dumbledore that Black was an Animagus who could
easily get past the Dementors and onto the Hogwarts grounds, that he
could be hiding in the Shrieking Shack, and that he knew more than one
secret passage into the castle (even if only one is still unblocked
and unknown to Filch). He also concealed the Marauder's Map, which
Dumbledore doesn't learn about until the end of GoF.

Debbie:
 Being a father-figure to Harry would be too dangerous for him, and
it's much easier for him to do nothing.

Carol:
Makes him sound a bit like Peter Pettigrew, who is too lazy to kill
Harry or take any action unless there's something in it for him, like
saving his skin. I don't think Lupin fails to be a father figure to
Harry because it's too dangerous. Too weak or too passive I'll buy.
He's very secretive and doesn't like self-exposure, and he never talks
to Harry about the past except in general terms, excusing James's
behavior and so on. Maybe he's afraid to get close to Harry because
talking about the past would reveal his own weaknesses. (I don't think
Lupin sees James in him as Snape and Black do, but he could be afraid
of emotional attachment for fear of losing him. Or he could just
realize that it's inappropriate for a teacher to become emotionally
attached to a student and that the Boy Who Lived should be treated
like any other student as far as possible, anti-Dementor lessons
excepted.)

Debbie:
  This is one reason I can't buy Pippin's ESE!Lupin story; he's too
passive a character to every make an affirmative decision to join the
forces of evil.  And storywise, he doesn't need to, as his passivity
has caused plenty of trouble as it is.  See -- I find his flaws very
convincing as they are.  He exemplifies the evil that ensues when good
people do nothing.

Carol:
Here, I agree with you. But it's also interesting that he takes the
lead in blaming Snape and finding reasons to think that he's evil
after Harry presents his incomplete version of the events on the
tower. So will Lupin take some sort of action, preferably related to
Peter Pettigrew rather than Snape, in DH? Or will he make matters
worse again by doing the wrong thing (or nothing)? It's too late for
Lupin to be a father figure to Harry, but he can still help the Order
fight the DEs, and he'd be a useful contact for DDM!Snape if he'd just
put two and two together.

Carol, hoping that Snape will save Tonks and by so doing persuade
Lupin that they're on the same side (but, yeah, it's not their story,
so it probably won't happen)