Let’s talk about Remus Lupin for a second.  And by “let’s” I don’t actually mean “let us” I mean “bear with me while I.”  Because this man is seriously underappreciated.  He gets overshadowed by Sirius, whose charisma shines through the page somehow.  I mean, everyone thinks Sirius was James’ best friend…

So here’s this kid, a wizard kid who I think was probably quiet and bookish already and looking forward to Hogwarts more than anything in the world like everyone else, and then he gets bit by Fenrir Greybeck because his dad pissed someone off.  And all his dreams go down the drain and it’s awful.  But by some miracle named Albus Dumbledore, he gets to go anyway.  And his life sucks, and he keeps his head down, but then he gets adopted by these two kids who just pick him up out of nowhere.  James and Sirius, charismatic, popular, fun, daring — they’re everything lil bb Remus isn’t, but they like him anyway.  And then they figure out his “furry little problem,” but they don’t leave him.  Instead, they risk everything to join him, even dragging little Peter along with them.  And suddenly Remus has everything — he has best friends, adventures every month; he’s a prefect; he basks in the popularity of his friends.  And for seven years, life is golden.

And then he graduates, and things are tough because he’s suddenly faced with the fact that there is so much prejudice against werewolves, something he’s been able to ignore while at school.  And to make things worse, there’s a war on, and everyone he knows and loves is involved.  And he’s scared all the time, and he can’t even trust the people he loves best.  And then James and Lily are killed, and they’re only 21 years old, and their kid is orphaned.  And Sirius betrayed them and then he kills little Peter and goes to Azkaban and Remus is the only one left and the golden years are gone forever.

And twelve years later, Dumbledore gives him the chance no one else will give him again and he’s teaching James’ kid and he’s so like James, and Remus helps him and befriends him and one day in his office little Harry Potter says, “I heard my dad this time” and it’s like James is there, just for a moment.  And then his old map shows up again, and one night Peter is there, and Remus knows, and he goes and he finds Sirius and it’s like a tiny bit of that golden happiness is returned to him.  And for two years, he has his best friend back before he’s ripped away forever this time, fighting the same damn war as before.  And then a new bright point appears, but don’t call her Nymphadora, but he is so scared to let her love him because everyone who loves him reaches a terrible end and he can’t give her anything.  He values himself so little, first as a husband, then as a father, that Harry has to chase him back to his family.  And good thing too, because finally Remus is able to get some happiness, with Tonks and Teddy, even in the middle of everything, and then he gives it all up to win that damn war.

Remus Lupin is a quiet kind of BAMF, and I love him, and you should too.