We all know the stories about the magical being that transforms from a human to a wolf under the light of the full moon. We all know that these creatures are thought to be evil and consort with the likes of the devil and his minions (in fact, werewolves were thought to be the minions of the devil.)
But a certain character named Remus Lupin, first introduced in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", seems to have changed the minds of millions.
Remus Lupin is probably the best tempered teacher, besides Dumbledore, to ever wander around Hogwarts. He never seems to get angry or depressed, but seems to stay in the same disposition throughout the story- quiet, well-mannered, and friendly.
So how could dear, sweet Professor Lupin be a "Child of the Night"?
If you are writing a story revolving around Remus thinking about his being a werewolf, or anything of the sort, you may want to take a few of the following facts into view:
1) According to JK Rowling's "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", there is only one way to become a werewolf- being bitten. But surely there has to be a few other ways, because it simply wouldn't make sense that one day a wolf went up to some person, bit them, and the person became a werewolf. Other possibilities are: birth, potion, or curse.
Keep in mind that Remus was bitten when he was young.
2) Werewolves are looked at as evil beings, no matter how nice the person is when they aren't howling at the moon once a month. So if you've conjured up a werewolf character that gets found out by someone, chances are that they're not going to be accepted by every person that knows, no matter how sweet and gentle they are. (Example: Ron's favorite teacher in the third book is probably Lupin, but I can't remember if this is exactly true. But take into consideration what he said the second he found out Lupin was a werewolf: "Stay away from me, werewolf!")
3) The Ministry of Magic probably has some way of keeping track of the werewolf population. This system of tracking probably isn't very pleasant because we can imagine that some Ministry workers are probably predjudice against werewolves.
4) Predjudice against werewolves probably goes farther than the usual name-calling that racists use against eachother. In the magical world, one can imagine that werewolves were probably cursed, stoned, beaten, or even killed for what they were- more likely, this took place in the old days before Harry and Company. But it is likely that such treatment still goes on in the other world. Think about it- if being a werewolf weren't so bad, why would Lupin be afraid people were going to find him out?
5) Remus says that his parents tried everything they could to cure him. So he at least got support from them, and he probably loves/ed them both very much. He might have had some siblings. What would their reactions be? What would you think if you found out your younger/older brother was a werewolf, something to be feared and angry at? Would his siblings get teased too?
6) Remus's friends didn't find out he was a werewolf until their second year (probably around the middle of the year) and came up with the idea for the Animagus Potion that same year. The potion wasn't complete until their fifth year. How would Remus react to the idea at first? Would he be against it? For it? And what would the wait from second to fifth year be like for him? Where would they brew the potion? Where would they keep it? What would they do with it over the summer?
7) Sirius said he thought that Remus was the spy. What could have triggered that thought? Was it something to do with Remus's being a werewolf? Could it be, that no matter what Sirius told himself, that he still feared and mistrusted Remus deep down? Was Sirius actually predjudiced?
8) Remus probably lived in a heavily wooded area during his childhood. After all, this would explain why a werewolf would have been near his home. He probably lived in a forest for another reason: during his summers, he would have to be far enough away from people so that they wouldn't hear his screams when he changed.
9) Remus probably had something similar to the Shrieking Shack at his home- whether it be a basement, an extra room, or whatnot. I can't imagine his parents, who obviously must have been nice people, just leaving him to run around the woods at night, free to bite others at his will.
10) Werewolves are allergic to a lot of things. Here are a list of their allergies, how they are affected by them, and whether or not they are lethal.
a) Silver- burns the skin. Not lethal unless given in very large doses. One silver bullet dipped in holy water will not kill a werewolf; it might night even slow it down. You'd probably have to shoot twelve bullets to even hurt it.
b) Wolfsbane- this probably makes them sneeze. I'm not sure. But it is lethal if too much is ingested. This would be why Snape has to make the potion- Lupin, who is bad at Potions, would probably end up killing himself by accidentally overdosing on wolfsbane.
c) Ashwood- the wood from Ash trees is a repellent or sorts. I'm not sure if this makes them sneeze or whatever, but I know that they can't climb ash trees or go near fires that are burning with ash wood. Probably not lethal.
d) Rye wheat- also not sure if this makes them sneeze. But I know that it is lethal if they ingest it, and that if you want to escape a werewolf, you have to run into a field of rye (or climb an ash tree.) Probably not lethal.
e) Holy water- I'm not sure if this qualifies as an allergy, but I believe that werewolves can't go near the stuff since their blood is "tainted" in a way.
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Got something you want to say about werewolves? Email me and I'll post it!
Forbidden Forest
The Western Tower
