LJ-versary :: PoA 7

[pauraque_bk]

On May 6, 2003, I made my first post to LJ. I joined at the urging of the good people at haremxf, and soon discovered the infinite carnival midway that is LJ HP fandom. Since then I've met hundreds of fans, befriended many, quarrelled with a few, and admired many more from afar.

Sometimes I feel like a naive farmboy coming to New York City. This fandom is bigger and louder and brighter than anything I've ever seen online. Sometimes it's too much. But most of the time, I just plain feel lucky to be a part of it. If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere. ;)

*hugs fandom*


Eeew... sticky. *brushes himself off*

*

PoA 7: The Boggart in the Wardrobe

Ron had spent the last quarter of an hour carefully shredding his own roots into exactly equal pieces. (95)

It's struck me before that Ron doesn't seem to do too badly in Potions or particularly incite Snape's wrath (except as a Gryffindor in general), and here he's being more careful than I would have expected. He does hate Snape on behalf of Harry, but he still tries hard in his class.

'Of course, if it was me,' he said quietly, '[...]I'd be out there looking for [Black].'
'What are you talking about, Malfoy?' said Ron roughly. (96)

'What did Malfoy mean?' [...]
'He's making it up,' said Ron, savagely, 'he's trying to make you do something stupid...' (97)

How much does Ron know, here? I can't remember if he seems surprised when Harry finds out what Sirius did, but it reads here like he's trying to protect Harry from the truth.

This is a well-done scene. We keep up on other plot threads while the Snape-Neville interaction is set up so that the Boggart scene will be effective without any need for exposition.

'Good afternoon,' he said. 'Would you please put all your books back in your bags. [...]' (99)

From the moment he enters the classroom, Lupin is nothing but collected and competent. Another possible suggestion that he's taught before.

'Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear.' (100)

In case anyone still had doubts on whether Snape picks on Neville above the other kids. Lupin, of course, perceives this immediately and comes up with a way for Neville to take back control of the situation. It doesn't seem likely that he planned the Drag!Boggart!Snape in advance.

This is an important turning point for Neville's character, but the real conflict is the power struggle between Snape and Lupin. We already know Snape hates Lupin (72), and now we see him trying to exert power over Lupin's class. Lupin fights back in kind, undermining the power Snape has over his own students, and does it in such a way that Snape has no real recourse. As usual, Lupin is calm and polite -- the same defense he used to show his students he wasn't shaken by Peeves's taunting (99), a potentially rattling reminder of his school days.

'He seems a very good teacher,' said Hermione approvingly. 'But I wish I could have had a turn with the Boggart--' (106)

Why didn't he let her, I wonder?


Previous re-read posts are saved in memories here.

Comments

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

How much stricter supervision could there be? Snape was already bring him the Wolfsbane and hectoring him about drinking it. The only thing Snape neglected to do was observe Lupin drink it (the standard for TB treatment nowadays), though I suppose Snape could have brough the potion early.

Sorry, it's just a pet peeve of mine -- reading a fanfic where Lupin (or the author) blames Snape for getting Lupin fired.

Lupin did it to himself! Snape helped pretty damned gleefully at the end of PoA, but if Lupin had just been responsible for once without someone holding his hand, it wouldn't have come to that. Snape doesn't 'owe' Lupin anything for getting him pushed out of the school.

[fernwithy.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. That pet peeve I can see. I thought Snape's outburst was childish--Snape annoys me in general, and rarely more than in that scene, at least before OotP (that's not counting total outrages like the toad poisoning scene, which are in a different category)--but I never assumed it was the reason Lupin left. Lupin left because he'd screwed up badly.

I just wouldn't like to think that a single screw-up on a medical condition, no matter how stupid, should prohibit the patient from ever being gainfully employed again, especially when he's as good at his job as Lupin is. I mean, I've forgotten meds before, too. Granted, it doesn't make me want to eat people. But losing any chance of living independently because of missing antipsychotic drugs once? It doesn't appear to have happened since (or before that, since he started taking it), and he's accutely aware of it. If a former Death Eater can be trusted in the same room as Voldemort's mortal enemy, a psychotic who forget his medicine once can be given another chance, too.

[pauraque]

If a former Death Eater can be trusted in the same room as Voldemort's mortal enemy, a psychotic who forget his medicine once can be given another chance, too.

Very good point. Dumbledore hiring Remus wasn't a fluke, but part of a pattern of putting his staff and students in difficult and dangerous situations because they deserve "another chance".

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

But wait a sec-

I don't have the book with me, but Remus could have stayed. He chose not- even though the children were put out by his leaving! The kids did want him to stay, despite knowing he was a werewolf. Severus did expose Remus' secret to the wider society (excellent revenge, I thought- want acceptance? Let see how people want you once they know who you really are) But Remus was offered the chance to stay by Dumbledore, ripping small children apart by accident aside.

[pauraque]

Looking at the final chapter, I can't find any evidence that Dumbledore would have let him stay. It sounds like Remus pulled a Nixon -- he resigned to spare himself the indignity of being forced out.

[fernwithy.livejournal.com]

he resigned to spare himself the indignity of being forced out.

Seems he got the indignity anyway... in OotP, even Harry, who loves him, referred to him as having been "sacked"--not as having resigned.

He may have been asked to turn in his letter of resignation, which would reconcile the two versions of events.

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

But Remus was offered the chance to stay by Dumbledore.

There's no indication that Dumbledore made any effort to have Remus stay. In GoF, Hagrid is put in the same situation as Remus -- his "inhuman" orginins revealed to the outraged public -- and tries to resign. Dumbledore doesn't let him. And Hagrid has endangered students any number of times by his refusal to follow a syllabus and exposing students to dangerous creatures they're not trained to handle. He's had a number of actual injuries in his classes. And, unlike Lupin, he's an incompetent teacher. Yet Dumbledore makes him stay. If Dumbledore wanted to, he could've made Remus stay.

I think it's pretty clear that, however talented a teacher Remus might be, he was hired because of his connection to Sirius and allowed to go once the connection was no longer relevant. Before that, he was left to his own devices for twelve years. Dumbledore hired Gilderoy friggin' Lockhart before he hired Remus.

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

See, and you accuse me of being harsh on Remus.

But I say that because Dumbledore tried (according to Remus) to say that Remus tried to save the children's lives- and out and out lie- Remus was there to kill somebody for vegence sirius or Peter, doesn't matter which- and make nice with the Ministry. Remus decided to resign because he felt he was a danger to the children. pauraque felt that Remus resigned before he would have to forced out of the position by an not so accepting public.

This whole situation will continue to rain down on Remus for the next two years; when we next see him in OOTP, he is okay- but seems to be prematurely aged and not very well dressed. Life has not been kind at all.

But yeah, I do agree with you about Gilderoy Lockhart. Yikes!

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

See, and you accuse me of being harsh on Remus.

True, you're not half as harsh on him as Dumbledore is. :-P

Remus decided to resign because he felt he was a danger to the children. pauraque felt that Remus resigned before he would have to forced out of the position by an not so accepting public.

I think both of these things are true. But as the situation with Hagrid shows, neither one of those things would've been a deal-breaker if Dumbledore had really wanted him around.

But I say that because Dumbledore tried (according to Remus) to say that Remus tried to save the children's lives- and out and out lie- Remus was there to kill somebody for vegence sirius or Peter, doesn't matter which- and make nice with the Ministry.

Remus wanting vengeance doesn't preclude Remus wanting to save the children's lives. Just as Snape can often have multiple motives for what he does, some admirable and some deeply nasty, so can Remus. They're both extremely complex characters and extremely fucked up in the head, so assigning a single simplistic motive to anything they do is a mistake, IMO.

As for Dumbledore trying to put Remus in a positive light and making nice with the Ministry -- he's got his own ass to cover, being the guy who hired Remus in the first place.

[dphearson.livejournal.com]

Actually, you would never know to hear harsh on Remus, but I doadmire the character. There is nothing enobling about poverty. It is wearying and tiring. Not having quality food or drink, and ripping apart your body once a month takes a toll. And Remus is determined to be the best teacher he can be.

As for Dumbledore trying to put Remus in a positive light and making nice with the Ministry -- he's got his own ass to cover, being the guy who hired Remus in the first place.

Damn good point- I thought of that when I first sent that reply. Dumbledore is in really deep shit at hat point on in PoA, and it continues to build to the point in OOTP where he has to flee or wind in jail.

[chresimos.livejournal.com]

he was hired because of his connection to Sirius and allowed to go once the connection was no longer relevant.

...okaywait. This makes sense as a plot device, and as a reason why Dumblydore didn't hire him before Lockhart. However, why? How could his connection to Sirius possibly help? Unless Dumbledore expected him to confess some information about Sirius, because he knew him so well once (which he didn't). Or maybe act as a lure to Sirius (which is just stupid, within Hogwarts). Or to provide lots of angst and because Dumbledore feeeds on the angst to surviiive! :)

Also, I don't know when he learns, but in GoF Dumble knows that Sirius is an Animagus. So he knows that Lupin lied to him that whole time. *shrug*

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

Unless Dumbledore expected him to confess some information about Sirius, because he knew him so well once

Yes, I think that's exactly what Dumbledore expected. Of all the people known to be alive at the start of PoA, Remus is the one who knew Sirius best. It wasn't unreasonable to expect that he would have useful insights into how Sirius thinks and acts, and that he would share those insights in order to help protect the school from Sirius.

As it turned out, Remus did have useful knowledge, but irresponsibly kept it to himself. But that just means that he failed in the purpose for which he was hired.

Also, I don't know when he learns, but in GoF Dumble knows that Sirius is an Animagus. So he knows that Lupin lied to him that whole time.

He knows now, yes. Sirius and Remus had to own up to it at the climax of PoA in order to explain how Peter could still be alive. Dumbledore says that Sirius told him the whole story before he sends Harry and Hermione off with the time turner.

[muridae-x.livejournal.com]

The easy solution to the Lupin trust-issues would be to re-employ him as a teacher, but not have him live-in. He is, after all, only dangerous at night and only then for three or four nights a month.

So if you decorate up the Shrieking Shack to make it suitable for human habitation as well as angry wolf, and send him off the grounds once he's taught all his classes for the day, the safety issues are dealt with.

Of course, you still have to overcome the prejudices of parents who think that just breathing the same air as a non-turned werewolf is dangerous for their little darlings, but I suspect that the next couple of years will rock the wizarding world on its heels sufficiently that that'll seem like a comparatively minor issue.