Remus Lupin/Draco Malfoy (Harry Potter)

[megstuff.livejournal.com]

Title: Of Wolves & Dragons
Author: slippyslope
Spoilers: minor for entire series, major for Prisoner of Azkaban & The Order of the Phoenix
E-mail: slippyslope at earthlink dot net

I am dreadfully late, and I stole daralis's title. My apologies for both.

"Look at the state of his robes," Malfoy would say in a loud whisper as Professor Lupin passed. "He dresses like our old house elf."

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

It's not the most auspicious beginning for a relationship. In fact, it's probably grounds for detention. And it gets worse. To Draco Malfoy's snobbery, you've got to add his contempt for the non-pureblooded, and his fear of werewolves. And then there's the fact that he and Professor Remus J. Lupin are seen together for less than a hundred words in the entire series. It's not impossible that we'll never see Remus Lupin and Draco Malfoy together in canon again. In fact, it's quite possible that we won't.

But in fan fiction, there are other possibilities.

Of Roles & Masks

"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

His first interaction with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is perfectly in character for Draco Malfoy. From his earliest scenes, we see that status is important to him and that he thinks it is important to others. The heir of a wealthy, well-connected, and powerful wizarding family, Draco is attracted to authority figures (his father, Potions Master Severus Snape) but even moreso to figures of power (hence his rudeness to Lupin - an authority figure, yes, but not an obviously powerful one.)

To his frustration, Draco’s own power is rather limited. He’s not the best Quidditch player in school. He’s not at the top of his class. And, in Chamber of Secrets, when Draco wants very badly to assist the Heir of Slytherin in purging the school of mixed-blood Wizards, his father instructs him to stay out of it. It’s not clear how much help he could have given, anyhow; despite his boasting about his family’s collection of Dark artefacts, his feverish reaction to the attack on groundskeeper Filch’s cat suggests that he’s actually had very little exposure to this kind of thing.

Which is by no means to suggest that Malfoy is a sweet and innocent child. He is often rude, can be a bully, and is certainly a prankster (very much like his cousin Sirius was in his own school days). Indeed, he puts a great deal of energy into tormenting his classmates. Whether making up songs to mock a Quidditch rival or doing impressions of the over-eager Colin Creevey, Draco will put on a show at the drop of a hat. (And his obsequiousness to Professor Snape and to Hogwarts High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge can be seen as a show of another sort.) Whatever else he is, Draco Malfoy is a consummate performer.

"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure."

Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

So, in a more subtle way, is Remus Lupin. Where Malfoy performs to draw attention, Lupin presents to the world a carefully constructed mask, designed to deflect attention. Of course, he has a good reason to be secretive: Lupin is a werewolf. His ability to live among wizards depends on keeping his nature hidden.

Because he is so well-masked, it's hard to know exactly what to make of Lupin. His behavior throughout the series leaves conflicting impressions. He most often presents himself as mild and pleasant, but that very pleasantness can contain a threat (as when he advises the Dursleys that he will know about it if Harry is treated badly.) There is a sense that even when he is acting friendly, his intentions may not be entirely nice (calling Snape "Severus" when Snape clearly does not think they are on a first-name basis). And though he is generally patient and reasonable, he certainly can make it known when he’s angry (his sharp criticism of Harry over the Marauder’s Map; Sirius Black’s suggestion in OotP that Remus has given him an earful about Dolores Umbridge.)

These contradictory impressions stem, I think, from Remus’ own internal conflicts. In his student days, he struggled to reconcile his need for his friends’ acceptance with his desire to do what he thought was right. Even as an adult—and when the stakes are much higher—he keeps to himself information that could have helped capture an escaped murderer. The cost to him—revealing that he had betrayed a trust—is too high.

In the end, he pays a price anyhow. A man whose life has already been full of loss now loses a job–one of the few available to him and one to which he is very well suited. His lycanthropy (or more accurately, Wizard prejudice against it) is partial cause, but his own poor judgment is equally to blame. For reasons beyond his control and reasons that he fails to control, Lupin loses the connections that were so hard to come by.

Turning Points

"I'm not a very popular dinner guest with most of the community," said Lupin. "It's an occupational hazard of being a werewolf."

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Fast forward a few years, from Prisoner of Azkaban to The Order of the Phoenix, and things have gotten worse for Remus. Thanks to new Ministry legislation, he's virtually unemployable. He's about to embark on a war that he knows well is going to be difficult and costly, on behalf of a society that is increasingly distrustful of "Dark Creatures" like him. Even his allies show a marked fear of his affliction: "A werewolf?" whispered Mrs. Weasley [on learning who is sharing her husband’s hospital room]. "Is he safe in a public ward? Shouldn’t he be in a private room?"

There is at least one person for whom Lupin’s lycanthropy is not an issue: Sirius Black, a very dear and long lost friend (and maybe much more) with whom he has been reunited. It is an all too brief reunion. Sirius, a fugitive after his escape from Azkaban, grows increasingly restless and erratic during his forced stay at his family home, and insists on joining an Order mission to the Ministry of Magic. A battle of curses ensues and Sirius is hit, disappearing through a mysterious veiled archway. It is a blow painful enough to break through even Remus’s reserve: "He can’t come back, Harry," said Lupin, his voice breaking as he struggled to contain Harry. "He can’t come back, because he’s d—"...Lupin turned away from the archway as he spoke. It sounded as though every word was causing him pain.

Draco, for his part, hasn't fared much better. The year starts off well enough, to be sure: he is made prefect, Dolores Umbridge is appointed by the Ministry to rein in Dumbledore, and the eternal thorn in his side, Harry Potter, is discredited and mocked daily in the Wizard press. When Potter is banned from Quidditch after a fistfight with Draco, his cup truly must have run over.

But as they always do for our Mr. Malfoy, things fall apart. Before the year is out, Umbridge is dismissed from Hogwarts. By joining her Inquisitorial Squad, Malfoy has openly allied himself with forces opposed to Dumbledore; a move calculated to bring himself closer to power, and a move that has almost certainly backfired. Classmates who may not have minded his vendetta against Potter and Company are less likely to forgive his support of Umbridge and her draconian Educational Decrees. And as the news circulates that Lord Voldemort has indeed returned, Harry Potter is restored to his position as the Boy Wonder of the Wizarding world.

But his classmates are the least of Draco's problems. In the wake of the disastrous raid on the Ministry, Lucius Malfoy is revealed as a Death Eater and sent to Azkaban. The veneer of social acceptability that Malfoy Sr. has created since Voldemort’s defeat is shattered; whether or not he is able to regain his public position, his image is certainly tainted. Draco sees his father—the sun around which his world revolves—humiliated, imprisoned, and worst of all, taken away from him.

Both in the smaller world of Hogwarts, and the larger Wizarding World, the Malfoy star seems to be fading. There are more shocks coming. Draco's naivete about Dark Magic and the Dark Lord won't last much longer. Support for Voldemort is no longer a matter of contraband under the drawing room floor, or making sport of Muggles at the Quidditch World Cup. Allegiances are going to be challenged. (Indeed, though Draco doesn't yet know it, Severus Snape, his one remaining authority figure, is a spy for his father's enemies.) Lives are going to be lost. The Wizarding World is going to change.

New Directions

Given the events of book five, it's not surprising that most Remus/Draco fic has been written since, and is set after, OotP. Draco has been stripped of the supports that define his world, and Lupin has lost what little remains to him. We find two isolated and needy people, both at odds with their own worlds, both facing a frightening future. And while that future may not draw them together in canon, there are dozens of ways that it could. Draco could turn spy (a la anise_anise). He could be punished by Voldemort for his father's mistakes (as theladyfeylene suggests). He could simply need a guardian following his father's imprisonment (as in ociwen's Legacy).

Whatever happens, Draco is about to find himself in a new world, one where his father's name holds little sway, one that he has no idea how to navigate. He will need a teacher.

Draco had never eaten beans on toast before, and he knew he should turn up his nose, but he really was hungry and that wasn't something he knew how to deal with, not really.

Lupin smiled slightly. "I promise to tell everyone you thought it was disgusting."

Domestic by crimsonclad

And whatever his faults may be, Remus Lupin is a good teacher. He uses patience, creativity, and a sense of humor to bring out the best in his students. A man who can figure out how to make the nervous Neville Longbottom shine can certainly bring out Draco's potential. And perhaps in Draco Remus can find a way to lay his own ghosts. If he "failed miserably" with Sirius, he has an opportunity to set things right this time. He "never had the guts" to tell Sirius he was wrong; maybe he has the guts now to tell Draco what he needs to hear.

Other Paths

If other members of the Order glance at Remus in pity now, wondering how he'd let himself be betrayed, they get no answers. Neither do the ones who blame Remus and think him a traitor, because Death Eater scum are Death Eater scum, and you can't change them, Lupin.

The Devil You Know by switchknife

Of course, this isn't the only direction the pairing can take. They could both choose to follow the paths they are on (a non-choice well in keeping with Lupin's passivity and Draco's tendency to toe his father's line). Draco could go on to be a Death Eater, and Remus could continue to fight for the Order, and their relationship could be defined by the War.

Or maybe, as amanuensis1 suggests, they will both just walk away from it all.

There is also undoubtedly fic to be written about their relationships with Snape, Draco's Head of House and Lupin's schoolboy enemy and reluctant ally. There is vengeful Remus to explore; how will he take his revenge on Narcissa and Lucius for their part in Sirius' death? And what about the Black family connection? Does Remus see anything of Sirius in his young cousin? (For a fantastically creepy answer, see fleshdress's The Dreaming.)

Possibly because the canon events that make the pairing possible are climactic and unresolved, stories in this ship are often plot-driven, exploring the implications of the Voldemort's rise and the ongoing political fragmentation of the Wizarding world (the most complex of these stories being cursive's tour de force Minor Arcana.)

But this is also a pairing that seems to encourage playing with different characterizations. For every Remus, there is a Draco. Clever and playful Draco entertains a dryly-amused Remus; Spoiled Draco meets his match in Ruthless Remus; Predator Remus stalks Weak Draco. There are as many permutations are there are interpretations of the two characters. I think it's safe to say I've read just about every story written about the pairing, and I find something new in it with each new story.

Of Wishes and Choices

Like anyone who ships a rarepair, I'm used to a certain "Remus/Draco? Really?" reaction when I say that I ship them. But there's another reaction that's just as common: "Oh, yes. I can really see that." I think there's something intuitively appealing about the pairing since OotP, and that's what I've tried to address here.

If I'm honest though, I have to admit that for me this ship is almost completely a matter of wish-fulfillment. I'm sure it's clear that my take on the pairing is Draco-centric; I ship them because I think Lupin can offer Draco something that no other character can or will: the opportunity to make his own choices.

In Draco Malfoy, we meet a sheltered kid who has grown up with a strictly-ingrained set of beliefs and expectations. I don't dismiss Draco's character flaws; even at eleven, he was old enough to know better than to be rude to his teachers and classmates. But I can't hold a 15 year old who's never been shown how to make his own choices—who may not really know that there are choices beyond what his family offers—responsible for what he believes.

I don't want any particular outcome for Draco, "redemption" least of all. He may very well choose to follow his father's path. That would be a fair ending. But to never have a caring adult to teach him how to make his own decisions, how to become his own person, how to choose, well ... that's not fair to any kid.

After all, as a wise old man once said: "It's our choices that show what we truly are."

Resources

remus_draco: a new community for fic, art, essays, etc.

There isn't a great deal of Remus/Draco fic out there, but what there is is quite good. In addition to the stories linked in the essay, I especially recommend:

Aconite by toscas_kiss
A Little Protective by moshes
After the Storm has Passed by donnaimmaculata

Find more at the Remus/Draco Master List

And, because a picture is worth a thousand words, I leave you with:

sherant's lovely, not worksafe, NC-17, Remus/Draco.

If that doesn't win you over, nothing will.