Potter, James

James and Lily Potter are fictional characters in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. They are the deceased parents of Harry Potter.

James Potter

Harry Potter character
James Potter
Adrian Rawlins as James Potter in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
House	Gryffindor
Parentage	Pure-blood
Actor	Adrian Rawlins (adult), Robbie Jarvis (teenager)
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

On the night of the Potters' murder, James Potter was the one who saw Voldemort coming, and sacrificed his life so Lily could attempt to escape with Harry. Rowling describes James as having hazel eyes, a slightly longer nose than Harry's, but otherwise the same thin face, same hands, same untidy black hair sticking up at the back, and (nearly) the same height as Harry during their school days. He was born 27 March, 1960 and attended Hogwarts 1971 to 1978 where he was in Gryffindor. In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban it is revealed that his best friends were Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, and that the four were known as The Marauders. They gave themselves nicknames: Remus was "Moony", Sirius was "Padfoot", James was "Prongs", and Peter was "Wormtail". They illegally became Animagi to keep Remus company when he transformed into a werewolf in the Shrieking Shack. Sirius became a black dog, James became a stag, and Peter became a rat. Harry's patronus takes the form of a stag, clearly a likeness of "Prongs".

Characters in the book have commented on the personality of James. Severus Snape considers him "exceedingly arrogant" whereas Remus calls him "the height of cool" and Sirius as "sometimes an arrogant little berk". Scenes from James's time at Hogwarts have shown him behaving as a bully towards Snape. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, after seeing Snape's memories of James within a pensieve, Harry agrees with Snape's assessment of his father's arrogance, and the revelation leaves Harry deeply depressed and disheartened. However, James saved Snape's life after Sirius had attempted to goad Snape into the Shrieking Shack, where Lupin was transforming. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry witnesses James meeting Snape (and Sirius) for the first time when they board the Hogwarts Express in one of Snape's memories. James displays clear dislike for Snape's hopes that he and Lily would both be placed in Slytherin (coming from the fact that James hated all Dark Arts). Even so, he thought that Sirius was "all right", even though he finds out that the entire Black family was in Slytherin. Snape, for his part, thinks that James is silly to want to be in Gryffindor, since he believes that students in that house are all "brawny but not brainy".

According to J.K. Rowling in a recent interview: "James always suspected Snape harboured deeper feelings for Lily, which was a factor in James’ behaviour to Snape". ^[1]

James was a brilliant student, and in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, he is said to have become Head Boy, although in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix it is said that Remus was the prefect, not James, although he may simply have become Head Boy by his seventh year if he had matured and become more responsible and sensible. He was also a player on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. In the film version of Philosopher's Stone, Harry and his friends find James' name listed on a plaque as a Seeker on his Quidditch team; however, J.K Rowling stated in an interview that he was in fact a chaser.[2] He was shown playing with a Golden Snitch outside of games and practices^[HP5], ostensibly to show off. He similarly had a habit of rumpling up his hair to produce the effect that he had just stepped off a broomstick. James' wand was 11 inches, made of mahogany, pliable and excellent for Transfiguration.

James and Sirius were apparently popular students, ingenious pranksters and very witty. Madam Rosmerta of the Three Broomsticks pub in Hogsmeade once talked fondly of how the two boys used to come into her bar, joke with her, and make her laugh. The two also proved intelligent enough to learn how to become Animagi.

It was revealed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that James was a descendant of Ignotus Peverell and thus inherited the Cloak of Invisibility. The epilogue also mentions that Harry names his first son James.

Lily Evans

Harry Potter character
Lily Potter
Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone
House	Gryffindor
Parentage	Muggle-born
Actor	Geraldine Somerville (adult) Susie Shinner (teenager)
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

While at Hogwarts, James met his future wife Lily Evans (30 January, 1960 – 31 October, 1981), who was also in her first year. Lily's wand was 10¼ inches, made of willow, swishy and excellent for Charms. She was described as having startlingly green, almond-shaped eyes and thick, shoulder-length dark red hair. According to Professor Slughorn, Lily had a natural and intuitive ability at Potions and was very brave, very funny and very charming; he could not imagine that anyone who had met her would not have liked her. She became a member of the Slug Club, which was run by Slughorn for promising students (and people with prestigious connections). Lily was also very pretty, and it is evident that James was very taken with her, at least since their fifth year.

Lily was Muggle-born, and at home, her sister Petunia despised her for being a witch and viewed her as a "freak." In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Petunia tells Harry that, "But for my mother and father, oh no, it was 'Lily this' and 'Lily that', they were proud of having a witch in the family!" The reader learns that Petunia was actually jealous of the manner in which their parents favored Lily (and later that she herself had wanted to attend Hogwarts).

Petunia also did not care for James, as demonstrated by her snide remarks and references to him throughout the series. However, there is one remark that Petunia made about Lily and a young male wizard that was misinterpreted by Harry to mean his father rather than Lily's childhood friend, Severus Snape. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Petunia hears someone ask what a Dementor is, to which she responds, "They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban". When Harry and the rest of her family look at her strangely for knowing this magical information, she responds that she heard "that awful boy" telling Lily about them years ago. Harry angrily retorts that if she's going to talk about his parents, she could at least use their names, but she does not respond. It was, in fact, Snape who told Lily that "Dementors guard the wizard prison, Azkaban". Petunia overheard the exchange and remembered Snape's explanation.

It is revealed in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that Lily and Severus Snape had been friends before they were enrolled at Hogwarts, with Snape harbouring unrequited romantic feelings for Lily from the beginning. Rowling revealed that Lily might have returned the feelings if Snape had not dabbled in the Dark Arts. During their first years at Hogwarts, Lily expressed her concerns about Snape's attraction to these arts and about his choice of friends. Already strained, their friendship came to an end in their fifth year at Hogwarts, when Snape, in a moment of humiliation, called Lily a "Mudblood" without thinking after she had defended him from James and Sirius. After that, Lily ended their friendship, despite Snape's attempts to apologize for the incident, pointing out that Snape's other friends felt similarly about her parentage.

Snape refused to use the word "Mudblood" afterwards and severely disliked hearing it used, as shown in book seven when Phineas Nigellus refers to Hermione Granger as a "Mudblood". After the parting, Snape became a Death Eater and informed Lord Voldemort of a prophecy, which Voldemort took to refer to Lily and her son, Harry. Snape subsequently joined the Order of the Phoenix as a spy for Dumbledore, in exchange for protection by Albus Dumbledore for Lily and her family. These plans for protection failed and, despite Snape's pleas that she be spared, Voldemort killed Lily when she refused to step aside to allow him to get to Harry. After Lily's death, he was persuaded by Dumbledore to devote his life to protecting Harry in order to honour the sacrifice of the woman he never ceased to love.

Lily was Head Girl in her final year at Hogwarts. For most of the time they were students, Lily regarded James as an arrogant bully, and she and James addressed each other only by their surnames. However, James was shown doodling Lily's initials during an examination in their fifth year, and Sirius recalled that he couldn't resist showing off (and making a fool of himself) whenever she was around. Lily herself expressed contempt for his behaviour, looking at him with "great dislike" and calling him "an arrogant bullying toerag". After he asked her out in their fifth year, she replied that she wouldn't go out with him if it was a choice between him and the giant squid and remarked that, "I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK!" From this, Harry gathered the impression that Lily hated James, but Sirius and Lupin assured him that she didn't hate her future husband, they "simply got off on the wrong foot".

Lupin told Harry that after James matured and changed his attitude, Lily started dating him in their seventh year, and married soon after leaving Hogwarts with Sirius acting as best man at their wedding. It is not known what careers, if any, they pursued after leaving school. Rowling said in an interview that "James inherited plenty of money, so he didn't need a well-paid profession".

Though Harry bears a great resemblance to his father, it is often noted that he has Lily's eyes. In an interview from 1999, Rowling stated that, "Harry has his father and mother's good looks. But he has his mother's eyes and that's very important in a future book". ^[3] That "future book" appears to be Deathly Hallows. In Snape's death scene in that novel, after having passed his memories to Harry, he whispers to Harry: "Look... at... me..." His dying wish, it appears, is to see the green eyes that Harry inherited from Lily one last time. In one of Snape's memories, it is revealed that Dumbledore convinces Snape to protect Harry after Lily's death by mentioning the fact that he has the same eyes as his mother.

In the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry has a daughter, who is named after Lily, and also a son whom he names Albus Severus. Albus's first name comes from Hogwarts's greatest headmaster and Harry's biggest supporter, Albus Dumbledore; his middle name is taken from the man who loved Harry's mother so much he dedicated his life to protecting her son and whom Harry refers to as "probably the bravest man I ever knew" in reference to Snape's covert protection of Harry. It is also mentioned that Albus is the only one of Harry's children who has their grandmother Lily's almond-shaped green eyes.

Rowling stated on her site that Lily did receive warning letters for testing the limits of the statute of secrecy ^[4]. Lily's patronus is a doe, presumably to pair with James' animagus shape of a stag. Severus Snape also has the doe as his patronus, to match Lily's.

James, Lily, and Harry

Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter, Adrian Rawlins as James Potter, and one of the Saunders triplets as one-year-old Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

James and Lily had a son, Harry James Potter, born on 31 July, 1980. James and Lily belonged to the Order of the Phoenix, which was an organization created for wizards and witches who wanted to battle Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters.

This organization was created and led by Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore was given a Prophecy by Sybill Trelawney that someone who could defeat the Dark Lord would be born to parents who had already defied him three times. Voldemort was told part of the prophecy by Severus Snape, who had been caught outside the door after hearing the first half of the prophecy.

Although both Harry and Neville Longbottom matched the description, Voldemort went after Harry, resolving to kill him. The Potters were deep in hiding through the Fidelius Charm, but on 31 October, 1981, the Potters' whereabouts were betrayed by their friend Peter Pettigrew, and they were attacked without warning at their home in Godric's Hollow. James told his wife to run and take Harry while he held Voldemort off. He was killed soon afterwards.

Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter, Adrian Rawlins as James Potter, and Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Lily could have saved herself when her family was attacked by Voldemort, since he offered her the chance to step aside while he killed Harry. This was shown in a flashback sequence during Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Voldemort's single motive for offering to spare Lily's life at the request of Snape is revealed in the seventh book, but Lily refused and Voldemort killed her. The result of her selfless act of love was to invoke an ancient magic that gave Harry an innate defence against Voldemort (Rowling has stated that Lily did not know that this would happen because "it never happened before"). This magic manifested itself two ways: First, when Voldemort attempted to kill Harry with the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra (which had never before been survived), the spell backfired, rendering Voldemort non-corporeal. Asked whether there was anyone else present in Godric's Hollow on the night the Potters died, Rowling replied, "No comment". ^[5] However, Voldemort did consider killing a muggle boy who believed his appearance to be due to a Halloween costume.

The lingering protection afforded to Harry by Lily's sacrifice rendered Voldemort unable to physically touch him. In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Professor Quirrell, acting as host to Voldemort, attempted to attack Harry to gain the Philosopher's Stone. He was prevented from stealing the Stone because coming into contact with Harry's skin severely burned him, causing great pain. Harry realized this and used it to his advantage until Dumbledore arrived. Quirrell died soon afterwards, leaving Voldemort forced to return to his non-corporeal state. Voldemort has since overcome this inability to touch Harry by using Harry's blood to regenerate his own body. However, when Harry tells Dumbledore this, he thinks he sees, for a fleeting instant, something like "a gleam of triumph" in Dumbledore's eyes. Harry thinks he must have imagined it though, for Dumbledore merely says "Very well, Voldemort has overcome that particular barrier" When asked about the gleam of triumph, J. K. Rowling says, "That's still enormously significant. And let's face it, I haven't told you that much is enormously significant, so you can let your imaginations run free there". ^[6] In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, after Voldemort uses the Killing Curse on Harry, Albus Dumbledore tells him that as long as his blood, with Lily's protection in it, still lives in Voldemort, Harry's life is protected by it.

Robbie Jarvis as a young James Potter, Susie Shinner as a young Lily Evans, and Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The second way in which Harry is protected by Lily's sacrifice occurs at the Dursley residence in Little Whinging. Harry was taken in by Lily's sister, Petunia, who is married to Vernon Dursley. Dumbledore told Harry that he had extended Lily's protection to the home where Lily's sister Petunia lived. This was possible because Lily and Petunia are related by blood. As long as it continues to be Harry's home, Voldemort cannot harm Harry there. This protection ends when Harry comes of age at 17.

In the graveyard at the end of the American edition of book 4, James comes out of Voldemort's wand first when the wands connect. On her website^[7], J.K. Rowling addresses this issue: "Lily first, then James. That’s how it appears in my original manuscript but we were under enormous pressure to edit it very fast and my American editor thought that was the wrong way around, and he is so good at catching small errors I changed it without thinking, then realised it had been right in the first place. We were all very sleep-deprived at the time".

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Harry goes off to die at Voldemort's hands he uses the Resurrection Stone to summon the spirits of Lily, James, Sirius and Lupin. They come back as "more than ghost but less than flesh" and tell him that they are proud of him. The four of them escort him to Voldemort, and when he drops the Resurrection Stone, they disappear. Their presence gives him the courage to do what he needs to do.

Also in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry visits their tomb in the graveyard in Godric's Hollow where the phrase "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" is engraved upon the tombstone. This phrase is from the Bible, 1 Corinthians 15:26.

The Family

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Mr and Mrs Potter

Harry's paternal grandparents are rarely mentioned in the books. However, while looking at a family tapestry in Order of the Phoenix, Sirius states that he stayed with the Potters after running away from home at 16, and they treated him as a second son.

According to J. K. Rowling, James was a pampered, only son, probably because his parents were older when he was born. This may also explain why they only had one child. Both were old when they died, succumbing to a wizarding illness.^[8] Their deaths occurred sometime before James and Lily were killed by Voldemort - 31 October 1981 - as Harry's only living close relatives were the Dursleys at that time. Rowling has also said that Harry's considerable inherited fortune came to him via the Potters.

The Potters were pure-bloods (up until Harry, who is a "half-blood"), and before having children of his own, Harry was the last of their line. Rowling has stated that Harry has no living relatives apart from the Dursleys. However, all wizards are inter-related to some degree.

Mr and Mrs Evans

Harry's maternal grandparents were Muggles, as was their daughter, Petunia. Their other daughter Lily turned out to be a witch. They were said to be "proud to have a witch in the family", which caused Petunia to become bitter and jealous. Mr. and Mrs. Evans made their first and only appearance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in one of Snape's memories, looking in astonishment and excitement at Platform 9¾. J.K. Rowling has also said that Mr. and Mrs. Evans died "ordinary muggle deaths".

Gaunt-Potter relationship

The Gaunt Family and the Potter family share a Peverell ancestry, making them distantly related.^[9] It is believed that the Potters were descended from the youngest brother, Ignotus Peverell, due to their possession of the Invisibility Cloak, while it is believed that the Gaunts were descended from Cadmus, the middle brother. This is due to their ownership of the Resurrection Stone. Thus, Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort are very distantly related.

Harry's children

In the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry marries Ginny Weasley and together they have three children: James, Albus Severus, and Lily.

References

External links

• The Harry Potter Lexicon's biography of James Potter
• The Harry Potter Lexicon's biography of Lily Potter
• Casting confirmation: http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4660000/newsid_4662300/4662350.stm

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