bugger and All things Snape

Olivier Fouquet olivier.fouquet at olivierfouquet2000.yahoo.invalid
Tue Dec 27 09:00:12 UTC 2005


Pippin
> That's just it, Olivier, it may be obvious that Snape killed  
> Dumbledore, but
> it's not airtight by any means. It's not obvious that he *didn't*  
> do it, of course,
> but then it wasn't obvious that Scabbers was more than a rat, or  
> that Ginny
> was a fireball who hadn't given up on Harry.

I understand your position Pippin, but as I said numerous times, I  
don't theorize, so I see Snape firing an AK at Dumbledore, I deduce  
he finished him with an AK (though I admit that DD was dying at that  
time anyway). Likewise, I see a rat, I think a rat. It may be that  
book 7 will prove that in fact Snape tried to save DD using a fake AK  
and that DD died of poisoning but that will be book 7. My point was  
that Snape (seemingly) killing DD does not strike me as surprising  
considering what we knew about Snape and what we JKR kept telling us  
about him: he is not a nice guy. Even if it turns out that actually  
Snape did not kill DD, I believe my point remains valid.

On the other hand, while I concede it wasn't obvious that Ginny was a  
fireball who hadn't given up on Harry, I would say it was by far the  
most likely outcome. Ginny has been consistently depicted as a  
determined girl and has consistently sent very positive signs toward  
Harry (blushing in GoF, supporting him in OoP...)

> As for Lupin, I'm afraid that society isn't likely to change their  
> views about
> werewolves as long as Fenrir speaks for more of them than Lupin  
> does. But
> if that's where JKR is going, she's put herself in a bind by giving  
> Lupin
> such an apparently passive role in the last two books. If he  
> doesn't get
> over his passivity, he'll be unable to lead the werewolves, and if  
> he does,
> he'll be a complete Gary Stu. So I think ESE!Lupin's probably the most
> interesting thing JKR can do with him.

Here follows some possible middle-way Lupin treatments:

1) Lupin plays a small helping role in the grand quest Harry will be  
undertaking in book 7, for instance by managing to turn at least a  
few Werewolves away from Voldemort or by playing a role in recruiting  
some goblins, Harry defeats Voldemort, Lupin weds Tonks and though  
once in a while he has to lock himself in a room, all ends well for him.

2) Voldemort triumphs through and through while Harry hunts the  
Horcruxes. About the end of the book, there are DE's everywhere in  
killings spree. Harry, having finally destroyed enough Horcruxes,  
bravely attacks LV's lair, faces Fenrir, is about to be killed, is  
saved by a transformed Lupin, Fenrir and Lupin kill each other.

3) Harry discover a few unexpected things about his parents and the  
Dudleys, has a discussion with Lupin (e.g about how Lily and James  
got together), where he discovers that his mother was friendly to  
Snape. Lupin is mentioned a few more times in the background,  
fighting against LV.

Of course, any combination of them works too. In my opinion, side  
characters in HP are passive (think about what DD actually did in the  
first four books, or what McGonagall is supposed to be doing in the  
Order), and I expect them to be even more so in book 7. So I don't  
expect ESE!Lupin nor GaryStu!Lupin if only for screen time reasons.

> Apart from his passivity
> and his furry little problem, which in this scenario he will
> triumphantly overcome, what blemishes does Lupin have?

Well, in scenario 1) 2) 3) I sketched above, he remains more or less  
the Lupin we know now: gentle and kind, probably quite sharp, but  
undecided, nostalgic and with a tendency to wait rather than act.  
Definitely not perfect (but a good complement to easy-going,  
talkative, clumsy Tonks if I may say so). Likewise, I wouldn't expect  
Hagrid to change much in book 7: endlessly loyal to DD (and Harry),  
practical and emotional, not particularly bright. Definitely not  
perfect either.

Olivier

PS: By the way, I'm fully on Nora's side in the complex/simple  
discussion about HP.



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