Thoughts on Remus, Sirius, and the Marauders

[author_by_night]

I was discussing this with shelle[Bad username or unknown identity: , but she ditched me, and I had to continue this somewhere.]

[Bad username or unknown identity: Now, keep in mind - I have nothing against R/S shippers. I used to see it myself, but I've changed my mind.]

[Unknown site tag] 

It's not just about the fact that I ship R/T - after all, Remus can be bisexual. (Though I do think it'd be crummy to date his ex  lover's cousin, but things like that do happen - and used to a lot a long time ago, and the HPverse is semi-old fashioned).

It's more that - I don't even think the Marauders were brotherly. In the Pensieve scene, we see correspondonce between James and Sirius, but the two other boys are more onlookers. Second of all, other instances in canon have led me to think that if Remus and Sirius were ever even remotely like brothers, it was in OoTP.

Let's take a look at Remus. First off, he believes, truly believes, that Sirius murdered not only 14 people, and a good friend, but James, who was his world. One could argue that he had doubts; however, even if he did, he didn't act like it, considering he told Sirius he believed he was a murderer. Yet, you'd think if you loved someone so much they were like a brother, (or a lover), you'd wonder. Remus did realize Sirius was innocent by looking at him - but because, in my opinion, they were friends. It wasn't a brother thing.

Then there's Sirius; he, too, thought Remus capable of betrayal. We don't know how much, but it does add to my skepticsm.

Also, there's the fact that in his youth, he pretty much took Remus for granted. In the Pensieve scene, he wishes it werea "full moon."  I'm sure Remus wasn't too happy. And in his sixth year, he used Remus to almost commit murder. Yes, I think both instances were out of Sirius not thinking, and I'm sure Sirius apologized both times, when/if he realized it was wrong.

Finally, GoF. Remus is only mentioned once, and that's an afterthought on Harry's part. Sirius never mentions any correspondonce with Remus, although I'm sure there had to be some.

In OoTP, we do see Sirius and Remus having a lot of contact. That's where, in my opinion, their relationship - whether you see it as brotherly or romantic - would have most likely begun. They have a "face conversation" at a few points, and they get a joint Christmas present for Harry.

This is all just my opinion -  based more on interpretations than solid canon. I could be wrong.

 

Comments

[a-t-rain.livejournal.com]

I'd be wary of extrapolating too much from the Pensieve scene -- it seems calculated to show every last one of the participants (yes, even Lily) at their worst. The fact that Sirius became an Animagus for Remus has to count for something, especially when you factor in his background. It's possible that James and Peter weren't raised to have any particular prejudice against werewolves, but Sirius certainly was, and the fact that he came to reject this idea so absolutely at the age of thirteen says a great deal about the strength of their friendship.

And, well, Lupin is described as "embrac[ing] Black like a brother" the very first time we see them on screen together, and I place a great deal of stock in JKR's initial descriptions of people and relationships -- she likes to set the tone with a few quick brushstrokes.

I don't think they were lovers either, BTW, but you probably knew that :)

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Oh, there's no doubt in my mind that Sirius was a loyal friend. And yes, good point, the Pensieve scene does seem to show everyone at their worst.

As for JKR's remark about Remus and Sirius hugging like brothers, that IS a fair point. Still, maybethey're similar to brothers, but not as much as Sirius and James.

[ghostlygrove.livejournal.com]

Maybe Sirius and James were the first Marauders, and Remus and Peter came in later, so the bonds were already the strongest between the former.

Also, a_t_rain has a point about Sirius being raised in the midst of prejudice of all kinds (no, it didn't affect him), but Remus surely has prejudice of his own. He's used to being shunned and hurt, so it might have been logical (possibly even expected) of him to think Sirius - someone who should be one of his closest friends - a traitor...

[parallactic.livejournal.com]

Ditto, though I think that Sirius and Remus were good friends. But I always got the impression that it was James&Sirius who were the closest MWPP, and it wasn't until post-PoA that Sirius and Remus grew really close because they were the last ones. But during the MWPP era, it was all about James and Sirius, and Remus and Peter got left out a bit.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Yeah - or, at least, didn't have the same connection. All four of them (platonically) loved one another, but... yeah.

[linda-lupos.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think that to Sirius, James came first, first, first, and then the rest of the world. James was the most important to him. Only when he 'fell away' did Sirius turn to Remus.

And only one mention of Remus in GoF? I can remember at least EIGHT! ;)