➳ The Marauder Manual

The Marauder's Backgrounds

There is no absolute right or wrong when it comes to portraying the marauders, but sometimes when we read a marauder fanfiction, it just doesn't seem realistic. Below is some advice on how to portray each of the canon marauders, but bare in mind that this is simply an opinion and by no means the final word. Hope this helps you all!

James Potter: As a child, James was spoilt by his parents (Fleamont and Euphemia Potter). The family was a rich and successful one and money was plentiful, therefore he could have what ever he wanted, whenever he wanted. In his Hogwarts years, James was just as arrogant as he was at home. Think of him like those annoying people in class that think the school rules apply to everyone else but themselves. That, in my opinion, is the perfect way to sum up James at Hogwarts. However, although he treats many like slaves, he values his friends as much as anyone else would. His thirst for glory and popularity brought him to do everything he did with the marauders in school.

Sirius Black: Unlike James, Sirius had an extremely rough childhood. Although they were both pure blooded, the Black family took bloodline way more seriously than the Potter family did. Being the oldest son in the family, Sirius was heavily influenced to follow the same path as the other family members. He was the next in line to be the fully fledged heir to the House of Black, one of the oldest pure blooded families in Great Britain. There was pressure on his shoulders, and a lot of it, but Sirius didn't want this pressure. He did everything he possibly could to aggravate his parents in to giving up. He took an interest in muggle things and muggle girls, payed no attention to them and even ran away from home in his fifth year. It is certain that he was abused by family, so that must have affected him in some way or another. He caused trouble at school, also in hope that his parents would just give up and leave him alone. He just wanted more what you'd call, a 'normal' life.

Remus Lupin: As I'm sure you all know, Remus received a werewolf bite from Fenrir Greyback as a very young boy. He was in no way a 'handsome sight'. Scars ran down all over his face and body from where he had scratched himself during transformations. Although the thoughts and memories still lingered in the back of his mind, he was determined to get on with life as much as he could. Transformations were unbearable in those days, and putting up with life as he had to shows that Remus was extremely courageous, though also uneasy and not very self-confident.

Peter Pettigrew: One of my biggest 'pet peeves' when reading marauder fanfiction would definitely be people describing Peter as a traitor when he was younger. Unless your character is a seer (which I don't recommend), there is no way that anybody would have guessed what would have happened when they grew up. There isn't really much to tell us about Peter in his younger life. We can safely assume that Peter was either a half blood or a pure blood seeing as he later became a death eater and Voldemort would never let a muggle born in. Professor McGonagall also said in The Prisoner of Azkaban that he was 'forever trailing after Sirius Black' telling us that he was clearly part of the group and was not the outcast of the group.