Remus Lupin

Remus Lupin is a character in the Harry Potter series. He was Harry Potter's professor for a year and was one of the Marauders during his school years. He is a werewolf.
== Canon ==
Lupin is introduced in Prisoner of Azkaban as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the year. It is later revealed that he had been best friends with James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew when they had attended Hogwarts together, and that he is a werewolf.
In Deathly Hallows, Remus marries Nymphadora Tonks and the two have a son, Teddy Lupin. Remus and Tonks both die in the Battle of Hogwarts.
===Movie Canon===
In the movie, Remus Lupin was played by David Thewlis, though before he had been cast, many hoped that Ralph Fiennes would be cast for the part. (Fiennes was later cast as Lord Voldemort.)
Thewlis added a few things to Fanon: a love for Jazz music and a mustache. He was also much taller than both Alan Rickman and Gary Oldman, and so many writers write him as being taller than both.
== In Fanfiction ==
Remus Lupin fanfic tends to focus on his issues as a werewolf.
Favored time periods include his Hogwarts years, First War, the period of time between James and Lily's deaths, his year as a professor at Hogwarts, Second War, and Post-war (which can sometimes mean afterlife stories).
Many fic tend to focus on him removing himself from the Wizarding World in hopes of making a better living that way, or trying to find a way to afford Wolfsbane Potion.
===Fanon & tropes===
* Lupin Lodge, "Remus' Cottage", or other variations thereof
Some fans have used the idea that Remus inherited a small cottage from his folks, and still lives there on occasion, though it is often small and/or rundown. Usually this is the home he grew up in, and many fans have placed it somewhere in or near Wales. It is sometimes called "Lupin Lodge".For example, in the early epic After the End by Arabella and Zsenya, started in May 2001, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny stay with Remus and Sirius at "Lupin Lodge", the cottage Remus inherited from his parents. In other fics, "Lupin Lodge" is a cottage Remus buys himself after he leaves school; for example, All the Comforts of Home by Mousapelli (2003) is a vignette about Remus and Sirius naming Remus's new cottage. On Pottermore in 2013, Rowling confirmed that Remus did canonically live in a "tumbledown, semi-derelict cottage in Yorkshire" before he came to Hogwarts as DADA teacher, though this was likely not his childhood home.J.K. Rowling, Remus Lupin at Pottermore (first released in July 2013; accessed 15 May 2016). "Once again, Albus Dumbledore changed the course of Remus Lupin’s life when he tracked him down to a tumbledown, semi-derelict cottage in Yorkshire ... [and] offered him the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." It is unknown where Remus lived as a child before being attacked by Greyback; after the attack the family "uprooted themselves from village to town" in an effort to conceal the fact that Remus was a werewolf. Lie Low at Lupin's fics often make use of the Lupin Lodge trope.
* Chocoholic!Remus 
In Prisoner of Azkaban, Remus has chocolate on hand to give Harry and his friends to treat the effects of the Dementors. Some suggest that he always carries around a bar of chocolate with him, not for help with Dementors, but because he loves it. This popular fanon might have come about because of The Shoebox Project's popularity, as in that fic, Remus loves chocolate.
* Amber/golden/yellow eyes, the trope that Remus (often due to his being a werewolf) has golden eyes. 
This popular fanon trope possibly also stems from The Shoebox Project. It's worth noting that canonically, werewolves in human form are indistinguishable from other humans, so werewolves would likely not have a remarkable feature such as golden eyes in human form.
== Theories & Speculation ==
===Remus as Harry's Father===
A popular theory was that Remus may have been Harry's father. Before the revelation that his middle name was John, some guessed the J might stand for James, and believed that somehow he was Harry's father, or that James Potter and the true Remus had switched places the night of the attack, and he was now stuck in Remus's body.
The theory that the "Remus" who appeared in Prisoner of Azkaban was in fact James Potter was popularized by the book Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter, published in early 2003,Wizarding World Press, Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter by Galadriel Waters and Astre Mithrandir, 2003. and was much discussed and debated in fandom.See this July 2003 discussion (archived by the Wayback Machine 31 July 2003) and this September 2003 discussion at the Harry Potter Lexicon forums, this 2004 discussion at FictionAlley Park, and the November 2003 MuggleNet article "The North Tower #10: Lupin = James Potter = True?" by Maline (archived original link). In March 2014, the theory gained visibility once again when it was posted to the Harry Potter Fan Theories Tumblr and then appeared in an July 2014 Hypable.com article and December 2015 Bustle.com article. The theory was also discussed on Tumblr by user calismarveltrash in December 2015. The theory became so widespread that it was debunked by J. K. Rowling in the FAQs of her official website in late 2004. Rowling called it an "ingenious theory", but wrong: "James would never have saved himself and left his wife and son to die."J.K.Rowling Official Site. Section: F.A.Q.. "[Q:] Did James and Lupin switch bodies before James was killed? [A:] An ingenious theory, but no; James would never have saved himself and left his wife and son to die." (Archived 11 October 2004 by the Wayback Machine.)
A related theory was that Remus himself was Harry's true father all along, unbeknownst to James. (This took Severitus-type explanations as to why Harry would look so much like James if he were not his biological son.)
===Sexuality===
[[File:Gaytastic by comethime.jpg|thumb|Gaytastic by rachelillustrates (a.k.a. Comet-hime) (2005) – Fanart of Remus and Tonks sporting a number of LGBT symbols: Remus has a pink triangle on his t-shirt and a rainbow flag belt buckle, and Tonks has a labrys tattoo on her upper arm. The artwork was created as a reaction to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Remus/Tonks becoming canon.]]
Some fans expected or hoped that Remus would be canonically gay.
In addition to some fans' interpretation of an implied closeness between Remus and Sirius, one reason that fans interpreted Remus as "queer-coded" is because the stigma Remus faces in the books for being a werewolf is a deliberate metaphor for the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS. J.K. Rowling discussed this at the Harry Potter Lexicon Trial in 2008:
Many fans were disappointed by Remus's relationship with Tonks in Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, and felt that the relationship felt forced and heteronormative. Some were further disappointed by Rowling's declaration on Pottermore that Remus "had never fallen in love before [Tonks]," which in some fans' eyes precluded the possibility of prior same-sex ships like Remus/Sirius.Remus Lupin at Pottermore (first released in July 2013; accessed 07 March 2016). For one fan discussion about whether the Pottermore content jossed the possibility of Remus/Sirius, see this October 2015 thread at fail-fandomanon. For example Aja wrote in 2015 that she was "still angry about remus lupin’s entire character arc being written and structured as a very obvious, very important metaphor for the AIDS epidemic and a lesson against homophobia[,] only for JKR to retroactively de-gay him at her convenience by emphasizing his lifelong heterosexuality".Aja (bookshop) on Tumblr. still angry about remus lupin’s entire character..., September 24 and September 28, 2015. (Accessed 05 March 2016.) In a response to Aja's post, mutantwanda added that even though she shipped Remus/Tonks, she was still disappointed by canon because "the romance was developed in a way that actively pushed back against queer interpretations of either character."mutantwanda (now jedicamie) on Tumblr. to elaborate on bookshop’s thoughts, the reason... (dead link), 28 September 2015. (Accessed 05 March 2016.)
However, others do not see the Remus/Tonks relationship as a refutation of a queer interpretation of either character, and believe that a queer reading of Remus's character is still strongly supported by canon. For example, Tumblr user rereadingharry writes:
David Thewlis, who portrayed Remus in the films, has stated that he and Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón thought that his character was gay. In 2007, CityNews posted an article and video of David Thewlis stating that Alfonso Cuarón "had the idea that Lupin was gay and he described my character like a 'gay junkie'."CityNews, 24 October 2007, David Thewlis On Potter's Lupin: I Always Thought He Was The Gay Character (archived by the Wayback Machine 25 October 2007; now available here without the video). In 2011, Thewlis also stated that Cuarón "without J.K. Rowling's knowledge, told me that I [Lupin] was in fact gay", and that he therefore played Lupin "rather gayly, for quite a long time."David Thewlis discusses Lupin @ Apple Store in SoHo (archived) (c. 0:25-0:53):
:"In fact, in 'The Prisoner of Azkaban', Alfonso Cuarón, in the rehearsals, without J.K. Rowling's knowledge, told me that I [Lupin] was in fact gay. And so I'd been playing the part, um, like—rather gayly, for quite a long time. And so... then it turned out that I then indeed got married, to Tonks, and I then changed my whole performance after that—I saw it as a phase he went through."
Cuarón first publicly referred to Remus as gay in a 2004 interview, when he described him as "your favorite gay uncle who does smack". These comments generated much fannish excitement and lead some shippers to declare Remus/Sirius "canon by Cuarón".KCRW: The Treatment - show for Wednesday, June 16, 2004 Alfonso Cuarón, hosted by Elvis Mitchell. Audio-only, now offline; partial transcript provided by annecatherine at aruan's Dreamwidth post, 22 July 2004: "Cuaron: [...] Even if they are wizards, ultimately, their emotions are very human. And from the get go, we established that relationship with the actors. For instance, Professor Lupin, played by David Thewlis, we'd say, he's your favorite gay uncle who does smack." See also: Myths of the HMS Wolfstar: Revised and Updated by marauderthesn, posted 10 November 2005 (accessed 06 May 2016).
===Wormtail's Silver Hand===
Modern werewolf fiction usually depicts werewolves as being vulnerable to silver, especially silver bullets, which is sometimes described as the only way to kill a werewolf. It was thus prevalent fanon that silver would burn or otherwise negatively affect Remus.
When Peter Pettigrew, a.k.a. Wormtail, receives a magical silver hand from Lord Voldemort in exchange for the one he chopped off, many fans theorized that the silver hand itself would kill Remus, that it was designed by Voldemort specifically to be fatal to Remus, or that it was symbolic of the fact that Wormtail would be the cause of Remus's death in another way.For example, see The Silver Hand aka Will Pettigrew kill Lupin? at MuggleNet's Chamber of Secrets Forums (2003-2005), my lupin/pettigrew/dumbledore theory by ___sexhair (2004), Hand of Argentum, Heart of Iron Pyrite by Peter at MuggleNet (2004). This theory was especially popular after Sirius Black's death in Order of the Phoenix, when many fans (correctly) predicted that none of the Marauders would survive the series.
When asked in a 2005 interview, Rowling confirmed that Wormtail would not kill Lupin, although it showed "good knowledge and a good imagination to think of that".Jones, Owen. One-on-one interview with J.K. Rowling, ITV Network July 17, 2005 via Accio Quote!. Deathly Hallows came to show that Wormtail's silver hand was relevant only to Wormtail's own demise,See Peter Pettigrew's silver hand at the Harry Potter Wiki. and on Pottermore, Rowling wrote that silver bullets do not kill werewolves in the Harry Potter universe.See Writing by J.K. Rowling: Werewolves at Pottermore, originally released in July 2013.
== Shipping ==
===Slash Pairings===
Remus is most frequently paired with Sirius Black, both during their Hogwarts years and after his return from Azkaban (Lie Low at Lupin's). See Remus/Sirius. Sometimes called Puppies or Wolfstar by fans of the pair.
His other most common Slash pairing is with Severus Snape, focusing both on their school years as well as after his return to Hogwarts to teach there. The pairing is commonly called Snupin.
Other sometimes common pairings include Remus/Harry, Remus/James, Remus/Lucius, and Remus/Draco.
===Het Pairings===
In Het stories, he is often paired with Nymphadora Tonks, which gained reasonable popularity even before the ship became canon. See Remus/Tonks.
He is also commonly paired with Hermione Granger, sometimes as a schooltime crush, sometimes post-Hogwarts, though these stories have become far less common since the final book. See Remus/Hermione.
Remus/Lily is also common, usually taking place before Lily Evans got involved with James Potter, though not always. It is also common for Remus to harbour unrequited feelings for Lily, or feelings he never acted on due to James.
=== Threesomes & Moresomes ===
* Sirius/Remus/Severus
* James/Sirius/Remus
* Lily/Remus/Severus
* Lily/Remus/Sirius
* Hermione/Sirius/Remus
* Hermione/Snape/Remus
== Example Fan Art ==
File:Liar's Heavenly Bodies 4 front.jpg|Cover of the doujinshi Hoshi no Fune ni Notte - Zempen by Sisters of Franders (2006). Remus as a Hogwarts student.
File:Shoebox Project - Lupin Scars by Rave.jpg|Sketch by Rave from the first chapter of The Shoebox Project (2004). Torn photo of a sixteen-year-old Remus with scars from a recent transformation. The SBP is often credited (or blamed) for the propagation within fandom of a Remus with facial scars.
File:Lupin sleeping on the train by Jenny Dolfen.jpg|Lupin sleeping on the train by Jenny Dolfen (Gold-Seven) (2004). Illustration of a canon scene from Prisoner of Azkaban, when Remus is first introduced.
File:Glory Glory Hallelujah cover.jpg|Cover of the doujinshi Glory, Glory Hallelujah by WILBUR (2003). Remus as DADA professor in Prisoner of Azkaban.
File:Winter Lupin by LMRourke.jpg|Winter Lupin by LM Rourke (2002). Realistic portrait of Remus in a scarf. He appears youthful and his face is free of scars.
File:Lupin late 30s by caladan-dd.jpg|Lupin (late 30's) by caladan_dd (2005). Painting of Remus with long hair and goatee. Caladan's portrayal of Remus is relatively unique but well-received; for example, her Remus was featured on the graphics for the Lupin Big Bang.
File:Remus Lupin by Lyvyan.jpg|Remus Lupin by Lyvyan (2010). Portrait of Remus based on David Thewlis's depiction of him in the Harry Potter films.
File:Superhero Sex God by Odella.jpg|Superhero Sex God by Odella (2006). Meta art on the fanon notion of Remus as a "sex god". Commentary included on the image reads in part: "Sexy scars for attracting metamorphmagus aurors, potion masters, ex-Marauder/prison escapees, bookworms,etc."
File:Hematite cover.jpg|Cover of the doujinshi Hematite (2002) by Obsidian. A dark, angsty story about Remus coping with being a werewolf.
== Remus-centric Communities ==
Fansites & Archives:
* Werewolf Registry, a Remus fansite, message board, and archive (defunct)
* The Full Moony, a Remus fansite, message board, and archive (defunct)
* Remus-Lupin.Net, a character shrine and fanlisting
* Wolf's Bane, a character shrine with fanfiction and fanart
* Wolfsbane, a Remus-centric archive part of Sycophant Hex that later merged with Lumos
Journal Communities:
* Pervy Werewolf, a community for porny stories about Remus Lupin whether het or slash, formerly located on Livejournal before strikethrough, now located exclusively at Insanejournal. Runs a yearly fest in May to celebrate Remus called The Lusty Month of May.
* remus_lupin, a general Remus Lupin community
* lupin_daily, a general Remus Lupin community
* remus_centric, a community for Remus-centric fic and art
* cardigangsters, a community dedicated to "Remus Lupin's Cardigan"
* lupin100, a drabble community
* Lupin Big Bang (2009-2010), a big bang challenge
* Remus News, a newsletter community
Other Groups & Communities:
* Remus J. Lupin Group on DeviantArt
== Other Resources ==
Fanworks:
* Remus Lupin fanworks at the Archive of Our Own
* Remus Lupin stories at FanFiction.Net
* Remus Lupin stories at FictionAlley
* Remus Lupin tag at HP_Fanworks
Recs:
* Lupincentric fic recs at Know it Alls
* Remus Lupin fic recs at Coffee and Chocolate
Meta:
* Chronic Childhood Illness and Remus Lupin by saeva (2003)
* by McKay (scribbulus_ink) at idol_reflection (2004)
* Suspicious!Remus by sistermagpie (2005)
* Mr Moony: Lupin’s Curse and His Inspiration? by Canis Sapiens (2007)
* Remus Lupin tag at hp_essays
* Werewolf of Hogwarts, an essay posted to "S.P.I.W." by JK Ashavah in December 2001
Canon Resources:
* Remus Lupin at Harry Potter Wiki
* Lupin, Remus at Harry Potter Lexicon
* Remus Lupin at Pottermore Wiki
* Remus Lupin at Urban Dictionary
== References ==
Category:Harry Potter CharactersCategory:Marauders Characters