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The Mystery of R.J.H. King (1969) and M.G. McGonagall (1971)
by Cooper
September 15, 2004
The Harry Potter movies have always been given discussion on the Web, but most of it involves how "hot" Tom Felton is, or how wonderful/terrible/ugly/pretty Emma Watson is, or how badly he/she mutilated his or her role, or how dare Alfonso Cuaron leave this or that out - all of this coming from people who undoubtedly have PhDs in screenplay and cinematic art. I was very pleased when JKR announced the presence of subtle clues in the movies. (She also said that she had to have input on what was left into the Chamber of Secrets movie. This has been almost completely ignored on the Web, though.) These clues were the topic of some hot discussion for a while, until someone decided that Daniel Radcliffe's new haircut was more important than some silly old book.
To add to my mounting frustration, the only theories that seemed to advance were the age-old Doctrine of Jupinity (the notion than, despite every indication to the contrary, James and Lupin are the same person, or one is impersonating the other) and the new theory that Lupin has a big crush on Lily. I suppose the latter idea poses a more reasonable proposition, but let's look at a few of the faults with Lupin Loves Lily.
If you haven't seen the third movie (or if you have seen, but you don't know what I'm talking about), this theory is based off of a bit of dialogue between Lupin and Harry about his parents. (It takes place on the new random bridge.) Lupin basically says that Lily accepted him when no one else would, etcetera, etcetera, and this gave a lot of folks the impression that he was in love with his best friend's wife. Now, I am fairly positive that this is an "Alfonso thing" carried out by Crazy David Thewlis (the esteemed kisser of boys). Director Cuaron is notorious for strange "Alfonso things," which certainly exist, but are almost impossible to describe. Anyone who has seen his other work, or is especially perceptive, may have picked up on them. (Shrunken heads, jazz music, crazy Dumbledore). Don't get me wrong, I like Alfonso and David, and I think they did excellent jobs with the Prisoner of Azkaban movie, but to ignore their eccentricities is downright foolish.
But for those who remain unconvinced by the previous analysis, I would point out that the scene from Snape's pensieve almost completely destroys LLL, because Lupin basically sits on a rock while his best friend and his crush verbally spar. Also, keep the timeline in mind. In the movie, Lupin claims that Lily stood by him when no one else would. Since we know James and Sirius were the first to accept Lupin's werewolvity, it's safe to say that Lily and Lupin weren't friends before the Marauders formed.
If Lupin's dialogue meant anything, I think it refers to the period after James and Lily were married, when it was known that Voldemort was after them. It was also suspected that there was a spy among them.
"Wouldn't Sirius have told you if they'd changed the plan [to use Sirius as the Secret Keeper]?"
"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.
With that in mind, I think the more likely explanation is that several people besides Sirius suspected Lupin. Lily, if you trust the movie dialogue, apparently maintained her trust in him. But I doubt the dialogue is significant.
I am notorious for going off on wild tangents, and the entire column up to this point has been one gigantic tangent. Here's the point:
The real reason I wrote this is because I believe that the clues in the movies are solid, subtle clue - not fishy dialogue. I turn your attention to the Sorcerer's Stone movie: Hermione takes Harry and Ron to see the Quidditch plaque that lists James Potter as a Seeker (which is possible. Remember, Ginny went from Seeker to Chaser.) But may I turn your attention to the rest of the plaque.
The plaque has three badges. The badge that reads "James Potter, Seeker, 1970" (or 1973, the print is illegible, but chronologically, it should be 1970) is the largest, and it is in the middle.
To the left, a smaller badge reads "R.J.H. King, 1969" and to the right another small badge reads "M.G. McGonagall, 1971." (Light bulbs going off in your head.) This is either a mistake, or Professor McGonagall has a child around James' age! JKR has said that some teachers are married, and Professor McGonagall has always been the most likely suspect on my list. Another McGonagall (likely a brilliant mind) running around? (Can anyone say DADA?) Another Question: What is Minerva's maiden name?
The plaque could display Seekers, captains, or most likely a single team. (Professor McGonagall is a big Quidditch fan.)
Whether the "Quidditch Plaque" is a clue or not, I believe this is the sort of thing we need to be vigilantly looking for - so go out and watch!
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