This is the section where we talk canon vs. fanon. Sirius/Remus has an established fanon that is, naturally, far more detailed than their actual canon (particularly for Remus, who was featured in only one book while Sirius can technically claim three).

More often than not, when one has been immersed in fandom for an extended period of time the line between canon and fanon becomes blurred. Use this guide if you wish to avoid the fanon clichés that can sometimes mean ‘death’ for an otherwise good story [especially if your readers are picky, like me - Moony].

This may seem like we [I] are telling you what you can or can't write. This isn't intended as such. It is merely a guide for you to know what HAS been written already, what has been written too much, and the absolute facts that you are working with - which, of course, will all change come 21 June.

Please consider this for informational purposes only.



Remus Lupin is a werewolf. He was very small when he was bitten, and his parents tried everything they could to find a cure. There is no cure for the curse, though a recent development called The Wolfsbane Potion does aid Lupin in keeping his wits about him when he transforms. He is able to curl up and sleep as a tame wolf and wait for the moon to wane. The potion tastes terrible and is very difficult to make, according to Lupin. Snape is one of the few wizards who is able to brew it.

Lupin has been shunned throughout his adult life for what he is, and unable to find paid work. It was Dumbledore who allowed him to attend Hogwarts – going so far as to build the Shrieking Shack and the tunnel leading to it as a refuge for Lupin during the full moon, and planting the Whomping Willow over the tunnel entrance to prevent anyone from following him. Lupin’s time at Hogwarts was the happiest time of his life, however he lived in fear of his new friends – Sirius Black, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew – finding out about his being a werewolf and deserting him, and so he kept it a secret from them. He made up stories about an ill mother and having to visit her.

Somehow though his friends figured it out, and they did not desert Remus but rather went to extraordinary lengths to help him. The three boys became Animagi – wizards that can turn into animals at will – which took the better part of three years to achieve and kept him company during his transformations. Remus felt very guilty about decieving Dumbledore – the boys were illegal Animagi, and Remus roaming the grounds was very dangerous – but nonetheless he kept it from the Headmaster throughout school despite Dumbledore’s precautions and measures to ensure safety in having a werewolf at school.

Remus believed for twelve years that Sirius Black had betrayed Lily and James Potter. As he tells Harry, he knew Sirius in school, “or thought I did.” Throughout the year he spent teaching at Hogwarts in he wrestled with his conscience, and whether or not he should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an illegal Animagus. In the end he chose not to tell the Headmaster, and convinced himself that Sirius was getting into the castle using Dark Magic. He did not want to let Dumbledore down, and he was afraid of disappointing him after Dumbledore had done so much for him.

Remus is described physically as looking very tired, worn-out and ill. His robes are shabby as are his belongings. His hair is prematurely gray and he has a lined, yet very young face. He has a sense of humour – sending a wad of gum up Peeves’s nose, encouraging Neville's description of Snape in his grandmother’s dress – and is very well-versed in defense against the Dark Arts, not to mention he has an extensive knowledge of dangerous magical creatures, and has a sense of responsibility when it comes to Harry – both as an authority figure and as an old friend of Harry’s father.

- Lupin addresses everyone except Dumbledore and Filch by their given name.
- His middle initial is J.
- He has a home somewhere, as in GoF Sirius is told to “lie low at Lupin’s.” This implies that he has a house, or at least a place of residence.
- His nickname in school was Moony, for obvious reasons.


- Lycanthropy. The word is often used to describe Remus’s affliction. Technically it is correct, however in modern usage it is not. It is a psychological term. Lycanthropes are, literally, people who have delusions of wolf-life behaviour, or people who fancy themselves wolves. It is a mental disorder, whereas a werewolf is a creature that physically changes from man into wolf. Since nowhere in the Books [with the exception of Fantastic Beasts] does Rowling use the term to describe Remus or Remus’s curse, it really shouldn’t be considered canon. It's more or less a common fantasy/sci-fi term, i.e. vampire fiction, when one 'sires' a victim, etc. Aside from that, it's been done and done and done again, and for some readers the word can throw them off a story completely. Best avoided if possible.
- Remus is shy. While canon does support that Remus is reserved, all too often in fanfiction is Remus portrayed as a shy, shrinking violet. He is often smaller and weaker than his friends and classmates. Even moreso, nearly female behaviour is attributed to him, and he is Most Likely To Bottom in Sirius/Remus fanfiction. However it stands to reason that Remus does in fact have a temper (see the Shack scene in PoA) and can be both brave and foolish. There is nothing in canon to indicate that Lupin is weak and/or shy.
- Remus must mate for life. A much debated aspect of fanon is that werewolves mate for life. This has been used so often in fiction that it has become a cliché, but how much truth is there to it? Very little – actual wolves do not mate for life. They may be monogamous, but then again, so may humans. The mate-for-life chestnut is a fanfiction writer’s crutch, a plot device, a stereotype.
- Remus is 'controlled' by the wolf. There is no indication in the HP books that "the wolf" affects Lupin at any time other than when he transforms. It's a popular fan idea to have him influenced by it - becoming more aggressive in response to "the wolf", changing mood with the waxing and waning of the moon, playing alpha to the pack and Sirius in particular, etc. "The wolf" is often made out to be like an alter-ego, but there's no evidence in canon that it has influence outside of the full moon. [Thanks, Helene.]



Sirius Black was James Potter’s best friend at Hogwarts. They were like brothers. Both were exceptionally-bright and troublemakers (often hanging out in the Three Broomsticks making Rosmerta laugh). Sirius was named James’s best man at his wedding and is Godfather to Harry. When James and Lily went into hiding from Voldemort, Sirius was set to be their Secret-Keeper; their whereabouts would be hidden inside him using a Fidelius Charm, and Voldemort would never find the Potters so long as Sirius never told anyone where they were. He was set to go into hiding as well, when at the last minute he switched with Peter Pettigrew thinking he would outwit Voldemort by using the last person anyone would expect.

Sirius had a flying motorbike that he rode around and loved. He was the second to arrive on the scene at Godric’s Hollow the night of James and Lily’s deaths, after Hagrid, to whom he gave his bike and said, “I won’t be needing it anymore.” Sirius had realised that Peter had betrayed the Potters and set out to find him. Upon being cornered Peter framed Sirius and faked his own death, leaving Sirius to be taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and sentenced to Azkaban without a trial (as ordered by Barty Crouch Sr.). He spent 12 years in Azkaban, and the only thing that kept him from losing his mind was knowing that he was innocent. He kept his powers and was able to turn into his Animagus form to stave off the insanity.

Upon seeing a picture of Ron’s rat Scabbers in the Prophet (given to him by Fudge during a Ministry inspection of Azkaban), Sirius became obsessed with escape and finally managed it in 1993, when he set out to find Scabbers – who was really Peter – and commit the murder he did the time for. After a confrontation in the Shack during Harry's third year, the truth was revealed: Sirius is innocent. However Peter's escape forced Sirius to go into hiding, where he remained until Harry's fourth year when he turned up again to help Harry through the Tri-Wizard Tournament and then later to "alert the old crowd" of Voldemort's return, per Dumbledore's request. When last we heard of Sirius, he was told to "lie low at Lupin's for a while."

- Sirius’s motorbike is – according to the film – an early 1970s Triumph, and at least a 650. Triumphs are British-made, and fairly pricey.
- Sirius's Gringotts vault number is 711.
- He used to like doing the Prophet crossword.



- Sirius the school slut. I would like very much if someone would point me to where, exactly, in canon it indicates that Sirius was the whore of Babylon while in school. When Sirius is being discussed in the Three Broomsticks (PoA) he is described as being brilliant and a troublemaker. The assumption is that because James was allegedly very popular while in school – Head Boy, Gryffindor Quidditch team, etc. – that Sirius must have been popular right alongside him. Which is not too far of a leap, however “popular” does not immediately translate into “slut.” In fanon, Sirius is most often portrayed as being somewhat sleazy, with loose morals and ambivilant sexuality. And don’t even get me started on the leather trousers.
- Sirius the idiot. Again, see above – Sirius is described by McGonagall as being “exceptionally bright.” Where on earth are people getting that he’s a moron? Yet time and time again Sirius pops up in stories as a remedial student, or a complete ass. It is OOC, and definitely falls under the category of fandom cliché.
- Sirius the top/dominant half of relationship. He survived Azkaban, yes. He was a bit of a bad-ass in school, if the bike is any indication. He is brilliant and powerful, has a very bad temper and a fierce loyalty to those he loves, and is prepared to lay down his life for a friend. However, that does not grant him immunity from being a big nelly bottom. This goes along with Remus always being the inferior in the relationship, and is another fandom cliché.

- During an interview JKR stated that during Harry’s fourth year, Severus Snape was “about 35 or 36” years old. As he was in the same year as James, Remus, Sirius and Peter, this would make Remus and Sirius 21 years older than Harry, and having been born in or around 1958. From this we can deduce the following timeline, going by date of publication for Book 1:

1926: Tom Riddle is born.
1942: Tom Riddle is sixteen; the Chamber of Secrets is opened. Dumbledore is Transfigurations professor; Armando Dippet is Headmaster of Hogwarts.
1944: Tom Riddle, Sr., and the entire Riddle family, are murdered in Little Hangleton.
1958: Remus, Sirius, Severus, James and Peter are born.
1960s: Dumbledore becomes Headmaster of Hogwarts.
1969: Snape and the Marauders arrive at Hogwarts.
1974: Sirius, James and Peter become Animagi.
1976: Final year at Hogwarts.
1979, 31 October: Harry concieved.
1980, 31 July: Harry born.
1981, 31 October: James and Lily die, age 22.
1981, 1 November: Peter Pettigrew disappears, Sirius sent to Azkaban at age 22/23. Infant Harry discovered on doorstep by Dursleys.
1982: Barty Crouch, Jr. sentenced to Azkaban; Crouch Sr. passed over for Minister of Magic as Cornelius Fudge is given the position.
1983: Barty Crouch, Jr. “dies” in Azkaban, is actually smuggled out by his father and imprisoned at home.
1993: Sirius escapes Azkaban, age 34/35; Remus arrives back at Hogwarts; Peter discovered alive.

- Going by the information Sirius gives in GoF, Barty Crouch Jr. was approximately four years behind the Marauders in Hogwarts. Sirius states that a year after Voldemort fell Crouch Jr. was brought into Azkaban, and he “couldn’t have been over than ninteen.”
- Other characters at Hogwarts during the Marauder’s era are: Avery, Rosier, Wilkes, the Lestranges – all Slytherins and/or Death Eaters. Sirius claims to have known Bertha Jorkins, but it is not clear whether he knew her in school or through whatever work he may have been doing against Voldemort before the fall.
- It is never stated in canon whether James, Severus, Peter or Remus are Pureblooded, Half-Blooded or Muggle-Born.
- Lily’s maiden name is Evans, according to JKR.
- James inherited his Invisibility Cloak from his father, who inherited it from his grandfather. James’s family was very wealthy and left him a lot of gold. James’s Animagus form was a stag. He was Head Boy at Hogwarts.
- Sirius was James and Lily’s Best Man. It is never stated in canon whether or not Peter or Remus attended the wedding.
- The films claim that James was a Seeker for Gryffindor in 1979, however JKR has stated that James was actually a Chaser.
- Lily’s wand was willow, quite whippy, and excellent for Charms work. She was Head Girl at Hogwarts.