Potter family: Difference between revisions
| Line 38: | Line 38: | ||
==The Dursleys== |
==The Dursleys== |
||
{{main|Dursley family}} |
{{main|Dursley family}} |
||
Harry's aunt Petunia married a Muggle named Vernon Dursley presumably around the same time Lily and James got married, as their son Dudley is only one month older than Harry.<ref>[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]], chapter 1</ref> The Dursleys live in the fictional Surrey town of Little Whinging. They are mortally afraid of Harry's magical abilities and despise him for it. Although the Dursleys outwardly seem to be a respectable family, they treat Harry with disrespect and intense dislike and, when he was younger, physical and emotional abuse. The film versions cast them as upper-middle class but there is ambiguity in the books as to whether this is the case. The family's characters seem to imply they are actually upper-working class with aspirations to a higher station. They have been Harry's reluctant guardians since he was a year old, although Harry left the Dursleys' guardianship forever just before he turned seventeen. Vernon's sister Marge Dursley, a dog breeder, sometimes visited Vernon and Petunia, and used to terrorise Harry (these visits seem to have ended since Harry inflated her to a massive size when he was thirteen). |
Harry's aunt Petunia married a Muggle named Vernon Dursley presumably around the same time Lily and James got married, as their son Dudley is only one month older than Harry.<ref>[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]], chapter 1</ref> The Dursleys live in the fictional Surrey town of Little Whinging. They are mortally afraid of Harry's magical abilities and despise him for it. Although the Dursleys outwardly seem to be a respectable family, they treat Harry with disrespect and intense dislike and, when he was younger, physical and emotional abuse. The film versions cast them as upper-middle class but there is ambiguity in the books as to whether this is the case. The family's characters seem to imply they are actually upper-working class with aspirations to a higher station. They have been Harry's reluctant guardians since he was a year old, although Harry left the Dursleys' guardianship forever just before he turned seventeen. Vernon's sister Marge Dursley, a dog breeder, sometimes visited Vernon and Petunia, and used to terrorise Harry (these visits seem to have ended since Harry inflated her to a massive size when he was thirteen). BUt later in the seventh book they seem to care for him a bit more but not as much as Dudley and Petunia. Apparently she does care for him very very deep down. Petunia actually begged Dumbledore to let her study at Hogwarts and only called Lily a freak afterwards. When she first mentions the dementors she said the awful boy was telling Lily, she actually meant Snape but Harry thought it was his father. |
||
Some writers, in particular John Granger in his book ''Looking for God in Harry Potter'', have speculated that [[Dursley family#Marge Dursley|Aunt Marge]] is a caricature of [[Margaret Thatcher]]; the bulldog is a traditional symbol of Great Britain. It's well-known that J. K. Rowling has no great love for Margaret Thatcher, who she believes was hostile to single mothers (such as Rowling) and those suffering from terrible illness (such as Rowling's mother) during the period of the 1980s when she held power on the Isles. |
Some writers, in particular John Granger in his book ''Looking for God in Harry Potter'', have speculated that [[Dursley family#Marge Dursley|Aunt Marge]] is a caricature of [[Margaret Thatcher]]; the bulldog is a traditional symbol of Great Britain. It's well-known that J. K. Rowling has no great love for Margaret Thatcher, who she believes was hostile to single mothers (such as Rowling) and those suffering from terrible illness (such as Rowling's mother) during the period of the 1980s when she held power on the Isles. |
||
Revision as of 19:45, 10 August 2007
Template:Current fiction This article describes the minor relatives of Harry Potter, a fictional character in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. See James and Lily Potter for Harry's parents and the Dursley family for Harry's aunt, uncle, and cousin.
Wizard relatives
Harry is related to the Weasleys, the Blacks, and the Malfoys through marriages and other connections. The fact that he is descended from the Peverell family, through a third son, Ignotus, is of some importance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and makes him a distant relative of Lord Voldemort.
Family tree
Template:HarryPotterFamilyTree
Paternal grandparents
Template:HP character 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.[1] 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, 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, as all wizards are inter-related to some degree, she probably meant close relatives. It is likely that Harry is related to a lot of his wizarding friends.
Maternal grandparents
Template:HP character Harry's maternal grandparents were Muggles, and so 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"; Petunia was 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".[citation needed]
The Dursleys
Harry's aunt Petunia married a Muggle named Vernon Dursley presumably around the same time Lily and James got married, as their son Dudley is only one month older than Harry.[2] The Dursleys live in the fictional Surrey town of Little Whinging. They are mortally afraid of Harry's magical abilities and despise him for it. Although the Dursleys outwardly seem to be a respectable family, they treat Harry with disrespect and intense dislike and, when he was younger, physical and emotional abuse. The film versions cast them as upper-middle class but there is ambiguity in the books as to whether this is the case. The family's characters seem to imply they are actually upper-working class with aspirations to a higher station. They have been Harry's reluctant guardians since he was a year old, although Harry left the Dursleys' guardianship forever just before he turned seventeen. Vernon's sister Marge Dursley, a dog breeder, sometimes visited Vernon and Petunia, and used to terrorise Harry (these visits seem to have ended since Harry inflated her to a massive size when he was thirteen). BUt later in the seventh book they seem to care for him a bit more but not as much as Dudley and Petunia. Apparently she does care for him very very deep down. Petunia actually begged Dumbledore to let her study at Hogwarts and only called Lily a freak afterwards. When she first mentions the dementors she said the awful boy was telling Lily, she actually meant Snape but Harry thought it was his father.
Some writers, in particular John Granger in his book Looking for God in Harry Potter, have speculated that Aunt Marge is a caricature of Margaret Thatcher; the bulldog is a traditional symbol of Great Britain. It's well-known that J. K. Rowling has no great love for Margaret Thatcher, who she believes was hostile to single mothers (such as Rowling) and those suffering from terrible illness (such as Rowling's mother) during the period of the 1980s when she held power on the Isles.
Descendants
James Potter
James Potter is the first-born child of Harry and Ginny Potter born between 2003 and 2004. He was named after Harry's father, and he is described as being similar in character to his namesake, as well as his uncles Fred and George Weasley, with a penchant for practical jokes and general misbehaviour. Despite Harry's best efforts to keep it hidden from his children, James managed to sneak the Marauders' Map from his father's desk one day.[3] It is, however, unknown whether he managed to get the map to work.
He seems to be quite close to his father's godson, Teddy Lupin, and his mother, Ginny, compares him to his Uncle Ron after he intrudes on Teddy kissing James' cousin, Victoire (Ron had been shown trying to interfere in Ginny's love life while they were at Hogwarts).
In the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, set 19 years after Voldemort's defeat, James is depicted leaving for at least his second year of education at Hogwarts.
Albus Potter
Albus Severus "Al" Potter is the second child of Harry and Ginny Potter. Estimated to be born around 2005-2006, he was named after two of Hogwarts' Headmasters, Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.
In the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he is being sent to Hogwarts for the first time. Due to jokes from his elder brother, James Potter, Albus fears that he will be placed in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor, the family house. Harry reassures Albus that he will be loved no matter what and informs him that Severus Snape, one of the two Hogwarts Headmasters for whom he was named, was in Slytherin and was "probably the bravest man [he] ever knew". In addition, he reveals to Albus that he himself was placed in Gryffindor because he asked the Sorting Hat not to put him in Slytherin, something he had never told any of his children. Harry also had similar fears of not being placed in Slytherin when he first went to Hogwarts.
Albus is said to look a lot like Harry, and it is also noted that, of all of Harry's children, he is the only one to have inherited Harry's mother's eyes.
Lily Potter
Template:HP character Lily Potter is the only known daughter of Harry and Ginny Potter. Estimated to be born around 2007-2008 she is the youngest of the three children in the family. She was named after Harry's mother, and she has red hair like her mother and grandmothers. She is two years younger than her brother, Albus.
In the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, she was accompanying her parents who were escorting James and Albus to the Hogwarts Express. Her personality seems to be similar to that of her mother Ginny, who acted similarly when she was introduced in the first book. As she saw her brothers take off on the Hogwarts express, she desperately wanted to join them as well.
Gaunt-Potter relationship
The Gaunt Family and the Potter family share a Peverell ancestry, making them distantly related[3]. 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, though it is possible that they came into possession of the Stone through other means than inheritance, calling their descent from Cadmus Peverell into question.
References
- ^ James' 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. [1]
- ^ Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, chapter 1
- ^ a b "J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript". The Leaky Cauldron. 2007-07-30. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
