Lily J. Potter

Lily Potter (née Evans), was a muggle-born witch. She is the mother of Harry Potter, and was known to be quite skilled at Potions; she may also have had some skill at Charms since her wand (10¼, made of willow wood, swishy) was good for Charm work. During the First War, she, along with her husband, were members of the Order of the Phoenix.

Description
Lily was a very pretty witch, who had almond-shaped startlingly green eyes, which her son inherited, and long, shoulder length dark red (chestnut) hair. Interestingly enough, she has a similar appearance to Ginny Weasley, who Harry (her son) eventually married.

Early Life
Lily was born to the Evans family; she had a sister named Petunia. Her parents were proud of her the day she got her letter inviting her to attend school at Hogwarts though her sister considered her to be a freak. She was friends at an early age with Severus Snape.

Time at School


At the age of eleven, she attended Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry where she was sorted into Gryffindor house. She became quite skilled at potions and perhaps charms, attracting the attention of Professor Slughorn who made her a member of his Slug Club. In her seventh year, she became Head Girl.

She once stood up for her then best friend, Severus Snape, when he was being bullied by James Potter, whom she appeared to consider to be an arrogant bully. She had addressed James by his surname and attempted to stop his bulling until Snape called her a mud-blood. This subsequently led to a falling out and parting of ways between her and Snape. Harry would later witness this scene from via the pensieve, which Harry entered without permission when Snape stepped out of the room during an Occlumency lesson, as well as in Albus Dumbledore's pensive where Harry deposited Snape's memories at the end of Deathly Hallows.

During her fifth year, James (who was in the same year as her) had tried to ask her out, though she refused. James's friend Sirius Black later commented that James could not resist showing off (and making a fool of himself) whenever she was around. She did not however hate James; they had just got off on the wrong foot, and eventually in their seventh year they got together, and later married each other.

First War
At some point after leaving school, she and James married and had their son Harry, who was born on July 31 in 1980. It is not known what careers they took up after leaving school. During the First War, they defied Lord Voldemort on at least three different occasions, and were members of the Order of the Phoenix.

When Sybill Trelawney made a prophecy concerning the downfall of the Dark Lord Voldemort, Snape overheard part of the prophecy and reported what he knew to Voldemort, who then went after the Potters. However, Snape warned Dumbledore who then advised the family to go into hiding. They complied, putting the Fidelius Charm on their home in Godric's Hollow. However, their Secret-Keeper, Peter Pettigrew, betrayed them by telling Voldemort of their whereabouts.



On October 31 in 1981, Lord Voldemort came to their house. James fought with him, and told Lily to take their son and go. Voldemort had finished with James before she could escape. Trapped in her son's bedroom, Voldemort offered Lily the chance to get out of the way. When she refused, he killed her and went after Harry. Because of her sacrifice, however, Harry was marked with the protection of love, which spared Harry and temporarily defeated Voldemort.

After Death
However, that would not be the last Harry would see of his mother as during his first year at Hogwarts when he stumbled upon The Mirror of Erised he saw his mother and father beside him. Then in his third year, whenever he encountered a Dementor he was forced to re-live his mother and father’s deaths. Also in his fourth year while dueling with Voldemort in the Little Hangleton Graveyard when they experienced Priori Incantatem a shade of his mother and father (as well as others Voldemort’s wand had killed) came out of Voldemort's wand and aided Harry in his escape. Then in his Fifth year, he entered Snape's memory of being bullied by James via occulmency and saw his mother standing up for Snape. In his Seventh Year, he relives this memory of Snape's, among others, many containing his mother. Finally, during the final battle when Harry believes himself to be walking to his own death, he uses the Resurrection Stone to bring back an image of her.

Personality
Lily was known for being a very kind and gifted witch, she had a habit of seeing the best in others even when they could not see it themselves.

Behind the scenes
In the films, Geraldine Somerville plays Lily as an adult, and Susie Shinner plays her as a teenager. In the Prisoner of Azkaban film, Remus Lupin mentions Lily had been there for him at a time when no one else was.