| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Character | |
| The Marauders | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Hair color | Various |
| Eye color | Various |
| Related Family | Various |
| Loyalty | Mostly themselves |
Overview
The Marauders were four Hogwarts students in the same year, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, and James Potter. Like Fred and George Weasley, they excelled at getting into trouble and causing mayhem of the less harmful variety.
Role in the Books
Prisoner of Azkaban
This book reveals the group's existence, although two members are already known separately. It was the Marauders who created the Marauder's Map that was given to Harry by Fred and George Weasley. Three members are reunited in the Shrieking Shack when Lupin and Black combine forces to unmask Pettigrew.
Black and Lupin explain the reason behind the group's nicknames. After discovering that Lupin was a werewolf, the remaining three secretly became Animagi to support their friend during his transformations. They adopted the nicknames Moony (Remus Lupin), Wormtail (Peter Pettigrew), Padfoot (Sirius Black), and Prongs (James Potter); the nicknames were derived from their altered shapes: a werewolf, a rat, a black dog, and a stag, respectively.
James Potter, of course, is dead at this point; however, when Harry Potter is called upon to produce a Patronus, it assumes the same shape as James' Animagus form. This prompts Professor Dumbledore to comment, "Make no mistake: Prongs rode again last night."
Goblet of Fire
Although two individual members appear in this book, as a group they do not play any role in this book.
Order of the Phoenix
In Snape's Pensieve, Harry sees a Marauders episode, one where his father acts rather cruelly towards Severus Snape. This disturbs Harry, damaging his opinion about his father and causing him to take risky measures to communicate with Sirius and Lupin about it.
Half-Blood Prince
Although the two remaining Marauders (Lupin and Pettigrew) appear in this book, they are on opposite sides of the battle lines and do not interact.
Deathly Hallows
Although the two remaining marauders are present in this book, they do not interact. We see Pettigrew in Malfoy Manor twice, the second time resulting in his death; and Lupin appears at The Burrow several times, Grimmauld Place once, and finally falls in the battle at Hogwarts.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Relationships with Other Characters
The Marauders seem to consider themselves somewhat a group apart. The one time we see them directly, they are largely discussing a test just past between themselves. When they do interact with others outside the group, it is primarily playing pranks on Severus Snape, though they do also speak briefly with Lily Evans on that occasion.