Remus Lupin

"He's the best Defence against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!"

- Dean Thomas on Lupin

Remus John Lupin (March 10, 1960 - May 1998) was a powerful wizard and member of the First and Second Orders of the Phoenix. He witnessed Lord Voldemort's first and second rises to power. He briefly taught at Hogwarts as professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts, during the 1993-94 school year. He resigned at the end of the year, however, when Severus Snape revealed to the public that he was a werewolf.

During his school years, Lupin was one of the Marauders; he was friends with James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Together they created the Marauders Map.

Hogwarts years
As a young boy, Lupin was bitten by werewolf Fenrir Greyback, thus becoming afflicted with the blood infection himself. Though he and his parents were unsure of the safety of allowing him to attend school at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore encouraged him to become a student. To secure his safety, as well as that of his peers, a shanty was built outside of Hogsmeade. This shanty had no natural entrances; there was only a secret passage leading to it from under the Whomping Willow, on Hogwarts' grounds. Lupin was brought to the structure once a month for his full moon transformations. Transformations are difficult and painful for werewolves, so Lupin was isolated to protect him from injuring or terrorizing students. However, this isolation caused him to attack himself out of frustration. The villagers of Hogsmeade mistook his screaming as that of extremely violent ghosts; thus the building was dubbed the Shrieking Shack and attained the reputation for being the most haunted building in Britain. Needless to say, the house is not really haunted at all, although Dumbledore encouraged this rumour to keep people from investigating the noises.

Lupin kept his transformations a secret, but his friends (James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew) worked out the truth in their second year. Because of their great fondness and bond of friendship, by their fifth year they had aquired the skills to become Animagi. They did this to keep Lupin company during his transformations, as a werewolf is only a danger to humans. Lupin's friends nicknamed him "Moony" because of all this.

Lupin's frequent, monthly disappearances riled unhealthy curiosity in Severus Snape. In his sixth year at Hogwarts, Sirius Black, played a malicious prank against Snape by telling him about the Whomping Willow passageway, hoping he would be terrified by what he found at the other end. James stopped Snape and saved his life, but Snape still uncovered Lupin's secret. Dumbledore subsequently swore Snape to secrecy, but Snape teased him cruelly from that point on.

Remus was also a prefect while at Hogwarts, though he had trouble exercising discipline over his friends. Sirius once said that Lupin did not participate in the bullying of Snape, but Lupin regretted never having stepped in to stop it.

After leaving Hogwarts, Lupin failed to find work because of his affliction as a werewolf. However, James Potter used his wealth to support him. Few in the magical world tollerated the company, let alone the employment, of a werewolf, and almost all are prejudiced against them. Even Ron Weasley, who would become one of Lupin's adoring students later on at Hogwarts, screamed, "Get away from me, werewolf!" upon discovering the complexity of Lupin's identity. At a time, the Ministry of Magic even passed anti-werewolf legislation which made it practically impossible and almost illegal for a werewolf to have a job.

Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher


Lupin took the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts in fall of 1993, replacing the permanently amnesiac Gilderoy Lockhart. Lupin taught the class a comprehensive curriculum of identifying and sidestepping dark creatures such as Hinkypunks and Red Caps. Lupin also taught the class about Boggarts. It was during that class that Harry realized his "greatest fear was fear itself" when his Boggart took on the form of a Dementor. After this, Lupin gave Harry private lessons in producing a Patronus as a means to control Dementors. Incidentally, being a werewolf, Lupin's boggart would take on the form of the full moon.

During his time as a teacher, Severus Snape provided Lupin with Wolfsbane Potion, allowing him to retain his human mind during transformations.

Slytherin students, encouraged by Draco Malfoy, sneered at his shabby clothes and poor appearance. Regardless, his other students held him in extremely high regard and loved the hands-on style of his classes. He was considered by Harry and his friends to have been their only decent Defence teacher.

The Second War
In 1996, Lupin worked as a spy for the Order of the Phoenix, living among fellow werewolves and trying to convince them to join Dumbledore's side. He was present at the Battle over Little Whinging, flying alongside George Weasley, during which time George was struck by Snape's Sectumsempra spell.

Lupin suffered great mental anguish during the Second War when he discovered his wife Nymphadora Tonks was pregnant. Lupin tore his own hair out in anxiety, contemplating his son being born with werewolf blood. He offered them his protection during the search for the Horcruxes, but Harry ran him off, calling him a coward for even considering leaving his wife Tonks alone while pregnant. Lupin left them in a state of great aggitation.

Harry and his friends next hear of Lupin on Potterwatch, under the code name Romulus.

Lupin came to his senses and reunited with Tonks in time to see his son born, who they named Teddy. His son was named after Tonks' father, who was a victim of Lord Voldemort's evil schemes. Appearing to forgive and forget their scuffle in Grimmauld Place, Lupin asked Harry to be Teddy's godfather.

Lupin was slain during the Second Battle of Hogwarts by Antonin Dolohov. The nature of his death is not revealed but it is stated that his body was peaceful-looking, implying that he was struck with a Killing Curse or Dolohov's own curse, both are known to leave no visible marks on the outer body. His wife, Nymphadora Tonks, was murdered by her aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange.

Wen Harry proceeds to Voldemort's camp to be struck down by Voldemort, he first activates the Resurrection Stone, bring back the souls of his parents, Sirus, and Lupin, the latter of which expresses the hope that Harry cares for his son, Teddy, for Lupin will "never know his son."

Appearance
""There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws.""

- Lupin transforms by the light of the full moon

Lupin was described as having light brown hair that is greying, and a pale face with premature lines. These are due to the great deal of stress his body underwent with each full moon. He always bore shabby, patched clothing because, as a werewolf, he suffered from poverty.

Personality
Lupin is intelligent, calm, tolerant, gentle, and good-natured. Despite having suffered a great deal of prejudice in his life due to his lycanthropy, he has managed to retain an ability to see the good in almost everybody and is extremely forgiving. He also has an excellent sense of humour and, when he was a student at school, was one of the 'marauders'. He could be described as the mature one in the group, however, because unlike his friends he never partook in bullying and even became a Prefect in his fifth year.

There is evidence to suggest that Lupin is a more powerful wizard than he lets on. While on the train during Prisoner of Azkaban, he summons fire without a wand (wandless magic being difficult to perform) and holds it in the palm of his bare hand. Later, in Order of the Phoenix, he is the only fighter besides Dumbledore who was not wounded, killed or knocked unconscious in the battle at the Department of Mysteries.

His beverage and food preferences appear to include tea, butterbeer, wine, and chocolate.

Family
Lupin married Nymphadora Tonks in the summer of 1997, and they had a child, Teddy Lupin, named after Tonks' father. Harry Potter is Teddy Lupin's godfather. However, Lupin and Tonks both died in the Second Battle of Hogwarts in May 1998, leaving their son behind - an incident eerily similar to the deaths of James and Lily Potter nearly seventeen years before.

Etymology
"Remus" comes from the brothers Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, who were raised for by wolves. Due to this, some fans speculated that Remus had a brother, but Romulus is merely the code name used by Lupin for Potterwatch.

"Lupin", is derived from "lupus(a)", Latin for "wolf". Lupin actually means wolflike in Latin, and is also the name of a flower.

It has also been speculated that his name comes from two Monty Python's Flying Circus skits: a repeated one involving "Professor R.J. Gumby", and one involving "Dennis Moore, the Lupin Thief".

Author's Comments
Rowling has stated that Professor Lupin is the kind of teacher she wishes she had while she was a student. He is good-natured, kind, and able to extract the best in everyone (e.g., spotting Neville Longbottom's lack of confidence and helping him to overcome it by teaching him how to defeat the boggart). The fact that he's a werewolf and needs to take a potion to avoid hurting people for the rest of his life makes him a symbol of the consequences of prejudice and segregation, as well as society's often negative reaction to the ill and the disabled.

JK Rowling has also stated, "Lupin's failing is he likes to be liked. That's where he slips up – he's been disliked so often he's always pleased to have friends so cuts them an awful lot of slack."

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows