(born
10 March 1959 ), nicknamed ''Moony'', is a
Fictional Character in the ''
Harry Potter '' series by
J. K. Rowling . He first appears in ''
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban '' as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He is portrayed by
David Thewlis in the
Films .
There is evidence to suggest that Lupin is a more powerful wizard than he lets on. In ''Prisoner of Azkaban'', he produced a handful of flames in his bare hands, in a possible show of wandless magic. In ''Order of the Phoenix'', he is the only fighter besides Dumbledore who was not wounded, killed or knocked unconscious in the battle at the
Department Of Mysteries .
Lupin was bitten by the vicious werewolf
Fenrir Greyback as a young child (some believe his age to have been around 6), thus becoming a werewolf himself. His parents tried everything but could not find a cure. He and his parents were justifiably afraid he would not be able to attend school, but headmaster
Albus Dumbledore allowed him to enroll at
Hogwarts . A house was built in
Hogsmeade with a
Secret Passage leading to it from under the
Whomping Willow . Lupin was smuggled into this house for his monthly transformations to ensure his safety and the safety of others. The transformation from
Human to
Werewolf is difficult and painful, and when isolated from humans or the company of other animals, a werewolf will harm itself with its own teeth and claws out of frustration from not being able to attack. The villagers mistook Lupin's screaming as that of extremely violent
Ghost s. The house was dubbed "the
Shrieking Shack " and became known as the most haunted building in
Britain . Although the house was not really haunted at all, Dumbledore promoted this rumour to discourage curious villagers from exploring.
Remus kept his transformations a secret, but his friends (
James Potter ,
Sirius Black , and
Peter Pettigrew ) deduced the truth in their second year. By their fifth year they had learnt how to become
Animagi themselves to keep him company during his transformations. A werewolf is only a danger to
Human s. He was given the
Nickname "Moony" by his friends because of his condition. In their sixth year, Sirius Black played a prank on Severus Snape (though Sirius Black, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew hated Snape, Lupin claimed he had no reason to hate him until the 6th book). He told Snape where Remus went every month, knowing full well that Snape could be killed if he approached Lupin in his werewolf state. Snape, being determined to get them in trouble followed Sirius' directions. James stopped Snape part way down the tunnel, saving his life, but Snape saw Remus in werewolf form and was sworn to secrecy by Dumbledore. Snape was never able to forgive Sirius (James and Remus) for their prank and believed that James' motive in foiling the plan was nothing more than self-interest, to avoid expulsion from Hogwarts. Even though Remus did not know anything of Sirius' prank, Snape loathed and blamed him as well.
Remus was a
Prefect , though he had trouble exercising discipline over his friends. In an interview,
J. K. Rowling linked this to Remus' desire to be liked, "because he's been disliked so often." Remus' main fault is that he likes to be liked. Sirius said Remus was the "good boy" in ''Order of the Phoenix'', and Rowling has said he was the "mature" one. Sirius said that Lupin did not participate in his and James' bullying (of Snape, in particular), but Lupin regrets never having told them to stop. He is also noted for being one of the co-creators of the
Marauder's Map , which later fell into the ownership of Harry Potter.
He was in the original Order of the Phoenix.
Professor Lupin first appeared in '', who was possessed by
Voldemort , and
Gilderoy Lockhart , a fraudster; he was succeeded by
Barty Crouch Jr. , who pretended to be
Alastor Moody , and a domineering and vicious
Ministry Of Magic official,
Dolores Umbridge . His
Most Recent successor was the intimidating and suspect former
Potions master,
Severus Snape .
'']]
Lupin reappeared as a member of the
Order Of The Phoenix in ''
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix '' and ''
Half-Blood Prince '', but his role in those books was smaller than in ''
Prisoner Of Azkaban ''.
In ''Prisoner of Azkaban'', he is described as having "light brown hair" that is greying. In ''Order of the Phoenix'', he has a pale face with premature lines. He has shabby, patched clothing. Few in the magical world want to employ a werewolf and almost all are
Prejudice d against them. With the addition of new anti-werewolf laws passed by the
Ministry Of Magic , finding employment became practically impossible and almost illegal. With Wolfsbane Potion provided regularly by Snape during his time at Hogwarts, he was able to retain his human mind during transformations. Since he is a werewolf and despises his transformations, Lupin's
Boggart takes the form of a
Full Moon .
He is part of new Order in the fifth book and the advanced guard who take Harry away from the Dursleys in the beginning of the book. It is mentioned that Lupin lives in Grimmauld Place, headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix with Sirius Black, but doesn't stay there often as he is usually out completing secret tasks for the Order. Later he helps in the battle at the Department of Mysteries.
In ''Half-Blood Prince'', he is hiding undercover as a spy amongst his fellow werewolves who are under the leadership of the very werewolf who originally bit him.
Fenrir Greyback is now in the employ of
Voldemort . Remus admits to Harry that he finds the werewolves' motives for siding with Voldemort hard to argue with, as he offers them more freedom than they are currently allowed.
At the end of the book it is revealed that
Nymphadora Tonks is in love with Remus. He resisted becoming involved with her because of the risks from his being a werewolf, and he said he is too old, too poor, and too dangerous for her. However, the two are seen holding hands in one of the book's last scenes.
- In the Film Adaptation of Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban , Lupin's werewolf is portrayed as a humanized wolf, although the books inform us that there are only minor superficial differences between the appearances of a true wolf and a transformed werewolf in the ''Harry Potter'' world.
- In the movie, Lupin is shown with a small moustache, as well as scars, though there is no evidence in the books that he has either. He seems to be more cheerful than in the books, and also seems to have a slide projector and a phonograph, which never showed up during the book. Also, his clothes are not really shabby with tears and patches, but rather ordinary and humble.
- In the movie, Lupin's nickname is spelt as "Mooney", instead of " Moony ", as a reference to special effects supervisor Karl Mooney . Ironically, in the movie Lupin never explains that he is in fact Mooney.
This character's name is a clear example of Rowling's careful use of descriptive names for her characters, settings and other story elements. His first name, "Remus", is an allusion to
Romulus And Remus , the legendary twin founders of
Rome , who as infants were cared for by a she-wolf (named Lupa). His last name, "Lupin", recalls the English word "lupine" (meaning "characteristic of or relating to wolves"), which in turn is derived from Latin ''lupus'' ("wolf").
In the folklore of northern France, ''
Lupin '' is also the term used to refer to a kind of werewolf, usually female, noted for its shyness (in contrast to the more aggressive and violent ''
Loup-garou '').
"
Lupin " also refers to a type of plant (genus ''Lupinus''), so named because it was believed to leech and devour the soil.
It has also been speculated that the name comes from two ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus '' skits: a repeated one involving "Professor R.J. Gumby", and one involving "Dennis Moore, the Lupin Thief".
Finally, the name may be a reference to the fictional French gentleman-thief
Arsène Lupin .
Rowling has stated that Professor Lupin is the kind of teacher she wishes she had had. He is good-natured, kind, and able to extract the best in everyone (for instance, spotting
Neville Longbottom 's lack of confidence and helping him to overcome it by teaching him how to defeat the boggart). The fact that he's a werewolf and needs to take a potion to avoid hurting people for the rest of his life makes him a symbol of the consequences of
Prejudice and segregation, as well as society's often negative reaction to the ill and the disabled.
