Of all the time periods in Harry Potter, the Marauder era has long been one that has captured the imagination of fans. Though there are only a few actual canon scenes during the time itself, many of the characters alive from the era are met later in the series as adults, inspiring great speculation about what their lives (and loves) were like and a whole slew of fan writing.
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While some works of fanfiction endeavor to stick as closely to the facts as possible, others take unexpected, yet delightful turns. Here are 10 Marauders’ era fanfiction relationships we wish were real.
Remus Lupin x Sirius Black
Of all the Marauder era ships, the one between Remus Lupin and Sirius Black is by far the most popular. Wolfstar, as it is fondly nicknamed, paying homage to Remus’s lycanthropy and Sirius’s animagus form, has over 350 more fics written for it than any other pairing in the “Marauder” tag on AO3, the largest collection of online fanworks anywhere, and nearly 16,000 total fics across the platform. This should come as no surprise though, given that the pair were obviously close in youth, and tied closely together in adulthood.
As the only surviving (good) members of the Marauders, they have a wealth of shared history between them that no one else could ever understand. Not to mention, they carry a great deal of angst between them that is rife for exploration, e.g. Lupin believed Sirius capable of killing Lily and James and Sirius believed at some point that Lupin was a traitor as well. But there’s a reason Dumbledore instructed Sirius to “Lay low at Lupin’s” in the final scenes of Goblet of Fire… and fans love to explore it. The relationship between the duo was so cogent that even Lupin’s actor, David Thewlis, and Prisoner of Azkaban Director, Alfonso Cuarón both believed that they were actually in love with each other…
James Potter x Sirius Black
Another beloved pairing is the one between James and Sirius. Filling a different trope to Sirius and Lupin (the bookworm and the rebel), James and Sirius hit at a different well-worn theme of romantic fiction; childhood best friends. It is made explicitly clear that the two were thick as thieves in their youth, finishing one another’s sentences and pranks. In one of only two Marauder era scenes that J.K. Rowling ever wrote, the audience gets treated to the duo sneaking out to do mischief and overtly canonizing the strength of their bond.
Sirius thinks of James often in his scenes, and is clearly unable to let go of his long-lost friend. In Order of the Phoenix, he even shares that James took him in when he ran away from home before he turned 17. In many ways, James was an escape for Sirius, a path away from the darkness of his family, and towards the way of light.
Sirius Black x Severus Snape
In many ways, Sirius and Snape are foils of one another. Snape was born a half-blood, but always craved Sirius’s pure-blood status, he was raised poor, while Sirius was rich, and longed for acceptance among the ranks of powerful dark wizards, while Sirius longed to abolish his connection to them.
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If circumstances had been tweaked slightly, Sirius and Snape could have each been one another, a fact which both of them would surely despise given the great resentment between them. However, as every fanfiction writer knows, resentment… aka tension… is a great place to start. With so much hate between the two, the relationship between Sirius and Snape is overtly a passionate one, full of vicious determination to never change their attitudes towards one another.
As the old adage says, there’s a thin line between love and hate.
Severus Snape x Remus Lupin
Ultimately, Remus is the only Marauder that Snape really forgives, an important truth reflected in a memory Snape shows Harry in Deathly Hallows, where he saves Lupin’s life. Lupin was always the quietest of the Marauders, and of all of them, appears to have had the most change of heart when it comes to Snape, chiding Harry to respect him when they are all together at Hogwarts in Prisoner of Azkaban, and offering a great deal of compassion to his one-time enemy himself, even when the man outs his status as a werewolf. The two have an incredibly complex relationship, but despite this, work together at points in the series, and even help one another out.
Lily Evans x Remus Lupin
From what the audience sees and knows of Lily Evans, the woman did not mess around. Lily had her feet firmly on the ground, possessed a kindness in her heart, and had a true sharpness of brain. Given all these qualities, some fans feel she would have been better suited as the other half of bookish, quiet, Remus Lupin versus hot-head, sometimes-bully, James Potter. This pairing is especially highlighted by scenes from the third Harry Potter movie, where Remus talks of Lily fondly, saying that she had been there for him in hardship and implying that she saw beauty in him when he couldn’t see it for himself, sentiments that seem to transcend friendly and cross into romantic. Whether there was something between the two at any point is never made clear in the series, but it is definitely a fanfiction relationship with a lot to explore.
Lily Evans x Marlene McKinnon
Sometimes, fanfiction relationships are based on little more than speculation, which is exactly the case between Marlene and Lily. Although little is known about Marlene, her death is mentioned emotionally in a letter Lily writes to Sirius during the war, marking her as the only female friend Lily is known to have had. With both of them in the order together, and likely, also at school together, they are popular choice for a femslash Marauder era pairing.
Lucius Malfoy x Bellatrix Black
There seems to be a lot of tension between Bellatrix and Lucius in their later years, constantly fighting over who has greater loyalty to Lord Voldemort, as well as who will get the credit for their misdeeds, but such tension doesn’t come from just anywhere. At some point, both Lucius and Bellatrix were students at Hogwarts together, and while Lucius may have ended up with youngest sister, Narcissa, it seems he and Bellatrix share a passion for evil that Lucius’s ultimate choice lacked.
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With this in mind, fanfic authors everywhere like to imagine what this relationship might have looked like if it was real… Even if short-lived.
Narcissa Black x Severus Snape
Another interesting matchup in Marauder era fanfiction is between Narcissa Black and Severus Snape. For Narcissa, Snape might have been a less intense option than Lucius, and for Snape, Narcissa may have seemed like the golden ticket into the life he’d always dreamed of. Certainly, later in the series, Narcissa views Snape as a trusted friend, turning to him even in the face of possible treason to help save her son.
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Both Narcissa and Severus are also willing to betray Lord Voldemort in the names of the ones they love, leading fans to consider what might have been if those people had been one another.
Igor Karkaroff x Lucius Malfoy
While Karkaroff likely attended Durmstrang, he and Lucius appear to have met somewhere around Lucius’s Hogwarts days, as both were Death Eaters during the first part of the war. While Death Eaters often wear masks to conceal identities, it’s clear Lucius and Karkaroff maintain familiarity in their lives after the first fall of Voldemort. In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Draco mentions his father thought of sending him to Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts, noting that his father knows the headmaster, Karkaroff. Although the relationship between them is largely left to the imagination, being Death Eaters hiding their true identities in a post-war world must have required some companionship.
Dumbledore x Anyone
While there are no obvious options for a Dumbledorean romance, especially given his tragic relationship with Grindelwald, fans hope that at some point in his life, the wizard had a space in his heart for another relationship. Dumbledore was around during the Marauder era, though hard at work tackling the first rise of Voldemort. Perhaps, this stressful time was made simpler by some wizard or another.
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