In Any Friend Group I Always Get Really Into Figuring Out Which Person Is The Glue That Holds Em Together

in any friend group i always get really into figuring out which person is the glue that holds ‘em together y’know?? ‘cause there’s usually a person like that.

and i used to think it was remus for the marauders in two senses. his lycanthropy is the genesis of their animagus transformations and therefore he’s the reason they’re A Pack (for those uninitiated into the full world of marauders tropes, The Pack is one. and it’s important 2 me), but also. remus has uncommon kindness, and thoughtfulness, and i firmly believe that the others saw that and valued it. so remus as the glue made sense.

i’ve never thought it was sirius or peter — sirius is sort of a tornado in his own right y’know, too big and too loud and a complete raging disaster. he doesn’t bring people together so much as he brings them in. and peter, peter couldn’t hold anyone together. in the end, peter couldn’t hold himself together.

i can still make a compelling argument for remus, but really, really, i believe it’s james.

i think about what remus says in deathly hallows all the time, that he would have considered it the height of dishonor to mistrust a friend. james, young, brave, brilliant, bright james. james would never do wrong by a friend, and at their heart that’s what the marauders are about: sticking by your friends, no matter how hellacious or miserable the road becomes. james had faith.

i think the animagus transformation was james’s idea. i think that for james, thinking about remus suffering like that tore him up inside and drove him to tears late at night and made him ache deeper than he knew he could. james was the one who stopped The Prank, and there’s no doubt in my mind that his first thought was of remus — what would happen to remus if one of them made a stupid mistake. james is the one sirius turns to when he runs away. james is the one who would do anything, anything, anything for a friend.

james was their backbone. their strongest point, their unshakable, impossibly stubborn friend. james directed them all towards the kind of friendship he felt so naturally, and in the chaos of the war, it’s james who never falters once.