#shall we

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!

We have a fresh start ahead of us to make this world a better place where everyone can be treated well and live a great life... let's make the changes needed to make this a reality... together, we can do this, and together, we must do this!!!

WELCOME 2026!!! 🎉🎊✨️🎆🎇❤️🫂🫂💯💥💫🍾🥂

starting with hope, the whimsical/charming woman who met her knight in shining armour sort of in woods and fell in love?? who literally introduced her to a whole new world? before delving into the horrors, I would like to point out how romcom-esque their encounter is. its fateful but also lyall letting her believe she encountered a scary man and he saved her just cause he can't fully explain boggarts but also cause "yay! she thinks I'm macho!!" (would pay to see him and james potter interact!!!)

hope along with lyall builds a new family with their lovely son and it all seems low-key like a happily ever after only for her son to go through something so traumatic it'd alter all of their lives forever. I sincerely believe the nuances of wizard identity are lost to hope to certain extent. in the sense that, she might not fully empathise with lyall's complicated outlook to this predicament. not to imply she is simple minded at all but because it is easier for her to compartmentalise uniquely magical bigotry. there is also the other route where she has integrated herself somewhat into the world and is having trouble herself facing this new reality and protecting her child. I just think of how powerless she might feel not being able to do magic in those moments. especially when her boggart was said to be a vicious looking man, greyback obviously fitting the descriptors. there is also the implication that she was ill as a result of her constant fear and worry over remus and I don't want to explore that for me being a little pussy reasons.

then we have lyall, a true embodiment of the "what if it happened to your family member?" scenario posed usually to conservatives. he worked for the authority to dehumanize werewolves and antagonize them to an extreme only for his young son to bear the brunt. It's the guilt he might feel for being responsible - maybe there is some added hatred due to resentment - can he sometimes not stand to look remus? not just because what role lyall played, but because of what remus became? is he coming to realizations too late about his ideologies, or does he believe in his misconceptions more than ever cause the harmful creatures he said would harm, did harm? does he "you're not like other werewolves" remus into oblivion?

lyall is so interesting to me and actually important to the entire marauders arc and hp series in a way 😭 a fundamental worldbuilding character tho, conveying politics of the world.

lupin parents had to travel and move, essentially giving up their personal lives forever from the moment remus turned. they had no social life for themselves most likley (at least until remus went to school), had to provide for their son while they also struggled maintaining jobs. misinformed, bigoted and desperate, they also made their son a test subject just to "fix him." (i think there are folks better equipped than me to explore the implications here and parallels to conversion therapy? the conversation has been happening in the fandom space tho) they had to lock up their little boy every month knowing full well it would hurt him and that they can't do anything to help him. they had to leave him alone.

after hope dies and remus moved out, lyall is alone alone in his cottage. he wasn't mentioned being in the order (im not sure if he'd be too old to join or if he died by then, so correct me if im wrong.) he either become a jaded man or just lived his days quietly. and if we can assume some of remus' characteristics onto him, probably believes he deserves this life for the part he played in what happened to remus.

hope and lyall as the parents who belive that if remus tried hard enough, he can overcome his ailment and be normal. after all, he is smart, is friends with smart kids, is gentle and mild-mannered, and dumbledore only has good things to say about him, assuming they ever discuss remus. there is not much research into lycanthropy, so, i can see them have a stance most people have on mental health, along the lines of- "remus you know this will happen every month. try to cheer up," sorta bs. doesn't mean they are abusive. just that they aren't the best, like many parents.

I don't like it when marauders parents are so one note, happy go lucky will go along with anything or downright military etiquette parents. especially when the mom's are presented as only soft sweet warm, as if one toe out of the line means they are bitch- actually that's a whole other rant. I'll shut up.

This is it.

I am and I forever will be this book and this story. I have no other personality than loving, talking, thinking, crying about this book and all the characters.

holy shit I loved every second of it.

I need a few resurrections in the next book (even though I normally hate them) because I am deceased and super duper heartbroken and I will not stand it.