What do you think?
Rate this book
That’s the Art of Getting By
“What do you want me to do?” Remus says, tiredly. All he wants is to curl up on his bed. Smoke a pack of cigarettes. Get drunk. He can’t stop looking at Harry.
“Remus...” Dumbledore is gentle. Remus hates when he has that tone. Hates that he knows it will hurt. “There is no one else left.”
A bitter laugh escapes him. “So you’ll curse the poor thing with a werewolf for a guardian?”
“Remus...” Dumbledore is gentle. Remus hates when he has that tone. Hates that he knows it will hurt. “There is no one else left.”
A bitter laugh escapes him. “So you’ll curse the poor thing with a werewolf for a guardian?”
171 pages
First published July 21, 2021
32 people are currently reading
1262 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 282 reviews
September 17, 2023
so he clings on, somehow still hopeful, that happiness will continue to rise after every fall. that there is more joy to come, if he keeps his feet on the ground and his fingers reaching towards the sky.
crying an unhealthy amount over my marauders is probably my therapy atp. i’m gonna kms 👍 literally stayed up all night reading this and only stopped to wipe the tears streaming down my face every minute (not exaggerating).
god, my nose is all snotty and my face has tear tracks and is so red from crying my heart out. i cannot deal with this beautiful writing and the way this gave me all the feels. literally flowed like poetry. remus lupin is just so sad and it is so sad that i can relate to him so much. 😔💔 the war time is my fucking villain era — i can’t with the fact that sirius and remus that time are coney island coded. literally was getting a panic attack over them. hyperventilating. but this fic was truly hell for me. made me go through so much pain but it’s so worth it. they are so soft. so gentle. so pretty. so beautiful. all the ugly parts of the war are healing slowly — but god did it hurt along the way. and they can be so tender sometimes cause they are that fragile but MY HEART IS FRAGILE, TOO. 🥹😩🫶
sirius and remus — “what is love if not to know and be known in return”. and that’s solely why i will always, always believe in them as the epitome of “cardigan”. this was basically a lil twist where remus gets harry when he’s a baby and sirius escapes a biiit earlier and already declared innocent — but no way is it fluff. me wailing over the entire fic and not even catching a SINGLE break says enough!!! but seriously, this is the hea wolfstar deserved. i wish this was canon 😔 even though this was probably one of the angstiest fics. the amount of sadness in this choked me. it’s quite impressive when something is able to break me into a million sobbing pieces every single chapter. the way this dealt with trauma & grief & love? so gorgeously real i could feel it in the very marrow of my bones. baby harry is so fucking cute and such a sweetheart i just wanted to hold him. remus and sirius raising harry 🥹❤️🩹
(“was it the wolf thing?”)
(“was it the black thing?”)
~ aka the part that made me sob the most. it hurts if you know the context ☹️
(will forever be thankful for the fact that these fics exist so that i can finally wholeheartedly give something five stars after agessss)
crying an unhealthy amount over my marauders is probably my therapy atp. i’m gonna kms 👍 literally stayed up all night reading this and only stopped to wipe the tears streaming down my face every minute (not exaggerating).
god, my nose is all snotty and my face has tear tracks and is so red from crying my heart out. i cannot deal with this beautiful writing and the way this gave me all the feels. literally flowed like poetry. remus lupin is just so sad and it is so sad that i can relate to him so much. 😔💔 the war time is my fucking villain era — i can’t with the fact that sirius and remus that time are coney island coded. literally was getting a panic attack over them. hyperventilating. but this fic was truly hell for me. made me go through so much pain but it’s so worth it. they are so soft. so gentle. so pretty. so beautiful. all the ugly parts of the war are healing slowly — but god did it hurt along the way. and they can be so tender sometimes cause they are that fragile but MY HEART IS FRAGILE, TOO. 🥹😩🫶
sirius and remus — “what is love if not to know and be known in return”. and that’s solely why i will always, always believe in them as the epitome of “cardigan”. this was basically a lil twist where remus gets harry when he’s a baby and sirius escapes a biiit earlier and already declared innocent — but no way is it fluff. me wailing over the entire fic and not even catching a SINGLE break says enough!!! but seriously, this is the hea wolfstar deserved. i wish this was canon 😔 even though this was probably one of the angstiest fics. the amount of sadness in this choked me. it’s quite impressive when something is able to break me into a million sobbing pieces every single chapter. the way this dealt with trauma & grief & love? so gorgeously real i could feel it in the very marrow of my bones. baby harry is so fucking cute and such a sweetheart i just wanted to hold him. remus and sirius raising harry 🥹❤️🩹
(“was it the wolf thing?”)
(“was it the black thing?”)
~ aka the part that made me sob the most. it hurts if you know the context ☹️
(will forever be thankful for the fact that these fics exist so that i can finally wholeheartedly give something five stars after agessss)
Read
February 1, 2025"i don’t like angst!” i say as i trip and fall and my 100th wolfstar fic falls out of my pockets 💔
January 16, 2022
Who made this available to review on here? God bless.
I’m not going to review Sarewolf’s The Art of Getting By in the way I would a professionally edited and published novel, as I don’t think that’s fair to her, BUT I will say this fic is as polished (if not more-so!) than most of what’s on the shelves today.
The story is deliciously complex and character-driven, with a harsh bite of reality that is utterly addicting; I think I’ve read it 4 times now since first finding it this summer.
The Art of Getting By is also a case where calling it anything other than an original piece of fiction feels wrong. The seed the story is born from is Rowling’s, but Sarewolf plays with an alternative take from canon, where a young Remus Lupin has been charged with caring for 3 year old Harry. She deepens the characters and their histories in ways Rowling never touches upon, as Remus’ physical trauma as a werewolf, and emotional trauma being thought the spy by the people he loves most, matched with the alienation and devastation of being the only survivor of a war that stole his early adulthood, are deftly played out in a unique style.
What would be fair to say, is that while the skillful execution of this story is entirely Sarewolf’s own, the basic ideas surrounding Remus and Sirius’ characterization, and moreover, the events that passed during the first war and after, have been built up through the Harry Potter fandom over the course of 2 decades. The bones of Remus’ history are stacked in close alliance according to this fandom-canon, and while that isn’t at all a bad thing (this is fanfiction; that’s how it works!) it does mean that this fic is in that awkward grey-space where if it were to be published, the people in the know would know, you know?
In the end though, you could hate Harry Potter with a passion to match my hate for SJM, and still appreciate this fic.
(Did I review this the way I would a published novel? Oops. Whatever).
I’m not going to review Sarewolf’s The Art of Getting By in the way I would a professionally edited and published novel, as I don’t think that’s fair to her, BUT I will say this fic is as polished (if not more-so!) than most of what’s on the shelves today.
The story is deliciously complex and character-driven, with a harsh bite of reality that is utterly addicting; I think I’ve read it 4 times now since first finding it this summer.
The Art of Getting By is also a case where calling it anything other than an original piece of fiction feels wrong. The seed the story is born from is Rowling’s, but Sarewolf plays with an alternative take from canon, where a young Remus Lupin has been charged with caring for 3 year old Harry. She deepens the characters and their histories in ways Rowling never touches upon, as Remus’ physical trauma as a werewolf, and emotional trauma being thought the spy by the people he loves most, matched with the alienation and devastation of being the only survivor of a war that stole his early adulthood, are deftly played out in a unique style.
What would be fair to say, is that while the skillful execution of this story is entirely Sarewolf’s own, the basic ideas surrounding Remus and Sirius’ characterization, and moreover, the events that passed during the first war and after, have been built up through the Harry Potter fandom over the course of 2 decades. The bones of Remus’ history are stacked in close alliance according to this fandom-canon, and while that isn’t at all a bad thing (this is fanfiction; that’s how it works!) it does mean that this fic is in that awkward grey-space where if it were to be published, the people in the know would know, you know?
In the end though, you could hate Harry Potter with a passion to match my hate for SJM, and still appreciate this fic.
(Did I review this the way I would a published novel? Oops. Whatever).
Read
October 31, 2021This fic holds me warm and gentle in its hands
January 1, 2022
honestly a good fic to handle the sadness of it all. Remus, Sirius, and Harry all deserved better/happier endings and this gave them that.
November 19, 2023
WAIT WHAT. I NEVER EVEN KNEW THIS WAS HERE OTHERWISE I WOULD’VE ADDED IT AGES AGO. anyway, quality fiction. peak literature, if you ask me. sirius black and remus lupin my beloveds 💘💖💕💞💗 the OG GAYS, the MAGICAL FRUITS, the PINING BALLS OF ANGST, the MOST TRAGIC IDIOTS, and don’t you EVER forget that ☝🏻☝🏻 they are so very dear to me i will now go weep about them.
February 16, 2022
made me laugh made me cry made me want to kill myself made me love so dearly my heart fell to the ground and remained beating in care made me sob at 3 am and smile in the same line it made me feel like never before.
June 21, 2022
grief sits at my throat
August 27, 2023
this is MY canon.
September 28, 2023
I mean it's Remus raising Harry, Harry actually growing up in a loving household is there more that needs to be said?
Surely there were parts that hurt but just the "loving household for Harry" brought me such comfort I can't even describe the feeling. Really liked it :)
Surely there were parts that hurt but just the "loving household for Harry" brought me such comfort I can't even describe the feeling. Really liked it :)
October 13, 2024
If you look closely you can see me crying in the corner
August 25, 2024
≡;- ꒰ 4 stars ꒱
・❥・this shattered my heart, then put it back together, tucked it in, and gave it a goodnight kiss.
𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 this is genuinely some of the best characterisation of remus and sirius that i’ve read. honestly, the author did an amazing job. the writing made me hurt so much but it also healed me. this is my new canon !! the way remus’s grief was shown was just…such an accurate representation, his feelings of betrayal too.
little harry honestly had me crying, he was just a baby :(
this actually healed my heart (after breaking it) and i wish this had happened in canon too.
fuck you dumblewhore
fuck you peter pettirat
and fuck you petunia and vernon <3
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
as remus starts to tell him the story, haltingly from memory, harry snakes one arm out of the duvet and holds remus’s hand. remus clutches it in return.
you’re really fucking this up, every moment of silence seems to tell him. you have no bloody clue what you’re doing, do you?
fuck i’m meant to be teaching him things, remus thinks. not just letting him eat dirt and draw on walls.
a monster and a child, both chipped. both trying not to press too hard where it hurts.
“was it the wolf thing?”
“was it the black thing?”
sadly, grief doesn’t go away. it catches them in the oddest moments.
・❥・this shattered my heart, then put it back together, tucked it in, and gave it a goodnight kiss.
𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 this is genuinely some of the best characterisation of remus and sirius that i’ve read. honestly, the author did an amazing job. the writing made me hurt so much but it also healed me. this is my new canon !! the way remus’s grief was shown was just…such an accurate representation, his feelings of betrayal too.
little harry honestly had me crying, he was just a baby :(
this actually healed my heart (after breaking it) and i wish this had happened in canon too.
fuck you dumblewhore
fuck you peter pettirat
and fuck you petunia and vernon <3
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
as remus starts to tell him the story, haltingly from memory, harry snakes one arm out of the duvet and holds remus’s hand. remus clutches it in return.
you’re really fucking this up, every moment of silence seems to tell him. you have no bloody clue what you’re doing, do you?
fuck i’m meant to be teaching him things, remus thinks. not just letting him eat dirt and draw on walls.
a monster and a child, both chipped. both trying not to press too hard where it hurts.
“was it the wolf thing?”
“was it the black thing?”
sadly, grief doesn’t go away. it catches them in the oddest moments.
Read
July 6, 2024я люблю фанфіки
December 31, 2022
sad and gay, just the way i like it (also baby harry is adorable)
December 10, 2023
wolfstar raising harry is everything to me
December 29, 2022
i don’t think anyone can understand how much i loved this fic
it was so different from atyd or just lovers but it made me feel something that i can’t explain, a sort of comfort
it was so different from atyd or just lovers but it made me feel something that i can’t explain, a sort of comfort
May 12, 2024
remy & siri 🩷
April 12, 2022
What a story! I loved the whole found family dynamic!! Also Mcgonagall being the best character and outshining Dumbledore is just what I love for!!!
Only reason I didn’t give it full points is cus my standards are ridiculous and I kinda felt like it would have been nice to see some scenes with an older Harry.
Also I just remembered the whole Peter Pettigrew thing and it shook me to my CORE!!! This fic has finally given me a true understanding of the character. It’s usually so hard to understand what makes him tick: either the shock of the betrayal makes his actions feel off or his personality change is just out of place. Here, the author really digs into his instability with a creepy twist to it. I love it!!
Definitely would recommend! Also it’s short for a fanfic so actually pretty relaxing.
Only reason I didn’t give it full points is cus my standards are ridiculous and I kinda felt like it would have been nice to see some scenes with an older Harry.
Also I just remembered the whole Peter Pettigrew thing and it shook me to my CORE!!! This fic has finally given me a true understanding of the character. It’s usually so hard to understand what makes him tick: either the shock of the betrayal makes his actions feel off or his personality change is just out of place. Here, the author really digs into his instability with a creepy twist to it. I love it!!
Definitely would recommend! Also it’s short for a fanfic so actually pretty relaxing.
February 4, 2023
wolfstar raising harry fics <3
August 9, 2024
“I’m Remus,” he says. “I’m going to take care of you. Would you like that, Harry?”
Harry reaches out. Traces the new scar running from Remus’s eyebrow, across his nose and cheek. Remus closes his eyes, and lets him.
“Okay,” Harry says, in a thin voice. He sounds just as scared as Remus.
“Okay,” Remus repeats. He breathes. And breathes.
Even when he was roaming the Forbidden Forest with animals he called pack and boys he called friends, he felt that lonely child brimming beneath the surface. An imposter who had snuck into the world craving friendship handed out like crumbs. And love – oh, well he threw himself on that viciously.
The cry had rung out. Harry’s first. Remus had tried not to think of the cries in battle, scared and urgent. Or the howls of werewolves to the moon that ruled them. Sirius had turned to Remus. The smile on his face had been *golden* and he had kissed Remus full on the mouth, like Harry was theirs too.
He hopes they can see Harry now. He hopes they can see that Remus did come home. Bruised and battered but carrying their child into some semblance of a life. He hopes they can *see.*
Remus flinches at the sound. He’s thrown back into a battle during the war, one of many that sneak up on him in the strangest of moments. With green and red bolts of light. Bodies thudding to the floor. Maniacal laughter and dark red blood that drips from Remus’s neck.
Sirius screaming, *you fucking bastard,* in between curses and his friends out there – defenseless and duelling and Remus can’t *see* them and Sirius pulls him back against him, hard, protects them with a shield charm and... he takes a deep breath and a shaky sip of his beer. Tries to clear his head.
What he doesn’t miss, even in the midst of his own panic, is that Harry had flinched too. *Harry had flinched too.*
Remus blinks his eyes open. He is alone. His pain is his. It leaks unhindered onto the floor. He lets it, for a long time. Doesn’t let himself think that maybe he likes it. Maybe he deserves it. For letting himself have something so fucking beautiful and for letting war destroy it. For all the ways he let Sirius down. For all the ways Sirius let him down. For not seeing it until it was too late, and his friends were dead. For the fights. And the fucks. And the love. Oh, the love.
Was this Peter, this dark one, of their own creation? Had Remus, Sirius and James teased him too much? Forgotten him too often? Let war ravage him in imperceptible ways? He had sought approval elsewhere. He had found it in death. In betrayal.
They are betrayer and betrayed, both of them.
“I promised you, when we first...”
“Yes,” Remus interrupts. He remembers the exact words. Sirius had kissed him. They were so fucking young. And Remus had yelled, *you can’t fucking do that, when you leave... when you...* And Sirius had kissed him again. Hard. *You won’t ever be alone Moony, I promise you.*
Harry’s eyes meet his. They are swollen and red. His irises are a deep, vivid green washed with tears. His breath shudders, stutters. *Oh,* Remus thinks. *You and I are full of the same fear.*
“They were scared, mostly. Some of the packs were kids, *kids.*..”
“You were a kid,” Sirius interrupts.
It startles Remus.
“I love you,” Remus says. His palm caresses the side of Harry’s head, catches on a flower and holds there for a moment. "I *love* you."
And Harry, blindingly happy and oblivious, looks at him sweetly in return. As if it is no big deal because he knows what love is and he’s received it in spades. It makes Remus want to cry. “I love you too Remy,” Harry replies brightly.
Over his shoulder, Sirius watches. Sirius smiles. Sirius mouths, *I love you too.*
Pain pain pain but such beauty.
Harry reaches out. Traces the new scar running from Remus’s eyebrow, across his nose and cheek. Remus closes his eyes, and lets him.
“Okay,” Harry says, in a thin voice. He sounds just as scared as Remus.
“Okay,” Remus repeats. He breathes. And breathes.
Even when he was roaming the Forbidden Forest with animals he called pack and boys he called friends, he felt that lonely child brimming beneath the surface. An imposter who had snuck into the world craving friendship handed out like crumbs. And love – oh, well he threw himself on that viciously.
The cry had rung out. Harry’s first. Remus had tried not to think of the cries in battle, scared and urgent. Or the howls of werewolves to the moon that ruled them. Sirius had turned to Remus. The smile on his face had been *golden* and he had kissed Remus full on the mouth, like Harry was theirs too.
He hopes they can see Harry now. He hopes they can see that Remus did come home. Bruised and battered but carrying their child into some semblance of a life. He hopes they can *see.*
Remus flinches at the sound. He’s thrown back into a battle during the war, one of many that sneak up on him in the strangest of moments. With green and red bolts of light. Bodies thudding to the floor. Maniacal laughter and dark red blood that drips from Remus’s neck.
Sirius screaming, *you fucking bastard,* in between curses and his friends out there – defenseless and duelling and Remus can’t *see* them and Sirius pulls him back against him, hard, protects them with a shield charm and... he takes a deep breath and a shaky sip of his beer. Tries to clear his head.
What he doesn’t miss, even in the midst of his own panic, is that Harry had flinched too. *Harry had flinched too.*
Remus blinks his eyes open. He is alone. His pain is his. It leaks unhindered onto the floor. He lets it, for a long time. Doesn’t let himself think that maybe he likes it. Maybe he deserves it. For letting himself have something so fucking beautiful and for letting war destroy it. For all the ways he let Sirius down. For all the ways Sirius let him down. For not seeing it until it was too late, and his friends were dead. For the fights. And the fucks. And the love. Oh, the love.
Was this Peter, this dark one, of their own creation? Had Remus, Sirius and James teased him too much? Forgotten him too often? Let war ravage him in imperceptible ways? He had sought approval elsewhere. He had found it in death. In betrayal.
They are betrayer and betrayed, both of them.
“I promised you, when we first...”
“Yes,” Remus interrupts. He remembers the exact words. Sirius had kissed him. They were so fucking young. And Remus had yelled, *you can’t fucking do that, when you leave... when you...* And Sirius had kissed him again. Hard. *You won’t ever be alone Moony, I promise you.*
Harry’s eyes meet his. They are swollen and red. His irises are a deep, vivid green washed with tears. His breath shudders, stutters. *Oh,* Remus thinks. *You and I are full of the same fear.*
“They were scared, mostly. Some of the packs were kids, *kids.*..”
“You were a kid,” Sirius interrupts.
It startles Remus.
“I love you,” Remus says. His palm caresses the side of Harry’s head, catches on a flower and holds there for a moment. "I *love* you."
And Harry, blindingly happy and oblivious, looks at him sweetly in return. As if it is no big deal because he knows what love is and he’s received it in spades. It makes Remus want to cry. “I love you too Remy,” Harry replies brightly.
Over his shoulder, Sirius watches. Sirius smiles. Sirius mouths, *I love you too.*
Pain pain pain but such beauty.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2023
God. Being sick and reading this all in one go really wasn’t my brightest moment, but I’m glad I had the free time to deep dive into it. I am writhing in both physical and emotional pain. Although technically this fic has an HEA, it’s still a mostly-canon-compliant-up-to-a-certain-point Marauders fic, I mean.
Harry was so cute in this one omg. Literally cherished that little boy so much in this. Sirius and Remus were as always, a gorgeous gorgeous couple with some incredible development and I loved these versions of them. They’ll remain in my heart, forever. 😔
I too feel conflicted about Peter. I feel you, Remus. But what’s done is done.
Oo! And one last thing! The writing is exquisite. The prose and description is beautiful and just flows and flows and flows. Love love love.
I’ll definitely be looking out for more fics from this author, now! (And I recommend this to anyone who wants heartache with a side of comfort.)
Harry was so cute in this one omg. Literally cherished that little boy so much in this. Sirius and Remus were as always, a gorgeous gorgeous couple with some incredible development and I loved these versions of them. They’ll remain in my heart, forever. 😔
I too feel conflicted about Peter. I feel you, Remus. But what’s done is done.
Oo! And one last thing! The writing is exquisite. The prose and description is beautiful and just flows and flows and flows. Love love love.
I’ll definitely be looking out for more fics from this author, now! (And I recommend this to anyone who wants heartache with a side of comfort.)
July 2, 2024
2022:
actual rating: 5+ stars
this is my favorite fanfic in all of the harry potter fandom, no matter the pairing, and one of my favorite fanfics overall, and simply a beautiful piece. heartily recommend to absolutely anybody <3
actual rating: 5+ stars
this is my favorite fanfic in all of the harry potter fandom, no matter the pairing, and one of my favorite fanfics overall, and simply a beautiful piece. heartily recommend to absolutely anybody <3
January 23, 2023
adding it to my shelf just so my friends could read it : one of my fav wolfstar fic
July 20, 2024
4,5 if I’m starting to smoke someday, it is because of Moony
October 1, 2024
Bawled my eyes out, so fucking cute and heartwrenching!!!
January 29, 2023
What the hell...I may never recover from this.
January 14, 2022
oh my god. i did not expect to be this emotional, this was so perfectly written.
March 19, 2025
why did i not know there are fanfics on goodreads 😭😭
March 23, 2024
i'm ok :)
no i'm not
no i'm not
Displaying 1 - 30 of 282 reviews