James and Lily Potter

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For the American Revolutionary War general, see James Potter.

Harry Potter character
Adrian Rawlins as James Potter in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
James Potter
Gender	Male
Hair colour	Black
Eye colour	Hazel
House	Gryffindor
Parentage	Pure-blood
Allegiance	Order of the Phoenix
Actor	Adrian Rawlins (adult), Robbie Jarvis (teenager)
First appearance	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

James Potter and Lily Potter (née Evans) are fictional characters of the Harry Potter series. They are the deceased parents of Harry Potter.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 James
2 Lily
3 James, Lily, and Harry
4 Family tree
5 References
6 External links

[edit] James

James Potter was born c. 1958 in Britain. He is described 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 attended Hogwarts c. 1969 to c. 1976 where he was in Gryffindor and his best friends were Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, the four of them being known as The Marauders. Sirius fell out with his own parents when he was around sixteen and ran away to move in with James and his parents until leaving school. He often visited the Potters, who regarded him as a "second son."

He was described by another classmate Severus Snape as "exceedingly arrogant", by Remus as "the height of cool" and by Sirius as sometimes an "arrogant little berk". Scenes from James's time at Hogwarts have shown him behaving as a bully towards Snape, but he became a more mature individual before the end of his schooldays. He had the habit of hexing anyone who annoyed him and was more skilled at magical duelling in his fifth year than Snape, despite himself describing Snape as being famous for his ability with the Dark Arts. After seeing Snape's recorded memories of James, Harry agreed with Snape's assessment of his father's arrogance, and the revelation left Harry deeply depressed and disheartened. In defence of their "bullying", Sirius insisted that Snape had a mean streak and was not the "innocent victim" he appeared to be, and that James hated Snape for his infatuation with the Dark Arts.

James was a brilliant student, and in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was mentioned to have become Head Boy (though in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix it is said that Lupin became prefect, not James). He was also a player on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. There was considerable confusion over whether James was a Seeker or a Chaser but Rowling confirmed that James was a Chaser. He was shown playing with a Golden Snitch outside of games and practices, 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.

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 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, flirt with her, and make her laugh. The two also proved intelligent enough to learn how to become Animagi, as did Pettigrew. James' form as an animagus was a stag.

[edit] Lily

Harry Potter character
Geraldine Somerville as Lily Potter, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Lily Potter
Gender	Female
Hair colour	Dark red
Eye colour	Startlingly green
House	Gryffindor
Parentage	Muggle-born
Allegiance	Order of the Phoenix
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 (c. 1958 - 31 October 1981), who was also in his year. Lily was described as having startlingly green, almond-shaped eyes and thick, shoulder-length dark red hair. She was described by Professor Slughorn as having a natural and intuitive ability at Potions, being cheeky, but always seeing the good in others. She was, according to Slughorn, very brave, very funny and very charming, and he could not imagine that anyone who met her would not have liked her. She became a member of the Slug Club, which was run by Slughorn for promising students. Lily was 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 Lily for being a witch and saw her as a "freak", possibly because she was jealous of how their parents favoured Lily. Petunia told Harry in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 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!"

Lily was Head Girl when she was in her final year. For most of the time they were at Hogwarts, Lily appeared to have regarded James as an arrogant bully and she and James addressed each other only by each other's surnames. James was shown doodling Lily's initials during an examination in their fifth year, while Sirius recalled that he couldn't resist showing off (and making a fool of himself) whenever she was around. However, Lily defended Snape against James's bullying (at least until Snape called her a "Mudblood") and 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. J. K. Rowling commented on Lily's hatred of James in an interview with The Leaky Cauldron/MuggleNet:

“

MA: How did they get together? She hated James, from what we've seen.

JKR: Did she really? You're a woman, you know what I'm saying.

”

After James matured and changed his attitude, Lily started dating him in their seventh year, eventually falling in love and marrying him, with Sirius as best man at their wedding.

Petunia recalls meeting an 'awful boy' who knew about magic, but it is not clear if she meant James. Lupin told Harry that his parents only became attached in their seventh year, and married soon after leaving Hogwarts. It is not known what careers they took up after leaving school. Rowling said in an interview that "James inherited plenty of money, so he didn't need a well-paid profession."

[edit] James, Lily, and Harry

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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 organisation created for wizards who wanted to battle Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters. This organisation was created and led by Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore was given a prophecy by Sybill Trelawney that someone had been born who could defeat the Dark Lord 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 the prophecy was heard. 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. Their confrontation ended with first James and then Lily dead, and Voldemort himself barely alive. Whether there was anyone else present in Godric's Hollow on this night, Rowling has said, "No comment." [1] Harry was taken in by Lily's sister, Petunia, who is married to Vernon Dursley. Their son and therefore Harry's cousin, Dudley Dursley, is a spoiled, gluttonous bully.

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 motives for offering to spare Lily's life are unclear, but Lily refused and Voldemort killed her; the upshot of her selfless act 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.

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

Voldemort's inability to touch Harry, due to his lingering protection, continued 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, but was prevented from stealing the Stone when he came into contact with Harry's skin, leaving Voldemort forced to return to his non-corporeal state. Voldemort has since overcome this 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 triumph in Dumbledore's eyes." Harry thinks he must've 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." [2]

The second way in which Harry is protected by Lily's sacrifice occurs at the Dursley residence in Little Whinging. Dumbledore admitted to 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 at the Dursley's ends when Harry comes of age at 17.

James's Animagus form is a stag, like Harry's Patronus. James was therefore nicknamed "Prongs." Though Harry bears a great resemblance to his father, it is often noted that he has Lily's eyes. Rowling has said 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] Rowling has also said there will be more details about Lily in the seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

[edit] Family tree

Mr and Mrs Dursley

Mr and Mrs Evans

Mr and Mrs Potter

Marjorie Dursley

Vernon Dursley

Petunia Evans

Lily Evans

James Potter

Dudley Dursley

Harry Potter

Amongst those wizards named on the Black Family Tree is one Charlus Potter, who married Dorea Black (1920–1977), daughter of Cygnus Black and Violetta Bulstrode. They had one son, who is not named on the tree, but who was apparently in the same generation (or perhaps once removed) as Harry's father James. The relationship between Charlus Potter and James Potter remains uncertain, but the coincidence of the "Potter" family name has prompted debate whether Dorea and Charlus could be James's parents^[1]. J.K. Rowling has not commented upon this issue. What is known about Lily and James's parents is a statement from an interview that: Petunia and Lily's parents, normal Muggle death. James's parents were elderly, were getting on a little when he was born, which explains the only child, very pampered, had-him-late-in-life-so-he's-an-extra-treasure, as often happens, I think. They were old in wizarding terms, and they died. They succumbed to a wizarding illness.^[2] Charlus Potter's birth year is unknown, but James was born approximately 1958.