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Parentage:
Half-Blood (Confirmed by JKR)
Name: Remus
John Lupin
- Nickname:
- Moony
– He was nicknamed this by his friends due to his nature as a Werewolf. He
has also been called Loony Loopy Lupin by Peeves.
- Name
meaning:
- Remus
originated in Roman Mythology, within the legend of "Romulus and Remus".
The twins’ mother, Rhea Silvia, had been forced to become a Vestal Virgin by
her uncle, Amulius, because he had overthrown her father, Numitor, and
wanted to ensure she would not have any sons that might attempt to overthrow
him. However, the god of Mars came to her in her temple and of him she
conceived her two sons, Romulus and Remus. When they were born, Amulius
ordered Rhea Silvia to be buried alive (the standard punishment for Vestal
Virgins who did not remain celibate) and ordered a servant to kill the
twins, but the merciful servant set them adrift in the river Tiber. Romulus
and Remus, however, were found by Tiberinus, the river god, and nursed by a
female wolf underneath a fig tree, according to the myth, and were able to
survive. Romulus and Remus were then discovered by Faustulus, a shepherd,
who brought the children to his home. Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia,
raised the boys as their own. According to Livy, some said that Faustulus's
wife had been named Loba, and that she had suckled the twins. Upon reaching
adulthood, Romulus and Remus killed Amulius and reinstated Numitor, their
grandfather, as King of Alba Longa, and then they built a settlement on the
Palatine Hill on April 21, 753 BC (Varronian date). Remus then mocked the
short height of the walls and Romulus killed him. He then named the city
Rome, and made himself king.
- John
means God is Gracious and Merciful. (JKR confirmed his middle name.)
- Lupin
– has a few possible different meanings, firstly Lupus is Latin for ‘wolf’,
and Lupine translates from Latin to ‘wolf-like’. Lupin is also a family of
flowers, there is even a flower called ‘Lupinus albus’ which means
‘white lupin’.
Age: 36/37
- Birth date: March 10, (Announced on JKR’s
Website) 1959 or 1960, (according to the Lexicon.)
Wand: Unknown
Spouse: None
Mentioned
Parents:
Though next to nothing is known of Remus’s parents, we do know that one of them
was a Muggle and the other a Wizard/Witch, as Remus is a half-blood. (Source
from World book day Q&A to JKR)
Siblings:
JKR has not dismissed the possibility of sibling’s, but she has said Remus does
not have a twin, a rumour spawned from the ‘Romulus and Remus’ legend. (Source
from JKR’s Website, Rumours section)
Extended
Family: unknown
Appearance
Hair Color: Greying light brown – “his light brown hair was flecked with gray"
- PoA
Hair Length:
Not long, but long enough to fall into his eyes “He pushed his greying hair
out of his eyes.” – PoA. Other wise length unspecified.
Eye Color &
Shape: - unknown
Height:
Described as 'thin' and ill in appearance
Werewolf
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." – PoA.
Favorite
Outfit: He favors a set of shabby and worn robes e.g. “extremely
shabby set of wizard's robes that had been darned in several places.” – PoA,
which he also wore in OofP - “he had more gray hair than when Harry had said
good-bye to him, and his robes were more patched and shabbier than ever." -
OotP. Whether this choice is out of fondness or necessity remains to be seen.
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Skills: Seems
to be very adept at Defence against the Dark Arts. Diplomatic.
Academic/Career Skills: Teacher, other trades are unknown, though it would be
fair to assume he had taught in some form before, because of the case he
travelled with on the Hogwarts express was old and worn and bore the name
Professor R.J.Lupin. Also he seemed very much at home in the classroom. He
currently is working for the Order of the Phoenix.
Least
Favorite Thing To Do: Change into a werewolf every month.
# of OWL's
(include subjects): Studied DADA, in OotP the pensive scene, we see a young
Lupin sitting the exam. Other Owls were not mentioned
# of NEWT's
(include subjects): Not mentioned
School:
Hogwarts – House Gryffindor. He was also chosen as a prefect in his fifth year.
(School before that is unknown.)
Special
Skills: Patience, with even the most annoying people. He is polite even when
being taunted or even when somebody is being rude. He takes all of Snape’s jibes
at him in relatively good humour.
Interests:
Defence against the dark arts. Werewolf and half breed legislation are of
interest to him due to his nature as a Werewolf, ”The
world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters,' said Sirius with a wry
smile. 'I know she's a nasty piece of work, though — you should hear Remus talk
about her.'
'Does Lupin know her?'
asked Harry quickly, remembering Umbridge's comments about dangerous half-breeds
during her first lesson.
'No,' said Sirius, 'but she drafted a bit of
anti-werewolf legislation two years ago that makes it almost impossible for him
to get a job.” – OotP.
Favorites:
Food:
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Snack
Beverage: Wine, tea and Butterbeer
Dessert
Candy/Sweet: We’ve seen him dish out plenty of chocolate, but never eat any
himself.
Friends: At
Hogwarts Remus made up one quarter of the ‘Marauders,’ and was friends with
Sirius Black, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. He renewed his friendship with
Sirius but when Sirius died he was left alone again. He seems to be on friendly
terms with everyone in the Order, other than Snape.
Living
Arrangement:
Remus was living in Grimmauld place at the end of OotP, though we know before
that he definitely had his own place to live, as Sirius was told to “lie low
at Lupin’s for a while,” by Dumbledore. We do not know anymore than
that about his home. He seemed to have moved in at Grimmauld place before the
beginning of OotP and after the end of GoF, but certainly seems to be busy in
the Order as he isn't there the whole time. Now that Sirius is not there we
don’t know if he will stay. He seems to fit right in at Grimmauld Place,
enjoining the time he gets to spend with everyone, especially at Hogwarts
holiday time. Grimmauld place is Sirius’s house and it is thouroghly horrid, it
hasn’t been lived in for years and has fallen into disrepair. The portraits on
the wall of Sirius’s mother are particularly vile but have been stuck on with a
permanent sticking charm. The resident house-elf Kreature seems to out of his
way to make every one feel unwelcome. It has become the Headquarters for the
Order.
Describe Your
Character:
Physically he wears shabby robes and tends to be pale, "The stranger was
wearing an extremely shabby set of wizard's robes which had been darned in
several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though he seemed quite young, his
light-brown hair was flecked with grey." – PoA. He is constantly
described this way giving the impression of illness, which in fact is most
probably due to his Lycanthropy.
His demeanour
is amiable and light; giving an ambience of patience that seems endless. He
never shouts event in the heat of the moment always-keeping calm, responding in
a dignified and diplomatic way. That’s not to say he doesn’t feel angry or
annoyed, but he does not react in a rash manner, where as Sirius perhaps would
have.
We know that
despite his amiable façade he has suffered a great loss, in one day he lost all
of his dearest friends, how he dealt with that we don’t know but he isn’t bitter
or engulfed by his feeling’s. There is a stoic quality to Lupin who survives and
endures. He tends to put others before himself, even in the direst
circumstances. Add to that he suffers with Lycanthropy every month and suffers
an awful amount of intolerance towards him, it's a wonder he doesn’t lose his
temper. People tend to underestimate him because he is a werewolf. We know that
his greatest fear is his Lycanthropy, because the Boggart he taught with took
the form of the full moon. His subsequent resignation from Hogwarts after Snape
revealed he was a Werewolf, tells us he is very afraid of accidentally infecting
anyone else.
At School the young Lupin wanted to
be liked by his friends, and because of that he tended to let them get away with
more than perhaps he should’ve, “he
does like to be liked and that's where he slips up because he has been disliked
so often that he's always so pleased to have friends so he cuts them an awful
lot of slack.”- (JKR
at the Royal Albert Hall, 26 June 2003) and it's this that leads us to believe
he is insecure about his Lycanthropy despite his calm and pleasant exterior.
When Harry
delves into Snape’s thoughts in the pensive, we see a much younger but studious
Lupin. He shows that he has a sharp sense of humour;
'Did you like question
ten, Moony?' asked Sirius as they emerged into the Entrance Hall.
'Loved it,' said Lupin briskly. 'Give five signs that identify the werewolf.
Excellent question.'
'D'you think you managed to get all the signs?' said James in tones of mock
concern.
Think I did,' said Lupin seriously, as they joined the crowd thronging around
the front doors eager to get out into the sunlit grounds. 'One: he's sitting on
my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin.'
He seems very
much at ease with his friends though he still looks pale and tired. As much as
he cares for his friends, it is apparent from this ‘Snape memory’ that Lupin
does not appear as eager as his friends in bullying Snape, he does not smile or
laugh at their pranks or jokes that they aim at Snape, but neither does he try
to stop it.
Words That
Can Be Used To Describe Lupin
-
Patient, reserved, kind, thoughtful, amused, quiet, dignified, helpful, modest,
benevolent, self-sacrificing, mellow, sympathetic, tactful, respectful,
intelligent, alone, isolated, vengeful (he was ready to kill Peter in an
instant), diplomatic, polite, enduring, trust-worthy, honest, stoic, insecure
(he wants to be liked), tolerant, loyal, resourceful, perceptive, wry, amusing,
playful and has been mischievous.
"Things That
Your Character Often Does"
–
He listens carefully to what other people have to say. He mediates disagreements
diplomatically. He often gives Harry the chance to make his own choices,
'Personally,' said
Lupin quietly, looking away from Sirius at last, as Mrs. Weasley turned quickly
to him, hopeful that finally she was about to get an ally, 'I think it better
that Harry gets the facts - not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture -
from us, rather than a garbled version from ... others.'-
OotP.
"Facts about Your Character" –
Remus Lupin is a Werewolf.
He was bitten by a werewolf at an undisclosed age, “I was a very small boy
when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there
was no cure.” – PoA. The recent Discovery of wolfsbane enables to function
better “The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very
recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week
preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform…I’m able to curl up in
my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again.” – PoA. In
OotP Lupin spoke to a recent Werewolf attack victim at St Mungo’s on seeing the
wistful look, the man gave Arthur Weasley’s entourage.
When the time
came the Lupin family were contacted by Dumbledore about Remus attending
Hogwarts, special arrangements were made to accommodate Lupin, and the Whomping
Willow was planted that year to protect the secret entrance to the tunnel, which
led to the soon to be nicknamed Shrieking Shack.
Lupin
was a part of the Marauders along with Sirius, James and Peter. He helped in
part to write the Marauders Map, which aided the Marauders in whatever they got
up to, and at the very least enabled them to get into the secret shrieking shack
tunnel undetected all the time. A map that later turned up in Harry’s hands via
Fred and George, Lupin immediately recognised it for what it was and confiscated
it from Harry, and scolded him for it “Don’t expect me to cover up for you
again, Harry. I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have
thought that what you have heard when the Dementor's draw near would have had
more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive,
Harry. A poor way to repay them – gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic
tricks.”-PoA.
Also while
attending Hogwarts, Remus was used by Sirius to play a prank on Snape, who had
been trying to find where Remus went every month. James, at risk to himself,
went after Snape and stopped him, but not before he saw Remus in Werewolf form.
Snape was sworn to secrecy and has ever since despised Sirius and Lupin, which
is why in PoA he was so disgusted that Remus became defence against the dark
arts teacher.
James, Sirius
and Peter all learned to become Animagi, so that they could accompany Remus on
his full moon nights. Remus said that when they were with him, he “became
less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so
while I was with them.”- PoA. He has also admitted that they were terribly
reckless running around unchecked like that “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.” – PoA.
After leaving
Hogwarts Remus joins the Order of the Phoenix, and at some point he comes under
suspicion of passing information to the enemy. This is why when Sirius decides
to swap as the secret keeper for James and Lily at the last minute, he chooses
Peter instead of Remus. Later Remus realises the truth in PoA.
In the
department of Mysteries Lupin stops Harry from diving through the Veil after
Sirius falls through.
Sources of
information
The Books Primarily, The Lexicon, Quick
Quill notes, Remus Lupin.net and
Mugglenet. |
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