Lupin's behavior (Was: CHAPDISC: DH11, The Bribe)

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 180598

> Carol again:
> And how is having yet another, easily reocgnizable and extremely
> dangerous, undesirable supposed to help them? Did you notice any
> specific offer of help that Lupin made that they might have accepted
> or rejected on its own merit? I didn't. 

a_svirn:
Now, really. Aren't you being somewhat unfair? How on earth could he 
be specific, if he didn't know any specifics? 

> Carol
He wants to know what they're
> up to, which they won't tell him, and to accompany them on their
> adventure. If not to protect them, or stand guard under the
> Invisibility cloak, exactly what is his purpose? Why offer help they
> don't need?

a_svirn:
They needed all help they could get, actually. And Harry was 
certainly tempted by Lupin's offer. If it weren't for Tonks I can see 
him accepting it gladly. 

> Carol
> Besides, you're evading my question. How are the Trio supposed to
> protect themselves when Lupin transforms? They can't always be 
brewing
> a tricky potion like Wolfsbane, which not even Hermione has learned 
to
> do and which must be drunk hot. 

a_svirn:
I did not evade the question. I said that Lupin must have had some 
scheme in mind, only we didn't get to hear it. The simple solution 
would be for him to apparate somewhere safe, during the full moon. 
Then Hermione would send him a Patronus and they would meet again. 
Or, rather one of them would meet him under the protection of the 
Cloak, to be on the safe side. They only would need to perform 
Hominem Revelio to ensure that he wasn't followed, and ask some coded 
question to ensure that it was indeed Lupin. Piece of cake. 

> Carol:
Tonks, OTOH. is not going anywhere,
> and could easily brew it at home. With no wolfsbane Potion. Lupin 
is a
> danger to them and to himself. He would not be able to stay in the
> tent with them on those nights, meaning that he would endanger 
anyone
> else who was around and call attention to them and to himself.

<snip>
> As I reminded you in a previous post, NEWT Potions is a requirement 
to
> be an Auror. And to get into NEWT Potions with Snape as a teacher
> (tonks would have been his student) you need an O on your OWL. So 
she
> must have been at least as good at Potions as Hermione, not to 
mention
> that she had sixth- and seventh-year Potions with Snape, and she 
must
> have scored well on her Potions NEWT to become an Auror. 

a_svirn:
There is no reason to suppose that wolfsbane was part of the 
curriculum, though. In fact, it is very unlikely. Lupin said in POA 
that it was a recent discovery. He also said that it is particularly 
difficult and there aren't many wizards who are up to making it. 

> Carol:
> "Fond of Lupin" does not mean that they want and need him with them 
in
> their Horcrux search. The companionship is a burden because a) they
> can't tell him what they're up to, and b) he turns into a vicious
> monster every full moon. And, as Harry points out, Lupin is not 
acting
> like anyone they want with them on their quest. He's too wrapped up 
in
> his own self-hatred and guilt 

a_svirn:
So he Harry kicks him a bit more to add to this self-hatred and 
guilt. Very admirable. 

> Carol:
> Lupin is not nobly offering to fight the war against Voldemort. He's
> looking for an excuse to run away from his responsibilities and take
> the consequences of "*knowingly* risk[ing] passing on his condition 
to
> an innocent child." 

a_svirn:
He was doing both at the same time. Which is quite possible (unlike 
being a coward and a daredevil). 

> Carol:
> And, yes, it's possible to be a daredevil and a coward at the same
> time, taking physical risks that can get you killed (eliminating the
> innocent child's shame at his father's condition) and evading moral
> responsibilities. 

a_svirn:
That's being a (moral) coward, but not a daredevil. A daredevil is 
someone recklessly daring, what is so daring in being suicidal? You'd 
write all Gryffindors off as suicidal – it is "their nerve and 
daring" (along with chivalry) that set them apart. 

> Carol:
(Lupin showed in PoA and in SWM, where he watched
> Sirius and James tormenting Severus and remained silent) that he's
> quite capable of moral cowardice.

a_svirn:
Sure. And how is he being a daredevil in this instance? He is 
anything but. 

a_svirn, admitting that Lupin indeed offered "protection", and 
apologising for assuming that it was Carol's word.