#poa remus' version

[lettersfromthewindmill]

Remus hesitated, studying him. This boy in front of him, a perfect mix of his two best friends, looking at him like he had all the answers. While his face was so familiar, it was apparent that they didn't know each other at all. Aside from his appearance he wasn't really that much like either James or Lily, and clearly no one had ever mentioned Remus to Harry before. He had no idea that Remus had been the fourth person in the world to hold him. Oh, the ways things had turned out.

Chapter 6 - the one where Harry and Remus have tea with the Grindylow... And the Halloween feast

[neverenoughmarauders]

In defence of Remus Lupin

On behalf of James Potter who is unable to come to his aid on account of being dead.

I don’t for a second believe James would blame Remus for not checking in on Harry.

Firstly, Sirius proves in the way he questions Harry in POA that he believes Harry to be reasonably happy with his aunt and uncle (which is odd given Sirius sees him run away but nevermind). Why would Remus think any differently? He will have believed Harry to be well taken care of. Remus also trusted Dumbledore like nobody else. If Dumbledore believed Harry to be taken care of, why would Remus doubt it?

Remus should still have checked you say, and yes, had he been healthy, I’m sure James would have agreed.

Which brings me to secondly. Throughout the series we see how little Remus values himself. He doesn’t truly seem to believe it worthwhile to fight to keep his position as DADA teacher, when Harry and his class does. Remus believes that his wife and unborn child would be better off without him. And I’m sure he believed Harry to be better off without him too.

I’m sick of people not understanding how real this feeling of people being better off without him feels like to Remus. He’s shunned all his life for what he is. Even the more progressive people don’t want their children or loved ones around werewolves (as proven by Molly in OOTP at St. Mungo’s). Tonks becomes a target to the woman who does eventually kill her because she married Remus. (There’s a real question whether Tonks could have survived the battle of Hogwarts if Bella hadn’t been so set on murdering her). Would running away have helped Tonks or Teddy? No, but that’s missing the point. Remus believes it would. And Remus would have believed Harry was better off without him.

I can’t possibly know what James would have felt but from what we see of James and Sirius’ friendship with Remus, I think they knew better than anyone how inferior Remus felt, how dangerous and contaminated he believed himself to be.

This assertion is not completely unfounded because so did everyone else. As much as I hate the HBP scene when the whole room talks Remus into marrying Tonks, and as much as JKR does an awful job at selling their story as anything other than a doomed, random and forced relationship - the idea is meant to be that they are both in love with each other. The idea is meant to be that the other adults aren’t pressuring Remus into doing something he doesn’t want to do. It’s meant to be them knowing how much Remus will not date or marry the person he loves because he does not consider himself worthy of it. It should have been a scene that was one more data point on how much Remus’ condition affected his self-worth and life choices. A scene in which in the absence of Sirius and James and Dumbledore, the other people in Remus’ life step up to remind him he’s good enough!

In my view it fails to deliver this completely (and it’s a real tragedy as JKR finally takes time to elaborate on just how affected Remus is by his condition), but ignoring the execution for a second - if Minerva, Molly, Arthur and Tonks could see how much Remus would never believe himself good enough, then James and Sirius would know it a thousand times more.

Of course the confident fanon version is a different story. He should have and would have checked up on Harry. But hating canon Remus for not checking up on Harry shows a lack of empathy in my view. Rewriting the story so that Remus was forbidden to see Harry takes away from the tragedy that is Remus’ life: this idea that he believed the world would be better without him - when so many people know it would be infinitely worse.

[forestdeath1]

The willpower and resilience of Sirius Black and Remus Lupin in canon and fanon

The main conflict in the characterization of these characters or why those who love the canon Sirius and Remus get so irritated by their fanon versions?

The primary difference between the canon and fanon Sirius and Remus is their willpower and resilience. Not masculinity, femininity, intelligence, beauty, or height. But specifically willpower, resilience, psychological strength, and typical coping strategies.

Canon Sirius

Sirius in the canon has remarkable willpower. Even in Azkaban, after a decade, he looks and speaks like a normal person, whereas other prisoners are insane, sitting in darkness, muttering. Dementors patrol Sirius's door around the clock in Azkaban, but it hardly affects him. Yes, he transformed into a dog, but what primarily helped him, why he didn't lose his mind, is the thought that he was innocent. This thought could not be sucked out by the dementors, but it preserved his mind and self-awareness, and he maintained this thought for many years. He had no strength, no wand, but still, when he saw Peter in a photograph years later and recognized him (good attentiveness even after years in Azkaban), he found the strength to finish what he started.

He retained his sanity in Azkaban for 12 years to make the right conclusions and then find the strength to escape from that prison.

Moreover, he didn't recognize authorities, even years later. He opposes Dumbledore in PoA, stands against his family as a 16-year-old teenager. Moreover, he was the first of the Blacks to be sorted into Gryffindor. He didn't even know if he wanted to be there, but on the train, he thought it would be nice to break the tradition. This was a deliberate act.

Tradition for the Blacks is not an empty sound. Constantly going against traditions is not just impulsive rebellion; it's the ability and willingness to withstand backlash, aggression, abuse towards oneself for disobedience.

Sirius didn't stop at being sorted into Gryffindor. He went further - made "wrong" friends, hung up nude posters, refused to accept family traditions, and eventually ran away. In a closed, strict, and dysfunctional family like the Blacks, it's quite difficult to withstand the constantly looming threat - primarily existential - to your life.

Yes, he lived 10 months a year at Hogwarts, but the threat remained always - he was always the one who was "against", they tried to bring him back, teach him, in Slytherin were his family and childhood friends, who surely interacted with him on a closer-farther level, trying to influence him. Sirius still found the strength to resist. This is a very high level of resilience, and most likely, his psyche always mobilizes in conditions of stress and conflicts. It's as if he gets a second wind.

In OotP, he's locked at home and left to fight not a real external enemy, but his memories. This is a different battle, and in it, he indeed becomes noticeably weaker. For such an active and proactive person, actions are needed; he can't just sit back, especially being locked in a house associated with many traumatizing youth memories. He's trapped in a system that formed beliefs in him that he's worthless by himself and only has value as an heir and representative of the Blacks. And now after Azkaban, he:

couldn't kill Peter,

again does nothing, just "chills" in his house, with Snape, Molly, and even the twins pointing this out.

In this situation, his enemy is within himself, and thus, fighting his internal demons is harder than confronting any external adversary.

Sirius's main enemy isn’t the external foe. The main enemy of Sirius is within himself.

Fanon Sirius

Fanon Sirius is considerably weaker. He's depicted as constantly crying in fanfictions, rebelling for the sake of rebellion (with a dash of sarcasm and odd jokes), and exhibiting teenage snarkiness rather than the ability to intentionally stand up to forces far greater than himself. He cries under parental abuse, breaks down, cries on his friends' shoulders, cries after the Prank, and this is labelled as moral growth.

This isn't moral growth. A person like Sirius doesn't develop morally in this way. It's an attempt to break him within the narrative. The silent treatment after the Prank is also an attempt to break his spirit. Firstly, canonical James would never have given Sirius the silent treatment as punishment (this is a literal fact from the canon). Secondly, canonical Sirius would have taken such "punishment" very poorly, exacerbating his childhood trauma and thrusting him into a vicious cycle of reactivating and manifesting his sense of worthlessness and attempts to conceal it. Why do this to him? Why hate Sirius so much? Why break him when there's another way, a real opportunity to help him?

Canon Remus

Meanwhile, Remus in the canon is entirely different. He too harbours a belief that he's not valuable in his own right. This sense of inadequacy. While Sirius chose a coping strategy of action, which is quite productive, Remus opted for avoidance. Remus consistently avoids, agreeing that yes, he's inadequate. Whereas Sirius prefers to prove that he can indeed be useful, valuable, needed, and important (to those he loves).

Remus stays silent during Snape's bullying, though he doesn't particularly like the situation. He doesn't throw a tantrum after the Prank ("you might" - quite a weak self-defence), while in fanon, Remus reacts like a true drama queen, being offended for half a year and punishing bad-bad Sirius. Remus in the canon avoids! In PoA, he avoids telling Dumbledore the truth because Dumbledore's opinion of him matters, though it's a false opinion since Remus essentially betrayed his trust. That is, Remus is prepared to pretend to be someone else just to avoid disappointment—again, avoidance. The situation with Tonks is the same kind of avoidance. And even when he explodes at Harry, he immediately runs away. Where was Remus after James's death? Unknown. He was roaming the world, perhaps struggling with alcohol (which is also avoidance), not trying to contact Harry. In his interactions with Harry, he also constantly maintained a distance, never emotionally opening up to him.

This doesn't make Remus a bad person, but it's his coping strategy. He avoids. He's not prepared to face a real conflict head-on. He often can't accept it, it's hard for him, he lacks strength. He's willing to die, yes (which is also avoidance), but when it comes to relationships and complex moral experiences, he closes off, dims down, and gets lost. He's quite weak (though sincerely kind and empathetic) in terms of willpower and resilience, fitting well into his secondary role within the Marauders. Again, this isn't bad, and such people are needed in any group; they're softer, they smooth some edges, they're often pleasant, Remus has a good sense of humour, and he's a sweetheart overall. But he's not a strong person in his own right; his coping strategy is not to fight but to retreat into his shell.

Fanon Remus

In fanon, however, Remus has a very strong will, readiness for conflicts, punishments, rescuing, finding solutions. In general, his resilience is increased, roughly speaking, from five to nine. As I've already said, in canon Remus reacted very weakly after the prank, but fanon Remus reacts like a true drama queen, being offended for six months and punishing bad-bad Sirius. That is, in addition to becoming the most important "alpha male" of the pack, he's also the main drama character of their pack, who literally throws passive-aggressive fits for several months waiting for Sirius to realize how bad he is. (The way the Prank is represented in fanon is an excellent example of how NOT to do it)

Conclusion

And it's precisely this difference in resilience, moral and psychological fortitude, and strength that causes the main problems in characterisation and people's attitudes. It's not so much whether Sirius is more feminine and Remus masculine. The main difference lies in their resilience. Sirius has become weaker. He could be feminine, short, and anything else, but remain strong and quite tough morally and psychologically. Remus might be tall, handsome, look masculine, but still remain less resilient.

But gender norms permeate everywhere, and if the fandom wants to see a feminine Sirius, they endow him with a conditionally "feminine" character. Though canonically, Sirius and Remus definitely even physically match their stereotypically gendered psychological characteristics—Sirius more masculine, and Remus more feminine, subtle, and short, as if wanting to disappear and blend in.

Many people's favourite characters have completely swapped places. And while this is interesting to develop and explore, providing additional fuel for the fandom fire (masculine resilient Remus + feminine Sirius = new relationship development options), I personally understand why this irritates many.

Because the primary characteristics, the very foundation of these characters, have been swapped.

Essentially, their very essence has been changed.

[messrsrarchives]

We've never spoke but I watched some of your live last night and I love your blog enough to excuse the snupin 😅 i'm always willing to learn though so out of curiosity, how do you think they got together?

Sorry if you've answered that before

RAHHHH YES HELLO OKAY

we have two options here okay:

1) post-prank

remus has spent his life dulling himself down to not draw attention to his condition. he's incredibly insecure about it and forever worries about causing harm to people

thus, he doesn't just let snape leave after the prank, no. it's eating him up inside. he HAS to apologise, he has to make it clear that this incident is not representative of him OR the rhetoric surrounding lycanthropy - he refuses to be another statistic used against himself, so he apologises.

again and again and again he apologises and doesn't give up. snape is reluctant to accept it BUT he can see that remus is entirely cut off from the marauders so hey, if remus wants to sit at his table in the library and work quietly? what's the harm? they both can't draw any more attention to the incident so snape just lets it be.

BOOM: snupin. snape and remus slowly getting closer and closer and bonding over how much they hate sirius in this moment, remus getting to see a version of snape he doesn't normally get to see, snape realising remus isn't a cruel person and is nothing to be scared of (he literally has ink stains on his hand and grins when he understand the work, he's harmless,,,, except that one time ig but that's not his fault 🙂↕️) AND !! lily: lily being the only person remus still really speaks to, talking to lily about snape and them three becoming a lil study trio!?

and if we want endgame wolfstar: when sirius leaves grimmauld place, they make up, boom wolfstar, sad snape :(

2) POA era (the one that i'm writing)

remus picking up his wolfsbane every month and them slowly getting closer

snape at this point had deflected and remus knows that, he can see through the lil facade that snape has and tries to warm up to him

harry!!!! remus seeing how snape treats harry and being like "you know, there's as much lily in him as there is james" - bonding over lily being one of their closest friends, even if at different times. bonding over that loss and everything that happened after

BOOOOOM: snupin !! forced interaction with the wolfsbane, snape the potions master working on ways to improve the potion for him, bonding over loss and growth after everything, snupin sitting in their quarters marking essays together etc etc

and again, if we want endgame wolfstar: sirius coming back from azkaban !? boom wolfstar, sad snape again :(

[dufferpuffer]

I have read some of your long and comprehensive meta on symptoms of lycantrophy, but this is more of a headcanon question:

Remus suggests Bill might have some “wolfish traits” after his attacks. Could werewolves in their human form have enhanced sense of smell or hearing, or immunity for some water borne diseases, or other “wolfish traits”?

Would they be immune to Polyjuice just like Hagrid? Could they be immune to other potions and poisons? Or even spells or curses?

There’s also the moon factor - some people attribute Remus peakiness to the dread he feels before every transformation, some to the “pull of the moon”. So much to explore.

What I sense is that people are trying to give an overlooked side to lycantrophy that might not be that bad or painful, and sometimes I rather like that.

I’ve read some interesting works (some good some bad) that indicated that lycanthropes carry a magic of their own, more intuitive and primal. Personally, I find that exciting to explore, as the myth of the werewolf is really ancient and could be linked to some really cool lore. I also like the idea that shouting latin words and shooting sparks from a wand is only one way of doing things, and that magic itself can be manifested in more mysterious ways that prejudiced, self-important wizards don’t bother to explore.

Half my opinion and half asking for yours, the lycanthrope expert! Beyond uncomfortable pathological symptoms, how do you think the biology of a non transformed werewolf might change?

Thanks for reading my ramblings B^) I'm gonna engage with everything you brought up because thats what I feel like doing, its really really fun to talk HCs and theories

WEREWOLF HCs AND THEORIES

Like... 2000 words or something idk

The Moons Effect My theory is that symptoms are caused not by the Full Moon itself but a culmination of magic the moon puts into the atmosphere, getting stronger through the month until the Werewolf 'pops'.

You don't need to be touched by the Full Moonlight to transform, it happens regardless of where you hide... so it's in the air.

Yet Remus seems to be triggered by Moonlight when nobody expected him to be in PoA. (Part 3 is my theory on that in more detail.)

When they get symptoms before the Full Moon, even during the day, its like something is building up in them.

Their Lycanthropy (Dark Magic curse or Virus or both… perhaps a Virus with its own magic?) seems to feed on the Moon's energy.

I'm sure Remus feels dread before his Full Moon, but I think his peakiness is more than that. I doubt someone like Fenrir would feel that dread - but still has recognizable symptoms pre-Full Moon by Lyall (according to the 'Remus Lupin' Pottermore page)

'Pull of the Moon' is a good phrase. I like that. The moon is getting stronger and their Lycanthropy is responding in their cells, affecting them physically, preparing…

What are 'Wolfish Traits' in canon...? It is SO FRUSTRATING we don't hear more of this, ONLY that Bill likes his steak bloody. The story is teasing me. Leading me on. REMUS WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WOLFISH TRAITS' DARLING PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING YOU FUCKING FLIRT

Remus is not ''obviously'' a werewolf. He puts a lot of work into that. Whenever people have worked him out (James/Sirius, Snape, Hermione) it has been based on his disappearances, not on how he looks or acts otherwise.

+ There are vague symptoms pre-Full Moon (as Harry notices in a memory and that Lyall Pottermore thing), + Weakness and loss of weight post-Full Moon (though that could be directly tied to exhaustion from transforming) + And of course - the transformation itself. The psychotic break of becoming a violent bite-hungry wolf. ...Thats it. Thats is all we know about what traits are definitely caused by Lycanthropy.

I can only assume Bill goes through some minor version of this: Maybe he feels a bit off around the Full Moon. Maybe he gets a bit hairy, maybe the moon gives him insomnia and a bad mood… ...I like to think so. As you said - sometimes its nice to think about over-looked sides of Lycanthropy that aren't 'as bad'.

After all, while still horrible, the Full Moon isn't the most major 'disabling' trait Remus suffers. Sometimes he even LIKES the transformation. No, the worst symptom... Is probably the fatigue. Even on Wolfsbane he needs multiple days off work, feeling too horrible to show up for Christmas lunch. The thing that stops him from working, that reveals what he is to a bigoted society, extending beyond a night of delirium and pain into days of suffering… are his 'less bad' symptoms. (That's something often overlook with disabilities: it's often not the loudest symptom that are the biggest problem - but the management of them, the complications of it, side effects from treatments, poor mental health from dealing with it physically and socially... I love you Remus Lupin)

Potential Wolfish Traits There is no evidence that, even transformed, Werewolves have heightened senses. Pottermore says their eyes and snouts are 'more human' than a True Wolf - though that doesn't like… mean much. They could still have wolf-like smell and night vision and stuff. Or they could not. Apparently Muggle and Wizard blood tastes different - whether that is Lycanthropic instinct, heightened taste/smell or sensing magic… who knows.

In any case, I don't think in Human form they do. If Remus had heightened senses he could surely have smelled Scabbers. He could have smelled Padfoot. If heightened senses are a known trait then surely Remus could be sent out to pick up Sirius' scent and track him. (unless it isn't quite strong enough for that...)

In terms of fun HC - I do like it. B^) + I like the idea of Remus being able to hear people approach his office from further away, so he is always prepared. + I like the idea of him being not-so-good at potions because the smells are overwhelming. + I like the idea of him, and all Werewolves, being more active in the dark without Lumos because they can see better. Sneaky.

We get hints that there are 'Wolfish traits' one can tell a Werewolf by, even when in Human form… and I like the idea of them being subtle habits. Or you just blow a dog whistle and they flinch.

There's more evidence against this than for it, though. I don't think it is canon… but it is fun :) In any case it would most likely get stronger around the Full Moon and weaken by New Moon, as all his symptoms do.

THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT MIGHT HAVE SOME CANON MERIT THOUGH: Magical resilience; Physical dexterity/strength; Healing; Greying.

Fenrir seems to take more powerful magical hits. Maybe he's just a badass. (He is. Punk grandpa is an icon tbh.)

Fenrir can run FAST on four legs in his Human form. Normally people run kinda slow and awkwardly on four legs. Added strength and flexibility from Lycanthropy...? Perhaps he's just a REALLY intense furry and has trained meticulously. No shade - that's impressive

Remus was attacked around the neck and clawed at by Sirius Black, enough to scare him off from a bunch of human prey - but shows no injury the next day. Maybe Sirius didn't break skin. Maybe accelerated healing is just a Transformation thing. Maybe... Lycanthropy wants to help keep it's host alive.

What do Remus and Fenrir have in common...? Grey hair. What colour is werewolf fur? Grey. Could this just be that Fenrir is old/used to be stressed, and Remus is so stressed now that he is going grey? Yes. But honestly if most werewolves go grey early from the stress of life... that's kinda a symptom by itself anyway.

4. Polyjuice Polyjuice is a dangerous potion - as we saw with Hermione. Cat fur messed her form up and prevented her from shifting back easily, because it was a different animal. It seems the only way to cleanly shift your physical appearance is with 'matching' species DNA or whatever.

Hagrid would be the same: he is a different animal. If Hermione became part-cat when she had cat fur and got stuck… I think if someone had Hagrid's hair they would become part-half-giant and get stuck. (same for Hagrid into a full-human, his Giant genes wouldn't know what to do.)

Remus is full-human. I don't think there would be any issue.

Whether or not someone disguised as him would have Lycanthropy symptoms… I'm not sure, but I don't think so. The potion takes into account physical damage and deformities. It copied Harry's eyesight, Alastor's amputation and disfigurements… but copying an infection? If you took hair from someone who had the Flu, would you feel the Flu when you turned into them?

I don't think so - because things like infection and viruses are living creatures in their own right. Like you wouldn't sprout head lice if you turned into a kid with head lice. (Whether virus' are 'alive' is debated a bit, though I see no reason not to consider them alive just because they need to be parasitic to cells to function.)

If Lycanthropy is more like a curse than alive - does a curse transfer through Polyjuice? I doubt it. No curse on Alastor is injested by Barty through his hair. Magic is very intent-based, and the intent of Lycanthropy is spit-to-blood.

Also I just think its more interesting if, like personality and habits, you had to pretend to be sick to pass at the person you disguise as.

HOWEVER - if you took werewolf FUR… Polyjuice takes into account ones current physical state, right? Remus' physical state changes dramatically, painfully, magically - into a wolf-like creature.

A change has happened that is different to what a non-infected human can experiences. Taking werewolf fur, I think, would result in a cat-Hermione that gets stuck in a non-human shape. Same with Animagus fur/feathers/etc: they are humans, but they are in a shape and size that is not what a human that hasn't magically trained their body through the procedure can mimic.

The question I want answered is whether Minerva can have cat-fur Polyjuice and turn into a different looking cat. She's on the registry as a tabby, so she sneaks around disguised as a Calico…

Wolf Magic Magic isn't just latin words and wand sparks. Wands are a European thing - they aren't used much in Africa etc, where they use their hands more. We even see that, as a Wizard becomes more skilled, they don't need to say anything. Wandless magic is advanced. it seems wand movements, words and even wands themselves are just tools to aid in learning, to focus ones magic.

You can follow a recipe to bake a cake - but if you're good at baking, you can just throw that shit together, experiment on the fly.

Since Werewolves are a very old phenomenon with a magical root - whether that be some ancient curse, or Lycanthropy is some sort of magical creature virus - magic only available to Werewolves sounds pretty cool.

I don't like how it further differentiates werewolves from other humans, because the theme is that they ARE humans like everyone else and are being treated as 'other'. I wouldn't want to make them superheroes by accident, yknow?

But like… there's a million cool ways to take werewolf magic. I like the idea of utilizing the magic within the virus/curse itself. It's evidently incredibly powerful, physical, draws and stores energy from the moon, using a human as its puppet to spread itself... What if there were ways to utilize parts of that…? A symbiotic relationship with ones parasite, for better or for worse?

6. Biological changes of a Werewolf - headcanons B^)

I'm a big fan of the idea that Remus is living unhealthily by stifling his Lycanthropy while Fenrir is living healthy by indulging it. Remus is thin, pale, bags under his eyes - despite being young. Fenrir is rangy, tall, heavy, strong - despite being older.

It is a negative experience to take Wolfsbane and stifle the transformation - it is a positive experience to run around with Animagus friends and embrace it.

Lycanthropy is a severe thing. Once a month, EVERY month, you go through a complete physical change. It is painful to endure, you get into fights or self-harm - and Remus at least comes out thinner. There's no way that doesn't do anything. Especially as you get older.

So, my HC, is that Remus - being unhealthy - gets a lot of aches and pains. His body doesn't transform well. + He doesn't eat enough because he wants to be as weak as possible. It's safer. + His fatigue afterwards is worse. His small bones like his fingers sometimes don't set right, costing him more in potions... unless he just puts up with it. + His Wolfish-Form looks like shit. Patchy fur, thin, always panting... + He looks a little wonky from a childhood spent transforming every month - on less food than he should have had. Like he is on the short-average side, but has a stretched spine that makes him look a little taller. Nothing much visually - but can give him joint pain.

Fenrir DELIGHTS in his form. I don't think he has aches or pains much at all - his body transforms well. He encourages it so much, as he gets older, it's leaking into his Human form. + He is described as having 'whiskers' - and I take that literally. Nobody else has their facial hair described in that way, and he is a hairy man with long unkempt hair - he aint shaving... and somehow I doubt he has a patchy enough beard to be called 'whiskers'. I kinda think he straight up has whiskers. + Hairy. He has enough hair to be called fur. + Wolfish form is epic. Strong, noble, heavy, vicious, huge... + I can accept he sharpens his nails - but his teeth? He sharpens his teeth? I think they're natural, because sharpening teeth makes them weaker. His body is getting used to biting outside the Full Moon. + His fatigue afterwards is better than most, but his pre-Full Moon symptoms are stronger, his body AMPED UP in anticipation. + His body is more flexible, more used to different movements, that biting, scratching, prowling, walking on four limbs... its easier. + His voice is ravaged. A unique coarse, rough, barking voice.

Fenrir is a chad who can chase down a rabbit on all fours and catch it in his teeth - while Remus grunts a few times trying to tie his laces. Fenrir shows the signs of his Lycanthopy outwardly as he gets older, while Remus shows them internally as he fails to look after himself.

Regardless of how 'healthy' a werewolf is: + Snarling, growling, whining... all something you get used to. Deep chesty rumbles. A few years of being a werewolf and you're so practiced at it it's second nature. Fenrir embraces it - Remus takes careful control of his emotions so he NEVER slips up. + Hairier in general. Even Remus. They just have more body hair. Because I am biased towards typically masculine traits? Yes. + The bloody meat thing. A heightened desire for protein, better at tasting different things in meat and blood. Safer to eat, too.

[fiendishfyre]

So, since you found your way into wolfstar lately I would like to know what did change your mind? What's so compelling about them for you?

I have always shipped it. I just have a burning dislike of the popular fanon version people act like it's canon or that everyone agreed that it's the 'best version'. But I have chosen to ignore them and ship them the way as the gods intended, ahahahhahahahaha. XD I also REFUSE to let anyone taint a ship to the point where I can't ship it. No one gets that right. What has always been compelling but I've just found peeps to talk with that has made it all more interesting. Like unrequited Prongsfoot, Sirius pining over James, Remus over Sirius or not even. They get together out of convenience. They are both in the same friend group. But are NOT best friends. Like canon we get how Sirius and james are the besties of the group. I really like that being explored. Sirius and Remus never close so no pining. It's more something that comes later, they take a chance on each other. This is all thoughts on late school, or right out of school wolfstar. If I include the canon suspicion of each other, they def don't get together. Won't romantically fall for each other. Maybe still be fuck buddies. I do like them just getting together cuz Remus doesn't feel he can ever even make new friends and Sirius sees Remus as a safe choice. Doesn't need to go out and risk getting with someone who might fall for him. They feel easy to each other. The thing is, they are NOT easy for or to each other. They kinda rub each other wrong. Remus nature of people pleasing and fleeing, sirius more brash and direct to borderline cruel way. I love them just fumbling and being a messy ass couple. Struggling to adjust to each others needs. To understand each other. Neither letting the other completely in, esp Sirius since he refuses to let anyone get as close to him as James has. Remus knowing Sirius loves James so he feels inadequate. Remus' insecurities really taking a hold of him, to Sirius' frustrations. He can compliment Remus yet Remus will do some self deprecating comment.

Imagine POA Wolfstar (The best), I won't ramble on. I already have to stop myself now or I can keep going. This was already a mess and I don't think I even answered the question. XD

[caslyra]

Things fanon and I don't agree on #1

Fanon: Huge fight after "The Prank", Remus hates Sirius, doesn't talk to him for months, James adrift, dynamics of the whole Marauders destroyed, friendship possibly ruined forever until Sirius suddenly realizes what he's done and/or Remus takes pity on him after ages of him applogizing

Canon: No hint in that direction whatsoever. The opposite, more like

Please go for your "big fight after 'the prank'"-fanfictions, I love a good deal of them. But it's not canon.

There was no big fight and Sirius did not realize the wrong of his actions, at least not until after PoA

Hear me out:

Remus wasn't all that sensible a teenager as fanon makes him out to be

In PoA he says: 

"Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did…[...]"

[...]

“That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you’d given the others the slip and bitten somebody?”  [Hermione]

"A thought that still haunts me”, said Lupin heavily. “And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless - carried away with our own cleverness."

So even if adult Remus is all reasonable, teenage Remus obviously had no qualms roaming around a freaking village as a werewolf? (And is adult Remus really that sensible? Let's not forget he did neither tell Dumbledore about an alleged mass-murderer being an animagus, nor the secret passages that led into the castle, even AFTER said mass murderer had already broken into Harry’s dormitory, supposedly with the plan to kill him.)

No, Remus basically admits he wasn’t all that bothered that he, a werewolf, almost gave the others the slip (As an adult, yes "A thought that still haunts me", but not as a teenager). And I think it’s sort of 'understandable‘ if we remind ourselves that Remus says he was  more human-like with them ("Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."), plus that a werewolf isn’t a threat to animals ("A werewolf is only a danger to people.") They became reckless because Remus was no danger when with them.

What I take from this is: Remus was running around Hogsmeade, where people lived ("roaming the school grounds and the village by night") as a werewolf. Even though he almost slipped away more than once ("And there were near misses, many of them."). And Remus was - as I said - okay with it ("We laughed about them afterwards."), calls himself "thoughtless". 

So I think our view of Remus (whom I love by the way if that wasn't clear already, I LOVE flawed characters, don't take them away from me!) is a little contorted because we only know him as an adult (and even then he isn't always that reasonable as we make him out to be).

 

2. With that 'version' of Remus in mind him dismissing the prank is not that big a stretch

Remus might as well have gotten away from his friends and bitten/hurt another person. And if Remus was at the very least sort of okay with roaming Hogsmeade, I can see why the whole 'trick' was not that big a deal to Sirius. Because if Remus, who ought to know the risks best, whose life was at stake every time they left the Shack, didn't seem to think any of it, was acting that reckless, how was Sirius supposed to think it through, assess the possible dangers? (Don't get me wrong, I'm not making excuses for Sirius - he should have thought it through. I'm just trying to trace a poasible reasoning here)

3. Even if Remus was angry with Sirius after the prank, there was no big argument about it.

Adult Remus still speaks incredibly indulgently about the whole thing in PoA ("He has his reasons… you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me-” [...] Sirius thought it would be - er - amusing, to tell Snape [...]").

This, I think, is a pattern, because he continues to do so in OotP, when Harry confronts him and Sirius after having seen Snape's worst memory (""Look, Harry, what you’ve got to understand is that your father and Sirius were the best in the school at whatever they did - everyone thought they were the height of cool - if they sometimes got a bit carried away-""). He's obviously quick to find excuses for his friends -even if he doesn't agree with their behavior (he doesn't agree with what they did in Snape's worst memory).  

Of course you could argue that  twenty years had passed between the prank and Remus's statements in PoA and that Remus has had time to get over it. But for me it doesn't add up, because of Sirius's response in PoA:

“"It served him right”. he sneered. “Sneaking around, trying to find, what we were up to… hoping he could get us expelled…” 

So Sirius says that "It served him right“. Now, I fully agree that Sirius doesn't give a fuck about Snape's emotions or even his life (which is also true the other way round), but I just can’t picture him acting like that if said 'trick' had caused a huge fight between him and Remus. 

Say fanon got it 'right':

After the prank Remus is furious with Sirius, so furious that he doesn’t talk to him. For months even. It’s unsure whether they'll be able to go back to being friends. Now, Sirius might not be the most observant person (debatable, but not the point here), but even he would have picked up on the fact that this was a really big deal for Remus if they had had such a huge fight, if he had almost lost his friend over this. And in that scenario I just can not see him dismiss the whole thing with a throwaway comment like that - even after twelve years of Azkaban fucking with his head. Not if that whole incident was such a big deal as people seem to think, not if it put a serious strain on their relationship. It'd be like deliberately twisting the knife, it'd be a testimony of him not giving a fuck about Remus's feelings on the matter, it'd be like screaming "fuck you" at Remus. I'm sorry, but I don't see that. He wouldn't say that if the prank had almost destroyed their friendship. Because there's no doubt Remus was important to him, he never intentionally wanted to hurt him. And Sirius might be reckless, but he's not stupid. He's described as very bright more than once. He's not stupid enough not to realize what his statement would do to Remus had there been a fight.

So here's what happened in my opinion (Of course my opinion isn't inherently 'right' and I'm not some kind of Harry Potter expert, so feel free ro disagree with me - but that goes without saying):

Snape is following them for ages, trying to uncover Remus's secret. We know from Snape's memory in "The Prince's Tale"  that James/Sirius and Snape have been 'enemies' since the very first Hogwarts train ride (were the nickname was born). For all we know Remus never engaged in the bullying (even though he did nothing to stop it, either). Apart from the disgusting incident in Snape's worst memory (we don't have to talk about it, they were far out of line), it sounds to me like Snape and James were evenly matched. ("“Well”, said Lupin slowly, “Snape was a special case. I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James so you couldn’t really expect James to take that lying down, could you?”")

Sirius stumbles into Snape, who has been snooping around again: Scenario A: He actually wants to hurt/kill Snape in a spur-of-the-moment thing, because he 'deserves it'. He just snaps. (He comes from a family who loves Dark Magic after all, I can see him having a 'dark side' that he usually has under control ("We've all got both light and dark inside us"). Ironically, I think that Sirius's drive to be 'good' is his biggest weakness, because it leads him to stupid decisions).  

Scenario B: He only wants to scare Snape. He doesn't think (because he's Sirius Black - there are multiple occasions where he doesn't think things through). To him Remus is not dangerous. Yes, he has seen the wounds Remus has inflicted on himself. But Sirius has never experienced Remus as a threat to others. He isn't to them, they are having a great time every full moon ("And they didn’t desert me at all. Instead they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi.”). He didn't think it possible that something bad could actually happen to Snape, because he doesn't see Remus that way. As a danger. (Cleary, he didn't think)

Maybe Remus is angry about the prank, maybe he isn't. Either way he doesn't start an argument. Maybe he genuinely doesn't care much. Maybe he realizes how dangerous the whole thing had been (he certainly has as an adult), but doesn't bring it up nonetheless. Maybe because he blames himself (because, how are his friends supposed to see the danger, when he himself, a werewolf, runs around the village with them). Maybe he is afraid of losing his friends if he speaks up (we know he is incredibly grateful to have them in the first place). Maybe he finds other excuses for Sirius's behavior (he didn't mean it / he never thinks so it wasn't personal / nothing happened / he is stressed out because he has to go back home soon (although we don't know whether that's the case, he might as well already have lived with the Potters at that point). I, personally, can totally see Remus make excuses for him, we know he also did it with the Snape-bullying. 

At some point Remus realizes how dangerous it all was. Maybe still as a teenager, maybe as an adult. He hates himself for letting any of that happen. 

Sirius obviously doesn't realize any of that or he wouldn't say what he said in PoA. 

Then, and this is just my personal theory: 

I think that at some point between the end of PoA and OotP where Harry discusses Snape's worst memory with Remus and Sirius they talked about it. 

There seems to have been some introspection on Sirius's part and I don't particularly see him having that reached on his own. And the way they are interacting with each other hints to me that they had a chat. 

So, Harry retells Snape's memory, says James only started to torment Snape because Sirius was bored  and then:  

"“I’m not proud of it”, said Sirius quickly.

Lupin looked sideways at Sirius, then said, “Look, Harry, what you’ve got to understand is that your father and Sirius were the best in the school at whatever they did - everyone thought they were the height of cool - if they sometimes got a bit carried away-”

“If we were sometimes arrogant little berks, you mean”, said Sirius. 

Lupin smiled.

[...]

“Of course he was a bit of an idiot”, said Sirius bracingly, “we were all idiots! Well - Moony not so much”, he said fairly, looking at Remus." 

As I said, that's just my personal opinion, but to me it sounds as though -maybe- they talked about their past in the meanwhile. I mean . Sirius is sent to stay with Remus after GoF ("lie low at Lupin's") and then in OotP Remus is staying with him at Grimmauldplace. They surely have some time to talk about things. And if the whole prank/running around Hosgmeade thing is bothering Remus as an adult (and he just let it slip in PoA because it wasn't the place and time to address it in the Shack with Sirius trying to murder Peter), I can totally see them having that talk. Because as an adult, Remus doesn't seem to have that much of a problem to stand up to Sirius anymore ("Sirius, sit down!")

Do I think this course of events is 'right' or makes perfect sense? No. I think it would make more sense for Remus to be angry about the whole thing, even back then, as a teenager. But I don't see Remus roaming Hogsmeade either and he obviously did that. So, as I said before, please go for your "big fight after the prank"-fanfictions, I love a good deal of them. There's so much potential in the "big fight-thing.

And of course we don't have to stick to everything Rowling wrote (and sometimes definitely shouldn't!). But...

What bothers me is I rarely ever see a different approach.

[shivstar]

I have a guilty pleasure of reading Jegulus fics. Despite I shouldn't because of reasons-

#1 They are repetitive in their characterization. James is never shown as canon James that is cruel, arrogant and intelligent. Regulus is changed to diluted version of Sirius but with some self preservation because the dude went to Slytherin.

#2 I am majorly into Prongsfoot (obviously into romantic James and sirius for all those requiring clarification). So I feel like I am cheating on my babies for reading this fic where james is with sirius's brother.

# I hate wolfstar and Lupin with a passion. And if you had read a Jegulus fic, you will know that that pairing doesn't comes without wolfstar. Like ever. Ever. So, even though I have to suffer through this painful thing, I read it.

Why?

Because of the drama available there. Obviously. You get fluff. You get black brothers, you get strong women characters, you get different tropes and what's ifs, you get an ending where first war has better result as compared to canon.

But I hate it too because -

#1 James will never even look towards Regulus when he has the better black brother sirius right in front of him 24*7

#2 Sirius will never give a damm about remus when James is right in front of him for 24*7

#3 These fics forget that besides from the Wizarding war being about blood purity, it was also about dark wizards fighting for their rights. And Regulus black was a dark wizard. So okay maybe he does not want to be killing people for their status but if he also didn't want to be a dark wizard then you are making him sound like a very disfigured imitation of sirius but only more coward version who is a spineless, worthless follower.

I mean let the dude be a person who does not give a damm about whether other people are killed for their blood as long as he and his people are safe. Let him practice dark magic because he is a proud dark wizard unlike sirius who is a closeted dark wizard and has to hide his affinity to that part of magic just to fit with his friends.

#4 Every single Jegulus fic shows walburga and orion as physically and emotionally abusive parents. When I think it was never the case. I believe that with war on the horizon and with strong personalities, sirius and walburga clashed all the time because of their belief system. Walburga distanced herself when she felt that sirius was lost case and started focusing on Regulus who up until the point was not paid much attention.

Regulus was too happy to make his parents pay him attention, became even more malleable to their belief system in search of that affection while sirius thought that nothing he could do would be any better than Regulus so why try. He was jealous of his own brother. Like any normal child he resented his brother for getting his parents love. It was crystal clear in ootp if people dared to pay attention. {No but we were all busy paying attention to that brotherly hug in poa to have any brain cell remaining to pay attention to other books. Lol}

Why the reasons for sirius running away need to be exaggerated. Look around yourself. Have seen some parent child relationship in which there is no abuse involved, but still miscommunication, expectation, circumstances and belief were the reason of their estrangement.

#5 That point where you are reading form Regulus's pov and he has these abandonment issues because of sirius leaving him alone and not taking him away too and you feel for the guy because he is laying his heart out for his audience to see how much he suffered. He blames sirius and James. I feel that bullshit. First of all I think that Regulus was supper happy that he got to be having the sole attention of his parents. Again my version of his parents were not abusive people just two people who didnt know a thing about parenting. The guy was Slytherin, he liked winning. But he was also hurt by his parents still not being as concerned about him like they are of sirius, even when he is disowned. He hated his brother for having that concern in his parents' mind even now. He wanted to be better. He wanted to make them forget that sirius ever existed. He overcompensates by joining DE, he was not forced. He wanted to be make them pleasantly surprised when walburga never wanted that of her sons. She just wanted them to be bigots like her.

She absolutely despised the idea of her youngest bowing to someone. When Blacks are supposed to be the topmost. Practical royalty.

Regulus when he found out that his parents are in fact not happy with his decision, felt betrayed first and then lost. When he got the actual reality of death eating business, it was too late and he felt that he had no one in his corner. His only friends were all DE and quite happy in it. His parents were silently disappointed.

So when he found out about horcrux. He thought that he can make it upto his parents. But also he did not want to seek their help in his embarrassment. So he seeked to do it by himself and met his tragic end. Also I head canon that he could have fought to survive but his will to survive was lost because he felt adrift with no one to confide the complexities of his life, he felt alone. And he accepted death quite quickly with a relief because he was lonely in the world full of opinionated people.

So the bottom line is that I read Jegulus and then I hate myself for reading it. Because it is bullshit. But it has drama. And fanfics are their to entertain us even if it makes me pull my hair out and gauge own eyes.

[lettersfromthewindmill]

An elaborate one for Chapter 10. In this story, Remus is in that wedding photo too, and so Harry confronts him... Leading to an awful lot of looking at old photographs...

'Well, erm,' Remus paused and cleared his throat, it's ok, it's ok he thought himself, 'Well, there's your dad and your mum,' he pointed to where Lily had leapt back onto the sofa, mostly obscuring James who was laughing, face poking through her hair. 'This is Mary,' his finger moved down to where Mary was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a paper crown perched on her head, 'and sitting here next to her is Marlene.' He paused, finger just below the grinning face of a blonde witch, her arm slung around her friend's shoulders.

'And this is you,' Harry prompted, pointing to where Remus sat, also smiling, a bottle of butter beer in the hand he was resting on the arm of the sofa.

'Yes, yes that's me.' He really did remember this picture - it was the evening before they'd gone home for Christmas. He'd been due to go back to Wales briefly and then to the Potters to join the others. There was going to be a party and the girls were coming. They were all so excited. Sirius was squashed between him and James but turned towards Remus, his arms wrapped around his torso. They'd been so happy.

Remus inhaled, aware how long it was taking him, 'And that's Sirius,' he said pointing only briefly, 'and that is Peter.' His finger moved once more, to Peter, sitting on the floor beside Marlene, leaning back against Remus' legs.

'Pettigrew.' Harry breathed.

Remus looked up at him in surprise. 'How did you know that?'

[neverenoughmarauders]

The thing that frustrates me with the fanon ships is that I’ve slowly come to realise I’d happily ship any combination of the Marauders, if they stayed more true to their canon selves…

What if Sirius and Peter dated (and James and Sirius were the co-dependent mess they were in canon)? Was Peter jealous of James? How did someone like Sirius start dating someone like Peter? How does the betrayal play out (as in it’s now obvious why Sirius trusts Peter, but why does Peter betray Sirius and James). How can Sirius live with the guilt knowing it might have been his feelings for Peter that blinded him to the betrayal? How did this fuel Sirius’ anger towards Peter in PoA?

What if Remus and James dated (and James and Sirius were the co-dependent mess they were in canon)? When did they start dating? Why did James leave him for Lily? Or did Remus leave him (maybe he saw how much James enjoyed Lily’s company now they were starting to become friends and knowing James wouldn’t leave him)? How does this affect the betrayal? Does Sirius suspect Remus because he’s an ex of James and have been withdrawn since James and Lily started dating?

What if Peter and James dated (and James and Sirius were the co-dependent mess they were in canon). Was their past relationship what fuelled Peter to betray James and his family? How did Peter feel about being third to both Sirius and Lily? Was James and Peter’s past relationship why Sirius trusted Peter?

What if Remus and Peter dated… when did the start dating? Did they start dating because they felt like slight outsiders to Sirius and James? Did it continue during the war? What was Peter’s end game in the betrayal? Did he plan to keep Remus safe? Was their relationship why Remus was so stone cold towards Peter in POA (because the betrayal hurt a thousand times more)?

What if Sirius and James dated? Well this is where I struggle as I do love an AU prongsfoot, but sticking to my rules… when did their unhealthy co-dependent relationship shift to a romantic one? Why did James end up with Lily (and let it be a good reason please)? Why was Sirius so happy at their wedding? (How) did they continue their relationship (platonic or otherwise) after Lily and James got married?

I’ve left wolfstar off for the sole reason that there are some good metas out there on what a more canon-compliant version could look like (given it’s the most popular fanon ship). But you get the idea by now… what if we more canon versions of Sirius and Remus’ relationship!!

None of these are necessarily happy stories, nor do they paint our characters in a nice light, because these characters are flawed. But all of these ships have so much to offer and far more than this brief post can get into. And here’s the deal: we’re lacking all of them - especially the more niche ships!

We don’t need to create new versions of these characters when there’s so much left to explore !!

And maybe I will explore some of this, once I’m done with my long fic!

[chdarling]

I can count on one hand when snape has lost his cool in canon . in poa when harry saved sirius , in OOTP when sirius vs snape , when harry saw his memories . In hbp when harry called him a coward . And that's about it . While majority of time he is composed , confident and insults people with coolness and sass . The list is too long . Like he has coolly sassed Bellatrix , peter , sirius , harry , Ron , hermione , james , lockhart etc .

I love and deeply appreciate your talent but imo snape's behaviour is reversed in TLE , he is just too angry here to think coherently let alone insult or attempt at sarcasm .

I mean Remus has more sarcasm and wit than he has in canon and i have no complain there as i am a sucker for wity banter and humor , but it feels like injustice to Snape's personality to me .

I’m sorry you feel that way! I emphatically (and amicably) disagree.

I think for me it comes down to the fact that I am not trying to replicate the characters exactly as they were in the books. TLE is a prequel, and thus for all the characters — but especially Snape because he actually survives — this is a story of becoming. They’re not meant to be perfectly reflected versions of who they were in the '90s, but rather versions of themselves that could feasibly grow into the characters we see in canon.

The Snape in canon is a 35ish year old man who has survived a war and had years and years to master his emotions and become a top-notch spy who, as you say, sasses the likes of Bellatrix, not to mention lies to Voldemort's face. The Snape I’m writing in TLE is a 17-year-old boy who has done none of that yet but is raw and bitter and wrathful enough to be convinced joining a fascist hate group is a really swell idea.

To me, the moments you point out when Snape loses his cool in canon are the entire point of his characterization, not an occasional aberration, and these scenes were crucial to me when building his character. Rage is crucial to his character. It’s notable, I think, that almost all of these moments are related to the Marauders/Lily in some way. It’s the moment the mask slips and the wounded teenager comes out.

A few examples, just for fun (emphasis mine).

(This got a little long, but I was distracting myself during some severe weather that was stressing me, so I hope you’ll take this in the spirit of fun discussion, and not anything else. 🙂)

From POA, after Sirius escapes:

“THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!” Snape howled, pointing at Harry and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth. “Calm down, man!” Fudge barked. “You’re talking nonsense!” “YOU DON’T KNOW POTTER!” shrieked Snape. “HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT—!”

“Fellow seems quite unbalanced,” said Fudge, staring after him. “I’d watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore.” “Oh, he’s not unbalanced,” said Dumbledore quietly. “He’s just suffered a severe disappointment.”

From OOTP after Harry sees his worst memory:

“So,” said Snape, gripping Harry’s arm so tightly Harry’s hand was starting to feel numb. “So…been enjoying yourself, Potter?” “N-no…” said Harry, trying to free his arm. It was scary: Snape’s lips were shaking, his face was white, his teeth were bared. “Amusing man, your father, wasn’t he?” Said Snape, shaking Harry so hard that his glasses slipped down his nose. “I—didn’t—“ Snape threw Harry from him with all his might. Harry fell hard on to the dungeon floor.

From Half-Blood Prince, after Harry calls him a coward:

“DON’T—” screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them— “CALL ME COWARD!”

These are all such extreme reactions that, rare as they might be, they definitely suggest an undercurrent of deep rage and, I might add, a pattern of losing control when provoked with certain memories.

And then, of course, there are the flashbacks in which we actually DO get glimpses of young Snape:

“Tuney!” said Lily, surprise and welcome in her voice, but Snape had jumped to his feet. “Who’s spying now?” he shouted. What d’you want?”

(Interesting, I think, that his first instinct is to shout. Petunia hasn't said anything yet.)

There was a crack: A branch over Petunia’s head had fallen. Lily screamed: The branch caught Petunia on the shoulder, and she staggered backward and burst into tears. “Tuney!” But Petunia was running away. Lily rounded on Snape. “Did you make that happen?” “No.” He looked both defiant and scared. “You did!” She was backing away from him. “You did! You hurt her!” “No — no I didn’t!” But the lie did not convince Lily: After one last burning look, she ran from the little thicket, off after her sister, and Snape looked miserable and confused…

Snape’s whole face contorted and he spluttered, “Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends’ too! You’re not going to — I won’t let you —“ “Let me? Let me?” Lily’s bright green eyes were slits. Snape backtracked at once. “I didn’t mean — I just won’t want to see you made a fool of — He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!” The words seemed wrenched from him against his will. “And he’s not…everyone thinks…big Quidditch hero—“ Snape’s bitterness and dislike were rendering him incoherent, and Lily’s eyebrows were traveling farther and farther up her forehead.

He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking. “I can’t pretend anymore. You’ve chosen your way, I’ve chosen mine.” “No—listen, I didn’t mean—“ “—to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?” He struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous look she turned and climbed back through the portrait hole…

This to me does not read as a composed, confident boy. This is (in my opinion) an extremely angry, troubled boy who is buffeted around by his emotions, who hasn’t yet learned to articulate them fully, let alone control them. Learning to conquer these emotions and be the cool, calm, and collected double-agent-man we see in canon is a big part of his journey, but it's certainly not something he's mastered yet at 17.

.......But, at the end of the day, this is just a fanfic and everyone has different interpretations of these characters. Which is fine and fun! TLE Snape has always been somewhat polarizing, but I'm pretty set in my interpretation of him. I'm looking forward to exploring more of his journey as he grows into book Snape. He's just not there yet. :)

[thebibutterflyao3]

Listening to Speak Now TV is so different as an adult. My thoughts:

“Mine” went straight into my Nobleflower playlist

“Sparks Fly” is Dorlene (inspired my Fairytale Sweets version of them actually)

“Back to December” feels like Wolfstar to me

“Dear John” and “Mean” have platonic Snape and Lily vibes

“The Story of Us” is Nobleflower

“Never Grow Up” is Pandora to Luna

“Enchanted” will always feel like Jily (James POV) to me after I included it in Tigerlily & Wolfsbane

“Better Than Revenge” screams Jegulus (Regulus POV)

“Innocent” is Pandalily

“Haunted” is Wolfstar (Remus’s POV) in POA

“Last Kiss” is Wolfstar in 1981

“Long Live” is Sirius to James

“Ours” is Marylily (Mary’s POV)

“Superman” has Jegulus vibes (Regulus POV)

“Electric Touch” is Dorlene

“When Emma Falls in Love” is Lily (Mary’s POV)

“I Can See You” is Nobleflower

“Castles Crumbling” is Wolfstar (Sirius POV)

“Foolish One” is Barty/Evan

“Timeless” is Jily

[mycupofrum]

For ship ask game-

Alastor Moody/ Sirius Black

James Potter/ Ron Weasley

Peter pettigrew/ Barry crouch jr.

Remus Lupin / Lily Evans

Alastor/Sirius: Makes sense, kind of compels me. I never thought about this ship before. I'd read it for the novelty. Do I think it's hot? I don’t even know. Maybe Moody will get fed up with 20-something Sirius who is brilliant but too much of a daredevil and needs to be shown his place. 👀 Constant vigilance! 😉

James/Ron: Makes sense, compels me. Look, Ron would be so taken by hot dilf James. I'm not even mad about it. For James it would be an ego boost to have attention from a younger man. (I only care about 18 or older version of Ron in this scenario.) This could only happen in a universe where Jily was divorced. Harry would be upset to learn his best friend hooked up with his dad though. Maybe he'll find comfort from Sirius, which then upsets James. Harry and Ron's friendship goes weird for a while before they realise they're really into each other. Same happens to James and Sirius. Their next Christmas dinner is super awkward. How did this spiral like this?

Peter/Barty jr.: Makes sense, doesn’t compel me. I don't care about these two characters very much but maybe they will find a moment of relief in each other's arms, who knows? Personally I think Barty is too much of a hardcore Voldy fan that he wouldn't care about Peter, but Peter would be into Barty in the way that it would make him feel important.

Remus/Lily: Doesn't make sense, doesn’t compel me. I don't see these two together. There's no evidence they were even very good friends, despite what that one line in the PoA film claims. I think they were friendly, but Lily wouldn't have been into him. She likes bad boys. Remus was probably more into James than Lily tbh.

Ask game

[elvendorx]

I’ve noticed a lot of Wolfstar fics ignore that Sirius and Remus truly and fully believed the other was a spy. Remus was unaware of the switch because Sirius (and likely James and Lily as well since this whole thing would be their decision as the ones actually affected by it) did not believe Remus could be trusted. Remus spends 12 years wholeheartedly believing Sirius betrayed everyone he claimed to care about and everything he believed in, only changing his mind upon spotting Peter on the map; up until that point, Remus believed Sirius was guilty. I can’t recall off the top of my head if they ever say if Remus also suspected Sirius of being the spy in the First War or if it only happened post-Halloween, but it is entirely possible he did (which would help explain why James goes along with keeping Remus ignorant of the switch. If Remus has fallen so far to distrust Sirius and believe Sirius could ever hurt James, then I could see James thinking Remus never knew either of them at all). Regardless, I’ve never really seen Wolfstar fics address that Sirius and Remus did not have any faith in each other with the First War

(Tangentially related, do you know if they say if Remus distrusted Sirius during the war or if it was only after that Halloween?)

the distrust is a MASSIVE part of remus and sirius' dynamic and i think the fact that they could be part of a close group at school and still suspect each other of murderous and extremist ideals is HUGE. it suggests to me that they were never really that close or that their trust of each other was on the floor - or both. you don't just know someone for seven years and think "yeah they're probably spying for the other side" if you have a generally good relationship. especially if you're suspecting a friend over other members in the order that you don't know as well. this is why wolfstar, especially hogwarts or first war wolfstar, is absolutely wild to me. it crumbles. there's nothing to stick it together. i'm open to like a complex friendship between remus and sirius (because that's what it was) but there's quite an easy to reach line of how far their actual intimacy and endurance of each other's company goes.

and yeah, remus CONTINUING to believe that sirius betrayed james for thirteen years is another layer to this. i can see why he would, given the supposed evidence. but he didn't once question it? also remus perpetuates james and sirius' closeness when he talks about their teenage years so it's extreme to see and acknowledge that kind of bond and to still think that sirius would betray james. like how low is his estimation of sirius? i know that sirius and remus get on post-poa but i really think thats an "everyone else is dead or a death eater" situation. they're united in their lost years post james' death but i think they're still very much personal versions of that loss that they don't resolve or deal with together.

i don't think that james or lily directly suspected remus or truly believed he was a death eater but i think james definitely trusted sirius enough to go with his word, and i don't think either of them would be like "i trust him 100%" but i also don't think they'd be as far convinced that he was the spy as sirius was. i just think that they unequivocally trusted sirius and they put their son first.

also yes, this exchange in poa suggests it was a mutual suspicion at the same time during the war but it's not as explicit or as established as sirius' distrust of remus (which stands alone even if remus never suspected sirius imo):

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this, wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?" "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 Pettigrews head. "Forgive me, Remus," said Black. "Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin, who was now rolling up his sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

the use of 'the spy' is significant here i think because remus wouldn't have believed that sirius was the spy if he had had no suspicion towards him prior to halloween 1981, he would have said 'traitor' or 'for believing you betrayed james and lily'. 'spy' suggests a longer standing trajectory of suspicion.

so maybe remus had a hint of suspicion that he felt was vindicated when james and lily died or maybe it was fully realised but i always got the impression that remus was more distant from sirius & james (and lily) post-hogwarts and this distance let things fester. idk whether i got this from suggestions in the text tho or whether i just think that's a likely occurrence that allows for james to go along with the suggestion that remus might not be completely trustworthy.

[ashesandhackles]

Yeah, I also struggle to imagine Severus and Remus becoming friends in canon. Remus is extremely passive aggressive and way too loyal to James, while Severus is very open about his disdain for certain people, including Remus and especially James. If I were Severus I would also find it extremely hard to trust Remus given their history. Remus is also the kind of person who’s willing to do anything to fit in and be liked, while Sev is comfortable with his own company. Both make sense given their circumstances. Contrary to popular belief, Sev did NOT hate Remus because he was a werewolf - he hated him because he was and quite frankly remained one of his bullies. Yet at the same time, I love both characters and I’m fascinated by their dynamic. I do think there is a version of reality where under different circumstances, they could have gotten along. Now, I’m wondering, do you think there’s any version of reality where Severus and Sirius could have been friends?

I have answered this somewhere before - but I am going to quote my friend @dragonlordette on this and explain why they are incompatible:

"Snape is unafraid to be himself to the point of being bullied and disliked his whole life, while Lupin is avoidant. These two characteristics don't lend themselves to complementing each other, they just lead to Snape disrespecting Lupin. As an alternative example of a more "complementary" case of opposites attract, Tonks is sociable while Lupin is avoidant. This means she can help him out his shell, but she is not so committed to "staying true to herself" that she would find lupins tendency not to speak up to his friends weak (like snape would). It's a more complementary strength.

I just feel like nearly every trait of Lupin and snape is mutually exclusive, rather than complementary. "

My own take is that, "Remus enjoys being around people who are aspirational - someone whose life he can live vicariously through (James, teen Sirius, Tonks) or someone he can look up to (Dumbledore). Severus is aspirational in a way that won't speak to Remus."

In canon, from the way I read it, Snape is on backfoot by what he considers is Remus' dishonest civility. He cannot effectively argue with Remus when Remus is polite but inwardly hostile/oppositional - see, here: Verbal Fencing Between Snape and Remus , Neither Likes Nor Dislikes Severus

He tries to avoid Remus the best he can, because one, there is genuine fear there from the teenage brush off of the Whomping Willow incident and he is constantly wary and hypervigilant. My reading of Remus is harsher than a lot of the fandom, but I really don't see a scenario of them getting along. (I'm sure other interpretations may make that feasible, but it's not my vision of who these two characters are)

Also, it's clear to me that Remus, while acknowledging that his friend's behaviour with Snape wasn't great, isn't too fond of him himself. (he will try to lighten how James' behaviour looks - see end of POA, OOTP chapter post SWM). He disapproves of Snape as an authority figure - as demonstrated by the Boggart lesson (Snape's jibe about Neville pissed him off - he raises his eyebrows at him, which in Remus language, is "ticked off"), and the fact that while he agrees with Snape that Harry shouldn't be in Hogsmeade, he will not let Harry be in Snape's power to deal with.

Sirius, on the other hand, as hot take it might be - but as my friend @saintsenara pointed out, Snape enjoys baiting him ("how is the cleaning going?"), engaging with him because Sirius is upfront (the entire kitchen scene). Snape knows how to deal with that kind of language, it's batting in a language he knows, whereas with Remus, he is never sure of what he is getting.

Sirius and Snape are narrative mirrors, explicitly in canon. Sirius and Remus are narrative stand-ins for when James is important for Harry's development, while Snape's story becomes more important when Lily is important to Harry's development:

They have much in common:

- people who lost their best friends and the most damaged by it.

- Sirius punishes himself for James' death by staying in Azkaban for 12 years, Snape atones for his own guilt by being a spy.

- Snape and Sirius both live in their childhood homes, and they both act as prison. For Sirius, it is imposed on him, for Snape - it seems to be self inflicted.

- anger issues, to put it lightly.

- intensely loyal, and very very brave. But great capacity for cruelty.

- Snape spent his teenage years running away from his Muggle roots, Sirius spends his teenage years running away from aristocratic pureblood house

As my co-writer and friend @thedreamermusing pointed out: "Also: Snape has father issues; Sirius has Mommy issues. Their lives run parallel more or less- Sirius and Snape both form a formative best friend friendship in their childhood, are both drawn sorted in their houses in an effort to cement their own family complexes (Snape and his mom, Sirius and his family), both base their identities om the basis of belonging to a community (Snape-DEs, Sirius- Marauders), both form their moral complexes by becoming the opposite of their roots (Snape loves the dark arts and blood supremacy, Sirius hates the dark arts and hangs muggle posters), both have a cruel sense of humour (Snape thinking dark magic is just a laugh, Sirius thinking feeding Remus Snape a la Carte being a joke), both of them joining a group to further themselves away from their roots after school, both of them risking their lives to protect their bestfriends, both of them making a terrible mistake by trusting the wrong person that leads to their best friend dying, both of them punishing themselves for the next 12 years to atone, both of them using the memory of their bffs as the one shining light in their miserable lives to keep going on, both of them forced in their childhood homes in the last part of their lives, both of them finally dying for Harry."

Essentially, they have a capacity for understanding each other in a way because there is an intense projection involved in how they interact with each other. I have answered bits of that dynamic here and how their dialogue flows, where they throw words back at each other whereas the one with Remus involves Remus taking the rug from under his feet. So yeah, basically I don't see it with Severus and Remus - but like I pointed out, the way I envision the two characters might not align with others :)

[lynxindisguise]

um. Gilderoy/Remus/Sirius post poa

ooh okay um... yes... and... it's a bit messy given what happens to gilderoy at the end of chamber of secrets, but I'm going to go ahead and say that they both have some history with him, or at the very least, remus does (wandering with werewolves, anyone?), and it's not exactly a positive history, but maybe they meet him while sirius is trying to get treatment for his own memory issues post-azkaban, and they feel a bit bad for him? like dude is all alone and has no idea what's going on, and he desperately craves companionship, and so they reluctantly take pity on him. at first it's just friendship, but soon he starts coming onto both of them, and listen... he's hot, and this version of him is far more likeable, and they've done far more ethically questionable things before.

send me your cursed thoughts