Sirius is a spoiled, arrogant brat. His conflict with Snape is classism. He's as classy as Draco Malfoy and his family.
LOUDERRR
The fact that so many "fans" can't see it, or rather, accept it, is worrying.
Sirius may certainly be likable as a character, but he's not a good person, he's not a good friend to two of his three friends, he's not a protective boy who puts others first, and he hasn't truly matured as an adult.
If we're being honest, Draco has, ironically, had a better evolution than Sirius, and Sirius had an advantage.
He had friends who were already on the right side of the war; he didn't have to choose between his friends and his ideals. Sirius was taken in by a family on the right side (the Potters), he had support, and he wasn't forced to join the DEs.
Yet as an adult, he remained with the mentality of a classist bully.
Draco, on the other hand, has understood his mistakes and has truly rejected the pure-blood ideology, as we see in TCC.
Sririus had all the aids and he threw them away and as an adult he remained as he was as a boy, still laughing at having pulled The Prank
MFan: Nothing in the Marauders fandom is canon!!!!! We can do whatever we want!!!
Me: Okay, then I'll make James and Sirius terrible bullies who choke, beat, use illegal spells, and SA their classmates.
MFan: HOW DARE YOU?!?!?!?!
The Marauders Stan are trying to villainize Bertram now too
A few weeks ago, I posted THIS video on TikTok about Bertram and what he suffered at the hands of the Marauders. Some people, understandably, asked who Bertram was, if he was canon, and that's fine. I mean, he's only mentioned once in the entire saga, but it always amazes me how fans choose which background characters to highlight and which to completely ignore. And well, Bertram is one of them, and the reason is quite obvious. The Marauders, in their attempt to distort history and portray themselves as champions of justice, must eliminate every trace of their bullying and, at most, keep only Snape as the victim, because, as we've said several times, he's not the perfect victim. With him, they can continue the narrative that "it was just a rivalry." Even though we've debunked this lie several times, it's still used, but what amazed me instead is the attempt to blame Bertram as well, to the point of downplaying what he suffered in such an ignoble manner. Well, here are the comments:
THIS is canon, one of the few truly canonical things we have about the Marauders, but for this "fan" this is too much. We're not trying to find fault, we don't need to invent anything, we're just reporting canon facts, and if this makes the Marauders look bad, maybe you should start asking yourself a few questions.
Furthermore, when someone approaches these topics, they try to set themselves up as moral judges by bringing their own experiences into play, which is completely inappropriate. What does being bullied prove? That your opinion is worth more? That I can't blame you because you've been bullied? It doesn't work that way, especially if, despite your own experiences, you end up justifying bullies. But let's move on, because things get worse.
This is seriously so ridiculous that I initially thought it was a troll. As a victim of bullying, you did your research. Are you sensitive about Snape enough to distort the story to make him look like a RIVAL? In what twisted world is 2 vs. 1 a rivalry? Is there really anyone who would call Neville a rival to Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle?
But seriously, beyond these endlessly rehashed points, do you realize that you immediately moved on to talking about Snape? In a video entirely dedicated to Bertram where I NEVER mentioned Snape, she talks only about him and ignores Bertram, just like the fandom has done for years. This is because, as I mentioned before, that's all these people are focusing on.
As for Bertram, the problem is that we know nothing about him beyond the swollen head spell. And if you watch videos about him in general, you'll see that Snape fans, especially, go out of their way to make him look like a "victim." They specifically paint him as a Gryffindor/Ravenclaw, they ship him with Snape (💀), but I never see him in Slytherin. Why? Because they don't want to admit that he might also be an aspiring Death Eater.
Oh, there we go, after several comments, she remembers to mention Bertram, but look at the way she does it. "As for Bertram, the problem is that we know nothing about him beyond the swollen head spell." Well, you know, he's mentioned ONCE in seven books, and the only thing we know about him and she wants to ignore or distort even that. -.-
"And if you watch videos about him in general, you'll see that Snape fans, especially, go out of their way to make him look like a "victim.""
Girl, no, we're not making him look like a victim, he's A VICTIM. How can someone who says they were bullied invalidate a victim of bullying in a story? This is problematic on so many levels.
"They specifically paint him as a Gryffindor/Ravenclaw, they ship him with Snape (💀), but I never see him in Slytherin. Why? Because they don't want to admit that he might also be an aspiring Death Eater."
Oh, and here we go, these are really interesting and new points (at least for me). First, she brings up a ship, which is truly super rare. There are literally very few people who ship Bertram/Snape, especially because for years people have ignored Bertram as a character. But then, what's the ship supposed to mean? What does it have to do with the theme? Are you telling me that if a character is shipped with another character, he can't be bullied? Or that being shipped with a gray character automatically makes him evil? I really don't know, this point is thrown in without any logical sense. And then there they are, I didn't see this coming.
"But I never see him in Slytherin. Why? Because they don't want to admit that he might also be an aspiring Death Eater."
Aside from the fact that I've seen Bertram placed in Slytherin and sometimes even depicted as a girl, this attempt to pass him off as an aspiring DE without any evidence is so absurd and clearly the product of all the MS propaganda that wants to see the Marauders as vigilantes who only target aspiring DEs, and this is totally false, denied by canon. This is a clear attempt to blame the victim.
Someone actually asks her the meaning of her comments:
And she replies like this:
See how she's trying to twist the issue?
First, she uses Sirius's words to describe Snape. How can you trust the words of a BULLY talking about his victim? How can you take his words at face value and ignore all the other canonical facts?
So, with the same approach, can we only trust Snape's words about James, and Sirius?
And yet, in that case, you're biased and need to look at the facts. This is pure hypocrisy. In addition to, once again, putting forward completely fanon ideas. James doesn't target those who actively practice dark magic; he targets those who can simply because they exist in numerical superiority, with a clear imbalance of power. THIS IS CANON.
Look how she continues to mix FANON ideas with canon, deliberately creating confusion. First deciding to only consider things that are clearly shown, then, when it suits her, she brings in her own non-canon ideas to reverse the situation. Look at the absurdity, she even goes so far as to say that JAMES IS THE VICTIM?
Did the neurons really flip a switch here?
This is because Snape knew the dark arts HE NEVER USED ON THE MARAUDERS, and he had his own gang, which, however, in canon, NEVER DEFENDED HIM against the Marauders. Seriously, let's put two and two together: if James and Sirius were truly afraid of him because of his skill in the dark arts and his large gang, they would never have targeted him.
This is really getting absurd (leaving aside the insult, which I disagree with), this Vanessa continues to push her FANON idea that James is a vigilante and refuses to consider all the canonical facts. Despite the "context matters" sentiment, she doesn't look at the context; she's guided only by her bias. And this is a clear example of how the MS think. I remind you once again that all these comments (I didn't include them all) are focusing on Snape, while poor Bertram is still being ignored even though my video is TOTALLY dedicated to him. And that's why I wrote:
You mentioned Mary's case earlier, so I linked to that to highlight the double standard: what Mulciber TRIED to do to Mary is portrayed as something horrible, implying SA when in reality there is none of this, and if you dare say so you are insulted, while what Bertram suffered, which is CANONICALLY an ILLEGAL spell, is belittled and made to look like a trivial prank, something nice, or even something deserved. All of this is shameful.
This all continues to get more and more ridiculous, leaving aside the veiled insult, which demonstrates the lack of argumentation. Do you realize the usual thought process that leads to these fallacious arguments? First, they constantly ignore the theme, they focus it on another character, trying to blame them, then they reverse the bully/victim roles, they justify the bullies (James and Sirius), they invent facts, they remove the context of the actions, and this is important. Allow me a small digression:
Severus in TWM is being attacked, and the fact that he creates a cut on James's face is a desperate attempt to defend himself from two attackers who are attacking him, who have lifted him up, thrown him to the ground repeatedly, and suffocated him with soap while exposing his underwear. Pointing the finger at the fact that Snape created a cut on James's cheek would be like accusing a woman being attacked by two men of being excessively violent because she scratched one of her attackers in an attempt to escape. This attitude is not only disgusting but also dangerous.
But let's get back to the sequence. After this, we go back to downplaying The Prank (which is, by Sirius's admission, an active attempt to hurt Snape), we downplay ALL the actions of the Marauders by trying to reverse the consequences, so if a victim tries to defend himself, he becomes the executioner, we reverse cause and effect, and then we go back to poor Bertram, who is still there in a corner hoping to be considered, and we say: "About Bertram, as I said before, there is zero canon evidence that says he was an 'innocent victim' (and James' targets were obvious, people like Snape/Mulciber/Avery)."
Bertram is no longer a victim to her; in fact, in her eyes, he was never an innocent victim. This term is VERY problematic. I've talked about it several times, and still no one has ever explained to me what "innocent victim" means. Someone who simply suffers? Someone who doesn't try to defend himself? This attitude is truly disgusting. Besides continuing to push a FALSE narrative that James only targets a certain type of person, look at how absurdly she lies: "James' targets were obvious, people like Snape/Mulciber/Avery."
Girl, where? WHEN??? If you mean only what we see clearly matters, name me ONE TIME where James targets Mulciber or Avery? XD
She herself knows she's clearly lying. James and Sirius only target those beneath them in 2-on-1 power dynamics. This is canon.
Notice how she is frightened by the comparison between Mary and Bertram, this is the moment when everything starts to fall apart:
Aside from the obvious lie, as you mentioned Mary in previous comments, notice how she clearly misses the point and uses all the super-fanon FANON information. She denies that Bertram was hit by an ILLEGAL spell and is clearly projecting onto others; she's trying to rewrite the canon, distorting it so that Mulciber's ATTEMPT is worse than what Bertram actively suffered. Look at how absurdly she makes things up:
Bertram got a swollen head from a hex,fixed by Madam Pomfrey.If it was "that" dark magic(by your definition of dark arts,half of the hogwarts students we saw in books would be in azkaban instead of basic detentions),james wouldn't be in Hogwarts anyways he would be in prison
This is a crazy assumption. James and Sirius were punished for this, and the punishment clearly states that they used an illegal spell. Are you telling me you don't believe it, because otherwise they would have been sent to Azkaban? Are we really talking about a school where the staff lets a werewolf study and later teach, where they keep a Cerberus locked behind a door that opens with a simple Alohomora, and you think the staff is too concerned if students use ILLEGAL spells? In the space of two years, the Marauders almost killed Snape (The Prank), they SA (TWM), they used an ILLEGAL spell on Bertram, and you still think that's too much? That's not my idea of magic, it's literally the canon that tells us so. Plus, really, notice how desperately he invents things that never happened:
Mulciber literally used dark charms to cause LASTING harm on a muggleborn/halfblood.
WHERE? WHEN?? Mulciber never did this in the "LASTING HARM" canon????? But when? Maybe you're confusing this with some FF because the only thing we know is that he TRIED to do something bad to Mary, period. He didn't actually succeed, she didn't suffer any permanent damage, so this absurd argument is false.
And after my last comment, she never responded. My optimistic side hopes she's understood, but in reality, I know she hasn't, that she simply has no more leverage, and as usual, the MSs flee as soon as their lies are debunked. As usual, these posts of mine aren't meant to attack any individual person, but to highlight the increasingly distorted mechanisms being carried out in fandom. Here, it's no longer about personal views or values based on one's own experience, but about clearly problematic attitudes that highlight the hypocrisy of certain thoughts and demonstrate why, even in the real world, certain dynamics are not only perpetuated but also justified, especially by those who claim to have experienced them as victims.
And, quite simply, in this entire exchange, once again the ignored character has been forgotten, relegated to a corner, belittled, attacked, condoned, and left in the shadows.
Bertram Aubrey deserved what James and Sirius did to him
I was doing some research on Bertram Aubrey since I'm working on the The Story of the Prince chapter where he gets attacked by James and Sirius. This is canonical information, and I want to include it in my FF since I'm trying to make it as canon-compliant as possible.
However, I also like to include more popular HCs IF THEY'RE BELIEVABLE.
And while searching, I've come across various questions about Bertram, and the tone is always the same: "What did Bertram do to deserve being cursed by James and Sirius?"
And this is so problematic and worrying that I need to highlight it. When I talk about why Snape didn't deserve what he suffered, I always get someone with distorted ideas who says he deserved it because he was a bad person, because he wanted to join the Death Eaters, blah blah blah, anything to blame the victim.
But you know, I often assume that people aren't being dishonest, that they have a different value system, or that maybe they haven't really thought deeply about what they say. But seeing how they behave with Bertram, it makes me sad, but many things are truly worrying.
In order to justify the Marauders, they start from the assumption that even Bertram did something to deserve being cursed with an ILLEGAL hex. Do you realize how worrying this constant justifying of the Marauders, minimizing their guilt, and ALWAYS blaming the victims is? What did Bertram do to deserve it?
NOTHING
James and Sirius were simply bored, they thought they could do whatever they wanted, and they targeted whoever they could. This is canon; they've been punished countless times for cursing classmates just because they could and wanted to.
Stop portraying James and Sirius as vigilantes avenging injustice; they're the ones who initiate injustice.
They don't need a reason to attack others; it only takes someone unfortunate enough to pass by them to become their victim.
This is canon.
Justice for Bertram
Here I am, back to continue dismantling ATYD chapter by chapter. We left off at the end of chapter 64; I'll leave the previous parts:
PART 1 Chapter 1-20
PART 2 Chapter 21-40
PART 3 Chapter 41-56
PART 4 Chapter 57-64
CHAPTER 65
Let's begin this actually interesting chapter. It's set in January 1975, when Remus reads an article in which the Dark Mark appears for the first time. This point is interesting, but then I'm already starting to turn up my nose because Remus says this:
Since Dumbledore's visit to the Potters, Sirius's hatred for anything remotely Slytherin had increased tenfold. He had been using hexes to defend younger students from Slytherins all year, but now he seemed to be actively seeking out trouble.
I understand that the author wants to show the intensification of the war, which is also reflected within Hogwarts—an excellent point—but this way of portraying Sirius is truly irritating and damaging. For the thousandth time: James and Sirius ARE NOT VIGILANTS. They don't curse people to defend others; they pick on the weakest; they're bullies. Justifying Sirius's violence and making him look like a defender of the weakest distorts his canonical characterization, making him OOC and NOT canon compliant. Moving on, Sirius and Remus talk about Snape:
"Dumbledore told us to be vigilant, not start fights." "The war is everywhere." Sirius replied, and James nodded in agreement. "Anyway, you can talk, what about you and Snape?" "That," Remus replied piously, "Was personal."
You realize this is totally OOC for Remus, right?
A similar conversation would be believable between James and Sirius; the two are clearly obsessed with Snape and constantly target him. And it's CANON that James had something personal against Snape because he was jealous of his friendship with Lily. I repeat, this is canon. In canon, Remus doesn't have this feud with Snape. This is another clear theft of another character's personality to give it to Remus.
It was true; he didn't hate Snape because he was a dark wizard, or a Slytherin, or anything like that. Remus didn't like Snape because he was a nosey busybody—that, and nobody really liked Snape, except Lily.
Really dude? What are you saying? You hate Snape because he's a busybody? No, dude, you hate Snape because in this FF he's literally a mix between Draco Malfoy and James Potter xD And do I need to remind you that the feud was started by James and Sirius?
Too bad, because this could actually be an interesting point. Since it's Remus' POV, it's possible that he perceives Snape as a nosy person. In canon, we know he tries to follow the Marauders, but again, it's because they bully him (and in this FF, Remus has beaten him several times). There's also a hint that Remus has seen Lily and Snape less together, and wonders if they've argued. This is nice; it already lays the groundwork for the moment when the two will finally end their friendship. And then comes James, poor thing, who complains, looking at Lily:
“Doesn't she know how much I've matured?” James sighed heavily, thumbing the pages of his textbook roughly.
James, how exactly have you matured? What have you done in the previous chapters?
“I dunno if snogging a muggle in the back of the cinema really counts as maturing.” Remus replied, rescuing the manhandled book and smoothing down the corners James had bent. “I didn’t mean that,” James grinned. “Just like… in general. I don’t get it. I get on with Marlene, okay.” “You’re on the Quidditch team with Marlene,” Peter said. “You’ve got stuff in common with her.” (Peter had become very wise, since getting a girlfriend.)
Okay, I admit, this part is cute and finally shows Peter not as a softie who acts as a bedside table, but actively interacting with his friends. The way they all interact is also cute. James is 14 here, okay, it’s understandable that he’s so obtuse. Plus, James and Sirius are busy with the upcoming match against Slytherin, and Remus finds himself going to Hogsmeade alone. But don’t worry, Lily offers him to go with her and her friends, Mary and Marlene. Here too, the way the author brings Remus and Lily closer together is delightful. It's a shame that their interactions often end up distorting Lily's canonical relationship with Severus. But let's see, maybe this time it won't be that way. It turns out that Lily is actually alone, so it's just her and Remus. We're told that the other Marauders are all grounded. Remus spends hours talking about his friends, and Lily seems annoyed, admitting that she wanted to get to know him, not his friends, and yes, for that very reason, Lily clearly likes Remus and wanted to hang out with him. Of course, she complains a bit about Snape (but when does that ever happen?). The next day, the friends find out through Marlene that Remus and Lily have been dating.
Remus plays dumb, not really understanding Lily's intentions.
Okay, that part was funny too, I mean, he's 14, we were all dumb at 14, right? And nothing, James is shocked, Remus feels like he's betrayed him. He goes to the library, but on the way he stops behind a statue that leads to the secret passage to Honeydukes and there he thinks back to his "date" with Lily, confused. He's afraid of losing James and has adolescent qualms about not having kissed anyone yet. He decides to go to the Quidditch pitch to watch the slack when DA DA DAN... Guess what:
“Watch it, mudblood .” Severus Snape snarled, scrambling to his feet, glaring at Remus. Remus tutted,
“Piss off Snivellus, I’m as much a half-blood as you are.”
“You and I have nothing in common, I assure you.” Snape replied haughtily, brushing off his robes.
“I suppose when it comes to hygiene standards--”
“Careful, Loony Lupin,” Snape narrowed his beady eyes, “Don’t say something you’ll regret.”
“Oh, bugger off,” Remus replied, impatiently, stepping forward, “I haven’t got time for this, either curse me now or get out of my way.”
Snape stepped to the side at once, giving a flourish with his hand to show Remus that he was free to go. It was disquieting, but Remus couldn’t worry about that now, and continued on his way.
And so the chapter ends.
Again, this is not Snape, this arrogant bully who calls Remus hateful names is NOT SNAPE. What did I call it in the previous parts? Ah yes, Spungen. This “Snape” is actually an OC who I will call Spungen.
I actually have a plan for this, because the whole story is so absurd now considering it's supposed to be Canon compliant that it really deserves a different kind of approach. You'll see what I mean shortly. For now, just know that this is Spungen, the arrogant, classist, stereotypical bully who mistreats Remus and whom Remus stands up to.
Oh yeah, but let's remember that Remus is also an OC and his real name is Spinks.
CHAPTER 66
The chapter begins with James acting uncharacteristically, seeming irritated that Remus had a date with Lily, and Remus is cooing. Of course, our dear Spungen (Snape) arrives and approaches the Griondor table to speak to Lily.
Lily and Remus turned around to see Severus Snape standing there, with an odd smile on his face that was anything but joyful. “Hello, Lily,” he said softly. “Hi Sev,” Lily replied, with a forced sort of politeness, “What’s up?” “I just thought I’d check to see if you wanted any extra help with the Potions assignment. It’s very complex,” “I know.” She replied, irritated, “But I’m sure I’ll manage—”
I hate how the relationship between Lily and Severus is so forced here. I mean, it could certainly be distorted by someone who hates Snape, but that might be fine for James, who is canonically jealous of Severus and Lily’s relationship, not for Remus. But by now, I hope you’ve figured it out, this is NOT REMUS; his character and personality aren’t canon-compliant. Lily’s reactions to Severus aren’t either. Their relationship deteriorates canonically due to Snape’s closeness to Mulciber and the other future Slytherin Death Eaters. But here we’re only in fourth year, the two are friends, best friends (Lily’s words in canon), but here it seems like she doesn’t like having Severus around.
This isn’t canon-compliant.
As I said, Remus and I will manage.” She said, “I’m not stupid, you know, Severus.” “I never said you were…” Snape looked genuinely upset by this,
Really she is so unsympathetic to him. Severus leaves and Remus talks to Lily, Mary and Marlene and they argue about... I honestly don't understand the dynamics. Remus is annoyed that Mary talks about her boyfriend and takes it out on Lily for wanting to go out with him:
“Currently I find all of this boyfriend-girlfriend stuff boring, I wish you’d all just leave me alone.” Once he'd stopped talking, he blinked, surprised at himself. Why was he saying these things?! “Remus!” Lily said, looking shocked - though made of sterner stuff than Mary, she didn't leave, “There's nothing wrong with Mary wanting to talk about her boyfriend or… um… or teenagers having crushes, it's normal, isn't it?” “I don't care if it's normal.” He shrugged, “I think you’re all acting like idiots. Even you—why on earth would you want to go out with me, when the most popular boy in the school is madly in love with you? He’s ten times nicer than me, too, you’re just too arrogant to see it.” “Remus!” Lily said again, turning red. “Well, it’s true!” He said helplessly.
In his rage, he also revealed that he hit Snape on the train, calling him Snivellus, which is also NOT CANON COMPLIANT. But this poor little rabid criminal, Remus, is never responsible; he’s always a victim of events, and so instead of getting angry at his inappropriate behavior, the Marauders blame Severus, speculating that when he approached the table, he slipped something into Remus’s drink. (Very convenient.)
“SEVERUS!” Lily shouted, at the top of her voice. She got up and stormed over to the Slytherin table, Sirius, James, Remus and Peter in tow. “What have you done to Remus?!” She demanded, stamping her foot angrily on the flagstone floor.
“Why do you ask?” Severus smirked, cruelly, “You tell me how to fix him right now!” “There's nothing wrong with him,” Severus replied calmly, “Is there, Remus?”
“Nothing really,” Remus shrugged, “I do keep saying things I shouldn't, though, like--”
“SHUT UP.” Sirius kicked him, hard in the shin, distracting Remus from spilling his guts to Snape. Sirius now rounded on the Slytherin boy, “You bastard, it's veritaserum, isn't it?! Truth potion!”
“One way to find out,” Severus's smile broadened, “What's your deepest, darkest secret, Lupin?”
Oh god, where to start? Remus thought to himself. He knew he shouldn't say anything. Mustn't say anything. He would be in such terrible danger if anyone found out… but he wanted to, he wanted to very badly - he had so many secrets, and they were all swimming to the surface of his mind, like lifebuoys.
Are you really telling me that Severus, at 14, created some veritaserus with expensive ingredients found who knows where and gave it to Remus? Let's put this on the list of things that aren't only non-canon compliant but not even believable. It still pisses me off how, by trying to make Severus hateful and totally distorted, the author unintentionally makes him brilliant XD The Marauders take Remus away to the dormitory to prevent him from revealing his werewolf status, and of course he vents his anger by insulting Snape.
“Godric, how did he do it?! That’s NEWT-level stuff, truth serum!” “He’s the best in the year at Potions,” Remus supplied, unwillingly, “Lily said he’s already doing seventh-year essays, just for fun.” “What a boring old swot.” Sirius snorted, joining James in searching through the book.
Remus takes advantage of being under the influence of the potion to convincingly tell James that he (Remus) doesn't like Lily, and the two make up. Slughorn then gives Remus the antidote. Of course, the Marauders want revenge on Snape, but first, there's the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The match Remus watches is actually cute, the only thing that's irritating is the references to Remus being teased with nicknames. As I've said several times, this isn't canon compliant. In canon, it's Severus who's tormented with a nickname, but he doesn't use nicknames for the Marauders. Regulus is hit by a Bludger, and the chapter ends like this. NOOO Poor Reg... okay, I'm off to read the next chapter.
CHAPTER 67
The introduction to the chapter begins like this:
NOTE: Yes, I know, I have been spelling Walpurga with a 'P' instead of a 'B'. That's how it will have to stay.
And I'm laughing too hard. Seriously, for a story that's tagged as Canon compliant, not only has Remus's entire childhood and character been changed from the first chapter, to the tune of "I like it better this way," but now even the spelling of a name is changed. xD I really understand the pronunciation, especially in different languages. For example, I'm sure I'm mispronouncing Mulciber's name since we have other sounds in Italian, but in writing, this problem doesn't exist. What was the problem with correcting the name? Now I understand why over the years, more and more fans have started writing WalPurga (and then people come and tell me that stories like this, tagged incorrectly, don't cause any harm -.-)
Anyway, the chapter begins with Sirius flying to save Regulus from falling, or at least trying, but to no avail. Madam Hooch manages to slow his fall, and Sirius and all the teams land around them. Remus tries to enter the field to reach Sirius, but the professors don't let anyone in and send everyone back to the castle. Remus and Peter have this interaction:
"They'll have taken Regulus to the hospital wing," Peter said. "Maybe Sirius is in the changing rooms?"
"No," Remus shook his head. "No, he'd want to go with Reg... he probably thinks it's all his fault." "Well," Peter looked up at him. "He did hit the bludger, didn't he?" Remus clenched his fists and fought the urge to hit Peter.
Once again, this Remus isn't compliant; he's not that aggressive. Anyway, they arrive at the infirmary where James is waiting and Sirius is inside with his brother. After a while, THE DIVA arrives:
They were disturbed from their thoughts by the rapid clacking of high heels on flagstones, and Professor McGonagall's worried voice coming around the corner, "Please, Walpurga, he couldn't be in safer hands with Madam Pomfrey—it's really best that he isn't moved—" "I think I shall be making the decisions here, Minerva." That cold, low voice replied.
The way Remus sees Sirius's genuine concern for Regulus is beautiful and dramatic, really. Walburga is described as worried about her son, but in a cold way. She brought along an old wizard who is the family doctor, offending Madam Pomfrey. I actually like this and it's something I can see Walburga doing
She did not move from the end of the bed, but her hawkish glare was enough to hold Sirius in place. “You.” She said. “And what are you doing here?” Sirius said something, but it came out barely above a whisper. Walpurga frowned, “What?” She barked, “Speak up, boy!” “He's my brother.” Sirius said, louder now, though his voice was hoarse and cracked slightly. Mrs Black all. "For goodness' sake, have you been crying?! Try to show at least a modicum of decorum. Toujours Pur , Sirius! Try to remember your duty." Sirius did not reply, but bowed his head, his fair falling in front of his face. Remus hoped for his sake that he hadn't begun to cry again. Walpurga continued, “You may leave, Sirius. Your father and I will see you in June.”
This is truly one of those details that have completely distorted Walburga's character; she's so needlessly mean. I get that she's a classist pureblood, but why would she treat Sirius like that? Oh well, the usual demonization of Walburga. The three Marauders return to the common room, and Peter worries about the food.
The four marauders walked most of the way to Gryffindor Tower together in dead silence until they came to a double staircase, and Peter suddenly said, "We've missed dinner." James and Remus glared at him, and he looked very hurt.
"What did I mean," he squeaked angrily, "Was that I'll go down to the kitchens now and get them to send something up. If that's okay with you two?!"
"Nice one, Pete," James said apologetically.
This attitude of immediately showing Peter this way, with the others' dislike towards him, is truly problematic. Remus sorts through Sirius's notes and when he arrives, he throws himself into bed, clearly feeling guilty. The next day, Walburga sends an angry letter to Slughorn, blaming him for Regus's injury, who is now at home recovering. Sirius is increasingly saddened. Remus undergoes a new transformation. As always, these parts are truly interesting. Sirius is in the hospital wing when Remus wakes up, and the two talk:
“I wasn’t thinking about him, though.” Sirius said, “I was thinking about me. I was thinking… if he dies, then I’ll be the only one left, and my parents will… I wouldn’t have any way out. I need Regulus to stay alive. I need him to be the perfect son, so it doesn’t matter that I’m the bad son. That’s what I was thinking. I’m a coward.”
Remus didn’t know what to say, but he had to say something.
“You’d still have been sorry if he died, though. Not just because of that.”
“Yeah, but my first thought--”
“People don’t think properly when they’re scared. Believe me.” Remus said, hoping he sounded authoritative. “I saw you, you risked your life to try and save him - that’s not cowardly. Broke your stupid ankle like the idiotic hard-headed Gryffindor you are.”
Sirius exhaled, a strained little laugh. He looked at his feet again, then at Remus. Remus smiled at him, encouragingly, even though his jaw ached.
This part is interesting and shows a version of Srius that I find believable given his fourteen-year-old persona.
CHAPTER 68
It's Remus's birthday (is it always someone's birthday in this story, or does it just seem like it to me?) Anyway, the Marauders sneak off to Hogsmeade to celebrate and go to a club with live music, where wizards play Muggle music—David Bowie, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the like. James explains it as if this were a way to oppose the Dark Lord's oppression and pureblood ideas. Honestly, I don't know if I like this idea, so I won't comment. The Marauders start drinking anyway, first butterbeer and then firewhisky. Let's not be moralistic; they're 15, that's fine. The only thing that made me turn up my nose was this:
“To our beloved Moony - inventor of the Marauders' map, architect of our greatest pranks, completer of our overdue homework…”
The fact that Remus is the main inventor of the map isn't a problem in itself, it doesn't contradict canon, so it's fine as a HC, but the fact that he's the one who invented the Marauders' main pranks is really so wrong for his canonical characterization. Especially because what they call pranks in this story are horrible things, too. A former Hogwarts student recognizes Remus in the bar and thanks him for selling him cigarettes the year before, and let's all repeat this in unison: “He's NOT CANON COMPLIANT.” Remus the drug dealer really gets on my nerves. However, the four of them struggle back to school, still drunk. James and Remus are the most lucid and support their two friends.
CHAPTER 69
This chapter begins with the Marauders visiting Remus in the hospital wing after his umpteenth transformation. His friends offer him some sweets that Desdemona (Peter's girlfriend) gave them for Remus. Here's a rant from Sirius, which I'll report for you:
"Oh, they're not from me," Peter said, settling into the armchair beside the bed. "Dezzie says she hopes you get well soon." Remus, Peter, and James all turned their heads at once. "Dezzie," Sirius said, sitting up. "You mean Desdemona?"
"Er... yeah?" Peter stopped chomping chocolate and started looking nervous. "She asked me why I couldn't see her today, so I told her I was seeing Moony. What?!" He looked from James to Sirius, “I didn't say anything about why he was sick, I just said—”
“You idiot!” Sirius jumped down from the bed. “Sirius!” Remus hissed – if they were too loud Madam Pomfrey would chase them out, "It's fine. Really." “It's not the end!” Sirius seethed, he was standing over Peter now, "You can't go telling everyone Remus is in the hospital wing! Not everyone is as slow on the uptake as you! Doesn't the word 'secret' mean anything to you?!"
“You know it does,” Peter said, jutting out his chin, his lower lip trembling, “I’ve kept all sorts of…” he glanced furtively at Remus, then changed tact, “Anyway, Dezzie’s not everyone, she’s my girlfriend.”
“So what?!” Sirius raged, “You’re going to tell every tart that lets you stick your slimy tongue down her throat?!”
Peter’s eyes filled with furious tears. He sniffed, hard, and rubbed his nose, standing up.
“Just because I’ve got a girlfriend! Just because… because some of us actually like spending time with girls!”
Sirius’s face seemed to transform into a new, terrible kind of rage that Remus had never seen before. His heart was pounding a mile a minute, Remus could hear it clear as a bell.
“What are you trying to say, Pettigrew?”
“That I’d rather be with Dezzie than you lot, right now. Sorry, Remus.” Peter said, very quickly, before departing, storming out of the ward with a newly confident stride.
There was a steely silence, and Remus found he couldn’t bring himself to look at Sirius – whatever emotion he was working through seemed like something which ought to be private, He looked at James instead, still standing at the foot of the bed, chewing his lip. He met Remus’s eye, and gave him a reassuring smile.
Besides it being obviously hypocritical of Sirius to say this in hindsight, since The Prank happens only a year later in canon, we see how horrible Sirius actually is to Peter, and this is canon. In canon, we see that he doesn't respect Peter, and in fact humiliates him, but in canon, Sirius also has little care for Remus's secret, while here, I imagine because he wants to be a wolfstar in the story, he seems very protective of Remus and his secret, but this goes on the list of things that ARE NOT CANON COMPLIANT. Furthermore, the subsequent reactions of James, Sirius, and Remus after Peter's reaction are very strange; they don't seem to care about their friend, who here seems the only one with some sanity. I mean, he cares about his girlfriend, he doesn't just see her as a trophy, like James and Sirius do, but the story makes Peter look like the wrong one. I find this really problematic. As the chapter progresses, there are really a lot of non-canon compliant parts we need to talk about. Following Regulus's injury during the match against Gryffindor, it was decided to replay the game, but Regulus, against his mother's wishes, returned to the game and threatened half the Slytherins with painful disfigurement curses if news of his return reached Walpurga. I honestly don't know if I like this. I mean, in canon, Sirius tells us that Regulus is his parents' perfect son; why would he ever go against his mother? Draco has never contradicted his parents.
For his part, Remus had been trying to be extra kind to Sirius ever since February. Though Remus had always known that the Blacks were far from an ideal, nurturing family unit, he had always sort of assumed that it couldn’t be that bad. After all, in his experience, adults were there to maintain order, to instruct, and to punish. James had had an extremely cushy time of it, as far as Remus was concerned, so it had made sense that he was sympathetic towards Sirius.
This part really doesn't make sense. In canon, Remus doesn't have this negative experience with adults; in fact, he's constantly protected by them. In canon, Remus has two loving parents who sacrifice everything for him. This version of Remus, who sees adults only as someone there to maintain order and to point out a little individuality... is NOT CANON COMPLIANT.
And then comes this part that's completely wrong:
Remus was finally beginning to understand that whatever went on in the noble and ancient House of Black was not normal. In fact, it was entirely unacceptable. The fact that Sirius had survived under such oppression for so long without turning into Snape or just cracking under the weight of it was remarkable. Remus knew how hard it was to push against other people's expectations—against your own nature, sometimes.
What happens in the Black family is not normal IN WHAT WAY???
From what Remus saw, Sirius's mother is authoritarian, sure, but she cares for Regulus. Sure, in this version she's totally twisted, but in canon there's really nothing that shows the Black family as monstrous, no more so than any other traditionalist pureblood family. And then this part: The fact that Sirius had survived under such oppression for so long without turning into Snape or just cracking under the weight of it was remarkable. Really, explain to me what pressure Sirius is under from his family IN CANON??????
Canonically, Sirius feels at home because he's fed up with his family and their prejudices about Muggle-borns, sure, but there's no pressure on Sirius. And the comparison with Snape? It's completely nonsensical. For the thousandth time, Snape is not Malfoy! Hasn't Sirius transformed into Snape? No, in fact, he's become worse. He tormented Snape and other students for YEARS, he will set up The Prank by actively trying to kill Snape, and even as an adult, he will feel no remorse for this. But in this story, they try in every way possible to portray Snape as an arrogant and snobbish bully, while Sirius is shown as a little angel living a difficult childhood in a bad and mean family. All of this is NOT CANON COMPLIANT. We are then told that Sirius is more tired than before since speaking to his mother and now confides in James during the night and Remus feels left out. But the only thing Sirius seemed to want from Remus these days was cigarettes – if Remus had the heart to charge him, he might have made a fortune; Sirius was rarely without a fag behind his ear, or between his lips. Again, Remus selling cigarettes is NOT CANON COMPLIANT.
“Teenage mood swings.” Lily had said, decisively, when Marlene mentioned that Sirius seemed out of sorts
"Honestly," the redhead sighed, tossing her hair, "He acts like everything that happens to him is some great drama, but he's no different than the rest of us. Hormones." “Well,” Mary, frowned, “His family is a bit of a nightmare… dark wizards, and that. Can't be easy, with everything that's going on in the papers.”
Dark Wizards??? But when ever? This term is being used randomly here. No Black is a dark mage in canon. Does being a classist automatically make you a dark mage?
That's NOT canon compliant.
“Sirius isn’t a dark wizard.” Remus said, immediately,
“I know that.” Mary snapped, “I just meant that he might be feeling a bit torn, that’s all.” She had been snapping at Remus a lot, since Snape’s Veritaserum ‘prank’. Even though Remus had apologised profusely, and many times, he couldn’t deny that the things he’d said had been the truth.
And even this constant reference to Snape's prank with Veritaserum, as we've already said, is NOT CANON COMPLIANT. (I think I'll actually start counting all the times I write that something isn't canon compliant, so that the very next person who tells me this story is I can give them the exact number of elements that make it not canon compliant.)
"You of all people shouldn't pity him, Remus." Lily huffed, slamming down an entirely new pile of revision books. "What's that supposed to mean?!" "He's had every advantage over you and still can't be a nice person," she said, dividing the books up among the four of them. "He's ridiculously wealthy, pureblood, old magic, privately educated, has both of his parents—ugh, he and Potter are so—" "James and Sirius are not that alike." Was the only response Remus had.
Oh, Lily, tell him! We realize that even in this story, Sirius isn't a nice person, right? He's not in canon, and he's not here either, yet the MFs keep elevating him as if he were a wonderful tragic hero. Even your Bible says, through Lily, that he's not a nice person. Remus then notices that James has started to put more effort into his studies. At first, he thinks it's just a ploy to get closer to Lily, but then he sees that he doesn't ask to join their study group, and James reveals that McGonagall had warned him that if he didn't get a move on, he wouldn't have a chance at becoming Quidditch captain. James and Remus go over together again, and Sirius leaves very irritated, but of course, little angel, James tells us this:
"Sorry, Moony, just ignore him. It's not you—or Peter, come to that, it's… he got an owl from home this morning." “Oh, right…” Remus looked down. He should have realised. "Yeah, they've told him he's got to go home for the whole summer this year – learn his family duty once and for all, or some rubbish He says he's going to be really bored, but… I dunno, I think he's scared, to be honest. Everyone says they're in pretty deep with you know who." “He'll be ok, though, won't he?” Remus fiddled with the corner of his bedsheet anxiously, “They can't force him to marry anyone again, and he's not of age yet, so he can't join up, or whatever.” James shrugged. He looked very tired too. “I dunno, mate,” he said, softly. "I dunno what they want. Anyway, I'm not going anywhere. Let's start with Potions, shall we?"
and the chapter ends like this, honestly this whole part could even be interesting, starting to see Sirius who distances himself more and more from the family because he doesn't share their ideals but the way it is shown here is really strange.
CHAPTER 70
Exams are underway, and Remus is practically the best among all his friends, even among Lily, James, and Sirius. He then uses his free time to perfect HIS map. The fact that he's the main creator always seems strange to me. Remus is worried about being away from his friends during the summer, since they'll all be truly separated for the first time. Sirius will be forced to stay with his family, Peter will stay with his family and his sister, and Remus is obviously sent to the Muggle orphanage. As we already know, this is NOT CANON compliant. He plans to try to take on other jobs to earn some money, always with the Muggle gang. The idea of Remus being a hooligan and criminal during the summer is also NOT CANON compliant. Remus dozes off leaning against a tree trunk, and when he wakes up, he hears the noisy students coming out of exams. Remus has had a strange (perhaps spicy) dream, and Ferox sees him, and the two talk. The professor says he won't be back next year because Professor Kettleburn will be returning. This interaction is actually cute, the way Remus relates to Ferox, the way the professor congratulates him on his exam results. Remus wondered if he would ever see Professor Ferox again. He still wasn't quite sure how big the wizarding community really was, but he didn't think it could be very large, not if there was only one school in Britain. The fact that Remus doesn't know the wizarding community is NOT CANON compliant, just as the reference to Remus's father being dead, when in canon he is very much alive, is not canon compliant:
"Good lad. Your dad'd be proud."
But the fact that you're thinking of writing to the professor is cute.
We then find out that Mary has been dumped by her Muggle boyfriend, and Lily tells Remus.
The boys talk about it, and Remus hopes the whole snogging thing is over, but Peter (who's an expert now xD) says this:
"Oi, you all promised me the snogging thing was over." Remus said, pointedly, giving them all a dark look. "Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, Moony," Peter grinned.
And that's the end of the chapter. Actually, these interactions between Remus and Peter are really cute.
