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Sorry to go off on a tangent only slightly related to Severus, but a line of discussion raised over on deathtocapslock about Severus not revealing Lupin's secret before PoA keeps nagging at me. It made me realize that there is a bigger gap here than the one we usually find as inferring that Severus never told about Lupin even as a DE. Bear with me if I seem to ramble or rant.
Note: here I'm mostly focused on the time up to the end of PoA. Much of the bit about Voldemort failing to use this information still applies after PoA, naturally, but what really gets to me is the fact that nobody even apparently *knew.* And Voldemort post-Albania seems to be missing a few screws to me, so perhaps I'm willing to overlook that lapse a bit more.
But theories are welcome! Please, help me explain this giant hole in JKR's narrative, please. It just floors me.
Upon examining canon I think it fairly reasonable to suppose that the DEs/Voldemort must not have known about Remus' condition before PoA, nor therefore about Dumbles' dangerous little charity project and its narrowly-averted consequences. Yet this poses a major question once we read canon carefully. One I haven't answered. WHY, HOW, did they not know?
WHY doesn't anyone on Voldemort's side apparently (before PoA) have any idea about Lupin's lycanthropy or the fact that Dumbles had him secretly at Hogwarts as a student? Beyond the fact that Severus never told, I mean. Because there are at least three other sources for this information: Peter, Fenrir, and the Werewolf Registry.
The knowledge that one of Dumbledore's supporters was a werewolf would be useful, a potential weapon not just against Remus himself (ways he can be killed, weakness to silver, etc.) but against Dumbledore and his cause as well. And had Voldemort ever learned of Remus' condition, and thought to question any of his followers whom he knows were at Hogwarts with him - and I'm sure he knows that Severus is personally acquainted with Remus' friends - he might have stumbled upon information even more damning.
Peter's not telling could perhaps be explained by some supposition that he disliked/blamed Remus least out of the other three Marauders (going with the resentful!Peter theory) and/or actively cared about him enough not to tell about this right away if he could help it. Fenrir's failure to tell could be excused by one or more of the following: 1) forgetting or not knowing the name of this particular child he bit (assuming it was not done to punish Lupin's father for some reason), 2) lack of sustained contact/alliance with the DEs before Voldemort's return, 3) desire to do all wizards in, even his supposed allies, leading him to keep it back purposefully out of spite/desire to weaken Voldemort.
But Voldie's ignorance of the Registry's contents? Not so easy to explain away. (This is really my question, the below is just my thought process leading here.)
Think about it.
We know the Registry exists, and it's not a creation of Umbridge's after PoA or of Voldemort's during his takeover because we know it was shunted back and forth between the Being and Beast divisions for years. We're not told when it was instituted (I don't think, happy to be corrected), but it's not referenced as being something relatively new (and thus worth grumbling about on the part of werewolf-friendly folk), and the prejudice against werewolves is certainly not depicted as new. That it has existed at a minimum for a significant portion of Remus Lupin's life is reasonable to suppose, if not a given.
Since it apparently has some relation to law enforcement activities (and unless I'm wrong it's hinted that it's at least legally questionable to fail to register, is that right?), it's reasonable to suppose that some sort of date listing accompanies the names entered into it - otherwise, anyone fearing repercussions for failing to register could do so the moment they got wind of trouble, and point to the new entry to prove that they had 'always' been registered.
We don't ever hear that the registry is closed to public perusal (which would rather defeat part of the supposed purpose of the registry), nor even that access to it is in some way restricted to certain people or to people with a specific need to see it. We also know that Voldemort had at least one plant in the Ministry who specialized in getting him sensitive information there (Rookwood); probably even if it were registered Rookwood would be able to finagle a look at it, with the help of spells/coercion if necessary, were he ever directed to check it out. (And why would Voldemort, looking for any advantage possible, NOT have someone giving it a look now and then, on the off-chance? It's practically costless as a strategy, and the potential payoff is not inconsiderable).
We never hear that Remus feared being caught as unregistered, nor that he had to register during or after PoA; and we know that his condition makes it hard for him to keep a job, suggesting that at least a few people at minimum suspect his condition. A reasonable supposition is that he has, in fact, been registered at least since the beginning of PoA. Since Dumbles for example knew of his condition but is never shown as having any other contact with the Lupin family, it seems to me probable that Remus has always been on the registry since he was a child. Meaning that a date somewhere in the mid-1960s probably accompanies his name there.
We know that many people, including DEs, know or assume that Remus went to Hogwarts, some of them know the years he was there, and his age is not hard to guess to within a decade for the rest. And even guessing his age within a decade would most likely mean that the guesser would come up with a number that would put Remus at Hogwarts for at least one year after the likely date in the registry (his probable date of infection, or close to it).
Which means that the knowledge that Remus was a werewolf for at least part of his time at Hogwarts is available to anyone with access to the registry and a functioning mind. The logic is so basic that even wizards (non-logical creatures as they seem to be) ought to be capable of it.
The cleverer wizards would draw from this the likely inference that Dumbledore must have known about it, because Remus would have been transforming every month and would have likely bitten one of the hundreds of people living in the castle at some point (causing a MAJOR scandal) unless he were restrained. The only ones with the power/resources to do this on Hogwarts grounds likely would be the staff, and why would any staff member knowing of it not inform the Headmaster, at least to save their own arses with an explanation for why they need to lock up a student every month?
It would also be blindingly obvious that Dumbledore kept it secret, since the whole WW didn't know, and the potential scandal would have been huge.
So, just from looking at the registry, a clever wizard allied with Voldemort could have stumbled on information that would lead hir (correctly) to suppose that Dumbledore secretly harbored a known werewolf at Hogwarts, among defenseless children. Even had Remus in truth been very, very securely held during the times of the full moon, the public firestorm against Dumbledore would have been gigantic, it seems to me. It could be supposed that even some of his actual supporters might start to question him a bit, assuming they didn't know (and if they did, then the DEs could manipulate *that* fact to similar advantage against the Order). Certainly he would have lost a lot of support in the public at large and in the Ministry.
But nothing of the kind ever happened. Meaning that not only did Severus, Peter, and Fenrir all fail to let it slip, but that no-body with the slightest DE-sympathies ever looked at the registry long enough to notice Remus Lupin's name, or went on a fishing expedition to see what they could come up with that was possibly useful.
WHY? HOW? Before DH, Voldemort seemed at least somewhat *competent* as a villain, even if he occasionally made stupid decisions. But his utter failure to take advantage of an easy source of potentially incriminating information about his enemies (whom he knows vocally champion rights for werewolves and other beings the DEs, and sometimes the public, despise) is just…staggering. The sheer unthinking idiocy of the man! He's not even TRYING, apparently! (Not that I think he should attack Dumbledore on this basis morally - of course not! But in terms of *strategy,* of having a truly *threatening* or at least *thinking* villain….arg!)
Voldemort is (we are meant to believe) a ruthless psychopath who will do anything to prevent his own death/make himself immortal, is running a band of terrorists with at least a veneer of intention to take over the WW by any means necessary, and whose only major opponent (until Harry comes along) is Albus Dumbledore - the only one Voldemort ever feared, we are told.
We know that Voldemort will exploit any fear, uncertainty, and/or prejudice held by any segment of the WW for his own benefit.
We know the majority of the WW dislike, distrust, and/or fear werewolves enough to make no major show of opposition to severely restrictive anti-werewolf legislation, and that Remus, for example, is generally not received well by any but the most enlightened of wizards once his condition becomes known to them.
Yet neither Voldemort, nor any of his followers acting alone (e.g. Lucius, a political animal always looking out for number one and, as we see in CoS, if possible to stage a bit of a take-over himself from the inside), ever once makes an attempt to discredit Dumbledore in the eyes of the public by announcing/referencing any of the following:
- at least one of Dumbledore's followers is a werewolf (thereby perhaps casting suspicion on Dumbledore's real motives or project by making it seem terrible if it's something that such creatures could support, or at the very least wondering what sort of people the Order is made up of…are they really trustworthy? They consort with werewolves! *pause for appropriately horrified gasps* You get the idea.)
- Dumbledore himself knowingly consorts with werewolves (a supposition easy to make once the registry entry's date is noted, as explained above, and something the DEs would likely use to upset the public even if they weren't 100% sure of the truth of the accusation)
- Dumbledore knowingly *hid* a werewolf at Hogwarts for some period of time in the early/mid-1970s (see above)
- (this last only if Severus or Peter should talk or be successfully legilimized:) Dumbledore covered up the near-death of a student from this werewolf, and thus his inadequate security precautions around the werewolf before that incident; depending on how much is revealed this could go as far as covering up an attempted murder-via-werewolf, allowing the werewolf and his cohorts to continue schooling without serious repercussions, and without updating the security arrangements around the werewolf
But WHY!?
Note: here I'm mostly focused on the time up to the end of PoA. Much of the bit about Voldemort failing to use this information still applies after PoA, naturally, but what really gets to me is the fact that nobody even apparently *knew.* And Voldemort post-Albania seems to be missing a few screws to me, so perhaps I'm willing to overlook that lapse a bit more.
But theories are welcome! Please, help me explain this giant hole in JKR's narrative, please. It just floors me.
Upon examining canon I think it fairly reasonable to suppose that the DEs/Voldemort must not have known about Remus' condition before PoA, nor therefore about Dumbles' dangerous little charity project and its narrowly-averted consequences. Yet this poses a major question once we read canon carefully. One I haven't answered. WHY, HOW, did they not know?
WHY doesn't anyone on Voldemort's side apparently (before PoA) have any idea about Lupin's lycanthropy or the fact that Dumbles had him secretly at Hogwarts as a student? Beyond the fact that Severus never told, I mean. Because there are at least three other sources for this information: Peter, Fenrir, and the Werewolf Registry.
The knowledge that one of Dumbledore's supporters was a werewolf would be useful, a potential weapon not just against Remus himself (ways he can be killed, weakness to silver, etc.) but against Dumbledore and his cause as well. And had Voldemort ever learned of Remus' condition, and thought to question any of his followers whom he knows were at Hogwarts with him - and I'm sure he knows that Severus is personally acquainted with Remus' friends - he might have stumbled upon information even more damning.
Peter's not telling could perhaps be explained by some supposition that he disliked/blamed Remus least out of the other three Marauders (going with the resentful!Peter theory) and/or actively cared about him enough not to tell about this right away if he could help it. Fenrir's failure to tell could be excused by one or more of the following: 1) forgetting or not knowing the name of this particular child he bit (assuming it was not done to punish Lupin's father for some reason), 2) lack of sustained contact/alliance with the DEs before Voldemort's return, 3) desire to do all wizards in, even his supposed allies, leading him to keep it back purposefully out of spite/desire to weaken Voldemort.
But Voldie's ignorance of the Registry's contents? Not so easy to explain away. (This is really my question, the below is just my thought process leading here.)
Think about it.
We know the Registry exists, and it's not a creation of Umbridge's after PoA or of Voldemort's during his takeover because we know it was shunted back and forth between the Being and Beast divisions for years. We're not told when it was instituted (I don't think, happy to be corrected), but it's not referenced as being something relatively new (and thus worth grumbling about on the part of werewolf-friendly folk), and the prejudice against werewolves is certainly not depicted as new. That it has existed at a minimum for a significant portion of Remus Lupin's life is reasonable to suppose, if not a given.
Since it apparently has some relation to law enforcement activities (and unless I'm wrong it's hinted that it's at least legally questionable to fail to register, is that right?), it's reasonable to suppose that some sort of date listing accompanies the names entered into it - otherwise, anyone fearing repercussions for failing to register could do so the moment they got wind of trouble, and point to the new entry to prove that they had 'always' been registered.
We don't ever hear that the registry is closed to public perusal (which would rather defeat part of the supposed purpose of the registry), nor even that access to it is in some way restricted to certain people or to people with a specific need to see it. We also know that Voldemort had at least one plant in the Ministry who specialized in getting him sensitive information there (Rookwood); probably even if it were registered Rookwood would be able to finagle a look at it, with the help of spells/coercion if necessary, were he ever directed to check it out. (And why would Voldemort, looking for any advantage possible, NOT have someone giving it a look now and then, on the off-chance? It's practically costless as a strategy, and the potential payoff is not inconsiderable).
We never hear that Remus feared being caught as unregistered, nor that he had to register during or after PoA; and we know that his condition makes it hard for him to keep a job, suggesting that at least a few people at minimum suspect his condition. A reasonable supposition is that he has, in fact, been registered at least since the beginning of PoA. Since Dumbles for example knew of his condition but is never shown as having any other contact with the Lupin family, it seems to me probable that Remus has always been on the registry since he was a child. Meaning that a date somewhere in the mid-1960s probably accompanies his name there.
We know that many people, including DEs, know or assume that Remus went to Hogwarts, some of them know the years he was there, and his age is not hard to guess to within a decade for the rest. And even guessing his age within a decade would most likely mean that the guesser would come up with a number that would put Remus at Hogwarts for at least one year after the likely date in the registry (his probable date of infection, or close to it).
Which means that the knowledge that Remus was a werewolf for at least part of his time at Hogwarts is available to anyone with access to the registry and a functioning mind. The logic is so basic that even wizards (non-logical creatures as they seem to be) ought to be capable of it.
The cleverer wizards would draw from this the likely inference that Dumbledore must have known about it, because Remus would have been transforming every month and would have likely bitten one of the hundreds of people living in the castle at some point (causing a MAJOR scandal) unless he were restrained. The only ones with the power/resources to do this on Hogwarts grounds likely would be the staff, and why would any staff member knowing of it not inform the Headmaster, at least to save their own arses with an explanation for why they need to lock up a student every month?
It would also be blindingly obvious that Dumbledore kept it secret, since the whole WW didn't know, and the potential scandal would have been huge.
So, just from looking at the registry, a clever wizard allied with Voldemort could have stumbled on information that would lead hir (correctly) to suppose that Dumbledore secretly harbored a known werewolf at Hogwarts, among defenseless children. Even had Remus in truth been very, very securely held during the times of the full moon, the public firestorm against Dumbledore would have been gigantic, it seems to me. It could be supposed that even some of his actual supporters might start to question him a bit, assuming they didn't know (and if they did, then the DEs could manipulate *that* fact to similar advantage against the Order). Certainly he would have lost a lot of support in the public at large and in the Ministry.
But nothing of the kind ever happened. Meaning that not only did Severus, Peter, and Fenrir all fail to let it slip, but that no-body with the slightest DE-sympathies ever looked at the registry long enough to notice Remus Lupin's name, or went on a fishing expedition to see what they could come up with that was possibly useful.
WHY? HOW? Before DH, Voldemort seemed at least somewhat *competent* as a villain, even if he occasionally made stupid decisions. But his utter failure to take advantage of an easy source of potentially incriminating information about his enemies (whom he knows vocally champion rights for werewolves and other beings the DEs, and sometimes the public, despise) is just…staggering. The sheer unthinking idiocy of the man! He's not even TRYING, apparently! (Not that I think he should attack Dumbledore on this basis morally - of course not! But in terms of *strategy,* of having a truly *threatening* or at least *thinking* villain….arg!)
Voldemort is (we are meant to believe) a ruthless psychopath who will do anything to prevent his own death/make himself immortal, is running a band of terrorists with at least a veneer of intention to take over the WW by any means necessary, and whose only major opponent (until Harry comes along) is Albus Dumbledore - the only one Voldemort ever feared, we are told.
We know that Voldemort will exploit any fear, uncertainty, and/or prejudice held by any segment of the WW for his own benefit.
We know the majority of the WW dislike, distrust, and/or fear werewolves enough to make no major show of opposition to severely restrictive anti-werewolf legislation, and that Remus, for example, is generally not received well by any but the most enlightened of wizards once his condition becomes known to them.
Yet neither Voldemort, nor any of his followers acting alone (e.g. Lucius, a political animal always looking out for number one and, as we see in CoS, if possible to stage a bit of a take-over himself from the inside), ever once makes an attempt to discredit Dumbledore in the eyes of the public by announcing/referencing any of the following:
- at least one of Dumbledore's followers is a werewolf (thereby perhaps casting suspicion on Dumbledore's real motives or project by making it seem terrible if it's something that such creatures could support, or at the very least wondering what sort of people the Order is made up of…are they really trustworthy? They consort with werewolves! *pause for appropriately horrified gasps* You get the idea.)
- Dumbledore himself knowingly consorts with werewolves (a supposition easy to make once the registry entry's date is noted, as explained above, and something the DEs would likely use to upset the public even if they weren't 100% sure of the truth of the accusation)
- Dumbledore knowingly *hid* a werewolf at Hogwarts for some period of time in the early/mid-1970s (see above)
- (this last only if Severus or Peter should talk or be successfully legilimized:) Dumbledore covered up the near-death of a student from this werewolf, and thus his inadequate security precautions around the werewolf before that incident; depending on how much is revealed this could go as far as covering up an attempted murder-via-werewolf, allowing the werewolf and his cohorts to continue schooling without serious repercussions, and without updating the security arrangements around the werewolf
But WHY!?
Well, if Luna married Newt Scamander's son or grandson or whoever, then perhaps the Scamanders are like the Lovegoods - considered a bit wacky. Maybe nobody takes anything Newt did very seriously, or maybe he made the Register so complicated nobody knows how to use it since Newt left the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures.
Thanks for replying. I see what you're getting at but a couple of points:
They do seem to use Newt's ratings system for danger officially, suggesting that he's not seen as that wacky. Nor, given JKR's fondness for making everything into a joke where possible, am I really certain that we are meant to take him that way if she's not dumping on the oddness sprinkles left and right. Had he been seen that way, I would expect a comment in one of the books along those lines, and/or a grumbly comment in FB about how HE thinks his registry is a good idea, why do they shuffle it off, etc.? He's never presented as being like Xenophilius or Arthur, nor is his book full of Crumple-Horned Snorcacks and the like, suggesting a rather more reality-based approach.
Also, I don't believe Newt is ever presented as being of the particularly prejudiced sort of mindset we see with others who dislike any sort of "halfbreed," like Umbridge etc. The notion of a registry itself seems to me to be playing into precisely the sort of fears that mindset engenders, to be backed by the same sort of bigoted thinking - I see nothing in Newt that suggests this. It seems rather more likely, IMHO, to be the creation of some predecessor of Umbridge. Also, notice that it goes back and forth between departments together with the Werewolf Capture unit specifically.
It being too complicated....what's complicated about a list of names and dates?
From About the Author: Although almost solely responsible for the creation of the Werewolf Register in 1947, he says he is proudest of the Ban on Experimental Breeding, passed in 1965...
From What is a Beast?: ...werewolves, meanwhile, have been shunted between the Beast and Being divisions for many years; at the time of writing there is an office for Werewolf Support Services at the Being Division whereas the Werewolf Registry and Werewolf Capture Unit fall under the Beast Division.
Searching the books, there are no mentions of the registry in any of the seven books of the series itself.
It seems to me that there are fewer problems with the story if Remus *hadn't* been on the Registry until immediately after PoA. He would still have had trouble with holding down a job, probably, because even if he could get them, he'd have to make sure that his employer didn't find out that he was a werewolf.
I'm sure there'd still be problems, but at least there would be fewer, wouldn't there? I think we have only Remus' word that the entire staff knew -- or only his implication, for that matter:
Hermione whispered. “If I’d been a bit cleverer, I’d have told everyone what you are!”
“But they already know,” said Lupin. “At least, the staff do.”
“Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf,” Ron gasped. “Is he mad?”
“Some of the staff thought so,” said Lupin. “He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I’m trustworthy —”
We know that Dumbledore and Severus had to have known, but they knew before the beginning of the year, too. I'm not sure we have any evidence that anyone else necessarily knew, even when Remus was at school. Yes, *Remus* says that Madame Pomfrey knew, in telling his version of the "Prank" ("Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform"). That's just Remus' word again, though.
And frankly, Remus has every reason to want the Trio to believe that everyone on the staff knew, even if they didn't. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were suspicious of him at that point, and they were that much less likely to report Remus to any of the staff if they think all of them already know.
Lynnt
"almost solely" - that is very odd wording. Now the wheels are whirring again. Someone else was involved in some way, then....
And yes, there are fewer problems, but there is still the question of why neither Voldemort nor the DEs never took action after PoA. Which essentially is the same question as why they never took action before then *if* Remus was on the Registry. Which lack of action bothers me (if you couldn't tell. ;) )
People might not have fully believed it, but doing something like that might have kept the political damage to a minimum.
Lynn
To answer your last question, no, this site does not have translation. I can read a little Japanese but I am very much a beginner.
Alison
http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_s
It's not very good, but it's better than trying to post in a writing that few of us can read.
Alison
It is 'said' that Voldy was winning towards the end of the '70s (even tho' that seems a bit doubtful to me). However we don't actually know when he managed to get any werewolf support (aside from Fenrir). In fact, it seems he was still working on getting it during bk6 since Remus' spying seems more to be about trying to talk the other werewolves out of joining up than about actually having to join as a DE himself.
IF this is so, then outing any werewolf COULD possibly lose Voldy the chance at their support, assuming the werewolf group he is trying to sway would join for purely 'practical' reasons and not because they buy into the 'pureblood' ideology.
So, I think in VW1, it IS possible that Voldy knew but withheld the information as a backup, figuring it was better to wait until many werewolves had joined him rather than risk their alienation.
For after his return - Voldy had little chance to do much of anything until bk5 - by which time Remus appears to be making anti-Albus noises himself (at least enough to gain him entrance to the werewolf group bu bk6) To out Remus at that time would be the same mistake as doing so in VW1. The werewolves are not yet 'aligned' with Voldy - outing one that professes anger at Albus would not help Voldy win over the werewolves.
It is 'my' theory that as of the end of PoA, one of the hidden plots of the books is about getting Remus into position for his 'spying'. I personally believe that is even why Snape lets 'slip' Remus' secret. Albus KNOWS Peter is on his way to revive Voldy. Harry has told him Sybil's prophecy. Remus himself tells us that he resigned FIRST THING (so before breakfast).
So, everyone knows Peter will be with Voldy (something they didn't know about the first time). That means that Sev cannot possibly NOT tell Voldy once he DOES make the return. And that he MUST 'warn' his students or their DE parents will be livid. At best, Snape can hope to say that Albus obliviated him after the Werewolf Incident and that the shock of being in the Shrieking Shack again broke through to the hidden memories.
Even IF Snape can hide the memory of the Werewolf Incident from Voldy, he needs to prepare the way to tell him about making the wolfsbane potion for Remus for the year. So - Snape MUST out Remus or be useless (dead) when Voldy actually returns.
I feel this also fits in with Remus' actions. He cannot suddenly just break in to the group of werewolves that he has avoided joining for years. He must gain their trust. And having been 'forced to resign' gives him a perfect 'talking point' to grumble about Albus' having 'turned his back on him' -- Hwyla
Also, the werewolf angle could be a new aspect of Voldie's strategy in VoldWar 2 (that's how I originally actually read it, anyway - Fenrir may be more of an independent ally at first). So outing Remus in that scenario would have no blowback for Voldie that way.
In chapter 23 of DH it seems that Fenrir shines wandlight on Harry's face and later it seems as though Fenrir is the one who Apparates Harry to Malfoy Manor. Though it isn't all that explicit and can be worked around. But when Fenrir takes the kids to the cellar the text says:
... while Greyback forced the rest of them to shuffle across to another door, into a dark passageway, his wand held out in front of him, projecting an invisible and irresistible force.
And even about Fenrir the information is contradictory, because in The Prince's Tale Albus says to Severus, on the day he cursed his hand (ie early July 1996) "...if, for instance, Greyback is involved - I hear Voldemort has recruited him?"
I suppose this can be fanwanked as a reference to some other member of the Greyback family. Or perhaps Fenrir only rejoined Voldie when Voldemort's return was made public. And the statement establishes the beginning of Remus' assignment with the werewolves.
We can be pretty sure he worked with Voldy since he is referred to as an old friend of the Malfoy family. I can't see him as actual friend - so it would be as an associate of some sort. So, he must have been involved in some way with the DEs in VW1.
And yet no one mentioned in the Graveyard in bk4 seems likely to actually BE Fenrir - so it's possible that he had not been marked back during VW1.
But he seems to have been marked by the end of Bk6 on the Astronomy Tower - one HAD to have the Dark Mark to go up the stairs -- Hwyla
I hate to say it but if Dumbledore could, according to JKR's logic, almost hush up the information about his sister's condition and untimely demise, his orientation, and the supposed 'defeat' of Grindlewald except for a few wild rumors until after his death, then the almost minor information of Lupin being a werewolf is just nothing to hide away as well.
Severus is an honorable man, and would have kept his word until he very end, using the information he had when it benefited him the most, I think. It isn't mentioned but there is no telling what he promised Dumbledore not to tell Lupin's secret. We know Dumbledore basically used Lily's death to guilty him into protecting Harry all through his Hogwarts years. Who is to say there wasn't something more than just a smack on the wrist for being out after curfew that night for Severus when James Potter 'rescued' him from werewolf Lupin?
Spilling that Lupin was a werewolf to the public allowed him some form of retribution from the prank as well as a dig at the Marauders in general for Dumbledore letting Black to escape. Dumbledore would have never let Snape receive anything so prestigious at an Order of Merlin at the cost of another 'innocent life'.
And I guess I don't quite buy that amount of power on Dumbledore's own part being so solid - look how *very* quickly his star sets politically in the middle of the series. He can hush things up through personal manipulation (one of his big skills) and/or magic (he is a powerful and well-read wizard), but those depend upon him having access to the relevant parties at the right time and the knowledge that he needs to do something to shut them up. The Grindelwald duel seems not to have necessarily taken place within Britain - given that it was all going down on the Continent before then, and the location of the prison - and the British WW seems rather isolated; who would know who would be telling people in Britain? Plus, Dumbles could have picked the location, nobody needs to have been present, but that doesn't indicate such might power on DD's part necessarily. And the Ariana thing: his mother started that off, including moving the family. Very few people would have been present for the incident when she was small - Ariana, the dead boys, Percival/Kendra/Albus and/or Aberforth. From then on she was hidden, so people wouldn't have known anyway, especially after the move. It's not like she was listed on any Registry, or that there were multiple people who would have reasonably known about her (like Peter, Fenrir, Severus, etc.) who weren't always under Dumbles' direct control.
Ahem. Spilling on Remus was the responsible thing to do after the man's irresponsibility and lack of cooperation with his treatment regimen almost cost the lives of students and other parties (and enabled the escape of a DE, whoever the DE ended up being). Whatever other ways this action may have played in Severus' short-term benefit, forcing Remus to quit was what any adult, and especially a teacher, should have done.
Making it worse
However... there's nothing in canon that says werewolves register THEMSELVES, is there? We've been assuming it's like the Animagus registry, that it's illegal not to do so. (Though even so, bear in mind that Remus IS a Marauder--it's being illegal not to register doesn't mean he would, any more than the other 3 registered as Animagi.) It may be more, once you're outed your name is added. It may even be, your name is added once you're guilty of an attempted attack--if you're managing your condition responsibly, you're left alone. In which case Remus's name got added that night at the end of POA.
In fact--how's this--usually the name is added MAGICALLY if the werewolf actually BITES another human. Newt designed it to be, not a registry of ALL werewolves, but of feral ones, as it were. So if Remus had caught up to Severus in the SS so long ago and infected rather than killed him, Remus's name would have been added automatically to the list, but Severus's name would not--so long as he managed his new condition so as not to endanger others.
"Almost solely".... hm. So what if an Umbridge sort (or, indeed, a Percy sort--I mean, I would want to know if my next-door neighbor might go insane and attack me once a month) came up with the idea of registering werewolves for the safety of the community, and Newt sabotaged the registry so it CAN'T record names until the victim proves hirself a danger to others?
And it could well be that hiring Remus was part of what Skeeter cited when she started calling Dumbledore an obsolete dingbat and such....
Re: Making it worse
Re: Making it worse
I once had a lady living next door to me that used to get VERY stroppy once a month! Like, walking on eggs, don't even look at her-type stroppy. I don't think being a werewolf was her problem, though! LOL
Alison
How does this play? Voldemort did know
Voldemort did know--he might have found out from ALL those sources. But he's sitting on the information until it's time to make his move on Dumbledore. And his servants, even those who please to think of themselves as his lieutenants, aren't in the know. So those who do know (Severus, Peter, maybe Fenrir, the wizard who checked the Registry) are all sworn by VOLDEMORT to silence for the time.
Think about it. By the time Tom finds out, the werewolf in question is already out of school, and no students had been killed or infected by it. Old news, and Dumbledore can spin it that his allowing Remus in had been justified by the event. So by itself it might not do enough damage.
Released at the right moment, as part of a coordinated campaign, it could be much more effective. Say, during a period when ANOTHER monster is threatening students at the school--what a pity Tom has no monsters on tap he might release....
In fact, if Peter has indeed Told All, Tom has information even more damaging to Dumble's reputation: that four schoolboys managed to make a total fool out of him. What will that do to Dumble's reputation for omniscience? Four kids fooled him for years, broke multiple laws, used their illegal Animagus abilities to loose a werewolf (endangering every Hogsmeade villager and Hogwarts student)--and Dumbles was too stupid even to upgrade security after a known near-miss, and made the gang's ringleader his Head Boy!
And the four criminals in question are founding members of Dumble's little extra-legal vigilante group. What's this group's purpose again? Oh really?
But playing this card loses Tom his spy in the Order. He's going to wait for just the right moment. And to preserve Peter's cover, he's not going to let even a whisper get out beforehand. In fact he might even fudge the Registry, if he thinks that needed. (Especially if he can subsequently blame the fudging on Dumbles--wouldn't that be a nice touch?)
I really think it works. And then Severus has a perfect excuse not to tell Lucius before the start of PoA--
"When the headmaster told you you'd be needing to brew Wolfsbane for his newest DADA pick, why the hell didn't you tell me, Severus?"
"But I'd discovered Lupin was a werewolf when I was sixteen, and told the Dark Lord as soon as I joined. He was planning to use the information to discredit the headmaster at a time of his choosing. I naturally thought you were so much in our Lord's confidence that you must have been told, and that you, like he, were simply waiting the right moment to use the information. You mean you really had no idea?" (Twist the knife a little.)
Re: How does this play? Voldemort did know
Re: How does this play? Voldemort did know
Which in any case would only come after the death of the boy of prophecy, because Tom certainly needed Peter for that job. But had Harry died, releasing the monster with the diary that was already in Lucius' hands and then breaking out the tale of the headmaster's pet werewolf and his Animagi friends would destroy any credibility Twinkly had - with parents and community leaders at the very least. It may even crack Twinkly's inner circle.
"But I'd discovered Lupin was a werewolf when I was sixteen, and told the Dark Lord as soon as I joined. He was planning to use the information to discredit the headmaster at a time of his choosing. I naturally thought you were so much in our Lord's confidence that you must have been told, and that you, like he, were simply waiting the right moment to use the information. You mean you really had no idea?" (Twist the knife a little.)
Or perhaps - after seeing how well you cared for the Dark Lord's artifact I doubted you had the loyalty to our cause to put the information to the us that supported it rather than your personal goals (outDE the DE).