Stan Shunpike

[slytherin_jenn]

No: HPFGUIDX 178951

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Miles" <miles at ...> wrote:
Miles:
> I'd like to share a few thoughts about Stan.
> We don't know much about him, he is a underpart in the HP books -
but that
> does not mean he is unimportant.

> Well, I started to call Stan Shunpike an underpart. But maybe
"supporting
> character" would be a more precise term?

Celoneth:
What interested me about Stan when I read DH was to know whether he
was a real DE or Imperiused. I agree with your assessment of him - he
seems like a guy who lacks talent and brains, and yet seems to have a
real longing for fame or glory or something like that. He's very
excited to meet Harry - a celebrity that he can now brag about, and he
seems to be prone to making up grandiose stories about himself (though
that could just be the effects of being around a Veela?). 

His lack of talent and lack of intelligence would make him easy prey
for the Imperius curse - but why would the DEs bother with Imperiusing
him? Imperiusing members of the MoM or those close to Harry or the
Order makes strategic sense. Imperiusing someone with talent or a
particular skill or someone who's a decent wizard is also logical, but
it seems odd that they'd bother with Imperiusing Stan - he has nothing
to offer them apart from being easy to control.

Another possibility would be if Stan was a Crabbe type character -
wanting something greater and not being able to achieve it and sees
being a DE as a way to become famous or liked. Perhaps he, like
Crabbe, has a knack for the Dark Arts or maybe Voldemort just needs
new followers (doesn't seem to be many new ones apart from the kids of
DEs and not all of them are signing up either). Of course this is all
pure speculation on my part since he gets so little page time(though
enough to be somewhat interesting).
Celoneth