Abstract

In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J. K. Rowling introduces her second werewolf figure, Fenrir Greyback. I have argued elsewhere that Rowling manipulates the werewolf figures of her classical and medieval predecessors in order to create Remus Lupin, a new werewolf figure that challenges readers’ expectations and understandings of what identity is and how it is constructed. This paper extends this argument to the figure of Fenrir Greyback. Greyback’s character perpetuates the connections established by Lupin between the Harry Potter series and antecedent narratives. Further, while Greyback initially appears to be the antithesis of Lupin, he is not entirely dissimilar to the other werewolf, nor is he an entirely unsympathetic character. Although Greyback engages in behaviours that set him apart from Lupin, like his fellow werewolf, he ultimately desires inclusion: he desires a community in which he belongs and acceptance or recognition from the rest of the wizarding world.