Hope Howell

Hope Howell was a Welsh Muggle, the wife of the wizard Lyall Lupin, and the mother of Remus Lupin. A beautiful and kind woman, her life was irrevocably altered when her young son was attacked and infected with lycanthropy by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback. She dedicated the remainder of her life to caring for Remus and managing his condition, a secret that isolated her family and caused her immense sorrow. All information regarding her life comes from supplementary material written by J.K. Rowling (Pottermore).

Hope Howell was a beautiful Muggle who worked in an insurance office in Cardiff, Wales. One day, while walking through a dense forest, she was frightened by a Boggart which had taken the form of a large and vicious-looking man. She was rescued by a young wizard named Lyall Lupin, an authority on Non-Human Spirituous Apparitions working for the Ministry of Magic. Hope found Lyall's shyness endearing, and he was captivated by her beauty and good humour. They fell in love and married several months later (Pottermore). Lyall did not initially tell Hope that he was a wizard, fearing it would ruin their relationship. He eventually confessed, and to his immense relief, Hope took the revelation in stride, confessing she had suspected something magical about him. A year into their marriage, their only child, Remus John Lupin, was born (Pottermore). The family's happiness was shattered when Lyall Lupin, during his work for the Ministry, insulted Fenrir Greyback, proclaiming that werewolves were “soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death.” Enraged, Greyback sought revenge by attacking the Lupins' young son. While Lyall had placed protective enchantments on the house, Greyback managed to force his way in and permanently infected Remus with lycanthropy before being driven off by Lyall (Pottermore). For the rest of her life, Hope became the primary caregiver for Remus during his monthly transformations. The family moved frequently to prevent neighbours from discovering their secret. The constant stress and secrecy took a toll on Hope's once-joyful personality. While her husband searched for a cure that did not exist, Hope managed the difficult and dangerous reality of locking her son away each full moon. She died at some point before Remus Lupin rejoined the Order of the Phoenix in 1995. Remus, who was undercover amongst a werewolf pack at the time, felt he could not attend her funeral without revealing his allegiances and compromising his family's long-held secret (Pottermore).

Hope Howell is described as being a “beautiful” Welsh woman. Initially, she was cheerful and possessed a “wicked sense of humour.” She was also accepting and brave, demonstrated by her calm reaction to learning that magic was real and her future husband was a wizard. The immense strain of her son's condition and the constant secrecy it required eventually eroded her happy disposition, leaving her with a life of anxiety and sorrow, though her deep love for her son and husband never wavered (Pottermore).

As a Muggle, Hope Howell possessed no magical abilities and could not perform magic. Her role in her son's life was one of a non-magical caregiver, relying on courage and love rather than spells to manage a magical affliction.

No specific possessions of Hope Howell's are mentioned in the source material.

• Lyall Lupin (Husband): Hope shared a deep and loving marriage with Lyall. She accepted his magical nature and they built a happy life together before it was shattered by their son's affliction. They faced the subsequent decades of hardship as a team, bound by their shared secret and love for Remus (Pottermore).
• Remus Lupin (Son): Hope was a devoted and loving mother to Remus. She bore the primary responsibility for his care and safety during his transformations throughout his childhood. The tragic circumstances of his life caused her immense pain, but she never stopped caring for him. His condition defined the latter part of her life and led to the family's isolation (Pottermore).

• Hope: This is a virtue name, representing optimism and desire. This name is tragically ironic given the desperate and often hopeless situation she faced after her son was bitten by a werewolf. It likely reflects her initial bright personality and the hope she tried to cling to for her son.
• Howell: A very common Welsh surname, derived from the Welsh personal name Hywel, meaning “eminent.” This firmly roots her character in the Welsh origins mentioned in her biography (Pottermore).

Hope Howell is not mentioned in the original seven Harry Potter novels, nor does she appear in the film adaptations. All known information about her comes from the short essay “Remus Lupin” written by J.K. Rowling and published on the Pottermore website (now Wizarding World). She is a background character created to provide a more detailed history for her son, Remus Lupin.