A BIAS in the Pensieve: A reply to SS Susan's

[Lyn J. Mangiameli]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "cubfanbudwoman" <susiequsie23 at s...> wrote:
> snip of lots of good stuff to deal directly with the following point<
 
> The one part of Lyn's post which I have trouble accepting fully is 
> the following:
> >>> I also believe that the Prank cemented a bond between Lupin and 
> Snape, and led to a friendship of sorts. It was his friendship (or 
> at least overtures of that sort) with Snape that caused Lupin to 
> become the Marauder first suspected of being a spy. Again, not a 
> whiff of canon to support this friendship (except, just maybe in its 
> very absence), but there are two pieces of canon that do become 
> interesting to consider in light of these speculations. One is how 
> nonplussed Lupin is with Snape assigning that Werewolf essay, and how
> Lupin then assigns a Vampire essay. It is almost like this is an 
> inside joke between them.  Second, in OOTP when Sirius and Lupin 
> learn of Snape discontinuing the Occulemency lessons, it is Lupin 
> who states he should be the one to talk to Snape. Why Lupin? , 
> because they were once friends.<<<
> 
> SSSusan:
> The reason I question this is that it appears it was *Snape* who 
> let "slip" the fact of Lupin's werewolf status after the Shrieking 
> Shack scene in PoA.  Would he do that if they were still cordial & 
> somewhat friendly?  Or would you postulate that, because Snape 
> believed Lupin *helped* the murderous Black, Snape would've stopped 
> feeling any sense of amity towards Lupin?
>
Lyn Now: 
It does seem incompatible, doesn't it? But I think you already have provided the basis to 
reconcile the events.To flesh it out:  I doubt that Lupin and Snape could ever have become 
close friends in the way that James and Sirius were--if for no other reason than that they 
were both too internally tormented and socially precarious--but I do suspect they 
developed a mutual appreciation for each other's circumstance, and that there was a 
moderately long overture to a friendship. The problem was likely in that perhaps only Lilly 
could fully reconcile that Lupin might be a friend to both his fellow Marauders and Snape. 
Otherwise, I am suggesting that the closer Lupin drew to one side, the more he was 
alientated by the other. What a terrible spot for the socially fragile Lupin, what a torment. 
But I suspect that Lupin did continue to support Snape and may have even been 
instrumental in Snape leaving the DE. Just for the fun of rank speculation, what if Snape 
was assigned to kill a specific Order Member--Lupin?  Regardless, to come back to your 
concern, you note that Snape only reveals Lupin after Lupin has a reconciliation with Sirius 
in the Shreiking shack. In that scene Lupin is forced into a situation of choosing between 
Snape and Sirius, and Lupin sides with Sirius. I would suggest that this fractured the 
delicate friendship, at least temporarily, in a way that Lupin could predict and anticipate. 
Indeed, the Shrieking Shack may well have been a greater moment of courage than we 
have recognized in Lupin, for which he knew he would pay a price. In the end, the 
friendship with Snape was fractured, but perhaps never entirely eliminated. It should be 
interesting to see what kind of relationship exists between Lupin and Snape, now that 
Sirius has left the picture.

All, of course, presented as an alternative to entertain and amuse, but nothing more than 
unencumbered speculation taking flight. 

Lyn