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To find out more about this fanlisting please look under the appropriate heading below. If you can't find what you're looking for amongst the information below, however, feel free to contact me about it :)

What is a Fanlisting?

A fanlisting is just what it sounds like. It's a listing of fans of a particular topic or character. For more information please visit the holy land of fanlistings, thefanlistings.org.

Remus & Teddy

Within Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we find that Remus and Dora are expecting a baby. Initially, Remus is distressed as he believes that their unborn child may be a werewolf and that even if it isn't, that it will surely grow up to be ashamed of having a father with the condition. When the Ministry of Magic falls to the Death Eaters, however, Remus's anxiety reaches a climax. Although he clearly still loves his wife and unborn child, he comes to the conclusion that they will be better off without him under the new Death Eater regime which condemns werewolves as well as those associated with werewolves. When he informs Harry of his decision, the latter is angered; being an orphan himself, he tells Remus that he believes parents should never leave their children unless they have no choice. He goes on to say that he believes Remus's actions to be cowardly.

Although Harry's reaction initially embarrasses and hurts Remus, he comes to see that Harry is right. He moves back in with Dora and several months later, he is clearly very glad that he did. Late one stormy night, Remus arrives at Bill and Fleur's home to inform the group staying there that Dora has given birth to a baby boy, who has been named Teddy, in honour of Dora's father. He also informs them that despite being only hours old, Teddy is already showing the signs of being a Metamorphmagus like his mother. Remus is clearly giddy with delight at the birth of his son and, before going back to his new family, he asks Harry to be godfather.

Only a few weeks after this event, which has made Remus look happier than Harry has ever seen him, Remus and Dora end up fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts with both being tragically killed - Remus at the hand of Dolohov and Dora at the hand of Bellatrix - leaving their son an orphan, like Harry had been. Within Harry's own fight, he ends up having to face death himself and to help him with this, he uses the Resurrection Stone left to him by Dumbledore to briefly bring back his closest loved ones - his parents, Sirius, and Remus - to journey with him to find Voldemort in the forest. Remus, who looks younger and healthier, tells Harry that he is sorry he will not get to know his son but he hopes Teddy will grow up knowing that he had died trying "to make a world in which he could live a happier life".

In the end, Harry doesn't die and is able to defeat Voldemort once and for all. In the aftermath of the war, Teddy lives with Dora's mother but is also able to spend a considerable amount of time with his godfather and his parent's other friends from the Order. As a result, it appears that despite not having his mother and his father present, Teddy is still able to live a relatively happy life; precisely what Remus (and Dora) had been fighting for.

SOURCE: Adapted from Remus-Lupin.net.

Why "Protected"?

I believe that "Protected" is an appropriate name for two main reasons. First, Remus's greatest desire from the moment he discovered that he was going to be a father was to protect his child. Although initially he was misguided as to how he might best achieve this - he felt that his unborn child would live a better, safer life without a father who suffered from lycanthropy - he eventually came to see that his child would want him present, werewolf or not. His desire to protect his child continued, however. After Remus is tragically killed at the Battle of Hogwarts, we discover that he was fighting to give his son a better world in which he could live a happier life. In other words, a life where he would be protected from harm.

The second reason I believe that the fanlisting has been appropriately named comes directly from the concept of the Patronus charm; a charm, incidentally, first introduced into the series by Remus as he teaches it to Harry, another orphan. In Latin and Archaic Latin, the word 'patronus' can interchangeably mean 'guardian/protector' or 'father'. Indeed, the incantation itself roughly translates to 'I await (my) guardian/protector/father'. Although all characters experience warmth and protection when using the charm, it seems that it is a particularly significant spell for those who have experienced a loss or otherwise strong emotion toward a loved one. J.K. Rowling has said that "the Patronus often mutates to take the image of the love of one’s life because they so often become the ‘happy thought’ that generates a Patronus" (as demonstrated by both Lily and Dora whose Patronuses - a doe and a wolf - are associated with their husbands) and, taking the charm literally, Harry's Patronus is his father's animagi form, Prongs.

I believe that just as this charm is significant for Harry who had lost his father as a baby, so it will also be significant for Teddy. Remus's desire in life was always to protect his son and through the Patronus charm, perhaps he will always be able to do so if, like Harry, Teddy's Patronus takes his father's animal form, Moony.

Why do I love this relationship?

I think these quotes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, when Teddy’s birth was announced, explain why I love this father/son relationship: "[Remus] seemed dazed by his own happiness" and "He looked years younger than Harry had ever seen him." Remus had been through so much hardship in his life that I was ecstatic to see him have a baby son who he loved so much. Although it is tragic that Remus had so little time with his son, I'm sure he would have been a wonderful father – indeed, his greatest desire when he was alive was to protect his baby (as explained above) and he even kept his son's photograph on him at all times, even in battle. Still, I'm sure that Teddy would have been raised to know how much Remus loved him and would always carry his father with him in spirit throughout his life.