Meta: Peter and Remus
Source: Peter and Remus
Do you think Remus really liked Peter and vice versa? Or did they just befriend each other because of James? And being close to James meant being close to each other?
I do think they were genuinely friends and I think their friendship would have been mostly uncomplicated, though probably had undertones of Peter’s friendships with Sirius and James - so a little bit of condescension, a bit of mentoring, wavering respect, just because I think the way Peter presented himself to others forged that kind of dynamic, he’s remembered for being a James and Sirius fanboy.
Both Peter and Remus are quite avoidant characters emotionally and in terms of personal responsibility; Peter’s desperation to be liked and accepted so that he can reap the rewards of social capital makes his real self inaccessible so I don’t see any of his friendships being really deep because they can’t be, and Remus is prone to isolating himself as a form of self-protection. So they both sort of make real closeness difficult for themselves but this probably works in their favour and levels them because neither of them wants to probe or be probed too deeply, so it would probably be a convenient and comfortable dynamic on both sides.
If you take any stock in Pottermore or whatever it’s called these days, Remus supposedly convinced Sirius and James to include Peter in the group, which feels somewhat out of character for the avoidant survivalist adult Remus we see who could just as well have been like “great, these two like me, don’t need that one” so for him to go out of his way for another kid when he could be jumping at the chance to be included by any kid after an isolated childhood does suggest a genuine liking of Peter.
Neville and Peter get equated a lot in fandom and Harry imagines Peter as Neville when he first hears about the night his parents died (”He watched, as though somebody was playing him a piece of film, Sirius Black blasting Peter Pettigrew (who resembled Neville Longbottom) into a thousand pieces”) so I could see Remus treating Peter similarly to how he does Neville in the DADA lessons, like he’s younger but encouraging and understanding (vs James and Sirius’ impatience). In PoA Peter looks to Remus for protection in the Shrieking Shack. Which yes, is because it’s pointless appealing to Sirius and it’s out of desperation more than affinity but I think this is a dynamic that could have carried over from school. Peter sees Remus as kind (or kinder than J and S), as someone who understands him, and possibly Remus did stand up to James and Sirius if they ever laid into Peter vs when they did it to Snape. However, we don’t actually see that in SWM when they’re both harsh on him at different points, and SWM is the baseline for Marauder dynamics (at least at Hogwarts), and we know that Remus wasn’t always good at intervening even when he thought James and Sirius went too far, so maybe he wouldn’t have stepped in for Peter, or maybe he would find it easier to step in when it was their friend being undermined and not Snape.
Other than that there’s not much to go off. I think it’s equally arguable that they were the second twosome of the group by default because James and Sirius split off together, or it’s also valid to think that Peter spent so much time trying to get James and Sirius’ approval that he didn’t form a close friendship with Remus. It’s probably somewhere in the middle. Personally I think they’d have a companionable time together just the two of them - Peter probably felt more comfortable and perhaps acted more naturally without Sirius and James around, and I think that Remus would see a more organic side of Peter that way that was easier to like and connect with.
In terms of whether they just bonded over James (as I think I implied Remus and Sirius did, loosely), I actually think they would be more united in not being James’ #1. Neither of them are Sirius, probably both of them have less patience with Sirius than James does and though I can’t really see Remus and Peter speaking about it much, I think there would be an understanding and relief between them like “yeah they’re NOT normal, we’re the normal friends”. Whereas I do think that James brought together Sirius and Peter, Remus and Sirius, I see Remus and Peter as a bit more organic than that. They would all have been in the same dorm and house regardless but I think if James hadn’t been interested in getting to know Remus or Peter, it would have been a casual group that split off more often - think Harry and Ron & Dean and Seamus or something.
I do think Remus is sort of a natural loner though, so I think had it not been for the pull of the group, he and Peter wouldn’t have been the kind of friends to write regularly and stay in touch simply because I don’t think Remus lets himself get to that point (I think James would be the exception to this going off what I said about James and Remus’ friendship in the other ask, and I also think James is just not the kind of person to let people lose touch with him if he doesn’t want them to) so I think it’s a genuine, simple but probably not a naturally lifelong friendship.
I would say that their friendship wasn't all that impressive. Although, Lupin may have not made fun of Pettigrew much. Pettigrew meanwhile was just a sycophant and an ego boost for Black and Potter. Ultimately, he chose to betray them because he knew that he wasn't valued by them, not to mention him being an opportunist, he realized that Voldemort would be a better option than remaining on the so-called side of the light. My imaginary fifty cents for this meta.
