Potter family

"The Potter family is a very old one, but it was never (until the birth of Harry James Potter) at the very forefront of wizarding history, contenting itself with a solid and comfortable existence in the backwaters. Potter is a not uncommon Muggle surname, and the family did not make the so-called Sacred Twenty-Eight for this reason; the anonymous compiler of that supposedly definitive list of pure-bloods suspected that they had sprung from what he considered to be tainted blood."

- Early description of the family

Potter is the surname of an old wizarding family descended from Ignotus Peverell and Linfred of Stinchcombe. They were once pure-bloods, but James Potter married Muggle-born witch Lily Evans, thus their son Harry James Potter was half-blood. The Potters have traditionally been sorted into Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; they are also very wealthy, with a vault at Gringotts Wizarding Bank containing a great deal of gold.

During the First and Second Wizarding Wars, the Potters supported the Order of the Phoenix and opposed Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. James and Lily Potter were both Order members who defied Voldemort three times and fought in the First Wizarding War. On 31 October, 1981 James and Lily's fourth encounter with Voldemort was their last. He murdered them as they attempted to protect their infant son, Harry. Harry survived and went on to be the youngest Seeker in a century and leader of Dumbledore's Army. He played an important role in many battles of the Second Wizarding War and was the one to defeat Voldemort once and for all.

After the war Harry became an Auror and helped reform and revolutionise the Ministry of Magic. At some point he married fellow Gryffindor and Dumbledore's Army member Ginevra Weasley. The couple had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter, all three of whom are named in honour of family, friends, and allies.

In 2007 Harry was promoted to Head of the Auror Office at the young age of 26. Before the fall of 2020 he became the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Harry also had a Chocolate Frog Card made in his honour that detailed his various accomplishments.

Early history
"The wizarding family of Potters descends from the twelfth-century wizard Linfred of Stinchcombe, a locally well-beloved and eccentric man, whose nickname, ‘the Potterer’, became corrupted in time to ‘Potter’."

- The beginning of the use of the name Potter

The Potter family descended from a twelfth-century wizard named Linfred of Stinchcombe, a locally well-beloved and eccentric man, whose nickname, ‘the Potterer’, became corrupted in time to ‘Potter’.

Linfred was a vague and absent-minded fellow whose Muggle neighbours often called upon his medicinal services. None of them realised that Linfred’s wonderful cures for pox and ague were magical; they all thought him a harmless and lovable old chap, pottering about in his garden with all his funny plants. His reputation as a well-meaning eccentric served Linfred well, for behind closed doors he was able to continue the series of experiments that laid the foundation of the Potter family’s fortune. Historians credit Linfred as the originator of a number of remedies that evolved into potions still used to this day, including Skele-Gro and Pepperup Potion. His sales of such cures to fellow witches and wizards enabled him to leave a significant pile of gold to each of his seven children upon his death.



Hardwin Potter (Linfred's eldest son) moved the family through the Forest of Dean to the village of Godric’s Hollow, where he married a beautiful young witch by the name of Iolanthe Peverell. She was the granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell and as the eldest of her generation in the absence of male heirs within the Peverell family, inherited her grandfather’s Cloak of Invisibility. It was, Iolanthe explained to Hardwin, a tradition in her family that the possession of this cloak remained a secret, and her new husband respected her wishes. From this time on, the cloak was handed down to the eldest in each new generation.

Ralston Potter, a later descendant of the Potter family, served as a member of the Wizengamot from 1612 to 1652. He was a supporter of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, instead of wishing to declaring war on Muggles like the more militant members of the Wizengamot.



Abraham Potter was a member of a branch in the family, which immigrated at some point before 1693 to the United States of America. Once there he became one of the original twelve Aurors trained and appointed by the first President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America. It can be assumed that he was educated at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The house Abraham was sorted into remains unknown and his distant relation to the famous Harry Potter would not be uncovered until centuries later by eager genealogists.

Recent history
"It was Fleamont who took the family gold and quadrupled it, by creating magical Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion (‘two drops tames even the most bothersome barnet’)."

- Fleamont invented Sleekeazy's Hair Potion

Henry Potter (known as Harry to his friends), great-great-great-great grandson to Ralston Potter, also served in the Wizengamot, from 1913 to 1921. He condemned the Minister for Magic at the time, Archer Evermonde, for forbidding the magical community from helping the Muggles fighting during the First World War. His outspokenness on behalf of the Muggle community, along with the fact that Potter is also a relatively common surname in the Muggle world, led to the exclusion of the Potter family from the 'Sacred Twenty-Eight' list.

Fleamont Potter, Henry's son, attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he was Sorted into Gryffindor House. Most of his classmates there teased him about his name, goading him into later attributing his dexterity at duelling to the fights he made in return. After graduating Fleamont took up a potioneering career in which he invented Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, the sale of which quadrupled the family gold and wooed even American witches by 1926. He retired with his wife Euphemia a few years later, but sold the company at a vast profit.



James Potter, Fleamont and Euphemia's only son, was born late in the couple's lives on 27 March, 1960. By that time, his parents were both elderly (even by wizarding standards), but they pampered and cherished their child accordingly to the point where he became a proud yet arrogant boy. However, James was still considered a good person.

James attended Hogwarts from 1971 to 1978, and was sorted into Gryffindor like his father. While there, he became leader of a small gang of Gryffindors in his year known as the Marauders, along with Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. He played as Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and was very aware of his talents.

While at Hogwarts, James met Lily Evans who was also in Gryffindor. He developed a crush on her, but James was somewhat an obnoxious youth for his love of showing off and his exceptional self-confidence. He often hexed other students with Sirius out of boredom, including Lily's friend.



James was also an accomplished Animagi along with Sirius and Peter as they sought to accompany Remus each month when he became a werewolf. James' Animagus form was a shining red stag with pronged horns from which his nickname "Prongs" was derived. They also made the Marauder's Map, a small piece of parchment enchanted with a Homonculous Charm which displays a map of the Hogwarts Castle and grounds, and all the school's inhabitants — including all staff, ghosts and students — in great detail.

By the end of his time at Hogwarts, James lost the less savoury aspects of his personality and was appointed Head Boy. The Potter family welcomed Sirius to their home one summer after he was disowned by his own pure-blood supremacist family, making him an unofficial member of the Potter family. Sirius was later provided a home for himself when his uncle Alphard Black left him with some of the Black family gold (which saw Alphard disowned as well), but Fleamont and Euphemia would often welcome him back to their home for Sunday lunch.

Service in the war
"It's a secret society. Dumbledore's in charge, he founded it. It's the people who fought against You-Know-Who last time."

- Lily and James joined the original Order of the Phoenix



James and Lily were married immediately after Hogwarts, sometime around 1978 and 1979. The wedding was kept very quiet because of the First Wizarding War that was taking place. The war was the result of dark wizard Lord Voldemort's (a distant Potter relative) rise to power. Voldemort spawned a dark rebellion and gained followers known as Death Eaters. Also in the fall of 1979 Lily became pregnant with their future son.

The Dark Lord sought to recruit the Potters to his cause as well, possibly due to Snape who joined the Death Eater ranks and urged his master to do so despite Lily being Muggle-born. However, the couple refused and defied him three times, instead joining the Order of the Phoenix. The order was an organisation led by Albus Dumbledore to oppose Voldemort's regime directly.

By 1979 Fleamont and Euphemia Potter died of Dragon Pox within a few days after each other, leaving James to inherit the vast family fortune. This enabled him to comfortably support the family without the need for a paying job, and also used this wealth to support Lupin, who was unemployable due to his werewolf status.

Near-extinction
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies"

- Sybill Trelawney's first prophecy



Harry Potter, James and Lily's son, was born during the height of the war, on 31 July, 1980. At the same time, Dumbledore witnessed a prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney at the Hog's Head Inn which predicted that a child with the power to defeat the Dark Lord would be born to parents who had defied him three times "as the seventh month dies". Voldemort was only told part of the prophecy, because Severus Snape, who was eavesdropping on the interview, was caught by Aberforth Dumbledore (Albus' brother) and thrown out of the pub.

Even though two infants were born at the end of July, Voldemort picked Harry as he believed their shared blood status made them equal. Severus Snape and Dumbledore made arrangements for the Potters to go into hiding by using the Fidelius Charm over the Potter Cottage in Godric's Hollow.

James and Lily made Peter Pettigrew their Secret-Keeper, but he betrayed them when he secretly defected to Death Eaters as a spy within the Order's ranks, and betrayed the Potters' whereabouts about a week after the Fidelius Charm was performed. They originally intended for Sirius to be the Secret-Keeper, but he suggested Pettigrew instead thinking he would be less obvious.



Lily and James were murdered by Voldemort with the Killing Curse at their cottage on 31 October, 1981. He gave Lily the chance to step aside at the request of Snape, but she refused. Her death invoked ancient magic that protected Harry when Voldemort tried to kill him. The Killing Curse rebounded, leaving Harry its only known survivor and Voldemort temporarily defeated. The incident also caused a piece of Voldemort's soul to be embedded in the lightning-bolt-scar on Harry's forehead, inadvertently turning the boy into one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.



Harry was taken by Rubeus Hagrid by the request of Dumbledore, to the care of his maternal relatives, the Dursley family. He spent the next ten years without any knowledge of his wizarding heritage and was treated poorly by his aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Dumbledore believed Harry would benefit from being with blood relatives in order to preserve the protection his mother gave him with her death.

The Potter's cottage was kept in it's ruined condition and made invisible to Muggles. There was a sign outside the cottage that commented on the house, which witches and wizards wrote words of support for Harry. One of the messages was "long live Harry Potter". Sometime later a memorial was placed in the village sqaure in honour of James, Lily, and Harry.

Between the wars
"Yer a wizard, Harry, and a thumpin' good one I'd wager, once yer trained up a bit, o'course."

- Harry finding out he's a wizard

Harry was finally informed he was a wizard on his eleventh birthday by Rubeus Hagrid when the time came for him to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1991. Harry was sorted into Gryffindor house. During his education he proved to be highly talented in the areas of Defence Against the Dark Arts and Quidditch. He also proved to be a wizard of superior magical ability, as he was able to conjure a corporeal stag Patronus at the incredibly young age of thirteen.



Harry's time at Hogwarts was met with the return of Lord Voldemort. Harry prevented him from obtaining the Philosopher's Stone in 1992. Harry received the Cloak of Invisibility and saw his family for the first time in the Mirror of Erised. He was also the youngest Seeker in a century, playing for his house team in his first year. In his second year he solved the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, saved Ginny Weasley's life, and slayed Slytherin's basilisk. He would eventually find out the truth about his parent's death and became one of the champions in the Triwizard Tournament, later winning said tournament.

Second Wizarding War
"I am the chosen one. I have to kill him."

- Harry Potter's future regarding Voldemort

Voldemort eventually returned in body form by using Harry's blood to regenerate his own body in 1995, unknowingly anchoring his life to his own. After Voldemort's return Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge led a smear champion against Harry and Dumbledore, in a misguided attempt to discredit their claims that Voldemort had returned. This caused the majority of the wizarding community to turn against him. Also during his fifth year Harry reluctantly taught and led Dumbledore's Army. He also fought in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and played a significant role in many other battles of the Second Wizarding War (Battle of the Astronomy Tower and Battle of the Seven Potters).



Harry sought to destroy every known Horcrux of Voldemort leading to their final confrontation at the Battle of Hogwarts in May 1998. When he found out he was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, he decided to sacrifice his life to give everyone a chance at defeating him. Harry spoke with his parents, Sirius, and Remus briefly through the Resurrection Stone. Afterward he willingly stood before Voldemort and was struck with the Killing Curse, which destroyed the part of Voldemort's soul within him.

Harry was also notable for being the only known Master of Death, having united the three Deathly Hallows at the mere age of seventeen.



Harry survived for the second time as Voldemort had taken some of Harry's blood — and thus Lily's blood — with the magical protection created when he tried to murder Harry as a baby, which protected him for the second time. It also protected the defenders of Hogwarts in the final stages of the battle. Voldemort and Harry duelled one last time, and Harry defeated Voldemort once and for all, thus putting an end to the Second Wizarding War.

After the war
"Harry and Ron utterly revolutionised the Auror Department in — at the Ministry of Magic. So they — I mean, they are now the consummate — they are experts... And by the time — 19 years later — I would imagine that Harry is heading up that department, which is not corrupt in any way."

- J. K. Rowling regarding Harry's career after the war

After the Second Wizarding War, Harry was recruited into the Auror training programme by Minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt. He became the youngest Head Auror ever appointed at age 26. Along with his friend Ron Weasley, Harry is considered an "expert" and helped reform and revolutionise the Auror department and the rest of the Ministry.



At some point he was featured on a Chocolate Frog Card for his accomplishments. He also married Ginny Weasley sometime before 2014. The couple had three children — James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter — and thus a new generation of Potters were born into a more peaceful and stable world. The Potter family also attended the 2014 Qudditch World Cup, where Ginny was covering the match as the sports correspondent for the Daily Prophet. During the match Rita Skeeter made many scathing comments about Harry and the other members of Dumbledore's Army that was present in the VIP box.

James Sirius began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 2015 and was sorted into Gryffindor House. Lily Luna, who began attendance in 2019 was also sorted into Gryffindor. The exception was Albus Severus who began attending Hogwarts in 2017 and was sorted into Slytherin House. Thus making him the only one in his immediate family who was not in Gryffindor. During his time at Hogwarts, Albus faced many challenges some them due to having a famous father and others due to his lack of magical talent. Harry went on to be the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, having been promoted sometime before the fall of 2020.

Main family
James Potter was the only child of Fleamont and Euphemia Potter. James married Lily Evans and they had one child, Harry, who famously defeated Lord Voldemort. Harry eventually married Ginny Weasley and they had three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter.

Potter relatives
After James Potter married Muggle-born Lily Evans the Potters were then related to the Muggle Dursleys and Evans families. Through Harry Potter's marriage to Ginny Weasley the Potters gained many relatives, as the Weasleys were quite a large family.

Cloak of Invisibility


The Potters descend from Ignotus Peverell, whose Cloak of Invisibility is one of the three Deathly Hallows. Unlike most Invisibility cloaks, it has remained intact for centuries, passed on from generation to generation until it reached Harry Potter. Harry temporarily became the "Master of Death" in 1998, as he was in possession of the Invisibility Cloak, the Resurrection Stone, and the Elder Wand. The last item's loyalty to Harry was crucial to his defeat of Lord Voldemort, as the Elder Wand refused to harm its true owner and caused Voldemort's Killing Curse to backfire. Of the three Hallows, Harry only kept the Invisibility Cloak for himself, as it rightfully belongs to his family.

Through the Peverell family, Harry and Voldemort are distantly related, as the House of Gaunt descended from Ignotus's brother Cadmus Peverell, who passed the Resurrection Stone to his descendants in a signet ring.

Vault 687
"Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts."

- Description



This vault in Gringotts Wizarding Bank belongs to the Potter family. It appears to be of moderate depth and deeper underground than the vault of the Weasley family, but not as deep as Vault 713. It is accessible only by a cart operated by one of the bank's goblin employees and by the use of a small gold key.

The vault contains a small fortune, heaps and mounds of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. Most of the fortune derives from Fleamonts' invention of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, sales of which quadrupled the family gold, he also upon retirement sold the company at a vast profit.

Etymology

 * "" is a very common surname of English origin. It traditionally refers to the occupation of making pottery.
 * was a well-known English children's author.
 * is the name for a burial ground for the unknown or unclaimed dead, particularly soldiers and orphans; the Potter family had many members that fit that description.
 * The is a model for making ethical decisions developed at Harvard University. J. K. Rowling has also commented that she has liked the name since childhood.

Behind the scenes

 * In the films, the Potters are played by the following actors:
 * James Potter is played by Adrian Rawlins in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Part 2. The 15 year old James Potter I was played by Robbie Jarvis in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the 11 year old James Potter I was played by Alfie McIlwain in.
 * Lily J. Potter (née Evans) is played by Geraldine Somerville in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Part 2. The 15 year old Lily Evans was played in a deleted scene by Susie Shinner in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the 11 year old Lily Evans was played by Ellie Darcey-Alden in.
 * Harry James Potter is played by Daniel Radcliffe in all of the films. Baby Harry was played by the Saunders triplets in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and by Toby Papworth in.
 * Ginevra Molly Potter (née Weasley) is played by Bonnie Wright in all of the films.
 * James Sirius Potter is played by Will Dunn in.
 * Albus Severus Potter is played by Arthur Bowen in.
 * Lily Luna Potter is played by Daphne de Beistegui in.
 * It is seen in two generations that Potter men have fallen in love and married red-haired women: James Potter married Lily Evans, and their son Harry Potter married Ginny Weasley.
 * Harry and his sons James and Albus are the only known Potters to have godfathers. Harry's godfather is Sirius, James' godfather is Ron, and Albus' godfather is Neville
 * The Potter family wasn't one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, though it wasn't known to had Muggle ancestry until Harry Potter's birth in 1980.
 * It is shown in several generations of Potters that they suffer from bad eyesight and are shown to wear full-moon glasses. It is seen in the males of the family such as; Abraham Potter, Fleamont Potter, James Potter I and Harry Potter.
 * It is shown throughout the Potter family, that each generation consist of one single male child to continue the family name throughout the centuries. Whereas only two members of the family have had more than one child; Linfred of Stinchcombe who had seven children and Harry Potter who had three children. It is possibly a tradition within the Potter family to have a single male heir to take on the Cloak of Invisibility.
 * James I, one of the creators of the Marauder's Map, is one of two creators to have children, the other is Remus Lupin. Notably, both children were orphaned at a young age in Voldemort-related battles. (Harry, James' son, was named godfather of Teddy, Lupin's son).
 * The usage of the Sacrificial Protection charm has been only seen and used by two members of the Potter family, Lily Potter (nee Evans) on her son Harry Potter in 1981, and eventually Harry, himself, on the Hogwarts army in 1998. The usage of the charm hasn't been shown in any other family besides the Potter family.

Appearances

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Notes and references
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