#marauders analysis

[waltzreprise]

We should talk more about James, Sirius and Peter becoming Animagi to be by Remus side on the full moons.

As far as we know, there was little research about werewolves, and most of it was about how to kill them or the dangerous beasts they were. So, probably, the fact that they didn't hurt animals/animagi was not public knowledge, and difficult to find. (Besides, it was probably not 100% verified that it would work).

This means, James, Sirius and Peter had to do real research to discover it. They had to be looking for a way to be with Remus/understand him better/help him and the research had to be thorough to find out a way to be near a werewolf without them hurting you.

Now, we should also remember that the Animagi spell was high-level and very dangerous. We see very few characters being Animagi in the HP series, and they are presentes as very talented wizards. James, Sirius and Peter did it as teenagers.

Of course, they were reckless and find it somehow funny (remember that Remus said they were the best years of his life, so he enjoyed it too—even if he couldn't remember those nights, thing that isn't very clear in the text tbh.), but that doesn't negate the fact that they cared enough to, once again, do the research. Because being reckless and stupid could also mean trying to see Remus-Moony as humans, or flying above the Forbbiden Forest, or whatever three reckless teenagers could have thought of. But they really wanted to find a way to be by his side, with their friend.

All of this when they had been taught, for sure, that werewolves were monsters, untrustworthy, and not worthy at all. But they loved Remus to the point they dismissed all of that, because they saw REMUS LUPIN, their friend, not just a werewolf.

They were stupid and reckles, but it takes deep care to be so stupid and reckles just to help a friend, when the whole word is telling you that you should hate him and be afraid of him.

The Marauders friendship is complex, with some plot-holes, and with highs and lows, but they did care about each other, and denying that is denying a vital part of the story.

[inthemoodforblastt]

https://www.tumblr.com/apostlesflames/816199776130449408/if-you-observe-really-closely-and-i-mean-really?source=share

Hey, idk if you follow this blog or vice versa but since I follow you my feed fetches me a lot of anti marauders/marauders critical posts. This one i read stood out to me but since I mostly read your metas I just wanted to know your two cents on this essay ? I mostly agree with this but the "classism" part that you also bring up a quite a lot confuses me just a tad bit could you elaborate ? I just want to be educated on classism as a whole, as snape fan I feel like i should be well aware of my stances.

Thank you and that's all

Yes, we are mutuals hahahah Honestly I think a lot of people misunderstand what people mean when they bring classism into discussions about Snape and the Marauders because they immediately reduce it to “poor person good / rich person bad” which is not really the point.

The issue is more that class affects the way characters move through the world, the kind of social power they have access to, how protected they are from consequences and how others perceive them. And in that sense the Marauders vs Snape dynamic is absolutely shaped by class whether people like it or not.

James and Sirius are both wealthy pureblood boys from extremely influential families, they’re charismatic, socially admired, academically gifted and institutionally protected. Even Sirius, despite his dysfunctional upbringing, still carries the social capital that comes from being a Black. They move through Hogwarts with confidence because the system is built in a way that favors people like them socially.

Snape meanwhile is visibly poor, neglected, isolated, badly dressed, socially awkward and comes from Spinner’s End which is coded very heavily as working-class deprivation. People underestimate how much this affects the way a child is perceived. Poverty is stigmatizing. Kids notice it, teachers notice it, peers notice it. And when you’re already weird and abrasive on top of that, it becomes very easy for people to dehumanize you or treat you like the “acceptable target.”

And I also think people massively underestimate how much easier it is to “make the right choices” when you come from privilege and already have options, support systems, social protection and a sense that the world will catch you if you fall. It’s very easy to preach morality when you’ve never experienced the kind of desperation, alienation or lack of prospects that pushes people toward harmful environments in the first place. Severus grows up with basically nothing: no emotional stability, no social support, no economic privilege, no real sense of belonging outside of Hogwarts and even there he’s ostracized. So yes, when the only spaces offering you recognition, protection or power are the “wrong” ones, it becomes much easier to fall into them, especially as a vulnerable teenager desperate to escape humiliation and powerlessness.

Again, that does NOT absolve Snape of responsibility for the choices he made later. But I also think fandom often judges him in a very classist way by completely ignoring the context he came from and the lack of possibilities that context gave him. Because at the end of the day, judging two people who come from radically different social realities through the exact same moral lens without accounting for structural differences is itself deeply classist. Pretending that a neglected working-class child and wealthy socially protected pureblood boys all had the same emotional resources, opportunities and margin for error it’s ignoring how social inequality actually shapes human behavior.

And personally I think fandom often reproduces really ugly classist biases without realizing it because people romanticize the Marauders’ behavior as “boys being boys” or “charismatic popular kids having fun” while framing Severus' bitterness as uniquely monstrous and unforgivable. There’s a tendency to view socially polished wealthy characters as inherently more human and redeemable than poor abrasive ones. Like, James hexing random people for entertainment gets brushed aside as youthful arrogance because he’s charming and beloved. Snape being bitter and hostile after years of humiliation gets treated as proof he was born morally rotten. That disparity does not happen in a vacuum.

I also think people ignore how much humiliation and social exclusion can radicalize vulnerable teenagers. Again, this is not me saying poverty made Snape a Death Eater because that’s pretty reductive. But extremist groups absolutely prey on isolated angry young people who crave power, belonging and recognition after a lifetime of feeling powerless and degraded. That’s just a real social phenomenon.

So when I talk about classism in relation to Snape, I’m saying the social dynamics at play are very obviously influenced by class, status, popularity and institutional protection, and I think pretending otherwise leads to a very shallow reading of the story. And a very classist way too.

[maxdibert]

I've been thinking about how people usually say that the reason Remus never stopped James and Sirius' bullying is because he was scared they would reveal his secret. And it's interesting because the maradeurs' fans use that as an angst thing in fanfiction. But I would like to ask: so they agree that James and Sirius were shitty friends, who would use Remus' secret against him? Or are they saying that Remus believed that, but James and Sirius wouldn't actually do it, because they did care deeply for him as a friend?

Honestly, I believe Sirius would be capable of doing it, if Remus was "getting in the way". I mean, Sirius would talk about how "he wishes it was full moon", because he saw it as just a fun activity, and used Remus to almost kill Severus as a "prank". So I don't think he would be above revealing that Remus is a werewolf.

So when I see someone saying that to defend Remus' actions, I want to ask: "so you agree? That the maradeurs were bad friends who shouldn't be trusted?"

What I believe —and it’s something I’ve said many times before —is that the real friendship in that group was between James and Sirius. They were the ones who shared a deep, genuine bond. Remus wasn’t stupid, he could see that, and he was fully aware that he was the third wheel in that dynamic that he was more of an outsider. And no matter how much James considered him a friend (and I do believe he did), when it came down to choosing between Sirius and Remus, James would always pick Sirius.

As for Sirius, I’ve always felt he was emotionally detached from both Remus and Peter. Sure, they hung out, and having a personal cheerleader like Peter stroking his ego was nice, and using Remus as an excuse to bend the rules or do dangerous stuff probably entertained him, but I think he mostly saw them as tools, not equals. And Remus was smart enough to see that.

He lived in constant fear of being left alone with his condition, of having to face rejection because of the emotional weight he carried as a werewolf. Clearly, his greatest fear was losing his friends, not just because they were his friends, but because they were strong, influential boys behind whom he could hide, a shield from the world. And deep down, he knew his bond with them wasn’t as solid. If he ever stood up to them or snitched, he could lose everything.

And he wasn’t wrong, because let’s not forget that when it really mattered, during the war, they considered him a potential traitor. They didn’t choose him as Secret Keeper for a reason.

So no, that friendship the fandom loves to romanticize so much was, at its core, a farce or at least not as strong or pure as people like to pretend it was.

[astrarium-angel]

Black Brothers | Angst Meta for Tumblr

"the heir, the spare, and the ghost in the mirror"

a headcanon-heavy character breakdown of sirius + regulus black and how being raised apart still broke them both exactly the same.

a deep-dive into my personal headcanons for the black brothers, especially regulus—exploring how cultural displacement, toxic favoritism, trans identity suppression, and fractured family legacy shaped them. this includes personal interpretations and worldbuilding, not strict canon (but let’s be real, the marauders fandom is built on headcanons and heartbreak anyway). this one’s for the trans kids, the forgotten children, and anyone who grew up learning that love had conditions.

Content Warnings:

heavy family trauma / child neglect

emotional & verbal abuse

gender dysphoria / transphobia (non-graphic, implied through environment & restriction)

toxic parenting / mother-son enmeshment

trans headcanon (regulus)

mentions of cultural displacement / identity conflict

comparison, parentification, internalised guilt

not canon-compliant / fully headcanon-based

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"the heir, the spare, and the ghost in the mirror" a marauders era headcanon spiral 🖤 by astrarium-angel

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Regulus Arcturus Black was born in London. But he was not raised there. The Blacks only wanted one son. Sirius was the heir—golden, loud, adored by their mother in that toxic, choking way some women adore the children they project onto. Walburga was a boy mom—in the worst possible way. And Sirius, though smothered in expectation and control, was still the child who was wanted.

Regulus wasn’t. He was the spare. And worse: in her eyes, he was a girl.

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So they sent him away. To relatives in Korea. Far enough to forget, close enough to still claim. He was raised there under a pureblood ideal of “womanhood” that was even stricter, even colder. He was taught silence, obedience, posture, poise. No brooms. No loud voices. No wandering into shadows. He was dressed up in silks and restraints, taught to be a mirror and not a person.

But he knew. Even before he had a name for it—he knew.

And he never told anyone.

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Walburga hated him. Because mothers like her hate daughters for everything. For stealing youth. For disobedience. For existing as living proof that womanhood is a cage. Maybe she hated how quiet Regulus was. Maybe she hated how easily he disappeared. Maybe she hated him because he looked like her. Or because he didn’t. Or because he saw her clearly—and didn’t flinch.

Or maybe she just needed someone to blame for everything she couldn’t control in Sirius.

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When Regulus came home at 11, Grimmauld Place was a mausoleum. He was a stranger in a country he was born in. He met Sirius properly for the first time. They weren't brothers. Not yet. Just echoes of what could’ve been. Sirius was magnetic and loud and hated everything Regulus had been taught to worship.

But Regulus adored him anyway. Instantly.

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Then Sirius ran. And Walburga broke. But not in grief.

In obsession. She mourned him like a dead saint and cursed Regulus for not being his ghost. Everything Regulus did was compared to Sirius. Every mistake punished harsher because she’d “already lost one son.” She let Regulus come out as a boy only after deciding he would replace the heir she lost. She didn't accept him. She repurposed him.

And when he wasn’t Sirius enough— she hated him for that, too.

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So Regulus became everything they wanted. He kept his voice steady. He obeyed the rules. He carried the legacy. He bled for the family name. And it still wasn’t enough.

It never would be.

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They were raised apart. But both Black brothers grew up being told they weren’t allowed to exist on their own terms. Sirius was loved as long as he obeyed. Regulus was ignored until he obeyed. And in the end—both of them were punished for trying to be free.

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[theflikchic]

It's always incredible to me to see these art pieces/comic strips about how they were bullied as a kid and how they were spoken to when they tried to explain they were being bullied and those stories have nothing to do with any piece of fiction and my rear end will always immediately think of how people talk about the Marauders in the Harry Potter fandom. And I mean, I think about this when I think about my OWN experiences with bullies but it's crazy every time.

I think about how people say Lupin wasn't as bad because he didn't do anything or how the Marauders "grew up" or were just "teens" or "boys being boys" and then see people telling their stories online, unrelated to Harry Potter, like - "Yeaaaah, I am just as hurt by the people who didn't do anything and all the people who said they were just teens actually made it worse for me and when I grew up and saw my bullies in high school, they did not in fact grow up and were proud of bullying me."

Like I can't help but wonder if hard-core Marauders fans have never been bullied ever because all the excuses they seem to make for them, rather than accepting the Marauders' actual character flaws while liking them (bc that's fr more interesting), mirror those excuses of those who enable bullies irl.

[maxdibert]

Yah so how the fuck did Remus manage to "forgive" Sirius? And why does everyone in the fandom always take The Prank as an opportunity to make Wolfstar angst... Like...no?

I'm sick of seeing posts that are like "Sirius going back to his house and having a breakdown" "Remus not talking to Sirius to Sirius sends him a letter about how sad and depressed he is because none of their friends are talking to him". Oh my gosh. ENOUGH OF THAT 😮‍💨

Oh no, the consequences to my own fucking actions--- No SHIT, Remus doesn't want to speak with you. WHY WOULD HE??? And people just completely shove Severus into the corner as if he wasn't also going through something. This fandom man...

Honestly, I’ve never been interested in Wolfstar, and not because I dislike the characters but because it doesn’t make sense to me. I mean, if I had to choose a pairing for Sirius among his friends, for me, it would clearly be James, because Sirius was literally obsessed with him. He wasn’t just his best friend; Sirius’ entire life revolved around James, and even 12 years after his death, he couldn’t move on, to the point of projecting James onto Harry and getting upset when he realized they were two different people. Look, Molly Weasley gives me the creeps, but she was absolutely right when she called him out, saying that sometimes it seemed like he wasn’t seeing Harry but James—because that’s exactly what was happening.

But beyond that, Sirius shows absolutely zero interest in Remus or at least zero empathy. It’s clear that if there was any glue holding the group together, it was James. James had more sense than the two ringleaders combined, or at least more common sense to know where the limits were. He was also the one who took care of Remus when he had nowhere to go after finishing school. My theory is basically that Sirius hung out with Remus and Peter because James tolerated them, and because having a werewolf friend gave him an excuse to act recklessly. If we look at SWM, Sirius remarks that he wishes it were a full moon because he’s bored. He couldn’t care less that for Remus it’s a traumatic moment each month, because for Sirius, it means going out, living dangerously, and messing around with his friends. What’s a trauma for Remus is an opportunity for fun for Sirius. He doesn’t consider what it represents for his friend; he doesn’t show that his reason for becoming an animagus is to provide moral support. Instead, he’s WISHING for the moment his supposed friend dreads most because, for him, it’s an exciting event. That’s not appreciating someone—it’s seeing them as a means to an end, a tool. That’s pure utilitarianism, not friendship.

Now, let’s move on to the facts. In “The Prank,” Sirius doesn’t care about the consequences. He thinks it’s funny and is totally thoughtless because that’s just who he is—someone who was never taught about morals or ethics and who basically chose a different “side” than his family’s just to spite them. He’s a rebellious and chaotic spirit who despises snobbery, and that’s about it. There’s no deeper philosophy, no deconstruction. Deep down, he behaves like any other Black, believing he has the right to control others—whether it’s ending someone’s life if they’re “stupid enough to fall for the trap” (Severus, in this case), which he justifies by saying they deserved it, or using others for his malicious ends (Remus). It’s James who has a modicum of conscience and who thinks about the consequences, stopping Severus because James was taught values and understands that certain lines shouldn’t be crossed. But also, I think James genuinely cared about Remus and probably understood what it might mean for him to end someone’s life.

Then there’s the post-Hogwarts relationship. Remus is always portrayed as being very close to the group when canonically, Peter was the one who was always trailing James and Sirius like a cheerleader. Ultimately, they chose Peter over Remus to be the Secret Keeper. This happened because CANONICALLY, Remus had distanced himself from the group, and CANONICALLY, it was Sirius who suggested Peter because he didn’t trust Remus—thinking he might have joined the dark side. This wasn’t something that came from Lily or James; it came from Sirius. Sirius was the one who considered that Remus might have betrayed them. Is that really what a true friend would think? How can people even consider there’s chemistry or a sexual subtext between them when canonically, Sirius repeatedly demonstrates that he doesn’t care about Remus at all? He only starts paying attention to him years later, after escaping Azkaban and realizing his best friend is dead, and his personal cheerleader turned out to be a traitor who ruined his life. Then, when only the two of them are left standing, Sirius starts giving him attention—but only because he’s the last one left. That’s it. Even Rowling herself described Remus ages ago as “the third wheel in a two-person relationship,” referring to Sirius and James. Seriously.

And let’s not forget that Remus never doubted that Sirius could be a traitor either—he always believed him guilty. It’s funny when they’re portrayed as missing each other, but missing each other from what? Remus thought Sirius was scum the whole time! And how could he not? He’d seen Sirius be cruel, even sadistic, and show zero remorse. It’s no wonder it fit for him to think Sirius had lost his mind.

As for how Remus handled all this, it’s no mystery: Remus is very similar to Severus in terms of his position. He was a vulnerable kid clinging to any lifeline to keep a low profile and feel safe. Sirius and James provided that safety—they made him feel protected and accepted. He never raised his voice or questioned their decisions because the mere thought of being rejected terrified him. Even as an adult, he keeps justifying their crap because he’s clearly incapable of going against those who gave him a place when he needed it. Remus is also a terribly cowardly man—he doesn’t have the guts to confront things. He has a super avoidant personality, which is crystal clear when he leaves a 13-years-younger pregnant woman because he can’t handle the pressure. A 17-year-old kid has to make him come back—is there anything more pathetic than that? At 38? Sirius clearly hurt him, but Remus knew that confronting Sirius meant confronting James, and if James had to choose between the two, he would always choose Sirius. So it wasn’t in Remus’ interest to speak up or express how he really felt because the idea of losing the protection that came with being their friend was far worse than feeling like crap over what Sirius did. That’s it, plain and simple.

Honestly, it’s such a shame and a total waste that everything gets reduced to couples and absurd adolescent dramas when the dynamics among those four “friends” are fascinating because they’re built on pure power relations and are deeply dysfunctional. But instead of exploring that, which I find genuinely interesting, it all gets thrown away, their personalities are rewritten, and it’s all turned into cheap teen soap operas. But whatever.

[maxdibert]

I am NOT necessarily saying that James Potter had deserved to be murdered in his home as a result of backstab from his friend, but... In hindsight, Peter's betrayal is an absolute testament to Marauders NOT being a healthy friends group dynamic. Like, the personality of a brutal cold-blooded murderer and immoral backstabber does not develop overnight, even in a magical world! I bet both James and Sirius saw the "warning signs" in younger Peter, but didn't care at all... or maybe even actively encouraged Peter in his more ruthless moments, so he could pull more "hilarious" Marauder antics.

I've never thought that the Marauders had an idyllic friendship because it doesn't align with the facts. I think Sirius and James did have an idyllic friendship, although I believe that, for Sirius, it was also partly emotional dependence and some anxious attachment. But when it comes to Sirius and James regarding the other two, that's a different story. I do think James appreciated Remus and had a somewhat paternalistic and condescending affection for Peter, but I think Sirius didn't care much about them. I believe Sirius cared just enough about Remus until he was completely alone, and after leaving Azkaban, Remus was the only one left for him. I think that during their time at Hogwarts, Sirius only really cared about James and constantly sought his validation. I believe that by association—and because being friends with a werewolf seemed dangerous, mysterious, and challenging—he became friends with Remus and Peter, but I also think that if it hadn't been for James, he wouldn't have even looked at them. We know it wasn't James who distrusted Remus to be the Secret Keeper, but Sirius, and it was Sirius who convinced the Potters to make Peter the Secret Keeper. We know that Sirius doesn't seem to care about the psychological damage Remus might suffer if he ends up killing one of his own when he leads Severus into the trap. The only one who seems more concerned about Remus is James, who gives him money when they leave Hogwarts and prevents him from becoming a killer. But here we already establish a clear break in that supposedly idyllic friendship, just as we see James talking down to Peter, which makes me think he didn't see him as much more than a loyal follower or fan.

Honestly, I think what happened is that they always saw Peter as a bit of a foolish kid, one of those you don't see as an equal but as a kind of social project. Like, let's adopt this kid because Peter would later prove he could be truly manipulative, and I think he let them believe he was half a fool. And I think he knew that James and Sirius (but especially James, who was more guilty of this) loved being the center of attention, having everyone laugh at their jokes, and being flattered. And that's what he did: flatter them. And he enjoyed the suffering they inflicted on others and watching them humiliate other people because that's what Peter truly wanted to do, but he didn't dare or thought he wasn't strong enough. For me, Peter sublimated his fantasy of power through James and Sirius and cheered on their acts of violence because he truly enjoyed it. And James and Sirius, instead of being alarmed by that kind of personality with sadistic tendencies, saw it as Peter simply kissing their asses or didn't see it at all because they liked having a cheerleader. They didn't see Peter's dark side, his bad side. But if we look at it, Remus didn't find their behavior funny. Remus was a coward and didn't have the guts to say anything to them, but he didn't encourage or cheer them on; he wasn't comfortable with their cruelty: Peter Pettigrew was.

My theory is that Peter was always a sadist, but since he stayed behind James and Sirius to feel protected, he only lived out his sadism through the pranks his friends played, friends who also underestimated him and treated him as if he were a bit dim-witted. Among the Death Eaters, he saw that he could not only realize his twisted fantasies but also stop being a background character and become one of the protagonists, have a relevant role, and he decided to take that path. I also think he must have been a bit tired of being treated condescendingly and paternalistically (which, according to the flashbacks, was totally what they did with him) and, in a way, he got his revenge, something like: in your face, there you have it.

And yes, that shows us that there was no idyllic friendship. There wasn't one towards Remus, who seemed to be the most marginalized of the group (even though people always try to portray Peter as such, canonically, the one who was most distanced from the group was Remus), nor with Peter, whom they treated a bit like a pet. I think the fact that Sirius and James were so self-centered, being the main characters and playing at being the kings of the playground, made them not pay enough attention to the people they supposedly shared an unbreakable bond with. I think they didn't really know each other. I think Sirius and James thought that the relationship between the four of them was the same as the one between the two of them, which is very egocentric on their part, but they were egocentric after all, and the relationship with the other two was certainly not the same. They were the best friends, and the other two were just filler, and in the end, that backfired on them.

[maxdibert]

Hi! I just saw your post on “terrible characters” (or characters that behave in morally questionable ways) and how you enjoy them, my question is do you think you could ever include the marauders in that list? I mean they were obviously very morally questionable (each one is firmly in the grey category to me except for Peter ‘I’ll trade my friend’s infant son life for security’ Pettigrew). If you couldn’t ever see yourself liking them/being interested in them, what do you think is specifically about them that is causing that kinda block for you? Love your posts!

Okay, so my problem with the Marauders is that I can’t stand James or Remus. Like, James doesn’t interest me at all. He’s just a rich kid whose parents raised him with love and care. But unlike Draco, who was raised with prejudice and classism drilled into him from a young age, James supposedly came from a progressive family. His parents were supposedly good people—not like the Malfoys or the Dursleys, who actively encouraged their kids to be bullies. So James just chose to be an asshole for no apparent reason. He didn’t do it because of abuse, a toxic environment, or because his family was like that—he just decided to be a jerk, and that’s something I find utterly uninteresting. There’s nothing to dig into; I just think he’s a git, plain and simple.

Then there’s Remus, who’s a considerably better person, but he disgusts me. I’m a heterosexual woman, and a 38-year-old character getting a 24-year-old pregnant and then leaving her? That’s something my feminism and my experiences as a young woman who’s dated older men cannot tolerate. It’s purely personal, but it grosses me out.

On the other hand, I really enjoy Sirius as a character because he’s a constant mix of contradictions and discrepancies. Plus, he’s a big kid with mommy issues, and I find that kind of thing super entertaining to analyze, along with dysfunctional families—which he has, and the potential dynamics are fascinating.

Oddly enough, I also find Peter more interesting than the other two. The problem is that we never really know what drove him to switch sides, but honestly, a guy who was basically just a cheerleader for his friends’ abusive behavior and then betrayed them for people with even more sociopathic tendencies is definitely worth studying. And honestly, he doesn’t do anything in the saga that triggers me enough to hate him to the point of dismissing him entirely.