Werewolves

**Werewolves** are humans that experience *lycanthropy*, causing them to undergo traumatic transformations into a wolf-like form during the 5 nights centred on each full moon.

Lycanthropy is spread through the saliva of a transformed werewolf entering the bloodstream of a non-werewolf host.

#### Transformation

During the 5 night full moon period, a werewolf will experience a transformation every night. While each werewolf is different, they will generally transform within the hour period around 9pm, but transformation can be triggered earlier, and be less painful, with a direct sight of the full moon. Signs of impending transformation include muscle tension, dilation of pupils, and for humanoids with brown irises, transformation of the iris colour to yellow.

The wolf form of a werewolf tends to be skittish and claustrophobic, reacting violently to perceived threats and often injuring itself in distress. Without the wolfsbane potion, the consciousness of the humanoid form is not preserved, meaning that the werewolf can attack anyone they don't consider part of their pack (having a strong sense of trust and kinship with), and only respond to the call of their own kind.

Compared to wolves, the wolf form of werewolves have shorter tails and longer legs. Unhealthy, stressed or malnourished werewolves tend to be more gangly, have patchier fur, and lose the reflectiveness of their tapeta lucida.

#### Humanoid physiology

In their human forms, werewolves exist on a perpetual cycle of superhuman strength around the new moon, and weakness, especially in connective tissue and joints, alongside brain fog, fever, nausea and cramps, around the full moon, as their bodies 'wind up' to transform. These symptoms can become debilitating as werewolves age, and this huge energy demand and breakdown of human functions eventually kills the werewolf.

Werewolves tend to have superior olfaction, hearing (perceiving a higher range of pitches), photosensitivity (due to their tapeta lucida, which also results in reflective eyes), and resistance to magic, than the average human, especially during the full moon period. They also tend to experience weakness in their red cone cells, causing partial colour blindness, and immunity to all human diseases not shared by canines.

They also have strong 'pack instincts', with exacerbated empathy for and protectiveness over their close family, as well as a strong connection to communal singing.

Werewolves have fast metabolisms and large appetites (compared to the average human) to account for the huge energy demand of rearranging of cells during their transformations, as well as higher body temperatures. They especially have an appetite for rare meat, needing a higher proportion of meat in their diet than humans due to their being facultative carnivores. They also share some canine food intolerances, including chocolate, caffeine, onion, garlic, and xylitol, and much lower resistances to alcohol.

While sample sizes for known werewolf pregnancy are very small, it is thought that werewolves are more prone to multiple births (i.e. twins).

##### Wolfsbane Potion

The steep price of Wolfsbane is in part due to Belby's restriction of the recipe and consequent royalties for its use.

#### Attitudes towards werewolves

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/88483135#workskin

Anti-werewolf ideology commonly relies on the belief that, once lycanthropic, a person is no longer a human but instead a beast, regardless of their form. Most famously, Emerett Picardy surmised in his essay *Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don't Deserve to Live* that werewolves lose their moral sense while in their human form, thus contracting lycanthropy is akin to losing one's humanity. Picardy cites crime rate among werewolves, and the rarity of taking wolfsbane, as proof of this - despite this being commonly known as caused by material inequality, unemployment (caused itself by anti-werewolf attitudes) and the steep cost of wolfsbane experienced by werewolves.

While (if interpreted very generously) Picardy's concerns about 'turning' being a violation of bodily autonomy are founded, it is widely known that werewolves in their human forms do not lose their moral sense and lycanthropy does not cause a hatred of humans or a desire to turn them. First-hand accounts of werewolves also describe the instincts of a wolf form itself, regardless of consumption of wolfsbane, as not being spiteful or aggressive by nature, only self-preservational. In respect to historical werewolf figures such as Fenrir Greyback known to have 'turned', assaulted and murdered many during the Second Wizarding War, Essayist Paul Lockett writes that these atrocities are in line with the actions of many of Voldemort's closest; any person has the ability to greatly violate another's bodily autonomy, and the instinct to do so has far more to do with the effects of violent ideologies than any biological variation, lycanthropic or otherwise.

The Quibbler article *Woes of a Weary Werewolf* details the psychological effect of an anti-werewolf society, as experienced by Remus Lupin, a werewolf turned by Greyback at 8 years, who had to hide this to attend, and later teach at Hogwarts, before this truth was exposed less than a year into his tenure. He describes self-harming behaviour from a young age to hide his werewolf traits, including malnourishment and poisoning, leading to the loss of his tapeta lucida. He also highlights his self-harm and suicidal thoughts caused by intense self-loathing, matching the hatred of werewolves he saw the outside world carry.

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###### Werewolf Mandates

In January 1993, Delores Umbridge championed the public availability of the Werewolf Register, allowing large-scale employment discrimination against werewolves. In Septmeber 1994, she furthered this trend by mandating werewolves disclose their identities to the Werewolf Register, with large fines for non-compliance.

1. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, Chapter 212 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/77962829
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 88 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/67156231
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kaleidoscopic Grangers, Chapter 285 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/84260161
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Kaleidoscopic Grangers, Chapter 110 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/68470511
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 111 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/68512365
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 114 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/68646807
7. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 174 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/74944332
8. ↑ Birds of a Feather: Flock Together, chapter 33 https://archiveofourown.org/works/40814451/chapters/114241141
9. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 105 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/68325040
10. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 289 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/84685321
11. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 297 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/86356726
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 170 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/74556054
13. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, Chapter 107 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/68357017
14. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, Chapter 242 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/81015247
15. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 95 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/67702162
16. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 109 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/68458469
17. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 339 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/92884765
18. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 206 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/77521427
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 173 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/74841201
20. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 175 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/75048612
21. ↑ Kaleidoscopic Grangers, chapter 117 https://archiveofourown.org/works/24597805/chapters/68861811