App for Piper 90

[thewholeofthemoon]

Character Name: Remus John "Moony" Lupin
Fandom: Harry Potter
Character Journal: thewholeofthemoon
Canon, AU, CRAU, or OC? Canon
Canon point: Pre-books, about a year after the deaths of James and Lily Potter
PB: Beck

SETTING BACKGROUND

The world of Harry Potter is a fairly standard, very English magical world. The standard part of it is that there are the usual trappings of magic, with wizards and witches, magic wands and magical creatures. The English part of it is that the vast majority of the series takes place in a private, residential school. Learn magic! Make friends! Don't make friends with magic, that's probably outlawed somewhere.

Also, there's a very definite separation between magical and non-magical people. Non-magical people don't know about the magical ones and the ones with magic prefer to keep it that way. A few centuries of persecution for being considered to have magic even if you absolutely didn't might do that to a population, though.


HISTORY

• Born 10 March 1960, Remus was the only child of Lyall and Hope Lupin. Hope was a Muggle, making Remus half-blooded.


• In early 1965, Lyall encountered Fenris Greyback, who was on trial for killing two children. Greyback was pretending to be a Muggle tramp, but Lyall, an expert for the Ministry on magical creatures, realized he was a werewolf. When Greyback was released, Lyall expressed the opinion that Greyback only deserved death.


• In retaliation, Greyback attacked the family home and bit Remus, turning the five-year-old into a werewolf as well.


• Remus and his family moved around a lot when he was a child, always leaving when people became suspicious of the boy's behavior. He also wasn't allowed to play with other children, leaving him to grow up very lonely.


• Just before his eleventh birthday, Albus Dumbledore came to see the family to tell them that Remus had a place at Hogwarts and that steps had been undertaken to make certain he would be safe at the school. And, so, Remus took his place in that year's new student intake.


• Remus found himself sorted into Gryffindor, ending up with the best friends a young werewolf could hope to find: James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black. Who all figured out Remus's terrible lies fairly quickly. By the start of fifth year, all three had become Animagi in order to keep Remus company during his changes.


• The four name themselves as Marauders, playing pranks on the school and making a magical map that shows everybody on the grounds. They also take up nicknames: James, who can turn into a stag, becomes Prongs; Sirius, who becomes a great black dog, is Padfoot; Peter, who changes into a rat, takes the name Wormtail; and Remus is Moony. Because they're all terribly clever.


• Sirius, being the absolute arse that he could be, tricked Snape into following Remus into the Shaking Shack during a full moon. James, not being an absolute arse, managed to rescue Snape and keep him from being killed. Remus spent the rest of the year pissed off at Sirius, but eventually forgave him. (Sirius did have to work for it.)


• Remus was made Gryffindor Prefect in his fifth year of school. Dumbledore may have done so hoping that Remus would rein his friends in on their pranks and the like. It didn't work.


• After leaving Hogwarts, Remus joined the Order of the Phoenix with his friends. Though he ran into more problems than they did. The werewolves were on Voldemort's side and, once people started realizing what he was, fewer of them trusted him. While he always had the trust of James and Lily Potter and Dumbledore, the one that hurt most was when Sirius began to distrust him. He tried not to let it affect him, instead taking missions for Dumbledore when requested. Because of this distrust, he didn't know that James and Lily had opted to use Peter as their Secret Keeper rather than Sirius.


• On 31 October 1981, Remus was in the north of England, getting ready to head for France on one of Dumbledore's missions. It wasn't until he reached France that he heard about the deaths of the Potters. And about Sirius killing Peter and a bunch of Muggles as well. In one fell swoop, Remus's entire life fell apart.


• Remus spent the next year helping with clean up with the Order and finding odd jobs to work. He refused to make things more difficult for his father by moving back in with him, but it was difficult to keep a job when people would notice patterns in the sick time he needed. Still, he did his best with what he had.


• The full moon fell on 1 November 1982, a year to the day after Peter's death. Remus locked himself away as normal, expecting the next day to be hell. And, waking up on the Piper 90 means it certainly has. Just...not the way he expected.

PERSONALITY

Of the four Marauders, Remus was always the most mature, responsible and thoughtful, always trying to keep the peace. This is part of the reason that he was friends with Lily Evans long before she ever gave James the time of day and also the reason why he and Severus Snape were at least civil with each other later on in their lives. While Remus more often than not would assist his friends in their jokes, he did try to mitigate some of the worst ideas that his friends might have. His responsibility streak was what made Dumbledore make him a Prefect in his fifth year, though things didn't go as desired as he wouldn't cause issues in his friendships in order to call Sirius and James out on their more problematic stunts.

Part of that was the fact that Remus is a very lonely person. He was terribly young when he was bitten and could never really become close with other children his age out of fear that they would realize what he was. While his parents loved him unconditionally, it was still a difficult way to grow up. Sirius, James and Peter were his first real friends and, as such, he tended to shy away from things that would make them dislike him.

Although still fairly young, Remus is an intelligent wizard growing into his power. He has already mastered several spells that he can do without the need for his wand and some he can do without a verbal command, but none he can do without either. He is also an excellent duellist, having gotten quite a bit of practice, along with a good sense of timing and perceptiveness. Whether that has anything to do with being a werewolf is questionable, though Remus would absolutely say that it isn't.

It should come as no surprise that Remus is protective of those he considers his and loyal to those closest to him. He considers it part and parcel of being in Gryffindor, but they are traits that were there before he came to Hogwarts. The perceived lack of loyalty is one of the reasons Remus is so angry with Sirius. After all, as far as he's currently concerned, Sirius betrayed the pack (even if he would never use that word) and has left Remus a lone wolf once more.

Which isn't to say that Remus doesn't have his bad points. He does tend to be more of a follower than a leader. Nowadays, the person he tends to follow is Dumbledore, though it was James or Sirius back in their school days. He's more of a refiner than a plan maker. And right before a full moon, the fuse on his temper can be a fair bit shorter than it is at other times. Though it is still rare to be able to rile Remus to the point where he loses that temper. He also suffers from a touch of pride, the kind that means that he refuses to return to live at home with his father, though certainly it would be easier to live there than bounce around when he's unable to keep a job.


CANON POWERS
Magic in the world of Harry Potter is just ridiculous. A lot of it is wizards looking at what Muggles are doing and going, "Anything you can do, I can do better." Which isn't always true, but magic in Remus's world can do pretty much anything, from bring objects to a wizard, allow them to heal the vast majority of wounds, even regrowing bones. Curses and hexes can make somebody have bats fly from their nose or make it impossible for them to move. Even death is possible with magic, though most people don't have the hatred within them to cast it properly. Really, it just gets a bit silly.


POWER SELECTION
CANON POWERS

WEREWOLF - This doesn't actually help Remus one damned bit, really. He has to change when the moon is full, the wolf gets control of his mind at the time and is entirely feral. Werewolves attack people who are around when they change, though they don't seem to mind animals. A bite from a changed werewolf can cause the person to become a werewolf as well. Also, wounds inflicted by a werewolf never heal quite properly, so Remus is scarred all over. It's something that is, at best, situationally useful if they're attacked during a full moon.

MAGIC - Magic is ridiculous and Remus is a fairly powerful and practiced after nearly three years of all out war in the wizarding world. He has a number of spells he can do without a wand, though they would be more powerful with his wand.

• Bluebell Flames - A type of flame that can be held in the hand or placed in a jar or lantern for lighting. They won't burn a person, though they can singe clothes and plants. They can provide some heat, but not much.


• Disarming Charm/Expelliarmus - Can cause an object to fly out of the holder's hand. Often used it wizarding duels to cause the opponent to drop their wand.


• Healing Charm/Episkey - Causes small wounds to heal and small fractures to knit back together, though not compound fractures. A broken toe or hand, but no more.
  
• Knockback Jinx - Knocks the opponent back a few steps or off their feet. Often used in duelling, though can be used to push a heavy object (with a wand).


• Mending Charm/Reparo - Seamlessly fixes an object, such as repairing a broken pair of glasses or mending a tear in fabric. Can't be used on any break/tear larger than a hand.


• Muffliato Charm - Creates a small area where those around hear a buzzing noise in order to conceal a conversation, only useful for concealing the conversation of two or three people.


• Patronus/Expecto Patronum - Creates a silvery animal, symbolizing something important to them or a representation of themselves, that can drive off and hold back evil spirits or creatures, and may be used to carry messages at times. This is not a spell that Remus will be able to cast wandless. He'd need to have his wand in order to manage it.

ABILITIES

Remus is an excellent flyer. On a broom, at least. He's very good with children and quite a good teacher, preferring practical lessons over theory, so possibly quite good with small children. Maybe less so with teenagers (he's not that far beyond them, after all). Very intelligent and used to refining plans and seeing where the flaws in them may be. Somewhat skilled in closing his mind to people trying to get into it, whether magically or otherwise. Very skilled magical duellist, so good at thinking on his feet as well. He also knows a great deal about the dark arts and how to defend against them. In his world, at least.


SETTING/SUITABILITY

➤ How do you expect your character to respond to the setting? Even if they plan to rebel in the long term, will they be able to at least obey enough to not get shocked to death?
Honestly, I think Remus will be a bit relieved. He's been a bit at loose ends since the end of the war, not able to keep a job and trying hard to sort himself out from the trauma of losing everybody who really mattered to him a year ago. He'll absolutely rebel eventually, because he doesn't like seeing people pushed down and ordered around by people who think they're better than everybody else, but comes off as meek enough that he'll likely fly under the radar most of the time.

➤ What do you hope to do with your character long-term?
Remus is in a really bad place right now. What he needs is time to heal, time to get himself straight. Learning the truth about what happened to James and Lily will help a lot, but mostly he just needs to get himself back on his feet and find people who believe in him.

➤ Does your character currently have skills that would allow them to adapt, survive, and do the heroic things being asked of them? If your character doesn't, do you think they'd have the capacity to learn quickly?
The magic will help a lot, but he's fought a war. He'll do what he needs to to make sure everybody gets out in one piece.

➤ If they're not used to cooperating with others, what makes you think they'll be able to adapt to cooperating with the group?
This is where pack mentality comes in handy. Though he hates the wolf side of himself, Remus is very much used to working as part of a group; first with the Marauders, then with the Order of the Phoenix. Extending that to the crew won't be a problem.

➤ Will your character have long-term plans to rebel against Jorgmund? If so, how? Will they betray the other PCs and cooperate with Jorgmund? If so, how do you plan to handle the negative CR that might arise?
Yes, he'll definitely side with the rebels when the time comes. As said before, he dislikes people who think they're better than others and cause people pain. So he'll be all for taking corporate down and throw his all behind it. Just...somebody else will probably have to give the orders, that's all.

SAMPLES

Network Sample

[The video opens on an incredibly tired looking man, brownish-blond hair and green eyes. The harsh lighting catches on silvery strands in his hair, strange for someone who looks to be in his early twenties.]

Is this truly necessary?

["I promise, Mr. Lupin, it won't take but a few minutes. We just need to ask you a few questions, that's all." The voice off screen sounds very friendly, though possibly a bit rattled at the idea of having to interview another werewolf. "If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?"]

[Remus's eyes narrow a bit at that, jaw tightening. For a moment, it looks as though he's angry, but he raises his untethered hand and covers his mouth when the yawn he was trying to hold back gets through anyway. A movement that shows a few healing lines on his arm, as well as several more scars.]

Bed. I would dearly love to be in bed right now. I had a rather rough night last night and was planning to spend the day sleeping.

["Of course, Mr. Lupin. And you'll get that chance soon, I promise." Paper shuffling in the background. "Success, integrity or friendship. Pick two and explain why?"]

[The question makes Remus stare for a moment before shaking his head thoughtfully.]

Friendship and integrity. Success is...limited. But being known as a man of your word is priceless. And friendship… [A small pause as his eyes close, pain chasing across his features.] Friendship can make the lack of so much else easier to live with.

[More paper shuffling and the scratching of a pencil across paper. "Thank you. And finally, Mr. Lupin, can you tell me what is your biggest regret and why?"]

[And there. The pain and exhaustion seem to hit just that little bit harder, Remus wincing in his chair before putting his free hand over his eyes.]

Sirius Black.

[His voice shakes on the name before he gets control of himself, wiping his hand down his face. The lines are more prominent, making him seem so much older than his twenty-two years.]

Lo--trusting Sirius Black is my greatest regret. Perhaps things would be much different now if I hadn't.

[There's a long silence, video focused on Remus Lupin's grief-stricken face before the interviewer clears his throat. "Of course. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Lupin."]

[The screen goes black.]


Prose Sample

This post in Remus's thread with Sirius in the TDM.

ADDITIONAL INFO
Remus's wand is 10 ¾ inches, cypress wood with a unicorn hair core. Any clothes he arrives with will likely be shabby and, really, the jumpsuit might be a step up from what he normally wears.

If possibly, I would like maybe for Remus's transformations to not be quite as bad as they would be back home, possibly by having his mind during the transformations instead of the wolf being in control, for the safety of the crew. This may not be a massive issue because there are others willing to help keep him under control during the full moon.

FINAL QUESTIONS
The players won't know what the mods are doing with these questions until sometime later.

➤ Will your character suspect some kind of guiding intelligence has brought them to the game? Or will they think it was random or done by Jorgmund?

I think that Remus will probably come down on the side of there being some kind of guiding influence behind who has been brought. Magic needs intent in order to cast it. No spell can be cast without really wanting to do it. So he'll figure from the beginning that there's something behind it. He just doesn't think it's Jorgmund because he's pretty certain they couldn't organize a piss up in a brewery.

➤ If they think it was something other than Jorgmund, like God or some other force of fate, what character traits do they think of that intelligence as having? Is it cruel or kind? Capriciously punishing them or doing it for good reason?

The traits, in Remus's mind, are likely to change as the game goes on. At first, he will definitely come down on the side of it being cruel and punishing, because of Sirius being there. That will soften as he meets new people, finds friends and learns the truth about what happened with Sirius and the night that the Potters died. THEN he'll start coming around to the idea that, while not cruel, it may not be kind, either. But teaching lessons that they need to know in order to make the world better.