Other Victims Of Lycanthropy
- Bill Weasley attacked by Fenrir Greyback while he was in human form Bill did not actually become a werewolf, although he did obtain some lupine tendencies .
- Other victims at the Battle of Hogwarts – it can be assumed that there were more victims at the battle that suffered from lycanthrophy to some degree in later days. It would be similar to the effects suffered by Bill Weasley at the hands of Fenrir Greyback. Although Greyback is described as ‘a grey streak,’ suggesting he is in his animalistic form, during the battle and biting people that were down, it can be assumed that he was, in fact, in human form, as Remus Lupin was also in the Battle in human form.
The Disease Is Spread By A Bite During The Full Moon
The only way to become a true werewolf is for a fully transformed one to bite you during the full moon, full stop. Its specifically pointed out that, based on the example of Teddy Lupin, lycanthropy cant be inherited from ones parents. Of course, a scratch or bite from a werewolf outside of the full moon can cause a person to take on a few wolfish characteristics such as a fondness for rare steak, as in the case of Bill Weasley.
More interestingly, though, it is possible for two werewolves to conceive children during the full moon. The resulting progeny are full wolves who possess superintelligence. My advice is to not think too hard on the biological implications of a human carrying a litter of wolf cubs to term and to instead be grateful that this fact closes a plot hole introduced in Sorcerers Stone.
When a frightened Draco Malfoy stammers about werewolves lurking in the Forbidden Forest, and Hagrid corroborates the idea, theyre not speaking of the traditional werewolves that we meet two books later. A pack of these hyper-intelligent wolf offspring actually live in Hogwartss Forbidden Forest at the Headmasters pleasure.
Harry Potter: 10 Facts You Didnt Know About Remus Lupin
Remus Lupin, beloved werewolf and marauder of the Harry Potter series, had a life rich with details. Here are some things you may not have known!
The Harry Potter universe features deep backstories for many of the main characters. Throughout the series, we learn a lot about Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Snape to name a few. One pivotal character who is still kind of shrouded in mystery is Remus Lupin.
Lupin makes his first appearance in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and we learn that he’s a werewolf, as well as a childhood friend of Harry’s father. Though there’s a fair amount that we know, we’ve come up with ten things most fans don’t know about him.
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He Had A Horrible Penchant For Attacking Children
Fenrir Greyback grinned, showing pointed teeth. Blood trickled down his chin and he licked his lips slowly, obscenely.But you know how much I like kids, Dumbledore.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Greyback wasnt just interested in Remus Lupin: the werewolf liked to target all children. As Remus explained to Harry, this was Greybacks twisted plan to bite them young and turn them against the wizarding community. On many occasions we see Greybacks horrific desire to attack kids, and never any acknowledgement on his part of the consequences. Even worse, Lord Voldemort promised Greyback sons and daughters in exchange for catching wizards and witches for him.
Why Does Dracos Mom Call Harry Draco
She wanted to see Draco before anyone could kill him for his affiliation with the Dark Lord. Whether or not Harry was alive the answer was always going to be the same so that she could quickly see Draco. So she did to ensure she could get to Draco before his affiliation with Voldemort got him killed.
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The Dangers Can Be Mitigated During The Full Moon
Facilities secured with strong spells and physical barriers can contain transformed werewolves so they are dangers only to themselves during the full moon. And since the late twentieth century, Wolfsbane Potion has been available to those lucky few who can afford it to allow a werewolf to keep his or her human mental faculties while transformed. Of course, this potion needs to be drunk daily for a week leading up to the full moon, and missing even one dose nullifies its effects entirely .
The Romans Close Ties To Wolves
The Romans have close ties to wolves. The most famous example is the wolf which suckled Romulus and Remus the legendary founders of Rome. So the wolf priests of luperci celebrate the Lupercalia festival on 15th February.
The werewolf as a literary figure does not frequently appear in the works of Roman writers, probably the most popular werewolf story is written and told during the reign of the famous Caesar Nero. The narrator assures his audience that everything he is about to tell is true. Nicos, who has been a slave, tells the shocking story as an eyewitness: He is on the way to visit a friend, accompanied by a very strong soldier. During the night, at full moon, they arrive at a part of the road lined with tombs. The soldier turns aside, takes off his clothes and immediately changes into a wolf. He flees howling loudly. Nicos is half dead with fear. In the meantime a wolf strikes down the sheep on his friends farm. One of the farmhands stabs the wolf in the neck with a spear but the wolf is able to escape. Returning home Nicos finds the soldier with a deep wound in his neck. He is bleeding profusely.10
Then I knew he was a versipellis , a werewolf10, says Nicos at the end of his werewolf tale.
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Werewolves Can Be Muggle Or Magical
While Muggles can become werewolves, the vast majority are witches and wizards. This due to the lower survival rate of Muggles who suffer a werewolf bite and the higher rate of exposure to werewolves among witches and wizards. After all, many magical humans actively hunt and study werewolves, so theyre much more likely to encounter one and become infected.
Remus Lupin And The Stigmatised Illness: Why Lycanthropy Is Not A Good Metaphor For Hiv/aids
Using werewolves as a metaphor for people with HIV and AIDS seems, at best, woefully ill-considered.
As more extraneous Harry Potter content is released into the world this week via three new eBooks, JK Rowling has given us new information on one of the most popular characters in the Harry Potter series: Remus Lupin a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Not only do we hear more about Lupins childhood, we also learn more about what Rowling intended to achieve with his character. Lupin, one of the characters most frequently rewritten as gay by Harry Potter fans, was meant to metaphorically represent those with illnesses that carry a stigma, like HIV and AIDS:
Of course, there are issues here. It can be facetious to follow metaphors through too literally, but comparing lycanthropy and HIV invites deeply problematic comparisons. Lets restrict ourselves just to the Pottermore entry to begin with.
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His Name Has Wolf Origins
A sneaky nod to Lupins status as a werewolf, the name Remus comes from Roman mythology. In the story, Remus was raised by wolves along with his brother, Romulus. If the brothers name also sounds familiar, its because thats the name Lupin went by while speaking anonymously on Potterwatch in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Clever, clever.
This isnt the only hint of Remuss lycanthropic tendencies, as his surname, Lupin, comes from the Latin word lupus, meaning wolf. Since the novels were published, J.K. Rowling has also revealed that Lupins fathers name was Lyall which originates from the Old Norse word Liulfr, once again meaning wolf. Yep, Remuss dads name literally translates to wolf wolf!
Greyback Seems To Be An Unusual Case So His Abilities May Be Atypical
Dumbledore certainly seems surprised at how much of his werewolf traits Greyback retained even when it wasn’t a full moon. This shows that the amount of abilities and werewolf traits Greyback are unusually strong in some way, whether that’s them being simply stronger than usual, or the abilities remaining present at all.
Am I to take it that you are attacking even without the full moon now? This is most unusual you have developed a taste for human flesh that cannot be satisfied once a month?
Thats right, said Greyback. Shocks you, that, does it, Dumbledore? Frightens you?
Well, I cannot pretend it does not disgust me a little, said Dumbledore. – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 27
From this, we can gather that Greyback is more vicious than the typical werewolf.
There are werewolves who lead similar lives, but it’s not clear if they have super abilities.
Remus Lupin goes to live undercover with other werewolves who choose not to attempt to live among wizards to convince them not to join the Dark Lord. These werewolves live hidden from society, and they steal and sometimes kill for food.
However, it has been difficult gaining their trust. I bear the unmistakeable signs of having tried to live among wizards, you see, whereas they have shunned normal society and live on the margins, stealing and sometimes killing to eat. – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 27
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Hermione Granger And Ron Weasley
- Hermione Granger: “Harry! How could you?”
- Ron Weasley: “You shouldnt have said that stuff to Lupin.”
- Hermione and Ron after Harry yells at Remus for leaving his wife
Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his former students
Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were among the students who were very impressed by Remus’ teaching when he was professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts for their third year. Hermione deduced that Remus was a werewolf early in the year, but kept this discovery to herself, not even telling her best friends this is likely because she disapproved of the prejudice against werewolves and knew exposing the truth would hurt Remus. Although Ron initially reacted with fear to the revelation that Remus was a werewolf, he continued to admire and like Remus. In turn, Remus was fond of Ron and Hermione, and was particularly impressed by the latter’s cleverness. Ron and Hermione were shown to be very trusting of Lupin when he appeared at Grimmauld Place, they lowered their wands as soon as he declared his name, something he reproached them for, “speaking as their former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.” Also, they both disapproved when Harry yelled at Remus for leaving his wife during her pregnancy, although they did not entirely disagree with Harry’s reasoning.
The Wolfsbane Potion Is Complicated And Expensive To Make
The Wolfsbane Potion is developed by Damocles Belby, a favorite pupil of Potions Master Horace Slughorn, at some point during the First Wizarding War.
The brew demands a highly complex and expensive manufacturing method, making it inaccessible to most peopleand certainly most werewolves, who are already poor to begin with. In addition, the Wolfsbane Potion helps relieve the symptoms of Lycanthropy, but is nothing more than a temporary stopgap.
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The Death Eaters Don’t Hide Their Contempt For Werewolves
Voldemort manipulates a horde of magical beings into his army, reminding them of the prejudices they face in a society that shuns theminsisting that only he can offer a better life. Giants and werewolves are the two main groups that pledge allegiance to the Dark Lord, but the latter treats them like expendable trash.
In fact, werewolves are forbidden from having the Dark Mark imprinted on their arms, a clear sign that the arrogant Death Eaters consider werewolves beneath their status. Voldemort and his minions have been heard making disparaging comments about these creatures, as well.
He Was Turned Into A Wolf Out Of Revenge
Early on, many believed Remus was born a werewolf. We soon found out that he was turned in an attack by Death Eater Fenrir Greyback. But what many still don’t know is that this happened when he a small child and that it wasn’t a random happening. Greyback chose Remus as a measure of revenge.
Lyall Lupin worked at the Ministry of Magic and his harsh words about werewolves deserving nothing more than death ruffled some feathers. He was upset when Greyback received lenient treatment while being questioned. Greyback took this personally and targeted Lyall’s son. He climbed in through Remus’ window and bit him, turning him when he was just four years old.
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Creatures And Their Classification
Below is a list of magical creatures mentioned in the Harry Potter universe. For a list of magical plants mentioned in the series, such as mandrakes and devil’s snares, see List of fictional plants.
The Order Of The Phoenix
The death of James Potter, along with his wife Lily, at the hands of Lord Voldemort, was one of the most traumatic events of Remuss already troubled life. His friends meant even more to him than to other people, because he had long since accepted the fact that most people would treat him as untouchable, and that there could be no possibility of marrying and having children. Even worse, within twenty-four hours he had also lost his two other best friends. Remus was in the north of the country on Order of the Phoenix business when he heard the horrible news that one of them had murdered the other, and was now in Azkaban, a traitor to the Order and to Lily and James themselves.
The downfall of Voldemort, such a source of jubilation to the rest of the wizarding community, marked the beginning of a long stretch of loneliness and unhappiness for Remus. He had lost his three close friends and, with the Order disbanded, his previous comrades returned to busy lives with families. His mother was now dead, and while Lyall, his father, was always delighted to see his son, Remus refused to endanger his fathers peaceful existence by returning to live with him.
Remus now lived a hand-to-mouth existence, taking jobs that were far below his level of ability, always knowing that he would have to leave them before his pattern of growing sick once a month at the full moon was noticed by his workmates.
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The Meaning Of His Family’s Names
If you know anything about Roman mythology, you may have guessed that Remus would be revealed as a werewolf. That’s because Roman myths say the founders of Rome were Remus and Romulus, both raised by a wolf. Diving a little further, his father’s name shared a similar background.
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Lyall is a name derived from the word liulfr, which is the Old Norse word for wolf. While Lyall himself wasn’t a wolf, it worked as another hint of what was to come. Even more, the name Lupin is a play on Lupus, which is the Latin word for wolf. Remus’ name is filled with nods to wolf mythology.
He Really Enjoyed Hurting People
Reckon shell let me have a bit of the girl when shes finished with her? Greyback crooned, as he forced them along the corridor. Id say Ill get a bite or two, wouldnt you, Ginger? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Whenever Greyback spoke of attacking someone, his joy was really disgusting to hear. When Hermione was taken hostage at Malfoy Manor, for example, Greyback relished the opportunity to attack a Muggle-born.
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Lychanthropy A Magical Disease
Isn’t it considered a magical disease, if so why is not stated so. The Unbeholden 03:39, 23 November 2008
- It is considered a magical illness or disease, which is implied by the numerous references to infection, treatment, etc. But I added something to make it more explicit. Oread 03:51, 23 November 2008
- First it’s Iycanthropy with a capital I, not Lycanthropy. It wasnt created JKR. The ancient Romans, or Marcellus Sidates believed in Iycanthropy and said that a person who believed he was turning into a wolf, naturally acted like one. Cheers! – Incredisuper
- It doesn’t matter. In Rowling’s world the illness is called Lycantrophy and not Iycantrophy. — Seth Cooper 17:01, 27 May 2009
Do we know if Muggles if bitten by a werewolf would contract Lycanthropy? Every werewolf we meet in the series was a wizard first . Thanks, —JKoch 15:59, April 12, 2010
Newt Scamander confirms in FB that Muggles can become werewolfs.–Rodolphus 16:03, April 12, 2010