The Potter family is said to have been founded by the gifted twelfth-century potioneer Linfred of Stinchcombe. However, the Potter family was created when Hardwin Potter, Linfred’s eldest son, married Iolanthe Peverell, the granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell. Since she was the only heir to Ignotus Peverell’s bloodline, she inherited the Invisibility Cloak from Ignotus, which is considered by many to be one of the three Deathly Hallows. However, while there are many descendants of these founding members of the Potter family, readers of the Harry Potter series are mostly familiar with some of its recent members of the wizarding world, which include Harry Potter, his parents James Potter and Lily Potter, his wife Ginny Potter, his children James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter, and Lily Luna Potter.
History
The surname “Potter” is believed to be a term corrupted from the nickname “Potterer” that Linfred of Stinchcombe, the founding patriarch of this family, had in the village he existed in. He is believed to be an originator of many remedies and made a small fortune with the number of concoctions he brewed for his muggle neighbors, which later went on to become potions in the wizarding world like skele-gro and the pepperup potion. Linfred was seen as an absent-minded fellow and an eccentric man with a flair for potion-making in the muggle world he inhabited. He was approached by the Muggles in his village for his medicinal services. Linfred had seven children, out of whom his eldest son Hardwin Potter went on to marry a witch by the name of Iolanthe Peverell from Godric’s Hollow, the village of Godric Gryffindor. She, in the absence of male heirs for Ignotus Peverell, came to inherit the Invisibility Cloak that the myth of the Deathly Hallows claimed to have been handed over by Death himself. The Invisibility Cloak that Harry uses in the series is therefore inherited all the way from Ignotus Peverell.
Other important members of the Potter Family include Ralston Potter, who was one of the members of the Wizengamot and supported the International Statute of Secrecy instead of planning to attack muggles like some other members of the Wizengamot. Abraham Potter was one of the American members of the family that probably immigrated to America before 1693. He is considered to be one of the twelve original Aurors placed on duty by the first President of the Magical Congress there, which later went on to be MACUSA. Historians would later find out that Abraham Potter was an ancestor of Harry Potter.
Related Magical Families
Several magical families were related to the Potters, as would be evident from the Harry Potter family tree. The Potters were not part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, which consisted only of Pureblooded wizards and witches. Some families belonging to the Sacred Twenty-Eight include the Malfoy family, to which Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, and later Scorpius belonged to, the Weasleys, the Lestranges, and the Blacks. Lily Evans was a Muggle-born witch and was married to James Potter. Therefore, the Dursley family consisting of Vernon Dursley and his son Dudley was also related to the Potters through Petunia, Lily’s sister and Harry’s aunt. The Weasley family tree connects to the Potter family tree in Harry Potter after he married Ginny Weasley.
Arthur Weasley, Molly Weasley, and Ron Weasley all became close relatives of Harry Potter after this. The Peverell brothers were also related to the Potters as Iolanthe Peverell, the descendant of Ignotus Peverell married the eldest son of Linfred of Stinchcombe, Hardwin Potter. The Potter family is also related to the Gaunts, who are the descendants of Salazar Slytherin and the ancestors of Tom Riddle. Even the Black family, from which Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange come, is related to the Potter family. Harry becomes godfather to Teddy Lupin, the son of Remus Lupin and Tonks.
Appearance in the Harry Potter Series
The first appearance of the Potters in the Harry Potter series is at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when Professor McGonagall mentions James Potter, Lily Potter, and their son Harry. She discusses the death of James and Lily Potter at the hands of Voldemort and the miracle that seemed to have been everyone’s topic of discussion that day – that of Harry Potter surviving.
The Potter Family is mostly not known to appear in the books except for Harry himself, as James and Lily both died in Godric’s Hollow at the hands of Voldemort. However, there are occasional glimpses of the other members of the family through flashbacks. The Potter family is related to the Weasleys as Harry married Ginny Weasley. Harry and Ginny’s children, the new generation of Potters, form the other members of the Potter family and appear in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Albus Severus Potter is probably the most important character out of the Potters in this play. James Sirius Potter and Lily Luna Potter are the other two children who have minor roles in the play. Ignotus Peverell, an early descendant of the Potter family, possibly appears in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if The Tale of the Three Brothers is actually a real story. Also, Hermione spots Ignotus Peverell’s gravestone in Godric’s Hollow cemetery.
James Potter
James Potter was the son of Fleamont Potter and Euphemia Potter. He was born on 27 March 1960. His father, Fleamont Potter, was the son of Henry Potter, who served in the Wizengamot from 1913 to 1921 and opposed Archer Evermonde’s stance on not helping Muggles to fight in the First World War. Fleamont Potter, too, studied at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After graduating, he became a potioneer and is credited with the invention of the Magical Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion. This potion was used by Hermione Granger during the Yule Ball. This earned him a lot of family gold which was later inherited by James.
James Potter joined Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the same year as Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Severus Snape, and his future wife, Lily. He was also an unregistered Animagus and took the form of a stag called Prongs. He did that to keep company for Lupin when he transformed into a wolf. James was known to be a very talented seeker in the Gryffindor Quidditch team. James and Lily eventually started dating and married after they graduated from Hogwarts. They had a son, Harry Potter. James was killed by Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard, on 31 October 1981 at their house in Godric’s Hollow. His wife, Lily, too, was killed immediately after.
Lily Potter
Lily Potter was born Lily Evans, and her parents didn’t know that she was a witch until she was recruited by Dumbledore into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had a sister Petunia Evans who was not a witch. Lily was friends with Severus Snape before she joined Hogwarts, and they both joined Hogwarts in the same year. She was considered a gifted witch and was known to be very talented in Potions, as later described by Professor Horace Slughorn. Lily married James Potter after graduating from Hogwarts. They both lived in Godric’s Hollow and were important members of the Order of the Phoenix, retaliating against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Eventually, Lord Voldemort killed both James and Lily. It is believed that Lily’s sacrifice, where she died instead of Harry, is what caused the killing curse that Voldemort aimed at Harry to backfire.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is the most important member of the Potter family in the Harry Potter series. His parents, James and Lily, are killed by Lord Voldemort when he is just a year old. He is the protagonist of the series and stays with aunt Petunia Dursley, uncle Vernon Dursley, and cousin Dudley Dursley until he is eleven years old and is told by Hagrid that he is a wizard, and so were his father and mother. He then goes to Hogwarts to study magic and meets Albus Dumbledore, who guides him through the journey of facing Lord Voldemort, the Dark Wizard who killed Harry’s parents. Harry also makes a lot of friends, most importantly Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. Together, they form the legendary trio that solves major complications that arise constantly at Hogwarts due to Lord Voldemort or his followers. Harry eventually started dating Ginny Weasley and finally married her. Harry would go on to become an Auror at the Ministry of Magic and then become the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Ginny Potter
Ginny Potter was born Ginny Weasley to Arthur and Molly Weasley. She is the youngest Weasley sibling. Her brothers include Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, and Ron Weasley. She started dating Harry when she was in her fifth year, and Harry was in his sixth year. They eventually married and had three children – James Sirius Potter, Albus Severus Potter, and Lily Luna Potter. In her school years, Ginny was lured by Tom Riddle’s diary to open the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry and Ron eventually helped her from getting killed by Tom Riddle. In her further years at Hogwarts, Ginny was known to be a beautiful young witch with the ability to cast one of the best Bat-Bogey Hexes. She was also a great Quidditch player and would go on to represent the Hollyhead Harpies after graduating from Hogwarts.
Albus Severus Potter
Albus Severus Potter is the son of Harry and Ginny. He is the second sibling among the three Potter children. He is the protagonist of the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in which he and his friend Scorpius Malfoy try to save Cedric Diggory from being killed in the Riddle House in Little Hangleton by interfering with the events of the past. They were coaxed by Delphini Diggory, who was later revealed to be Delphi, the daughter of Lord Voldemort. However, they finally managed to evade her plans for bringing Voldemort back from the dead even though they had a lot to lose, including almost creating three alternate realities that were quite dangerous.
Potter – A Muggle Surname
Despite several families in the Harry Potter series being named specifically for this book and therefore representing magical families exclusively, Potter is a Muggle surname as well. It is believed that this surname originated from a group of people who were known for being skilled in pottery and that name survived. J. K. Rowling named Harry Potter after her childhood friend Ian Potter.
FAQs
What happened to Harry Potter’s dad’s family?
James Potter was the son of Fleamont Potter and Euphemia Potter. Fleamont Potter is said to have died when James was a boy due to Dragon Pox. It is believed that Euphemia Potter had died, at least by the time Harry was born. They left behind a vast inheritance to James who was their only son. This inheritance was later inherited by Harry and readers were first introduced to it when Harry was taken to his vault at Gringotts Bank by Hagrid.
Why were Lily and James Potter murdered?
Lily and James Potter were murdered by Lord Voldemort when he came to Godric’s Hollow to kill Harry. Both his parents tried to save the one-year-old Harry from getting killed. However, Voldemort was enraged and ended up killing James Potter. He later warned Lily to move aside as she was trying to protect Harry but when she refused, Voldemort killed her too. However, it is this protective act of Lily that saved Harry and banished Voldemort from his human self when his Killing Curse backfired on him instead of harming Harry.
How many babies does Harry Potter have?
Harry Potter has three children. James Sirius Potter, his first son was named after Harry’s father James Potter and Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather and friend of James. Albus Severus Potter was Harry’s second son and was named after Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape two of the most important guides to Harry during his time at Hogwarts. Although Harry loathed Severus Snape in his school years, when he realized how big of a sacrifice he had to endure, he eventually decided to recognize it by naming his son after him. His daughter, who was the youngest among the three, was named Lily Luna Potter, after Harry’s mother Lily and his friend Luna Lovegood.