Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be
discussing the Marauders - a group of mischievous young boys who attended Hogwarts school of
witchcraft and wizardry during the 1970s. More specifically, I’m going to be addressing
the talent of these 4 young boys. The quartet of boys began their studies in 1971, the same
year as Severus Snape, and they all had one thing in common - they were all Gryffindors.
Before the sorting ceremony even happened the boys hit it off, and when they were eventually
sorted in to the same house, they knew that they were destined to be friends. Though the
boys got on with many of their other classmates, this particular group of 4 boys had a truly
special bond, and they eventually came up with a name for their group - they were ‘The
Marauders’. The boys had a lot in common, beyond the fact that all of them were gryffindors,
as they all also happened to be huge troublemakers. If there was a rule at Hogwarts, they were
hellbent on breaking it, and they were truly notorious for their rule-breaking and mischief
making. Their group existed for the duration of the time that they spent at Hogwarts, from
1971-1978, and after graduating they even all went on to join The Order of the Phoenix
- a secret society founded by Dumbledore that opposed Lord Voldemort. They all served the
order for a number of years, however, on Halloween night in the year 1981, their group was completely
destroyed- never to be formed again. You see, October 31st 1981 marked the night that Lord
Voldemort, in an attempt to stop Sybill Trelawny’s prophecy from coming true, travelled to the
Potter residence and murdered both Lily and James Potter. So, James was dead, which left
3 Marauders, but perhaps the worst part about all of it was that it was in fact Peter Pettigrew-
Wormtail- who had betrayed them. To add insult to injury, Sirius Black, another of the Marauders,
was framed by Pettigrew for the murder of muggles. This meant that the group of 4 happy
boys that spent a large portion of their childhood together was suddenly and completely destroyed,
1 was dead, 1 had defected, 1 had been sent to Azkaban, and only 1 remained - Remus Lupin.
The Marauders, the group of mischievous albeit talented young boys, was no more. Each of
these boys, and later men, was massively important to the harry potter story and Harry Potter
franchise as a whole, and though they suffered different fates, they were truly unique individuals
with very interesting lives. But, one thing that I’ve always wondered is - of the Marauders,
who is most powerful? In this video, I’m going to attempt to rank the Marauders- James
Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black, by power.
4. Remus Lupin
Remus Lupin was a british half-blood wizard born in the year 1960. Like most others, he
attended Hogwarts, and it was there that he befriended the other members of the ‘Marauder’s.
The Marauders kept a very big secret for Remus, and that secret was of course the fact that
he was a werewolf.
Before Remus ever began attending school, he was attacked in his early life by the notorious
Werewolf Fenrir Greyback. Fenrir sought revenge on Remus’s father, Lyall, and his best way
to get back at Lyall was to attack his son. Remus was attacked byFenrir in the middle
of the night, and though his life was spared, he was destined to be a werewolf for the rest
of his life after that moment. The Marauders were completely understanding of Remus’s
condition, and did whatever they could to make his life seem as normal as possible-
even becoming animagi in order to make Remus feel more comfortable.
After James had died, Pettigrew went missing, and Sirius was sent to Azkaban, Remus kept
quite a low profile. At that point, the dark lord that previously threatened the wizarding
world had been defeated by infant Harry, and there was no immediate requirement for an
opposition to dark forces. However, in the 93-94 school year, we finally see Remus again
when he accepts a posting at Hogwarts as professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Remus was a very talented wizard, and, like the other Marauders, was able to accomplish
quite a lot magically at a very young age. Among other things, Remus was a talented duellist-
having escaped the Battle of the Department of Mysteries unscathed, a charms expert- having
helped to create the marauder’s map, a practitioner of healing magic, having effectively used
the bandaging charm on Ron, a defence against the dark arts expert, having successfully
taught a class on it at Hogwarts, and even an accomplished occlumens.
However, even though Remus was talented, he was eventually killed by death eater Antonin
Dolohov during the battle of Hogwarts. Dolohov was an extremely powerful death eater, one
of the most powerful, and Remus certainly didn’t go out easily.
3. James Potter
James Potter was a british pure-blood wizard born March 27th 1960 to parents Fleamont and
Euphemia Potter. James was an only-child, and, honestly, a bit of a surprise to his
parents, as they were quite elderly when he was conceived- even by wizarding standards.
Right at the beginning of James’s unexpected arrival in to the world, he was pampered by
his parents. They were a very successful retired couple, with nothing but time to devote to
their beloved boy, and this abundance of attention during his formative years certainly had an
impact on the man that he would become. James’s parents had good values, which James inherited,
but his early life also made him perhaps a little too proud, and certainly very arrogant.
When James began attending Hogwarts, he met the other Marauders right away, and they formed
their group in 1971. Though he is often perceived as the ‘leader’ of the group, that isn’t
actually the case- he was just the most outspoken of the quartet. In James’s seventh year,
he was appointed head boy at Hogwarts, and it was in this same year that he, much to
Snape’s dismay, became an item with Harry’s mother, Lily Evans. During his time at school,
James showcased his powerful magic capabilities time and time again - and it has been expressed
that even Voldemort, at the height of his power during the first wizarding war, tried
to recruit James as one of his death eaters.
Like the other Marauders, James was so skilled in the subject of transfiguration that he
was able to become an animagus at the staggeringly young age of 15. After successfully achieving
this notable accomplishment, he was able to transform in to a stag whenever he wanted.
In order to accomplish such a feat, it was also necessary that James have sufficient
knowledge of potion-making, as becoming an animagus for the first time requires an animagus
potion- a highly complicated potion that requires exceptional potion making ability. In addition
to transfiguration and potion-making, James was also a talented duellist- having defeated
Snape on numerous occasions, and an accomplished practitioner of charms-having helped to create
the marauder’s map alongside the other members of his group.
However, as talented as James was, he did still die quite young, which is why I’m
not placing him higher on the list. He was a massively talented student, sure, but he
died when he was still just a young man, and he was easily disposed of by Lord Voldemort.
2. Sirius Black
Sirius, the godfather of Harry Potter and member of the Black family, started at Hogwarts
in the year 1971.
Sirius hailed from the powerful wizarding family, The Blacks- and while many of his
family members placed an unreasonable amount of value on blood purity, Sirius did not share
this same belief. Many of the members of the black family went down a very dark path- and
his killer and cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, is a great example of this.
Sirius didn’t want his lineage to determine the man that he would become, and once wisely
said:
"We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to
act on. That's who we really are."
While Sirius’ magical development was somewhat stunted by the extensive amount of time that
he spent in Azkaban, he still ended up being a supremely powerful wizard. In addition to
being highly skilled at transfiguration and eventually becoming an Animagus (assuming
the form of a black dog), Sirius was also skilled at duelling,brewing potions, producing
charms, producing non-verbal magic, and even occlumency. Sirius was eventually killed by
Bellatrix during the battle of the department of mysteries, but it was certainly a bit of
a cheap shot. If Sirius was paying attention, I think that he very well could have survived
that battle.
1. Peter Pettigrew
This is going to be controversial, I know it is, but I am of the genuine impression
that Peter Pettigrew was the most talented of the Marauders. In a perfect world, where
Sirius didn’t go to Azkaban and James wasn’t killed, this may not have been the case, and
in their earlier years- their schoolboy days, Pettigrew certainly wasn’t the most powerful.
But later in life? I think he was. Here’s why.
Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail, was a british pure-blood wizard born in 1959 or
1960, he had pale skin, unhealthy hair that was constantly falling out, and blue eyes.
To most, he was considered to be a snivelling excuse for a man whose loyalties only lay
where there was power. But in his younger years, he did sort of have friends- The Marauders.
Though Peter was not as innately talented as his friends, he did have a lot of drive,
and it was with this drive that he overcame his limitations and successfully became an
Animagus while still very young. In addition to becoming an animagus, which is an advanced
form of transfiguration, Pettigrew was also versed in ‘Conjuration’ - another extremely
advanced branch of transfiguration. Conjuration allows individuals to transfigure objects
out of thin air, and was only taught to talented students at the N.E.W.T level. The only Marauder
that has evidence of being able to utilize conjuration is Pettigrew.
Pettigrew could also brew highly advanced potions- having helped Voldemort to create
both a rudimentary body potion and regeneration potion, as well as a polyjuice potion, which
he created along with Barty Crouch Jr.
Though I suspect that Pettigrew only slightly edges out the other Marauder in terms of traditional
magic, I think that where he truly sets himself apart is through his knowledge of the dark
arts. Because Pettigrew turned to the dark side, he opened up a whole other side of the
magical spectrum, a side that the other Marauders would have never dared venture in to. Though
sticking to ‘purer’ magic is noble, it certainly doesn’t mean that you’re more
powerful. Even Dumbledore has openly admitted that turning to the dark side opens up a whole
other world of magical possibilities.
Pettigrew could easily wield the killing curse, produce powerful blasting curses strong enough
to destroy hundreds of feet of sewer system, create highly advanced potions, transfigure
himself, conjure objects out of thin air, and more. Was he a bit of a snivelling coward?
Yes. But was he a POWERFUL snivelling coward? Certainly. Like I said earlier, if the fate
of the wizarding world had turned out differently, and James had survived, Sirius never went
to Azkaban etc...Things may have been different, and Pettigrew might not be on the top of this
list. But, as things stand, I think that he’s deserving of this spot. Not by a long shot,
I think that they’re all fairly close, but, by just a large enough margin,
What do you guys think? How would YOU rank the Marauders? Do you agree with my list?
Let me know down in the comment section below.
Until next time
YER A WIZARD ARRY