Remus J Lupin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
theshabbiestofmen) wrote2012-03-07 01:18 am
theshabbiestofmen) wrote2012-03-07 01:18 am
(no subject)
PLAYER INFORMATION
Your Name: Thleen
OOC Journal:thleeny
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Nope!
Email + IM: disconewsie@gmail.com || disco newsie
Characters Played at Ataraxion: None!
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Remus John Lupin
Canon: Harry Potter
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: Right before his death at the Battle of Hogwarts.
Number: 076
Setting: The world of Harry Potter.
History: When he was a young child-- sometime before the age of eleven-- Remus was bit by the werewolf Fenir Greyback in retaliation for an insult Remus' father had given. That one event shaped Remus' entire life, forcing him into outcast status before he was ten years old. For a while, his future was uncertain; werewolves were at best ignored, at worst hunted down. It was doubtful Remus would be allowed to attend any kind of school, for what parent would want their child attending class with a monster?
However, Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, allowed Remus to attend. While Dumbledore was fully aware of the risks Remus posed to the other students, he thought that as long as the proper precautions were taken, there was no reason Remus couldn't attend. In his case, "proper precautions" entailed locking Remus into an abandoned shack a little ways away from Hogwarts. Thus, when he transformed, he was trapped, and posed no harm to anyone. Remus' screams of pain as he changed from man to beast caused the local villagers to believe the shack was haunted; Dumbledore encouraged this rumor, not wanting anyone to guess the truth.
But it was worth it. It was worth any amount of pain, for almost immediately upon joining the school, Remus found the best friends any boy could hope to have: James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. The four were inseperable and unusually close friends, and for the first time since he had been bitten, Remus found himself truly happy. However, this happiness came with some guilt-- Remus had not shared his status as a werewolf with his friends, terrified they would abandon him if they knew the truth (this, as is revealed in later books, isn't such an unfounded fear; most people in the Wizarding world refuse to have anything to do with werewolves). Instead, at every full moon, Remus would claim all manner of things-- that his mother was ill, that he himself was sick, that a relative had died-- to excuse both his exhausted apperance and long absence.
This lie only worked for so long, though. Sometime in their second year, James, Sirius and Peter worked out why Remus was disappearing every month-- but instead of abandoning him, they began working out a way to help him. After a few years, they worked out the incredibly complex Animagus spell-- a way for the three boys to transform into animals. Werewolves posed a threat only to humans, and so, in this way, they could stay with Remus during his transformations without having to worry.
Things had never been better for him. He had friends, they loved him, they accepted him, he was going to have a good life-- yes. Despite his curse, Remus' life could get no better. Perhaps the only sore spot was the one incident with Snape. Severus Snape, a Slytherin boy in the Marauders' year, was their sworn enemy, and thus grew rather interested in where the four boys were going every full moon, hoping to find a reason to expel them. One day, Sirius purposely let slip the fact that, if Snape were to head past the Whomping Willow-- a tree planted at the passageway by the shack where Remus was trapped-- he would find something interesting. Snape was only saved from lyanthopy or even death by James, who pulled him back at the last minute. It wasn't soon enough that Snape didn't find out about Remus' secret, though, and his loathing of the four grew even worse.
After graduation, Remus, along with his friends, joined the Order of the Phoenix-- a militant group intent on resisting Lord Voldemort and his followers, Death Eaters. Being a member was a full-time occupation, which was good, because after school, not a person in the world would hire Remus, too prejudiced against werewolves. For a time, Remus lived off James' money, unable to find an alternative.
As time went on, the First Wizarding War began. People began disappearing, dying, and as they did, tensions and suspicions grew. When an informant told Dumbledore a spy was most likely in their midst, Sirius began to distrust Lupin. When the spy futher revealed that a prophecy was made about a child who would one day have the power to defeat Voldemort, and that James and Lily's child, Harry, was a target, Remus was subsequently left out of any and all plans to keep the family safe.
It was decided the Potters would use a Fidelius Charm-- a spell that hid a location from anyone in the world, so long as a third person-- a Secret-Keeper-- told no one about where the location was. Sirius was chosen to be the Secret-Keeper, but, deciding this was too obvious, pushed James to make Peter the designated one instead. No one save Peter, James and Sirius knew about this switch.
That was a fatal mistake. It wasn't Remus, but Peter that was the double-crosser; within a few weeks, the Potters were dead, Voldemort was temporarily defeated, and Harry Potter had become the most famous wizard in all of history.
Thirteen years passed. We don't really know much of what happened to Lupin, beyond that he survived and lived in relative peace. We do know this was the poorest time of his life, though, now that he didn't have James' money to rely on and was forced to hunt for work. When he appears in book three, he is described as "shabby looking"-- his robes darned and patched, his briefcase cracekd and peeling, and so on.
In book three, we find that Dumbledore-- growing desperate for a Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher-- hired Lupin. Beyond the staff, no one knew he was a werewolf. At roughly the same time Lupin was hired, Sirius Black-- falsely imprisoned for all these years-- broke out of Azkaban, the wizarding prison and was on the run.
For a year Lupin taught at Hogwarts. Teaching suited him; according to Harry, he was by far the best teacher they'd ever had. Even the werewolf issue wasn't such a problem: by that time, the Wolfsbane potion had been invented-- a temporary cure that ensured when Lupin consumed it, he would remain in control when he transformed into a wolf. It was a vast improvement over his childhood transformations; now he could simply curl under his desk and wait the night out.
Things went well for precisely a year-- up until June. The night of the 6th, Ron, travelling back to the castle, was dragged into the Shrieking Shack by a large black dog; Ron and Hermione soon followed. As it turned out, the dog was Sirius in his dog form. Lupin, having seen Black on the map, soon bursts into the room; once Sirius hastily explained the switch and his innocence, they two try to explain it to Harry.
The way Peter got away with his crime, they explained, was because he faked his death: after betraying Lily and James, Sirius found him and cornered him. In a street full of witnesses, Peter sobbed about how Sirius had betrayed their friends and blasted the street. In the confusion, he cut off his finger and transformed into a rat; to the world, it appeared as if Sirius was the guilty party who had murdered yet another of his friends. In a bizarre coincidence, Ron's pet rat was, in fact, Peter; Sirius had recognized him in a newspaper photo a year before, and so had broken out of prison to hunt him down.
Lupin and Sirius, working together, forced Ron's rat to show its true form: that of Peter Pettigrew. Through much intimidation, they got him to reveal the truth of what happened that night with the Potters, how he and not Sirius was the true murderer. Once the story was completely out, Remus and Sirius grimly agreed to kill him. It was only through Harry's quick intervention that they spared his life and agreed to take him back to the castle.
However, that night was the night of the full moon, and Remus-- too caught up in having seen Sirius on the map-- had forgotten to take his potion. He transformed into a mindless beast; thinking quickly, Sirius transformed as well, trying to distract the wolf long enough that the others could escape. In the chaos, Peter fled into the woods and Sirius was eventually captured by the school, to be held until he was to be given the Dementor's Kiss (a punishment that would essentially suck out his soul).
Some things involving time travel occured, but the long and short of it was that, with the help of Harry and Hermione, Sirius escaped. Infuriated by the escape, Snape-- already bitter toward Lupin-- "accidentally" let it slip to the entire school that Remus was a werewolf. Before anyone could begin demanding Dumbledore fire him, he resigned, saying that it was the best choice-- that if he ever slipped as he had last night, the consequences would be dire.
Through books four and five, Remus appears to be living with Sirius in Black manor. His apperance is even more worn down, and it's implied that once agian, he hasn't been able to find any jobs given his curse. However, he wasn't idle; yet again a member of the reformed Order of the Phoenix, Remus went on several missions for them. At the end of book five, he, along with other Order members, fought several Death Eaters and Voldemort himself at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. There he witnessed the death of his last friend Sirius, which was pretty much the icing on the shitcake that is his life.
Later that year, we find Remus having gone to live with a clan of fellow werewolves, acting on Dumbledore's orders. His mission was to try and sway them to the Order of the Phoenix's side, but mentioned it was a hard task-- both because their leader (the same man who bit Remus as a child) was difficult to argue with and because werewolves really didn't have much to switch back for.
He returns later in the year to fight in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, when Death Eaters invaded Hogwarts. He was just in time to witness Dumbledore's death. While this was a devastating loss, and a devastating battle, it did have some good results: Bill Weasley, who had been attacked by Greyback, was still accepted by his lover Fleur. The event led him to slowly accept the love of Nympadora Tonks, whom he had been rejecting for the past year, too ashamed and fearful of his curse and the effects it might have on her. They soon married.
Over the next year, the Wizarding World fell into despair. Voldermort took over the Ministry of Magic and Harry went on the run, trying to find seven Horcruxes that, once found and destroyed, would lead to Voldemort's downfall. But Remus had more immediate concerns: Tonks had become pregnant. While initially pleased with the news, Remus became more and more frantic over the idea, convinced he had doomed both his wife and unborn child to condemnation and outcast status. Appearing before Harry, he begged him to take him along on his mission, honestly convinced he would be doing his family a service by disappearing from their lives. Harry snapped at him he was being a coward, they fought, and Lupin fled. When next we hear him, he has returned to his family and apparently forgiven Harry for their fight, for he asks him to be godfather.
Lupin's final appearance is at the Battle of Hogwarts. In the series' climax, Voldemort has attacked the castle directly, and Harry races against time to try and destroy the final horcruxes and defeat Voldemort. In order to buy him time (and fight against the oppressing Death Eaters), the Order of the Phoenix, as well as the staff and students of Hogwarts, go to battle. Lupin and Tonks are in the thick of it, fighting Death Eaters, and it's here Lupin meets his end. We do not see his final moments, but we are told he was killed by Antonin Dolshov in the courtyard of Hogwarts.
And it is here, right before the curse hits him, that I take Remus Lupin.
Personality: Lupin is, above all else, a good man. A flawed man, yes, a deeply self-loathing one, but a decent, good man.
Almost excessively calm and gentle, it takes quite a bit to rile him up-- the only time we see him truly furious is when in a fight with Harry over abandoning his wife and child. Aside from that (and battles), he almost never loses his temper-- which wouldn't be so remarkable, except when you start to think about what he's been through. After Snape revealed his coworker's werewolf status to the school, thus ensuring Lupin-- who has always had difficulty finding jobs-- would be forced to leave, Lupin doesn't grow angry. He merely accepts it, acknowledging that it was too dangerous a position anyway. It's almost baffling, really, how calm he can remain.
He's also extremely tolerant and fair-minded, which most likely comes from him having to put up with so much prejudice and hatred his entire life. Despite the fact James and Sirius had had a lifelong rivalry against Snape, and that Snape clearly extended that rivalry to Remus, Lupin makes a serious effort to get along with the other man.
There's also a quietly mischievous and fun side to Lupin too; there would have had to have been, for him to be such good friends with Sirius and James. He's shown several times to have a rather dry sense of humor, and, despite his circumstances, is nearly always cheerful.
However, he has his flaws, too. Remus, above all else, has a deep desire to be liked. When he is, when he has friends, he grows terrified he might lose them, and so doesn't stand up against them quite as often as he should. This is evident in his entire friendship with the other Marauders; while he disapproved of all the bullying they did, he never out and out called them to task, too afraid they would abandon him and he would be left alone. While he's grown out of this trait somewhat, it's still quite evident in his adulthood: it might explain some of his passivity.
He's also prone to serious cases of self-doubt and self-loathing, to the point of sheer irrationality. For quite some time, he denied Tonks' advances, convinced he was no good for her, and that she ought to seek someone younger and who wasn't a werewolf. This all despite the fact she knew full well who and what he was, the dangers he posed, and what it would mean for her if they began dating-- and yet continued to pursue him. He was so very convinced he was no good for her that he refused to listen to any logic on the subject for nearly a year.
This trait of his also crops up in book seven, when Tonks finds out she's pregnant. Overcome with guilt at what he has supposedly done to both his wife and child-- making her an outcast and possibly passing on his lycanthropy, respectively-- he flees, nearly abandoning them both in favor of helping Harry with his mission.
Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations: Remus is a wizard, which means he can perform quite a lot of magic. To list every spell he can do take far too long; rather, have a list of spells in the Potter verse.
But he's not just any wizard; he's shown on several occasions he's quite a brilliant one. Several times throughout the series Remus is shown performing both nonverbal and wandless magic-- both very difficult to do, both of which he does with little effort. That's not to say he doesn't need a wand, he most definitely does when it comes to magic that isn't relatively simple-- but still, it's a good indicator of his skill. He's also been shown to master spells that most wizards don't attempt-- spells like the Patronous charm, which is said to be notoriously difficult.
He's also an incredible duelist; in several battles he ends up being one of the few uninjured.
Finally, he is simply intelligent-- he's smart enough to create the fabled Marauder's Map with his three friends, which was an incredibly tricky bit of magic, and nearly always had top marks in school.
Beyond wizardry, Remus is also cursed to, once a month, change into a werewolf. This isn't an ability he can control; at most, with the aid of a potion, he can force the wolf's mind down and take control of his body. Still, if he was to bite anyone while in wolf form, he would curse them to a life of lycanthropy.
Inventory: His wand.
Appearance: If Remus' apperance was to be summed up in one word, it might be "exhausted". Despite being only 38, Remus' brown hair is streaked with grey, and his face carries several lines. He nearly always has dark circles under his eyes, and his face and body are littered with deep scars.
In addition, his clothing is consistantly described as "shabby"-- little surprise, given that it is extremely hard for a werewolf to find a steady job.
Age: 38
AU Clarification: N/A
SAMPLES
Log Sample:
Concentrate on the writing, Remus Lupin told himself for the third time. A quill was gripped too tightly between his fingers, the red ink long since dried on the tip. Concentrate on the words—go on. “In 1549, Waggard the Weary was persecuted for rumors of his vampire-ism when really he was only really pale”—well, there you go already, that’s a mistake, now correct it. Easy.
Moving to scratch a note on the edge of the parchment, Lupin scowled as nothing happened and irritably dipped his quill in ink once again. Correction made, he narrowed his eyes, struggling to focus on Dean Thomas’ essay. The messy handwriting swayed and blurred before his eyes, and with a frustrated sigh he leaned back in his chair, rubbing one hand over his face. He had been attempting to grade the third years’ essays on vampires for half an hour now, but it was of little use: no matter how hard he tried to distract himself, his mind focused in again and again on Sirius.
On Black, he sharply corrected himself. Black was a criminal, a madman who had betrayed them all. To use the familiar name Sirius—as if he was a friend, as if this was all some sick joke, a colossal misunderstanding—was doing a disservice to Lily and James’ memory.
Lily and James. Lupin sighed again and stood, crossing the room to stare out the window. It had been twelve years—long years, years that felt like decades at times—but some wounds barely healed.
Of course, he thought bitterly, it didn't help when they were violently reopened again. First Black escaping prison, then meeting Harry-- an absolute clone of James-- and now this. He glanced behind him, glaring at the old scrap of parchment that he had thrown carelessly in the corner of his office.
The Marauder's Map, and there was something he hadn't thought about in years. It was one of his greatest projects, pathetic as that was, and he had often wondered what had happened to it, whose hands it had fallen into (if any). That Harry should have found it was right, somehow, and Lupin wondered if he had done the right thing in taking it away from the boy.
But he couldn't think like that, he scolded himself, and strode back to his desk. He was his teacher, not his friend, and any teacher worth their salt would have taken the map. How many rules had he and his friends broken with its aid? And the trouble Harry could get in was far more dangerous than a few detentions.
Yes, Lupin thought, he'd absolutely done the right thing. And if that thing meant that the map should also be in his possession now, well, that was just how it went.
He glanced over at the parchment again. It looked innocent enough, but that was part of its charm. No one would ever want to steal something so pathetic looking. That had been his idea, Remus remembered suddenly; he had plucked at the front of his own robes and dryly noted that it was the frayed ones no one ever noticed. They'd all laughed and Remus had felt good about himself and they'd incorporated that, too.
Did it still work? Evidently, he thought, for all the old insults they'd taught it about Snape were still there. But they'd left other things, too, messages for themselves, little notes and private jokes just for the four of them. Had that lasted? Or had those spells, lacking any real heart or friendship behind them, faded completely?
There was only one way to find out. Sinking into his seat, Lupin grabbed a quill. For a moment he did nothing, his stomach twisting in fear-- and then, quite abruptly, he began to write.
Hello, he scratched. His normally neat handwriting looked spidery and too light against the parchment, but that couldn’t be helped; his damned hand wouldn’t stop trembling.
For a moment nothing happened and Lupin exhaled in relief. He was disappointed, of course, but perhaps this was for the best; it wouldn’t do to dwell in memories, after all. Especially not these memories, not now, not with all that was happening. Perhaps the spell had worn off; after all, it had been well over two decades since they’d placed it.
He began to rise from his chair, his heart slowing down from the speedy tempo it had jumped to. He’d just put the map in his drawer, locking it—or perhaps he would owl it to Gringotts and ask they put it in his vault; Merlin knew it would be safe there.
Yes, Lupin decided, straightening up. That was what he would do. Grabbing the map, he gave it one final glance--
--and jerked in surprise as words began to appear on. Without reading them Lupin could tell instantly whose it was; James’ handwriting was always particularly distinct.
Mr Moony! Where in Merlin’s name have you been! the map chided, and with a soft groan Lupin sank back in his seat, clenching the map so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Probably studying, Peter—his handwriting, Lupin reminded himself wildly, his pale face turned even paler, not Peter, it’s not them, you fool, don’t fall into that trap—suggested. Probably, James agreed, and Lupin could imagine the little disapproving sigh he would have given right then. What a shame. And here I’ve most likely thought up a million brilliant pranks by now.
You? Sirius interrupted. His handwriting had always messy and a little too big, Lupin remembered slowly, as if Sirius was too distracted by better things to bother with writing properly. Prongs, don’t flatter yourself. It’s me who comes up with the ideas.
Liar. Settle this for us, Moony? James replied, and the map fell silent, obviously waiting for an answer.
Barely daring to breathe, Lupin edged closer. This was a bad idea, something in the back of his mind told him, but he ignored it. He couldn’t just walk away, not now, not after twelve years of being alone, of not having any of his friends at his side—
Gripping his quill so tightly it hurt, Remus carefully wrote: Prongs, of course. Even those three words were nearly too much; his breath was ragged as he set the quill down, feeling ill. He wanted to stop—he ought to stop—but he couldn’t. This was the closest he would ever get to talking to James and Peter—and even Sirius, Sirius before he had fallen from grace, Sirius as he had once known and loved him—again; how could he give that up? No one could, he assured himself, and hunched over his desk, as if to hide the map from anyone who might be watching.
Hah! James wrote triumphantly. The only contribution Sirius had to make was a sad face (me, the caption cleverly read). I knew it, I knew he was on my side. Remus choked, his left hand shoving through his hair. He closed his eyes for a moment, hating the way they’d grown hot, hating himself for doing this, hating Snape for calling him, even hating Harry for finding the map in the first place.
By the time he opened his eyes once again, the map had continued.
Traitor, Sirius had grudgingly written, and added a second sad face as Peter piped in with Oye! I supported you! You didn’t even let me have a vote!
ANYWAY, Sirius wrote, apparently eager to get on with things now that he had lost, THAT IS NOT THE POINT. The point is YOU HAVE BEEN MISSING IN ACTION MR MOONY and that is NOT ON. Now, we three are prepared to make an exception for you, being as you are our friend—
--and let us copy from you 10030583 times, Peter chimed in (and he would have snickered, Lupin thought, blinking the tears away furiously, not wanting to miss a word), so we kind of owe you mate—
—BEING AS YOU ARE OUR FRIEND AND NOT BECAUSE OF THAT and anyway I didn’t need to copy not really it was just convenient and anyway Moony you owed me for setting you up with Jeanie Harland—
--ANYWAY, James interrupted, anyway, the point is, come back and stop wandering off to the library like a bookish prat.
Yeah, Peter agreed. We need the brains of the outfit back. And the conscience.
So come back, James agreed after a short pause (during which he’d probably scolded Peter for not calling him the brains), and don’t give us that Look when you see this intervention, will you, this is for your own good. Clearly you’ve been spending too much time away from us.
Which is, actually, more than ten minutes, but I suppose if it’s around exam period you might be excused. MIGHT. Be on your toes, young Moony, we’re watching you, Sirius warned. He began doodling a pair of eyes below his message as James added, Cheers, mate!
With that final bidding the map fell silent. After a few moments the ink faded, leaving nothing more than the familiar worn parchment, blank and waiting to be used.
“Don’t,” Lupin said aloud to himself. The word sounded flat and dead in the room. “Don’t use it.” Despite his warning, he stared down at the paper for a moment more, longing clear in his expression. Then, abruptly, he stood. Stiffly he wrenched open his desk drawer and shoved the parchment in there with uncharacteristic roughness. It lay in the back, crumpled and worn, not doing a damn thing.
He slammed the door shut and closed his eyes tightly, resting his head in his hands. There would be no sleep tonight; he knew that without thinking. There would be no sleep for many nights-- or if there was, it would be fraught with nightmares, of James' cheerful expression and his bloody face, of Sirius' delighted laughter turning manical, of poor Peter's last horrified expression.
"Damn it, Harry," he whispered.
Comms Sample:
Here is a thread sample.
Your Name: Thleen
OOC Journal:
thleeny Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: Nope!
Email + IM: disconewsie@gmail.com || disco newsie
Characters Played at Ataraxion: None!
CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Remus John Lupin
Canon: Harry Potter
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: Right before his death at the Battle of Hogwarts.
Number: 076
Setting: The world of Harry Potter.
History: When he was a young child-- sometime before the age of eleven-- Remus was bit by the werewolf Fenir Greyback in retaliation for an insult Remus' father had given. That one event shaped Remus' entire life, forcing him into outcast status before he was ten years old. For a while, his future was uncertain; werewolves were at best ignored, at worst hunted down. It was doubtful Remus would be allowed to attend any kind of school, for what parent would want their child attending class with a monster?
However, Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, allowed Remus to attend. While Dumbledore was fully aware of the risks Remus posed to the other students, he thought that as long as the proper precautions were taken, there was no reason Remus couldn't attend. In his case, "proper precautions" entailed locking Remus into an abandoned shack a little ways away from Hogwarts. Thus, when he transformed, he was trapped, and posed no harm to anyone. Remus' screams of pain as he changed from man to beast caused the local villagers to believe the shack was haunted; Dumbledore encouraged this rumor, not wanting anyone to guess the truth.
But it was worth it. It was worth any amount of pain, for almost immediately upon joining the school, Remus found the best friends any boy could hope to have: James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. The four were inseperable and unusually close friends, and for the first time since he had been bitten, Remus found himself truly happy. However, this happiness came with some guilt-- Remus had not shared his status as a werewolf with his friends, terrified they would abandon him if they knew the truth (this, as is revealed in later books, isn't such an unfounded fear; most people in the Wizarding world refuse to have anything to do with werewolves). Instead, at every full moon, Remus would claim all manner of things-- that his mother was ill, that he himself was sick, that a relative had died-- to excuse both his exhausted apperance and long absence.
This lie only worked for so long, though. Sometime in their second year, James, Sirius and Peter worked out why Remus was disappearing every month-- but instead of abandoning him, they began working out a way to help him. After a few years, they worked out the incredibly complex Animagus spell-- a way for the three boys to transform into animals. Werewolves posed a threat only to humans, and so, in this way, they could stay with Remus during his transformations without having to worry.
Things had never been better for him. He had friends, they loved him, they accepted him, he was going to have a good life-- yes. Despite his curse, Remus' life could get no better. Perhaps the only sore spot was the one incident with Snape. Severus Snape, a Slytherin boy in the Marauders' year, was their sworn enemy, and thus grew rather interested in where the four boys were going every full moon, hoping to find a reason to expel them. One day, Sirius purposely let slip the fact that, if Snape were to head past the Whomping Willow-- a tree planted at the passageway by the shack where Remus was trapped-- he would find something interesting. Snape was only saved from lyanthopy or even death by James, who pulled him back at the last minute. It wasn't soon enough that Snape didn't find out about Remus' secret, though, and his loathing of the four grew even worse.
After graduation, Remus, along with his friends, joined the Order of the Phoenix-- a militant group intent on resisting Lord Voldemort and his followers, Death Eaters. Being a member was a full-time occupation, which was good, because after school, not a person in the world would hire Remus, too prejudiced against werewolves. For a time, Remus lived off James' money, unable to find an alternative.
As time went on, the First Wizarding War began. People began disappearing, dying, and as they did, tensions and suspicions grew. When an informant told Dumbledore a spy was most likely in their midst, Sirius began to distrust Lupin. When the spy futher revealed that a prophecy was made about a child who would one day have the power to defeat Voldemort, and that James and Lily's child, Harry, was a target, Remus was subsequently left out of any and all plans to keep the family safe.
It was decided the Potters would use a Fidelius Charm-- a spell that hid a location from anyone in the world, so long as a third person-- a Secret-Keeper-- told no one about where the location was. Sirius was chosen to be the Secret-Keeper, but, deciding this was too obvious, pushed James to make Peter the designated one instead. No one save Peter, James and Sirius knew about this switch.
That was a fatal mistake. It wasn't Remus, but Peter that was the double-crosser; within a few weeks, the Potters were dead, Voldemort was temporarily defeated, and Harry Potter had become the most famous wizard in all of history.
Thirteen years passed. We don't really know much of what happened to Lupin, beyond that he survived and lived in relative peace. We do know this was the poorest time of his life, though, now that he didn't have James' money to rely on and was forced to hunt for work. When he appears in book three, he is described as "shabby looking"-- his robes darned and patched, his briefcase cracekd and peeling, and so on.
In book three, we find that Dumbledore-- growing desperate for a Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher-- hired Lupin. Beyond the staff, no one knew he was a werewolf. At roughly the same time Lupin was hired, Sirius Black-- falsely imprisoned for all these years-- broke out of Azkaban, the wizarding prison and was on the run.
For a year Lupin taught at Hogwarts. Teaching suited him; according to Harry, he was by far the best teacher they'd ever had. Even the werewolf issue wasn't such a problem: by that time, the Wolfsbane potion had been invented-- a temporary cure that ensured when Lupin consumed it, he would remain in control when he transformed into a wolf. It was a vast improvement over his childhood transformations; now he could simply curl under his desk and wait the night out.
Things went well for precisely a year-- up until June. The night of the 6th, Ron, travelling back to the castle, was dragged into the Shrieking Shack by a large black dog; Ron and Hermione soon followed. As it turned out, the dog was Sirius in his dog form. Lupin, having seen Black on the map, soon bursts into the room; once Sirius hastily explained the switch and his innocence, they two try to explain it to Harry.
The way Peter got away with his crime, they explained, was because he faked his death: after betraying Lily and James, Sirius found him and cornered him. In a street full of witnesses, Peter sobbed about how Sirius had betrayed their friends and blasted the street. In the confusion, he cut off his finger and transformed into a rat; to the world, it appeared as if Sirius was the guilty party who had murdered yet another of his friends. In a bizarre coincidence, Ron's pet rat was, in fact, Peter; Sirius had recognized him in a newspaper photo a year before, and so had broken out of prison to hunt him down.
Lupin and Sirius, working together, forced Ron's rat to show its true form: that of Peter Pettigrew. Through much intimidation, they got him to reveal the truth of what happened that night with the Potters, how he and not Sirius was the true murderer. Once the story was completely out, Remus and Sirius grimly agreed to kill him. It was only through Harry's quick intervention that they spared his life and agreed to take him back to the castle.
However, that night was the night of the full moon, and Remus-- too caught up in having seen Sirius on the map-- had forgotten to take his potion. He transformed into a mindless beast; thinking quickly, Sirius transformed as well, trying to distract the wolf long enough that the others could escape. In the chaos, Peter fled into the woods and Sirius was eventually captured by the school, to be held until he was to be given the Dementor's Kiss (a punishment that would essentially suck out his soul).
Some things involving time travel occured, but the long and short of it was that, with the help of Harry and Hermione, Sirius escaped. Infuriated by the escape, Snape-- already bitter toward Lupin-- "accidentally" let it slip to the entire school that Remus was a werewolf. Before anyone could begin demanding Dumbledore fire him, he resigned, saying that it was the best choice-- that if he ever slipped as he had last night, the consequences would be dire.
Through books four and five, Remus appears to be living with Sirius in Black manor. His apperance is even more worn down, and it's implied that once agian, he hasn't been able to find any jobs given his curse. However, he wasn't idle; yet again a member of the reformed Order of the Phoenix, Remus went on several missions for them. At the end of book five, he, along with other Order members, fought several Death Eaters and Voldemort himself at the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. There he witnessed the death of his last friend Sirius, which was pretty much the icing on the shitcake that is his life.
Later that year, we find Remus having gone to live with a clan of fellow werewolves, acting on Dumbledore's orders. His mission was to try and sway them to the Order of the Phoenix's side, but mentioned it was a hard task-- both because their leader (the same man who bit Remus as a child) was difficult to argue with and because werewolves really didn't have much to switch back for.
He returns later in the year to fight in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, when Death Eaters invaded Hogwarts. He was just in time to witness Dumbledore's death. While this was a devastating loss, and a devastating battle, it did have some good results: Bill Weasley, who had been attacked by Greyback, was still accepted by his lover Fleur. The event led him to slowly accept the love of Nympadora Tonks, whom he had been rejecting for the past year, too ashamed and fearful of his curse and the effects it might have on her. They soon married.
Over the next year, the Wizarding World fell into despair. Voldermort took over the Ministry of Magic and Harry went on the run, trying to find seven Horcruxes that, once found and destroyed, would lead to Voldemort's downfall. But Remus had more immediate concerns: Tonks had become pregnant. While initially pleased with the news, Remus became more and more frantic over the idea, convinced he had doomed both his wife and unborn child to condemnation and outcast status. Appearing before Harry, he begged him to take him along on his mission, honestly convinced he would be doing his family a service by disappearing from their lives. Harry snapped at him he was being a coward, they fought, and Lupin fled. When next we hear him, he has returned to his family and apparently forgiven Harry for their fight, for he asks him to be godfather.
Lupin's final appearance is at the Battle of Hogwarts. In the series' climax, Voldemort has attacked the castle directly, and Harry races against time to try and destroy the final horcruxes and defeat Voldemort. In order to buy him time (and fight against the oppressing Death Eaters), the Order of the Phoenix, as well as the staff and students of Hogwarts, go to battle. Lupin and Tonks are in the thick of it, fighting Death Eaters, and it's here Lupin meets his end. We do not see his final moments, but we are told he was killed by Antonin Dolshov in the courtyard of Hogwarts.
And it is here, right before the curse hits him, that I take Remus Lupin.
Personality: Lupin is, above all else, a good man. A flawed man, yes, a deeply self-loathing one, but a decent, good man.
Almost excessively calm and gentle, it takes quite a bit to rile him up-- the only time we see him truly furious is when in a fight with Harry over abandoning his wife and child. Aside from that (and battles), he almost never loses his temper-- which wouldn't be so remarkable, except when you start to think about what he's been through. After Snape revealed his coworker's werewolf status to the school, thus ensuring Lupin-- who has always had difficulty finding jobs-- would be forced to leave, Lupin doesn't grow angry. He merely accepts it, acknowledging that it was too dangerous a position anyway. It's almost baffling, really, how calm he can remain.
He's also extremely tolerant and fair-minded, which most likely comes from him having to put up with so much prejudice and hatred his entire life. Despite the fact James and Sirius had had a lifelong rivalry against Snape, and that Snape clearly extended that rivalry to Remus, Lupin makes a serious effort to get along with the other man.
There's also a quietly mischievous and fun side to Lupin too; there would have had to have been, for him to be such good friends with Sirius and James. He's shown several times to have a rather dry sense of humor, and, despite his circumstances, is nearly always cheerful.
However, he has his flaws, too. Remus, above all else, has a deep desire to be liked. When he is, when he has friends, he grows terrified he might lose them, and so doesn't stand up against them quite as often as he should. This is evident in his entire friendship with the other Marauders; while he disapproved of all the bullying they did, he never out and out called them to task, too afraid they would abandon him and he would be left alone. While he's grown out of this trait somewhat, it's still quite evident in his adulthood: it might explain some of his passivity.
He's also prone to serious cases of self-doubt and self-loathing, to the point of sheer irrationality. For quite some time, he denied Tonks' advances, convinced he was no good for her, and that she ought to seek someone younger and who wasn't a werewolf. This all despite the fact she knew full well who and what he was, the dangers he posed, and what it would mean for her if they began dating-- and yet continued to pursue him. He was so very convinced he was no good for her that he refused to listen to any logic on the subject for nearly a year.
This trait of his also crops up in book seven, when Tonks finds out she's pregnant. Overcome with guilt at what he has supposedly done to both his wife and child-- making her an outcast and possibly passing on his lycanthropy, respectively-- he flees, nearly abandoning them both in favor of helping Harry with his mission.
Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations: Remus is a wizard, which means he can perform quite a lot of magic. To list every spell he can do take far too long; rather, have a list of spells in the Potter verse.
But he's not just any wizard; he's shown on several occasions he's quite a brilliant one. Several times throughout the series Remus is shown performing both nonverbal and wandless magic-- both very difficult to do, both of which he does with little effort. That's not to say he doesn't need a wand, he most definitely does when it comes to magic that isn't relatively simple-- but still, it's a good indicator of his skill. He's also been shown to master spells that most wizards don't attempt-- spells like the Patronous charm, which is said to be notoriously difficult.
He's also an incredible duelist; in several battles he ends up being one of the few uninjured.
Finally, he is simply intelligent-- he's smart enough to create the fabled Marauder's Map with his three friends, which was an incredibly tricky bit of magic, and nearly always had top marks in school.
Beyond wizardry, Remus is also cursed to, once a month, change into a werewolf. This isn't an ability he can control; at most, with the aid of a potion, he can force the wolf's mind down and take control of his body. Still, if he was to bite anyone while in wolf form, he would curse them to a life of lycanthropy.
Inventory: His wand.
Appearance: If Remus' apperance was to be summed up in one word, it might be "exhausted". Despite being only 38, Remus' brown hair is streaked with grey, and his face carries several lines. He nearly always has dark circles under his eyes, and his face and body are littered with deep scars.
In addition, his clothing is consistantly described as "shabby"-- little surprise, given that it is extremely hard for a werewolf to find a steady job.
Age: 38
AU Clarification: N/A
SAMPLES
Log Sample:
Concentrate on the writing, Remus Lupin told himself for the third time. A quill was gripped too tightly between his fingers, the red ink long since dried on the tip. Concentrate on the words—go on. “In 1549, Waggard the Weary was persecuted for rumors of his vampire-ism when really he was only really pale”—well, there you go already, that’s a mistake, now correct it. Easy.
Moving to scratch a note on the edge of the parchment, Lupin scowled as nothing happened and irritably dipped his quill in ink once again. Correction made, he narrowed his eyes, struggling to focus on Dean Thomas’ essay. The messy handwriting swayed and blurred before his eyes, and with a frustrated sigh he leaned back in his chair, rubbing one hand over his face. He had been attempting to grade the third years’ essays on vampires for half an hour now, but it was of little use: no matter how hard he tried to distract himself, his mind focused in again and again on Sirius.
On Black, he sharply corrected himself. Black was a criminal, a madman who had betrayed them all. To use the familiar name Sirius—as if he was a friend, as if this was all some sick joke, a colossal misunderstanding—was doing a disservice to Lily and James’ memory.
Lily and James. Lupin sighed again and stood, crossing the room to stare out the window. It had been twelve years—long years, years that felt like decades at times—but some wounds barely healed.
Of course, he thought bitterly, it didn't help when they were violently reopened again. First Black escaping prison, then meeting Harry-- an absolute clone of James-- and now this. He glanced behind him, glaring at the old scrap of parchment that he had thrown carelessly in the corner of his office.
The Marauder's Map, and there was something he hadn't thought about in years. It was one of his greatest projects, pathetic as that was, and he had often wondered what had happened to it, whose hands it had fallen into (if any). That Harry should have found it was right, somehow, and Lupin wondered if he had done the right thing in taking it away from the boy.
But he couldn't think like that, he scolded himself, and strode back to his desk. He was his teacher, not his friend, and any teacher worth their salt would have taken the map. How many rules had he and his friends broken with its aid? And the trouble Harry could get in was far more dangerous than a few detentions.
Yes, Lupin thought, he'd absolutely done the right thing. And if that thing meant that the map should also be in his possession now, well, that was just how it went.
He glanced over at the parchment again. It looked innocent enough, but that was part of its charm. No one would ever want to steal something so pathetic looking. That had been his idea, Remus remembered suddenly; he had plucked at the front of his own robes and dryly noted that it was the frayed ones no one ever noticed. They'd all laughed and Remus had felt good about himself and they'd incorporated that, too.
Did it still work? Evidently, he thought, for all the old insults they'd taught it about Snape were still there. But they'd left other things, too, messages for themselves, little notes and private jokes just for the four of them. Had that lasted? Or had those spells, lacking any real heart or friendship behind them, faded completely?
There was only one way to find out. Sinking into his seat, Lupin grabbed a quill. For a moment he did nothing, his stomach twisting in fear-- and then, quite abruptly, he began to write.
Hello, he scratched. His normally neat handwriting looked spidery and too light against the parchment, but that couldn’t be helped; his damned hand wouldn’t stop trembling.
For a moment nothing happened and Lupin exhaled in relief. He was disappointed, of course, but perhaps this was for the best; it wouldn’t do to dwell in memories, after all. Especially not these memories, not now, not with all that was happening. Perhaps the spell had worn off; after all, it had been well over two decades since they’d placed it.
He began to rise from his chair, his heart slowing down from the speedy tempo it had jumped to. He’d just put the map in his drawer, locking it—or perhaps he would owl it to Gringotts and ask they put it in his vault; Merlin knew it would be safe there.
Yes, Lupin decided, straightening up. That was what he would do. Grabbing the map, he gave it one final glance--
--and jerked in surprise as words began to appear on. Without reading them Lupin could tell instantly whose it was; James’ handwriting was always particularly distinct.
Mr Moony! Where in Merlin’s name have you been! the map chided, and with a soft groan Lupin sank back in his seat, clenching the map so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Probably studying, Peter—his handwriting, Lupin reminded himself wildly, his pale face turned even paler, not Peter, it’s not them, you fool, don’t fall into that trap—suggested. Probably, James agreed, and Lupin could imagine the little disapproving sigh he would have given right then. What a shame. And here I’ve most likely thought up a million brilliant pranks by now.
You? Sirius interrupted. His handwriting had always messy and a little too big, Lupin remembered slowly, as if Sirius was too distracted by better things to bother with writing properly. Prongs, don’t flatter yourself. It’s me who comes up with the ideas.
Liar. Settle this for us, Moony? James replied, and the map fell silent, obviously waiting for an answer.
Barely daring to breathe, Lupin edged closer. This was a bad idea, something in the back of his mind told him, but he ignored it. He couldn’t just walk away, not now, not after twelve years of being alone, of not having any of his friends at his side—
Gripping his quill so tightly it hurt, Remus carefully wrote: Prongs, of course. Even those three words were nearly too much; his breath was ragged as he set the quill down, feeling ill. He wanted to stop—he ought to stop—but he couldn’t. This was the closest he would ever get to talking to James and Peter—and even Sirius, Sirius before he had fallen from grace, Sirius as he had once known and loved him—again; how could he give that up? No one could, he assured himself, and hunched over his desk, as if to hide the map from anyone who might be watching.
Hah! James wrote triumphantly. The only contribution Sirius had to make was a sad face (me, the caption cleverly read). I knew it, I knew he was on my side. Remus choked, his left hand shoving through his hair. He closed his eyes for a moment, hating the way they’d grown hot, hating himself for doing this, hating Snape for calling him, even hating Harry for finding the map in the first place.
By the time he opened his eyes once again, the map had continued.
Traitor, Sirius had grudgingly written, and added a second sad face as Peter piped in with Oye! I supported you! You didn’t even let me have a vote!
ANYWAY, Sirius wrote, apparently eager to get on with things now that he had lost, THAT IS NOT THE POINT. The point is YOU HAVE BEEN MISSING IN ACTION MR MOONY and that is NOT ON. Now, we three are prepared to make an exception for you, being as you are our friend—
--and let us copy from you 10030583 times, Peter chimed in (and he would have snickered, Lupin thought, blinking the tears away furiously, not wanting to miss a word), so we kind of owe you mate—
—BEING AS YOU ARE OUR FRIEND AND NOT BECAUSE OF THAT and anyway I didn’t need to copy not really it was just convenient and anyway Moony you owed me for setting you up with Jeanie Harland—
--ANYWAY, James interrupted, anyway, the point is, come back and stop wandering off to the library like a bookish prat.
Yeah, Peter agreed. We need the brains of the outfit back. And the conscience.
So come back, James agreed after a short pause (during which he’d probably scolded Peter for not calling him the brains), and don’t give us that Look when you see this intervention, will you, this is for your own good. Clearly you’ve been spending too much time away from us.
Which is, actually, more than ten minutes, but I suppose if it’s around exam period you might be excused. MIGHT. Be on your toes, young Moony, we’re watching you, Sirius warned. He began doodling a pair of eyes below his message as James added, Cheers, mate!
With that final bidding the map fell silent. After a few moments the ink faded, leaving nothing more than the familiar worn parchment, blank and waiting to be used.
“Don’t,” Lupin said aloud to himself. The word sounded flat and dead in the room. “Don’t use it.” Despite his warning, he stared down at the paper for a moment more, longing clear in his expression. Then, abruptly, he stood. Stiffly he wrenched open his desk drawer and shoved the parchment in there with uncharacteristic roughness. It lay in the back, crumpled and worn, not doing a damn thing.
He slammed the door shut and closed his eyes tightly, resting his head in his hands. There would be no sleep tonight; he knew that without thinking. There would be no sleep for many nights-- or if there was, it would be fraught with nightmares, of James' cheerful expression and his bloody face, of Sirius' delighted laughter turning manical, of poor Peter's last horrified expression.
"Damn it, Harry," he whispered.
Comms Sample:
Here is a thread sample.