[HPforGrownups] Re: Werewolves and RL equivalents

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 170444

Alla:

Of course Snape is not in charge whether teachers stay or go, but 
public opinion often is IMO. And no, I do not think Lupin was forced 
to resign in a sense that he was so overwhelmed with guilt that he 
decided to do that. 

Magpie:
Where have we ever seen Dumbledore led by public opinion? Has there even
been time for there to be a public outcry by the time Lupin's gone? There
are times where Dumbledore couldn't stop things from happening, but when
they do we generally see that he's being forced--for instance, when he
can't keep Hagrid out of Azkaban in CoS or the board of governors votes him
out, but we see that he's doing it under duress and when he can he makes
things right again. He doesn't seem to consult public opinion before
keeping Hagrid on in GoF or hiring Firenze. In PoA Dumbledore's having to
let Lupin go, there's none of that. Either he agrees that Lupin should
leave or is fine with his deciding to resign. He doesn't even make a speech
about how he can't do anything to stop it. 

Alla:

And I am saying that Dumbledore may not have had a choice indeed. Do 
you really think for example that if somebody just let it slip that 
Snape is a DE, that Dumbledore would have had **any** choice as to 
keeping him in? Something tells me that press would have been really 
loud and Dumbledore's career as a Headmaster may have come to an 
end. Just speculating of course.

Magpie:
To answer your question: yes, I think he would have a choice in that case
and I think he would fight for Snape and keep him on all the way. Snape
outs himself to Fudge in GoF. 

And if the press had a field day and Dumbledore for some reason felt
compelled to let Snape go (not that I think the press would make him feel
that way) it would be played as that. We'd know that Dumbledore is unable
to keep the person on as he wants to do. Seems to me PoA is specifically
*not* played that way. It's more ambiguous, without Dumbledore explaining
how bad it is that he's being forced to let Lupin go. Lupin being a
werewolf of course isn't in the paper in PoA--but it is in the paper in
GoF, at which point Dumbledore stands firm against whatever the press
thinks about his hiring policies. He's Dumbledore!


> Magpie:
> Oh, I wouldn't say it led nowhere useful. It's the way JKR 
dramatizes his
> leave-taking. We can't assume that they fought or anything, but 
this is the
> good-bye she thought was appropriate after what happened. One 
might expect
> something different from Dumbledore and Lupin. It's kind of 
tantalizing,
> even if we can't know for sure.
>
<SNIP>

Alla:

And let me ask again, what would you have expected from Dumbledore 
**in front of Harry** if he feels really, really angry about what 
Snape did? I surely would not have expected him to say anything in 
front of Harry IMO.

Magpie:
I think JKR would have portrayed the scene that Harry witnesses between
Lupin and Dumbledore as something other than the way she did. There are
other scenes where Dumbledore defends or tries to excuse or explain Snape
while still making it clear he thinks Snape did wrong--and if he were angry
I think she'd play a scene where we could see it. It's far from impossible.
It's pretty clear Dumbledore's angry at Lucius in CoS, iirc. But here
Harry's commenting on the scene between DD and Lupin, not Snape.
Speculating based on the situation and the characters, I'd be surprised if
DD was furious at Snape. It seems more like he'd expect Snape to stop
keeping the secret once Lupin went off on the grounds after keeping it all
year.

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