Lupa | Teddy Lupin

Chapter 19 - Ruth Gilmour

Maddie left the Lupins' two days ago and she was reading in her room, a sudden summer storm bringing a swift end to the glorious July weather. A hoodie on and tucked up under a blanket on her bed, she had no presence in the real world, but instead in an old muggle written book about love and frocks and money. She knew it was silly, but it helped her forget.

She did want to forget. Forget about the coming school year and the challenges she knew would be inevitable. The horrors she faced every month and what people knew and said. The exams and work that would take up every free minute of the day. She wanted to forget it all, just for a minute.

A tap on the window tore her from the yellowing pages and she saw a medium sized tawny owl knocking at the window, shaking rain from its feathers. Pulling herself up, she took the Daily Prophet from the owl and handed it a knut before it flew off. She closed the window absentmindedly, drifting across to the small desk squashed into her bedroom, covered in charms books, half filled scrolls of parchment and empty ink bottles. Unfolding the paper she glanced over the headlines.

There was one in particular that caught her eye, making her heart hammer against her chest. In the margin, stated in italics read 'LYCANTHROPY- the beasts of burden in the wizarding world? '. Maddie swallowed against the forming dryness in her throat. She carefully turned the thin pages to page 5 where the article was placed next to a rather smug and proud looking woman with thin orange lips and square glasses perched on her pin straight hair.

LYCANTHROPES - beings of burden?

Article by Ruth Gilmour

It is common knowledge to those of us who were provided with a sufficient education that werewolves have been constantly torn between the category of beast and being departments in the Ministry of Magic. Currently, it stands that the human form of the half-breeds are to be segregated to be a being while affairs regarding their wolfish form are to be taken care of by the beast department. However, inside sources have declared that the members of each department have been reconsidering whether or not werewolves should be placed in one category or not.

Arguments against this movement are the very reasons why these curious half-human, half-monsters were split in the first place. These include that the werewolves in their human form are able to think rationally, have all human emotions and feeling and there are only small differences between werewolves and regular witches and wizards.

However, to counteract that, even in the human form, there are still differences between lycanthropes and us normal people. On that basis, is where the resurrection of the argument began.

Points supporting this argument include, in summary, biological differences, emotional differences, impact on work, and impact on society.

First of all, the DNA is altered in a human when turned into a werewolf. Changes include some that are arguably harmless, such as a desire for rarer meat. Some changes we have always known to have been dangerous, such as the permanent scars that will be left if a non-transformed lycanthrope scratches or bites someone. Results of more evil beings, i.e. Fenrir Greyback, also leaves certain symptoms that indicate that a bite will result in a human lycanthrope.

The third category for the physical changes brought by lycanthropy, are conditions that were previously thought to be harmless but that depiction is now being debated in the Ministry. These conditions include heightened senses (hearing, smell, taste) and the physiological and psychological side effects of these conditions. The discussion is particularly interested given that over the last a hundred or so years, it has been dismissed as a dangerous side effect of the supposedly passive human nature of a lycanthrope, but now, of course, it is up for debate.