Warning! At least some content in this article is derived from information featured in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery.

As such, spoilers will be present within the article.

"You have only ever seen me amongst the Order, or under Dumbledore's protection at Hogwarts! You don't know how most of the wizarding world sees creatures like me! When they know of my affliction, they can barely talk to me!" —Werewolf Remus Lupin regarding his affliction[src]

A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope,[1] is a human being who, upon the complete rising of the full moon, becomes an uncontrollable, fearsome and deadly wolf. This condition is caused by infection with lycanthropy, also known as werewolfry.[2] Werewolves appear in the form of a wolf but, there are distinctions between them and regular wolves.

A mixture of powdered silver and dittany applied to a fresh bite will seal the wound and allow the victim to live on as a werewolf, although tragic tales are told of knowing victims begging for death rather than becoming werewolves.[3] The Wolfsbane Potion, invented by Damocles, allows the werewolf to keep their human mind during transformation.[3]

A werewolf cannot choose whether or not to transform and will no longer remember who they are and would kill even their best friend given the opportunity once transformed.[4] Despite this, they are able to recall everything they have experienced throughout their transformation upon reverting to their human form.[4]

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Infection

"To become a werewolf, it is necessary to be bitten by a werewolf in their wolfish form at the time of the full moon. When the werewolf’s saliva mingles with the victim’s blood, contamination will occur." —How a wizard becomes a werewolf[src]

Lycanthropy is a magical illness known to be spread by contact between saliva and blood; thus, when a transformed werewolf bites a human, the bitten will become a werewolf themselves.[3] Most Muggles, however, will die from the extent of their injuries in the instance of a werewolf attack as noted by Professor Marlowe Forfang, though some do survive to become werewolves themselves.[3] If a werewolf is in human form and bites the victim, they will merely gain lupine tendencies such as a fondness for rare meat.[3] Any bite or scratch obtained from a werewolf, whether in human or animal form, will leave permanent scars.[3] However, the fresh wound can be sealed with a mixture of powdered silver and dittany.

The only known human born to at least one werewolf parent (untransformed at time of conception) was Teddy Lupin, son of werewolf Remus and human metamorphmagus Nymphadora Tonks. Teddy did not inherit his father's condition, however it is unknown if it definitively cannot be passed on in this manner or if Teddy did not inherit the condition from pure chance as other than Teddy, there was no documentation of a werewolf having a child in human form. In Teddy's case it was his father who was a werewolf, not his mother, therefore it is unknown if a pregnant female werewolf's transformations would affect the ability to carry the pregnancy to term.

If two werewolves mate at the full moon, in their animal forms, something very strange happens.[3] The result of their mating, which has only ever occurred twice throughout history, has been a pack of wolf cubs — actual wolf cubs — who grow to become very beautiful wolves and can only be distinguished from true wolves by their near-human intelligence.[3]

Thus, rumours of werewolves living in the Forbidden Forest in the grounds at Hogwarts Castle are actually about a pack of lupine werewolf offspring that was released into the woods with the kind permission of Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of the School, and has lived there ever since.[3] Teachers have never tried to dispel these rumours because they felt that keeping students out of the forest was highly desirable.[3]

Treatments

"The many Muggle myths and legends surrounding werewolves are, in the main, false, although some contain nuggets of truth. Silver bullets do not kill werewolves, but a mixture of powdered silver and dittany applied to a fresh bite will ‘seal’ the wound and prevent the victim bleeding to death (although tragic tales are told of victims who beg to be allowed to die rather than to live on as werewolves)." —Treatments that can be done in order to prevent death[src]

Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for lycanthropy. However, some of the worst effects can be mitigated by consuming Wolfsbane Potion, which allows a werewolf to retain his or her human mind while transformed, thus freeing him or her from the worry of harming other humans or themselves.[3] It is a very difficult potion to make, with many complicated ingredients.[3] According to Remus Lupin, it tastes disgusting but sugar makes it useless.[4][3] The high cost of the ingredients makes it virtually impossible for werewolves to brew the potion for themselves, as most are reduced to poverty and cannot taste the potion without revealing their statuses.[3] Because werewolves only pose a danger to humans, companionship with animals whilst transformed has been known to make the experience more bearable as the werewolf has no-one to harm and will be less willing to harm themselves.[3]

According to Gilderoy Lockhart, the Homorphus Charm can force a werewolf back into human shape. However, due to Lockhart's reputation as a liar, and the many falsehoods he told to inflate his popularity, his information is highly suspect — as is the very existence of a Homorphus Charm in the first place. However, as many of Lockhart's claims are also based on the accounts of more trustworthy wizards (accomplishments he would claim for himself, following the disposal of the originating witch or wizard), there is a chance that the charm does, in fact, exist.[5]

In the 1980s Cecil Lee, a wizard working for the Ministry of Magic's Werewolf Capture Unit, told Jacob's Sibling that he had used the Homorphus Charm during his job. However, for him, the charm "only" forced the werewolf to temporarily revert to human form rather than permanently curing them as Lockhart claimed. Though as Lee was a fan of Lockheart's, he believed that this was due to his own inability to perfectly cast the charm.[6]

Contrary to what the Muggle world believes, werewolves are not affected by silver, except in that it can be used in the mixture of powdered silver and dittany to prevent death and merely closes their wounds to prevent bleeding in a severe werewolf attack.[3] There may certainly be several other ways and solutions to prevent and heal werewolf injuries, as Quirinus Quirrell taught about the topic in first year Defence against the Dark Arts class. None of them, of course, could completely cure an afflicted person once they are bitten, but can merely prevent and close the physical wounds on the skin.

Description

Monthly transformations

"There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws" —Description of a Remus Lupin's transformation[src]

The monthly transformation of a werewolf is extremely painful if untreated and is usually preceded and succeeded by a few days of pallor and ill health. The werewolf may display irritation towards friends.[3] While in his or her wolfish form, the werewolf loses entirely its human sense of right or wrong. However, it is incorrect to state (as some authorities have, notably Professor Emerett Picardy in his book Lupine Lawlessness: Why Lycanthropes Don’t Deserve to Live) that they suffer from a permanent loss of moral sense.

While human, the werewolf may be as good or kind as the next person. Alternatively, they may be dangerous even while human, as in the case of Fenrir Greyback, who attempts to bite and maim as a man and keeps his nails sharpened into claw-like points for the purpose. Though werewolves usually only infect their victims through biting, they sometimes take it too far and kill their victims.[3]

Without any humans nearby to attack, or other animals to occupy it, the werewolf will attack itself out of frustration. This leaves many werewolves such as Remus Lupin with self-inflicted scars and premature ageing from the difficult transformations.[4]

Appearance and traits

Werewolves can be easily distinguished from regular wolves by their shorter snout, more human-like eyes, the tufted tail, and their mindless hunting of humans whilst in wolf form.[3] At all other times, they appear as normal humans, although they will age prematurely, and will gain a pallor as the moon approaches and then wanes.[3]

The real difference between a wolf and a werewolf is in behaviour.[3] Genuine wolves are not very aggressive, and the vast number of folk tales representing them as mindless predators are now believed by wizarding authorities to refer to werewolves, not true wolves. A wolf is unlikely to attack a human except under exceptional circumstances. The werewolf, however, targets humans almost exclusively and poses very little danger to any other creature.[3]

Reputation

Prejudice and discrimination

"The stigma surrounding werewolves has been so extreme for centuries that very few have married and had children." —The prejudice surrounding werewolves in the magical community[src]

Werewolves are generally regarded with fear and disgust by wizarding society. People seem to think even when in human form, the werewolf may pose a danger. It is not uncommon for people known to be werewolves to be shunned by society and discriminated against within the wizarding world. It is very difficult for a werewolf to get a job in the wizarding community, especially after the passing of restrictive anti-werewolf legislation by the very prejudiced and hateful Dolores Umbridge in the 1990s.[7]

Umbridge drafted this legislation due to her irrational and vitriolic hatred for what she considered to be "half-breeds". Because of the difficulty in finding work in the wizarding world, many werewolves live in poverty. It also forced some, like Remus Lupin to take jobs far below their abilities. After Lord Voldemort's defeat in 1998, the anti-werewolf legislation was most likely repealed by the new Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, in his effort to reform the Ministry of Magic, therefore weeding out corruption and not tolerating prejudice and discrimination.

As a result of the anti-werewolf legislation, many werewolves suffer poverty. Remus Lupin managed to get by with the aid of his friend James Potter[8] and later by working as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. Though in between he had to work at many jobs that are far below his level of abilities, resigning and moving on to another before his workmates notice his signs of lycanthropy. Lupin did this while living in a tumbledown, semi-derelict cottage in Yorkshire. He decided to resign from this position after his condition was exposed, by Severus Snape, as most parents would not want their children being around a werewolf, despite the safety precautions Remus and Albus Dumbledore took; Remus stated that it would have been impossible for him to even attend Hogwarts as a child if it were not for Dumbledore's kindness, as other headmasters would not want a werewolf in the school.[4]

In a display of ignorance and arrogance, the Ministry expected werewolves would submit themselves to the department to sign various conducts and registries, which would also force the werewolves to promise to secure themselves from attacking others. No person would be prepared to walk into the Ministry to admit themselves as werewolves, thus showing the Ministry's lack of respect of werewolves' intelligence and dignity. Lyall Lupin, in particular, regarded werewolves as "soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death", until his own son was infected as a result of his prejudicial comment.

Given Kingsley Shacklebolt's friendship with Remus Lupin and the furthering of Muggle-born and house-elf rights after 1998, it is likely that the reforms of the Ministry under Minister for Magic Shacklebolt included less prejudicial treatment of werewolves.

Retaliation

Harry Potter: "How come they like Voldemort?" Remus Lupin: "They think that, under his rule, they will have a better life. " — Werewolves' involvement in the Second Wizarding War[src]

Due to the oppression and discrimination they face, some werewolves have come to hate the wizarding society, and as such have created their own society. Under Fenrir Greyback's leadership, this society works to infect as many people as possible, especially children, with the goal of one day having enough strength to take control of the wizarding community.

The werewolves under Greyback's command served Lord Voldemort in the Second Wizarding War, believing that they would have a better life under his rule, though Remus Lupin spied on them for the Order of the Phoenix.[9] and the Death Eaters looked down on them; for example, they were not permitted to have the Dark Mark.[10] They were used as a threat to ensure ordinary citizens' compliance with Voldemort; for example, five-year-old Montgomery was fatally attacked by Greyback after his mother refused to cooperate with the Death Eaters.[9]

Although only Greyback is explicitly mentioned as participating, werewolves under Greyback's command may have fought alongside the Death Eaters in the Battle of Hogwarts.[10] They were most likely sentenced to Azkaban for life for uniting with Lord Voldemort, or killed for resisting arrest. It is unknown whether this was the only occurrence of the society, though it is implied that it was a new idea of Greyback's. Likewise, it is unknown whether all werewolves in the society were caught, or — as it was "underground" — some of the members evaded capture and continued their efforts.

Ministry relations

The Ministry of Magic attempts to regulate werewolves and thus the relationship that exists between them and the Ministry is a rocky one. According to Newton Scamander, werewolves have been shunted between the Beast and Being divisions of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for years.

At one point, the Werewolf Registry and Werewolf Capture Unit were both in the Beast Division, while at the same time the office for Werewolf Support Services was in the Being Division. These regulations and services were ultimately a failure, as no one would be prepared to walk into the Ministry to admit themselves as werewolves, and thus none took the prescribed responsibilities of the Werewolf Code of Conduct.

The Werewolf Code of Conduct of 1637 was meant to give Werewolves a framework for coexisting safely and legally within the wizarding world. Werewolves were required to sign a copy of the Code and promise to refrain from attacking and biting non-werewolves. They were also supposed to lock themselves away during their wolf transformation periods. As no werewolf was willing to sign it, the Ministry had huge difficulty in hunting down culprits of these attacks, such that Fenrir Greyback was able to act innocent in regards to him murdering two Muggle children.[3]

Werewolves are classified as a XXXXX creature in their transformed state. Dolores Umbridge herself incorrectly referred to werewolves as half-breeds, and has drafted an anti-werewolf legislation that made it almost impossible for werewolves to find a job.

Even when the Ministry was taken over by the Death Eaters, relationship between the bureaucracy and werewolves remained strained. Death Eaters and their supremacist allies look down on werewolves, only using them as foot soldiers and to intimidate the rest of the wizarding world into submission. They did let the werewolves have more freedom of movement than before the takeover, but in no way showed they were equals; Greyback was not given the Dark Mark despite being permitted to wear the Death Eater's robe, and genuine Death Eaters looked down on him, while Greyback himself acknowledged that if he took Harry Potter to the Ministry, he would be left out of any credits for capturing him. It was not until after the Second Wizarding War, in which Kingsley Shacklebolt took the position of Minster for Magic, did the Ministry's relationship with werewolves improve. Kingsley posthumously awarded his werewolf friend, Remus Lupin, the Order of Merlin, First Class, for his bravery in the war, the first time in history that a werewolf has been accorded this honour. The example of his life and death played an important role in lifting the stigma on werewolves among the wizarding society.

Wizarding education

Wizarding children are educated about werewolves from a young age and information about them can be found in various Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry textbooks, for example The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.

Werewolves have been mentioned several times in connection with Harry Potter's Defence Against the Dark Arts Professors, as they are dark creatures which are heavily studied throughout the class. Quirinus Quirrell had encountered them in Black Forest, and at one point discussed in class how to treat werewolf bites.[11] Gilderoy Lockhart, supposedly, once defeated the Wagga Wagga Werewolf, something that may be discussed in his book Wandering with Werewolves. Lockhart eventually confessed to Ron and Harry that an 'ugly old Armenian warlock' had actually performed the rescue of a village from werewolves that he himself had taken credit for. Remus Lupin, of course, is a werewolf.

Werewolves were discussed in a third year Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson, with an essay assigned by Severus Snape when he once substituted for Lupin, although werewolves were not due to be covered until the last chapter of the third-year DADA textbook.[12]

Victims of lycanthropy

Werewolves

"Nearly all of them are on Voldemort's side." —Remus Lupin regarding Greyback's pack[src]

Other victims

"Greyback attacked him. Madam Pomfrey says he won't — won't look the same anymore.... We don't really know what the aftereffects will be — I mean, Greyback being a werewolf, but not transformed at the time" —Ginny regarding Greyback's attack on Bill Weasley[src]

Wizard Notes Bill Weasley Attacked by Fenrir Greyback while he was in human form; Bill did not actually become a werewolf, although he did obtain some lupine tendencies (particularly a liking for rare steaks). Defenders of Hogwarts It can be assumed that there were more victims at the battle that suffered from lycanthrophy to some degree in later days. It would be similar to the effects suffered by Bill Weasley at the hands of Fenrir Greyback. Although Greyback is described as 'a grey streak,' suggesting he is in his animalistic form, during the battle and biting people that were down, it can be assumed that he was, in fact, in human form, as Remus Lupin was also in the Battle in human form. Lavender Brown Savaged by Fenrir Greyback during the Battle of Hogwarts, later died from her injuries.

Published works

There are many books containing information on werewolves, whether it is the main subject or just mentioned:

See also

Etymology

The word werewolf is from Old English wer ("man") and wulf ("wolf").

The term comes from Ancient Greek λυκάνθρωπος, λύκος being "wolf" and άνθρωπος translating to "human".

Behind the scenes

Appearances

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Notes and references







