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==Notes and references==
 
==Notes and references==
 
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Revision as of 23:32, 4 February 2012

Charlus Potter's son is the son and only child of Charlus Potter and Dorea Potter who was also a pure-blood wizard[1].

Behind the scenes

  • It has been speculated that James Potter is Charlus Potter's son. J. K. Rowling has commented that James’s parents were older when they had him; because of this, and because of his family’s wealth and lack of other children, he was quite spoiled[2]. Dorea would have been forty years old in 1960[1], when James was born, which fits in with Rowling’s comments. However, Rowling also said that James’s parents died of natural causes when they were elderly[3], but Dorea Potter was only fifty-seven years old when she died[1]. This could simply be a mathematical error, as Rowling has also admitted that maths is not her strong suit[4] and inconsistencies have been noted in the timeline. Also, many other members of the House of Black are shown to have died at relatively young ages for wizards[5], and James Potter's parents must have died between 1975 and 1981[6].
  • When he was going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for his first year, James Potter stated that his father was in Gryffindor but made no mention of his mother[7], which would make sense if his mother was Dorea Black, who was in Slytherin house[8]. However, James also had a disdainful attitude toward Slytherin house[7]. It is equally possible that Charlus Potter's (and Dorea Potter's) son is simply a relative of James Potter.
  • If James Potter was indeed Charlus Potter's son, then Harry Potter (the son of James Potter and Lily Potter) would be related to many of those close to him. Harry's godfather would be his second cousin, his friend and wife would be his third cousins, and his godson would be his second cousin, twice removed. Harry would also be a cousin of Bellatrix Lestrange, Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, Andromeda Tonks, Nymphadora Tonks, Arthur Weasley, and Regulus Black, and a descendant of Phineas Nigellus Black.[1]
  • However, in the Philosopher's Stone, it is mentioned that Harry Potter has no living family other than the Dursleys, so it is more likely that this Potter may simply be a cousin or other distant relative of James Potter who died before 1981.

Appearances

Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Black family tree
  2. Leaky Cauldron: 30 July 2007 Webchat with J.K. Rowling
  3. 16 July 2005 Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet Interview
  4. F.A.Q. at J.K. Rowling's Official Site
  5. No individual whose dates of birth and death are shown on the Black family tree lived past the age of ninety. Most of them died between the ages of fifty and eighty.
  6. Harry Potter was sent to live with the Dursley family after he was orphaned because he had no other living relatives. Sirius Black was taken in by the Potters after he ran away from home at the age of sixteen, in 1975 or 1976. Thus, James Potter's parents must have died somewhere between these times.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ch. 33
  8. In Chapter 4 of Half-Blood Prince, Horace Slughorn states: "The whole Black family had been in my house, but Sirius ended up in Gryffindor!" This implies that all Blacks except Sirius were Sorted into Slytherin while Slughorn was Head of House. Dorea, born in 1920, presumably attended Hogwarts c. 1931 or 1932 to 1938 or 1939, and thus would most likely have been a student of Slughorn, who was stated to have begun teaching at Hogwarts around the same time as Albus Dumbledore in Chapter 5 of Half-Blood Prince, in 1938 or earlier.