Werewolves

Can a non-magical person get infected? If so, can they then use magic? I have seen speculation that a non-magical person infected would die on the first change,¹ and speculation that most werewolves are non-magical.² Mrs. Rowling seems to have intended that the answer is that a non-magical person can get infected, but is unlikely to survive to experience the symptoms.³

Overall, Werewolf-ism is, or rather acts like, a virus. It requires a transfer of saliva to blood to propagate - not a scratch, not a swipe from the wolf’s claws, but an actual bite. We know it has to be a bite because [Lupin], while he fears that he might infect [Tonks] by accidentally biting her during the infection’s active period, does not fear kissing her. The implications are interesting. It means that transfer requires saliva to blood contact, whereas normally saliva transferable viri would absorb through the mouth and mucus membranes. This, along with the successful birth (ie without infection) of Edward Lupin, strongly suggests that only saliva, and not other bodily fluids, can transfer the infection.

I am fairly sure that this is where it differs from a virus. Viri infect people by persisting either in a droplet or on a surface, until it is then absorbed by a cell that is “permissive to infection.”⁴ However, a viri that replicates in ways that it will “shed” in saliva should be one such that those same cells are “permissive to infection.” That is, if you have the virus in your saliva it is because your lungs, nasal cavity, or salivary glands are infected, one or all of these is thus “permissive,” and can thus be infected. The virus should then be transmissible by kissing. Whether it is transmissible by coughing would depend on the hardihood or survivability of the virus - can it withstand the hostile environment. In either case, [Lupin] should be worried about the act of kissing [Tonks]. Instead, the “permissive” cells from the standpoint of being infected with full lycanthropy are either the dermis (part of the skin), the blood cells, the blood vessels, or similar.

The infection has active and inactive periods, much like the virus behind fever blisters.⁵ It is only infectious during the active period, in the sense that only then can it cause lycanthropy.⁶ However, even during the inactive period, an infected person can cause cursed wounds that cannot be healed without scaring and persistent symptoms.⁷ This latency pattern is certainly magical. Where it not, the virus would be activated by a moon that is almost but not quite full - the gradations between full and not full are not particularly drastic day to day. Similarly the ability to cause any effect during the latent period is magical.

Exactly how “full” does the moon need to be for a werewolf to turn? Is it precisely one night a month, or several? The moon is up during the day sometimes. How would a solar eclipse affect a werewolf? In other words, how closely do the active periods mimic a natural virus?

Can the werewolf change at will, or only involuntarily? That is, can the infected individual induce a period of reactivation?

Is the werewolf more or less susceptible to [Legilimency]? Does the virus create a “wolf” personality in his/her mind? Would fracturing your mind that way make it harder to attack, or harder to defend?

Does the werewolf experience physical changes that persist during the latent periods? Enhanced sense of smell, or strength? Lycanthropy is known to produce wounds that resist healing even when inflicted during inactive periods. The ability to create such curse wounds suggests that the answer is yes.

On a side note, while Lockhart was a memory-stealing fraud,⁸ the stories he wrote were not pure fiction, each was in fact stolen from someone who actually did something. It was thus pointed out to me that there should be a warlock out there somewhere who now has no memory of curing lycanthropy.⁹

[Lupin]: </Harrypedia/people/Lupin/Remus John/>/ [Tonks]: /Harrypedia/people/Tonks/Nymphadora// [Legilimency]: /Harrypedia/magic/spells/legilimens/

citation needed↩︎
citation needed↩︎
Mrs. J. K. Rowling. “Werewolves” The J.K. Rowling Index. Originally Published 2013-07-31.↩︎
Jennifer Louten. “Virus Transmission and Epidemiology” Essential Human Virology. 2016:71–92. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-800947-5.00005-3. Epub 2016-05-06. PMCID: PMC7148619.↩︎
A.D.A.M., Inc.. A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia,
Johns Creek, Georgia (USA). © 1997-2024. “Herpes - oral”; Updated/Reviewed 2023-07-08. Cited 2024-04-11.↩︎
Mrs. J. K. Rowling. “Gilderoy Lockhart” The J.K. Rowling Index. Originally Published 2013-10-03.↩︎
Jeconais This Means War “9 - Harry Potter’s Day Off” Originally Published: 2005-05-06. Updated: 2007-02-27.↩︎