This oneshot came out of comparing the connection that the marauders have with heir animagus form (and how it defines them as a group) with Remus' reaction to his wolf. Also, my response to the Remus Lupin = Wolf McWolf meme.
Disclaimer: Fanfiction; therefore do not own HP.
On his bad days, Remus sometimes wonders if he was fated to be bitten. After all, his very name means wolf. Bad enough that he shares a family name with the animal – his Lupin to its Lupus – but then his parents had to go and name him Remus.
When he asked about his name, his parents told him a story; of twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, who had a vision of a great kingdom, and a magnificent city from which to rule it. But they argued over where the city was to be built; words turned to blades and blades turned to blood. Remus died and Rome was born. It was only later that he discovered the start of the story, carefully omitted in his parents' tale. Two baby boys, abandoned at birth, surviving through being suckled by a she-wolf. How Greyback must have laughed.
Ever since that bloody night, being a werewolf has defined him. He lives his life according to the phases of the moon, the wolf waxing and waning within him. He deals with the looks – fear, hate, disgust – of those who know what he is. Hogwarts was supposed to be a new start, a chance to pretend to be normal; to have friends. But the wolf tainted even that.
When his roommates first told him they knew, he felt a moment of blinding terror. Then they explained, and he was swamped with relief – they weren't going to expose him to everyone – and gratitude – they weren't going to drive him away. But as time passed resentment crept in. They gave him his nickname – Moony, really? – they became animagi and turned the full moon into playtime, they joked about his 'furry little problem'. He knew they meant it to be supportive, but he couldn't help hating them, just a bit. No longer was he 'our friend, Remus', instead he became 'our friend, Remus, the werewolf'.
The other marauders called the wolf Moony, after the full moon that summons it. But in his own mind, Remus gives it another name. Romulus; the twin who won.