Ao3 has published their chart of the most popular ships of 2023, and there are some stalwarts that still ride high on the charts that have been popular for years. The top 5 contains Stranger Things, two anime/manga series (My Hero Academia and Bongou Stray Dogs), and two Harry Potter ships. But the order of popularity of the Harry Potter ships is where it gets really interesting.
Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson from Stranger Things comes in at number one on the chart for 2023’s most popular ships so far. And coming in at number two (drumroll please) is…Wolfstar! Wolfstar is the ship name given to two of the best Harry Potter characters Remus Lupin (a werewolf) and Sirius Black (given the name star due to Sirius being Alpha Canis Majoris or the Dog Star).
In the best Harry Potter movie and book, Prisoner of Azkaban, we find out the backstory of Harry’s parents’ school days at Hogwarts. Due to Lupin’s monthly transformations into a werewolf while at the school, his three best friends become Animagi (meaning they can turn themselves into animals) to make him feel less scared and alone (sniff).
James Potter (Harry’s Dad) can turn himself into a stag and is given the nickname Prongs, Peter Pettigrew into a rat named Wormtail, and Sirius into a large black dog called Padfoot. Lupin is given the nickname Moony and the four become a gang called the Marauders. They create a magical map of Hogwarts which aids their rule-breaking and escaping the castle during Lupin’s transformations.
The Marauders, and particularly Sirius and Lupin, have been a popular source of fan-fiction for years. The most successful fan-fiction is called All the Young Dudes (2017-2018), which covers a time period of nearly 25 years, and is 500,000 words long. Some fans have printed out, bound and created covers for the fan-fic so they have physical books to keep. Fan-casting is also all over the internet with Andrew Garfield and Ben Barnes being the most popular choices to join the Harry Potter cast as Sirius and Remus.
Some people may be surprised that Wolfstar is above Drarry (Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter), which comes in at number five, and Dramione (Draco and Hermione), which is a rare hetero ship and comes in at number 15.
Check out our guide to the most irritating Harry Potter plot holes and the best Harry Potter spells. If you’re into the Maruaders, you will know that Severus Snape and Lily Potter both have a big role to play in that backstory, so find out about the meaning of Always. And finally, find out why we think Harry Potter is the OG nepotism baby.