Jon

Two most important thing about Remus Lupin that people actually do not understand: Severus Snape was almost certainly not the only student to figure out that Remus was a werewolf. Who else probably figured it out? No one less than Lily Evans. Lily knew Severus’ theory, and being in Gryffindor, she was in perfect position to observe Lupin’s monthly comings and goings to verify that theory. So, when she tells Severus so coldly, “I know your theory,” she’s being quite defensive, as if she already knows…. that Remus was a werewolf. And once we realize she knew, we can also conclude that she was trying to protect Lupin’s secret by pretending she didn’t give any weight to Severus’ comments and cutting the conversation with Severus off at the pass. And it’s also likely that a number of other kids knew about Lupin’s secret. Why else would he have found it so difficult to get work after he left Hogwarts? That’s canon, right? Remus left Hogwarts and immediately couldn’t find employment. Why not? It couldn’t have been that difficult to excuse a once-a-month absence for at least a while, even a few years. But no. It’s right away after Remus and the Marauders finish at Hogwarts that Remus cannot find work, immediately needing financial assistance. Meaning a lot of other people, and almost certainly several of his classmates must have known or suspected Lupin’s secret for the entire wizarding community to already be leery of Remus to the point of refusing him a vocation. Remus continuously failed to live up to expectations, up until the day he died. As a youngster, Remus wanted to live like a normal boy, something his lycanthropy would not allow until Albus Dumbledore happened along. It was a dream come true: Once admitted to Hogwarts, Remus would go to the Shrieking Shack once a month, otherwise, he was free to make friends and come and go as he pleased, just as all the other students did. Then, James and Sirius, with Peter in tow, became Animagi, and they began prancing about for the last three years on the nights of the full moon, roaming about Hogsmeade, putting lives into jeopardy. Meaning, Remus broke all the protocols Professor Dumbledore painstakingly put in place to protect Remus and his fellow students and the public at Hogsmeade, simply to please his friends, who themselves were breaking school regulations and Ministry of Magic laws. After Hogwarts, through no fault of his own, Remus couldn’t make a living, which almost certainly wreaked havoc on his self-esteem. He clearly dealt with issues of depression and self-loathing, perhaps even some bipolar tendencies. Then, when he came to Hogwarts to teach, instead of telling Professor Dumbledore he knows how Sirius Black is getting onto the school grounds, Remus holds his tongue out of shame that he would have to admit running around endangering people a decade and a half earlier. Finally, after Remus marries Nymphadora Tonks and she is expecting, he runs away, hoping to tag along with Harry Potter, while his wife sits around waiting to deliver. Much as we feel sorry for the embattled werewolf, he always fell short of expectations