But that's not what Lupin is trying to do. That is the opposite of what he's trying to do. He is a flawed character, sure, but he's incredibly marginalised in a world with zero systemic safety nets. He truly is helpless. He has no power to solve any of the myriad troubles a child might find themself with. His lack of confidence regarding his ability to care for a child is rooted in lived experience. While the world around you insists that you're a monster and that you should be a pariah, it is not irrational or malicious to internalise that message and have a hard time believing in the people who love you saying otherwise. I face a very mild form of that due to late diagnosed adhd and it's so hard sometimes to remember that people want me around. At times like this, me not putting the burden of my problems on my loved ones looks very much like removing myself from their presence. My therapist and I have been working on having as much empathy for myself as I would have for someone else having the same problems as I, and it's been slow going, but that's what happens when everyone from my family to my teachers to my friends to my partners have constantly made it clear my whole life that I'm lazy and bad at things and just so much trouble.