Remus Lupin is known for helping Harry face the Dementors, for being one of his father's and godfather's most loyal friends, and for having fought ardently in the Battle of Hogwarts. But J.K. Rowling's books and the notes provided by the British novelist detail other very interesting anecdotes about him, which those who have only seen the films probably don't know.
#4 How he became a werewolf
Remus Lupin makes his appearance in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, as a professor against the Dark Arts. We first see him on the train to Hogwarts, during a crucial intervention to save Harry from a Dementor attack. Later in the film, we gradually learn that Lupin is hiding a dark secret: he is an Animagi and transforms into a werewolf on full moon nights. This extremely painful and very restrictive handicap forces him to go into exile once a month, preventing him from teaching the day after his transformation. This is despite the Wolfsbane Potion (which soothes its effects), made this year by Severus Snape.
The past of the great friend of James Potter and Sirius Black (with whom he shares the Animagi trait) remains very mysterious, and we must dig deeper to discover the origins of his transformation. The most fervent aficionados of the Harry Potter universe have the answer. In several interviews with J.K. Rowling, on the Pottermore website, and in a few supplementary texts, we learn that Remus was bitten as a child by Fenrir Greyback, himself a werewolf and supporter of Voldemort. The young boy's father once insulted werewolves in front of Greyback. In retaliation, Greyback came and bit the child one night. A real turning point in the life of Remus, but also of the entire family.
To hide his condition and to avoid arousing suspicion from other families, his parents had to lock him in a room with bolts and powerful spells. But as he grew older, containing him became increasingly difficult, and the spells used had to be intensified. Lonely in his upbringing, Remus is saved by Dumbledore at the age of 11, and convinces his parents to take him to Hogwarts, where more measures will be taken to help him contain his transformations, including a secure place where he can hide (the famous Shrieking Shack). He quickly becomes friends with James and Sirius, who accept his status. An instability that is the consequence of his transformations and his rejection by the population. He and his parents were forced to move frequently to avoid being spotted by the neighborhood. A nomadic life that prevented him from having friends, until he entered Hogwarts. But after his schooling, the troubles returned. Now without Dumbledore's protection and support, and following the loss of James and the imprisonment of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin once again lives a life of solitude and sadness. He then begins a precarious existence. Due to his condition, very few jobs are open to him. He then accepts a few jobs for which he is overqualified, and regularly changes professions to avoid attracting suspicion. It is once again Dumbledore who will pull him out of poverty by convincing him to come and teach at Hogwarts. He still carries this apparent misery through his dull and worn clothes, and is particularly despised by Draco Malfoy, who mocks his appearance and his attire.
#2 His relationship with Nymphadora Tonks and their son
The film briefly mentions his relationship with Nymphadora Tonks, through the announcement of their marriage in The Deathly Hallows, and they almost never appear together. In the books, their story is built with much more detail. In book 6 of The Half-Blood Prince, Nymphadora Tonks falls in love with him. Despite mutual feelings, Lupin refuses the rapprochement, considering himself too old, and especially too unstable due to his lycanthropy. In the midst of heartbreak, Tonks is no longer able to change the color of her hair (which turns, for example, from pink to a dull brown).
Eventually, they decide to get married during the summer before Deathly Hallows. Worried about their future, Remus decides to abandon his wife and future son, but is eventually talked into it by Harry. Tonks becomes pregnant and gives birth to Teddy Lupin. Harry becomes the child's godfather, and the child will be raised by his grandmother Andromeda after the Battle of Hogwarts.
# His special mission for The Order of the Phoenix
The missions of the members of The Order of the Phoenix are rarely detailed in the films. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,Dumbledore tasks Lupin with infiltrating the werewolf community by living with them. His goal is to rally their cause to that of the Order of the Phoenix, or at the very least, to persuade them not to join Voldemort's ranks. Marginalized and despised, they distrust Remus, who ultimately fails in his mission. Influenced by Fenrir Greyback, the community finally decided to side with Voldemort. "I had little success. The werewolves are bitter and angry with the Ministry, and they tend to listen to Greyback," he told Harry in book 6 of The Half-Blood Prince.
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