All The Young Dudes by MsKingBean89 is a fan-made prequel to Harry Potter, published on the website Archive of Our Own. It digs deeper into the lives of some of the beloved characters of Harry Potter, like Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Regulus Black. It takes place during Harry’s parents’ time at Hogwarts, starting in the year 1971, and covers a period of 27 years. It follows young Remus Lupin, an orphan that grew up in a non-magical children’s home, on his journey of becoming part of the magical world again at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Remus discovers the meaning of friendship, first love, and discovers more about his identity, as a werewolf and as a person.

In the beginning, Remus Lupin is introduced as a young boy, aged 11. Remus is a werewolf and lives in a non-magical children’s home, unaware of the magical world– the world his father was part of. One day, he gets invited to Hogwarts by the headmaster, himself, Albus Dumbledore. Remus arrives at this castle filled with magic and meets the people he didn’t know, at that time, who would be his best friends. Remus and his new friends Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew become Hogwarts’ greatest troublemakers. Remus also befriends some other students from his year, Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, and Mary McDonald. Remus later realizes as he grows up, not only did he love all his friends dearly, but he also had feelings for one of his best friends, Sirius Black. He struggles to find his true identity at first and was afraid his friends wouldn’t accept him for being queer, since it was in the 70s, where people weren’t educated about this topic. This trope develops slowly and beautifully, and we also see Sirius realizing his feelings for Remus as well.

Not only does Remus struggle with his monthly transformations as a werewolf, but as he grows older, he comes up with a new goal to help misunderstood werewolves like himself. Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf that bit Remus when he was five, is part of Voldemort’s army, and also is sort of the influencer of all werewolves. As Greyback attempts to make all werewolves join the dark side, Remus tries to get them back on the good side to prove the world wrong– that the stereotypical “evil murderous werewolves” are just like every other person, only with fewer opportunities.

There are many things that I love about this fanfiction. I love how the author delivers news and emotions in the story without directly describing them, but the readers know exactly what is happening. I personally think this fanfiction is as good, if not better in some elements, than the Harry Potter franchise. It includes representation and diversity, something Harry Potter lacks. The characters are very lovable, especially the four Marauders; they’re not perfect, so they feel real and like people you can relate to. I also absolutely love the LGBT representation in Remus and Sirius’ relationship and how raw it is. This fanfiction describes the magic in the Wizarding World very clearly and accurately and covers topics and issues that people struggle with in real life. I love the writing style and the pace of the story; it isn’t rushed but isn’t slow-paced. I got to know more about my comfort characters and the Harry Potter world, even though the story isn’t canon, but that’s what I love about fanfiction and I’m glad that All The Young Dudes is one of the most popular fan fiction in the Harry Potter fandom. This story is quite mature, but apart from that, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Harry Potter and loves the Marauders as I do.