Remus John Lupin - D.O.B. 10th March 1960 - Hb (F-Hb/M-Mg)
Asked to describe early childhood and the effect of lycanthropy on family life. Bitten 15th March 1964 by Fenrir Greyback Raised by both parents, predominantly homeschooled through early childhood. Frequently moved around within Wales to avoid questioning and growing suspicion (Remus was not registered as a child). Offered placement at Hogwarts by Albus Dumbledore. Remus was the first juvenile werewolf to complete formal wizarding education in the UK.
S. Do you remember the night of the attack?
L. Yes. Well, bits of it.
S. Would you describe it for me?
L. Well, I don't know what to say. It was as you'd imagine. Quite frightening. I was just young. Greyback planned the attack. There was a newspaper article that quoted my father on new werewolf legislation. He worked for the Department for Dangerous Creatures. (N.B. relevant newspaper article attached for context)
S. It was a political attack?
L. I suppose so.
S. What did you understand of the condition, initially?
L. I didn't know what a werewolf was, before the attack. I think my father felt quite guilty - I suppose that was the intention - he explained what would happen in a month's time, but I don't think I really understood until it happened. I remember being shut in the old coal cellar and crying.
S. How did the full moons affect you, when you lived at home?
L. Hmm. At first, it was frightening, and I dreaded them. I used to fight my mother something awful when it was coming time to go down. Especially in the Winter when the nights were longer. After a few years, it was a bit of a routine. It was never pleasant, but I did come to accept it, in some way. My father became quite skilled with a few handy healing charms. I used to really tear at myself from time to time.
S. There are a few references to self mutilation in the literature about werewolves. Do you have a personal opinion as to why it happens?
L. It's hard to say. It would usually happen at the end of the night. I tended to think it was boredom. Frustration, maybe? I think, by that point in the night, he just wants to bite something.
S. You refer to your transformed state as 'he'. Has it always been that way?
L. Yes. My parents talked about the wolf as though he were separate, and I preferred that. I didn't act as myself, so it made sense to me then. I had a few friends in school who knew about my… problem. They referred to him that way too.
S. How did it impact your time at Hogwarts?
L. Well it's hard to say, I only know what I experienced. I was just happy to be there. Very grateful to be there, actually. It was inconvenient when the full moon fell within the week and I'd miss a couple of days of lessons, but I was usually able to catch up. I did fairly well. My father was pleased. Aside from the full moons… well I was quite worried about people finding out. Sometimes I would get paranoid that my friends would tell, you know, if we had a falling out or something. Or that someone would figure it out. I think a few people got close but couldn't prove it. The good thing about Hogwarts is that there's so much nonsense going on, most people had more interesting things to think about than what I was up to a couple nights a month.
S. And when you finished Hogwarts?
L. Well. There's too much to say. We were at war. I was fighting. There were a lot of werewolf attacks around that time, too. I registered myself when I was seventeen.
S. Did it help?
L. In some ways. I agreed to a degree of tracking, which meant I could be cleared from certain attacks. But I also had several stints trying to get in with local packs so we could head them off, and the Ministry was almost certainly compromised at the time, so it became a hindrance.
S. After the war, what did you find of your experience then?
L. When I was at Hogwarts, I developed a naive notion that it might not affect my life as dramatically as my parents and I had originally worried. I got this idea that I was like other people, that I could be like other people. Spend time with them, work with them, make friends with them… Fall in love with them. Have a family with them. When the dust settled, it became very clear that I had been far too optimistic. Perhaps it was because I registered myself - that was foolish - but I had apparently wasted my time, and the safety of all those students who had the misfortune to share the castle with me, only to amount to very little. Until this, I have worked in the muggle world. It's quite pleasant to know that they won't know about… about him. Even this - it's difficult. I mean, it's the only decent enough job I've managed to get for years, and it's not really me that's got it, it's him.
S. It was a fear of mine, in asking for a werewolf like that, that I might be contributing to the dehumanisation.
L. I think it would be very difficult not to. It's not just- I don't know how to describe it. This is not that bad, really. I suppose it's quite good? But it's everything else too. It all stacks up. Hogwarts was the first time I could remember where people made judgements about me just for me. If I hadn't known that feeling, perhaps everything else wouldn't make me so bitter.
Ministry Speaks on Rising Werewolf Activity Across Wales and South-West England
The Ministry of Magic has been inundated with sightings of werewolves around England and Wales in the past few months, with many believing that known violent criminal and lycanthrope, Fenryr Greyback, has been out for blood.
With fear in the hearts of the wizarding public, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Dangerous Creatures has reviewed its policy and procedures for the identification, tracking and containment of werewolves.
Senior Officers Lyall Lupin and Rodger Scott have spoken on the matter, hoping to reassure the public that proper action is being taken.
"It is the department's belief that with new, harsher standards for the Werewolf Registry, that we can begin to curb this recent spell of attacks and halt the exponential growth of the population." Said Officer Rodger Scott, 32.
"For the greater good and safety of our community, family members and friends of those who are suspected to have been turned must do their part in reporting - allowing due process to occur. It is important to remember that, upon infection, the individual has been changed irrecoverably and nothing good can come of hiding an uncontrollable monster within a family home."
Argument has been levelled at the strategies the Department has put forward, stating that the forcible detainment and registration of werewolves is an infringement on their human rights. In addition, there has been push back against the move to sterilise known werewolves, to ensure the population cannot breed.
Senior Officer Lyall Lupin, 30, has spoken out against these concerns with reassuring certainty.
"It's important to remember that a werewolf is not a being, it is a beast. A dangerous, savage and uncontrollable beast. It is impossible to infringe on the human rights of a creature which has lost its humanity. More importantly, we must consider the rights of those unfortunate enough to reside nearby. Is their right to safety less important than the rights of a creature who cannot help itself, that cannot control its animalistic urges? I think not."
I learned my lesson the hard way last night. 'Moony' - Remus' wolf - has an intelligence about him, I'm almost certain. I just need to devise a way to prove it. I doubt it's particular to Moony, but with access to only one werewolf (a blessing in itself) I shall have to leave it to the future to corroborate.
Despite whatever intelligence, it's clear that instincts override character. Sliced right through my shoulder when my back was turned (my mistake, of course). Thankfully all claw and no bite - I must remember that I'm playing with fire. I cannot help but see Remus in there when I have spent the last two full moons with Moony but neither Remus nor my remaining unblemished flesh would appreciate that. He will be terribly upset at the news, but I fear it would be worse to keep it from him.
The weather has been very miserable recently, but I think the house suits it. The cold Spring mornings with the dew on the grass, just animals and a few sparse humans for miles and miles. It's unfortunate that I cannot simply stay in Romley indefinitely, getting that comfortable Ministry paycheque to research whatever I can find in the New Forest.
Remus is reluctant to join me scouring for bodies (understandable) but is quite willing to do rounds on the creatures in the case on those days. Really is very capable with animals. I have plenty of questions I would like to ask about his nature and how the lycanthropy has influenced it, but even I am well aware that will require some tact.
Remus did have the good sense to look back on records of bog bodies to see if he could find any wizards amongst them - the hope being that we could find a ghost.
I wonder; if a body has a ghost, would it also have a hinkypunk?
Perhaps it's a sort of Earth-given ghost. For those who pass on.
I should ask Remus if he has any aptitude for domestic spellcasting. There's a decent amount of mold in the old bedrooms that could do with sorting out. Perhaps if he finds it equally tricky, we can go into the nearest muggle town and do it the hard way. I know for certain I could not exclude the draught without sticking the window, so perhaps there's some muggle solution for that, too.
Circling back to bogs - I would be interested to know if the will o' wisp/hinkypunk lives on if the body is exhumed, but the soul is never returned. It seems a touch cruel, but if I can find another corpse, I'd like to test it.
We have delved further into the moorland of New Forest - I suspect our friend was the only inhabitant of the one closest to our apparition point. There are no shortage of missing people recorded in the area. Unfortunate for them, but quite useful for me.
Personally, I would be quite content to search the woods the full week, but I suppose I should be more reasonable, since Remus will feel obliged to join me. I don't quite know how to fill my time if not with creatures, however. And as much as Remus wants to repeat the concern - he is not a creature. No more than I am, at least.