The Unsung Harry Potter Hero You Never Saw In The Movies

In the Pottermore Presents collection of Harry Potter e-books, series author J.K. Rowling reaffirmed that Lupin's condition of lycanthropy was a "metaphor for those illnesses that carry a stigma like HIV and AIDS" (via TIME). "The wizarding community is as prone to hysteria and prejudice as the Muggle one, and the character of Lupin gave me a chance to examine those attitudes," Rowling wrote.

That wasn't the first time Rowling spoke openly about her aim to draw similarities between Lupin's struggles as a werewolf and how people with HIV and AIDS are stigmatized. In a 2015 post shared to the Wizarding World website, Rowling wrote that Lupin needed to alienate himself from the world because of his condition, and had to place himself into a Werewolf Registry. "Werewolves were so shunned by wizarding society that they generally avoided contact with other people; they lived in self-described 'packs' and did all they could to avoid being registered," said Rowling. 

In the world of Harry Potter, Belby's invention turned the tides for many werewolves. He was one of Potions Master Horace Slughorn's favorite students — and considering how dangerous and expensive the Wolfsbane Potion was to create, it earned Belby the Order of Merlin award, the wizarding world equivalent of a knighthood. So the next time you think up your list of heroes of from the Harry Potter series, remember to include the forgotten Damocles Belby, who helped lessen the danger and shaming of werewolves.