Lily had two children #2

Lily had two children (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=1838)

Please continue here.

What on earth are you going on about? Harry is the only child, 'cuz if ther was anyone else... they';d be famous,too.

Harry couldn't have a brother/sister. First of all siruis would have told harry about him/her. It would be a secret. And if Harry did then it would be like Star wars all over again. And as great is Star Wars is and all, I'm not to fond that Harry Potter will turn out like that. I would be very upset.
If Harry had a br/str then he would have been told a long time ago. Plus what would be the reasons for keeping him/her away from Harry. THere would need to be a very good reason for hidding them. And I can't think of anything.

HARRY IS THE ONLY CHILD. I THINK IT'S LUDICROUS TO THINK SHE HAD 2 CHILDREN.



p.s. sorry i left the caps on :).


By the way, if you think i'm being disrespectful to other peoples views then you are wrong, i'm merely staiting mine.

I'm not a fan of this theory. Plus, I think JK would let us know, or at least hint some about this. James and Lily were married almost right out of Hogwarts and Harry was born about a year later. (At least that's my understanding of it.)

If Harry were to have a brother or sister then they would have to be older than Harry since when Lily and James died Harry was a baby. And wouldn't Lily have been trying to protect the other child as well when Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow?

And I'm sure Sirius would have told him something about it or even hinted about it. It'll be awkward for JKR to introduce a character as Harry's sibling. She'll have a lot of explaining to do.

No, I think Harry is the only child. I beleive someone would have told Harry about this other child. I can't imagine that Sirius or Dumbledore wouldn't know about this second child. And if they did, they would have certainly told Harry about it. Keeping a sibling from Harry would be worse than not telling him about the prophecy.

I think that Harry was indeed an only child, but I've been wrong before (just once though :D). JKR did say we were putting too much Star Wars into Harry Potter when someone asked about a prequel, I sense this being the same case.

Imagine Harry having a sister/brother - this would totally ruin the plot ! You can't write 5 books about a main character and then find out he was just number 2 after all.

Why should, in that case, be Harry any more important than this ambiguous hidden character ? This is about as insane as saying that Snape is Harry's real father, since Lily was a prostitute (couldn't hold my tongue - sorry).

I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but didn't JK say that Petunia is Harry's only living relative?

I think you have been watching too much of the "Star Wars" movies to have come up with this theory. Jo is too great of a writer to have copied George Lucas' plot.

uhhh... correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't the story called harry potter? not some other potter. the story is way too developed to suddenly add long-lost-brother-jimmy or whatever. :P

There is no way that Harry had a brother/sister. So many people talk about his parents and seemed to know them that AT LEASE ONE OF THEM would've mentioned this to Harry at one point or another. And it is clearly stated many times that Lily and James were killed that night at that house and Harry was the only surviver. Meaning no sibbling was killed along with Lily and James, and no sibbling survived with Harry. I thought that was obvious to anyone who read the books.

That can't be true becuase if it were then Harry would have went to live with his brother or sister.

lol! I just read all the post and each one of them are totally against Harry having a brother/sister. It makes me laugh cause we have this whole thread on why we don't think that Harry has a brother/sister. :rotfl: You would think that we would talk about something more useful. But I guess not. Oh well, though. I would love to hear from someone who does think that harry has a brother or sister.

would love to hear from someone who does think that harry has a brother or sister.

That will not happen because you have no proof


1- Hermione is ten months older then Harry, which makes it possible.
No it doesn't, pregnancy is a nine month period which leaves one month to get pregnant which doesn't leave Lily enough time to get better from her pregnancy, and Harry wouldn't turn out normal

2- Hermione was put up for adoption for one of many reasons:
a- There was a prophecy saying that the Potter's first born would be in great danger from Voldy. Hermione was given up to muggles to protect her from him. Unlucky they miss understood the prophecy, they meant first born son not first born child.

From book five we know that this is untrue

b- Lily was kidnapped by Voldy while she was pregnant with Hermione. Gave birth to her while under his control. Snape was order to kill Hermione, but he could not bring himself to kill her and instead drop Hermione off at a muggle orphanage.

This would not be a theory...just wild speculation.

Again you have no proof

I also disagree with this theory. There has been no evidence of a Potter sibling, and it reallly doesn't tie into the story very well. Not to mention, we're 2/3 of the way through the septology, I'm sure some clues would have been dropped about it by now.

This is an intresting theory, a little odd, yet interesting... is there even a shred of evidence? :huh:

No. Some people are apparently confused as to the difference between evidence and speculation.

I sure haven't seen anyone supporting with actual evidence. The timelines just don't work out unless they had a child when they were in school which is beyond highly unlikely, and even if they did we would have heard about it from someone.

I sure haven't seen anyone supporting with actual evidence. The timelines just don't work out unless they had a child when they were in school which is beyond highly unlikely, and even if they did we would have heard about it from someone.

That is exactly my thoughts, who ever made this thread is not arguing for it. And therefore it keeps living because people don't agree with it. This is very entertaining. ;)

Harry's only blood relative on his mother's side was his Aunt Petunia...Lilly had no other children...they were only married a short while..Harry was only 1...Lilly could have been pregnant...but it takes 9 months...and in the house...there were no other cribs but Harry's....what purpose would it serve JK to leave it out...it messes up the plot....there are a lot of only children...Christ... had half brothers..Voldermort...Hermonie..Draco...Neville.. .right? :huh:

It is actually possible, Harry could have been born in eight or seventh month...

But I don't believe this theory, though...

There was putative support posted in the first or second life of this thread. However, the support really was a lot of stuff suggesting that it was not impossible rather than providing evidence to that it was the case. It also ignored all of the evidence that this was not true. One of the key premises, that Hermione was supposed to be only 6 weeks younger than Harry, also turned out to be false. It was assumed that the age difference had been fudged, but whereas you could fudge 6 weeks (maybe...), you could not fudge 10 months.

The problen is, and as so many threads here attest, people spend too much time reading between the lines. However, JKR puts all of her stuff in the lines.

(And she does not seem to be a Star Wars fan....)

I can't see how Harry could have a sibling. Like most of you have said, Harry, and us, would've known about the kid by the time he met Sirius. I don't think Rowling would put a twist like that into the story anyway. there are already too many twists as it is.

So here was my original post on the first thread./

I know that this thread centers on Hermione and Harry being siblings but what if it is Harry and Neville. Neville is born on the 30th and Harry the 31 of July. If they were born minutes before and after midnight they would have different birthdates. My theory is that knowing the prophecy ahead of time, but not knowing which boy the prophecy referred to, Lily and James split the boys up for their protection and had Neville brought up by the Longbottoms. That could be why the prophecy repeats the line referring to the "one" being born at the end of the seventh month because it could have referred to either boy. Also, maybe that is why Neville's remembrall lit up but he couldn't remember what he forgot because it was something far back in his past.

I know this theory is kind of far out there (just speculation) but just something to think about. Tell me what you think

I know this theory is kind of far out there (just speculation) but just something to think about. Tell me what you think

It's an very interresting theory, but there is no evidence to back it up. I could go into more detail about how it's improbable but since it's only speculation, I won't bother. As much as I love a good plot twist, I don't think that J.K.R. would do that... it woudn't do justice to either characters. Both Harry and Neville have lost their families to Lord Voldemort, they both have their own pain, and to lump them together as brothers would somewhat diminish that. They wouldn't be two individuals, they would be Harry and Neville - the long lost brothers. Does that make any sense?

I really don't think it's a plausible theory. Firstly because JKR was originally going to have the story start out with Hermione's dad finding the wreckage of Harry's house (or something like that. It's on her site if you would like to see what I am talking about) after Voldemorts "friendly" visit.If Hermione was Harry's sister, then that would mean that Hermione's (and Harry's) dad, who would, in that case, be dead, went back to his destroyed house after he had died. It just wouldn't work. There is nothing that says she couldn't have changed her mind; to the best of my knowledge, as of yet there is absolutely nothing in any of the books that points to Hermione being related to Harry.

No it doesn't, pregnancy is a nine month period which leaves one month to get pregnant which doesn't leave Lily enough time to get better from her <pregnancy and Harry wouldn't turn out normal




actually this is possible...its called irish twins.

It is actually possible, Harry could have been born in eight or seventh month...

But I don't believe this theory, though...

Hmmmm... Harry could have been born at the end of seventh month of Lily's pregnancy, that's true !

Born as the seventh month dies.

Why not ?
After all, he is always described as a small and skinny child, especially in the first books.

Not likely, but maybe he has some unknown twin brother. But I really don't think they would be so cruel to Harry and hide from him a sibling.

hmmmmm..............iv been reading ova this and i dont think harry had a bro/ss at all. jk said PERTUNIA WAS HIS ONLY LIVING RELATIVE shes never told a lie when asked about the books .

Someone previously suggested that Neville and Harry could be related. I find this highly un-likely. Neville lives with his grandmother. Why would an elderly woman adopt a young baby? Any way, thats a little off the topic,
I think Harry would have some idea if he had a sibling, Sirius wouldnt/couldnt keep that from him.

No it doesn't, pregnancy is a nine month period which leaves one month to get pregnant which doesn't leave Lily enough time to get better from her <pregnancy and Harry wouldn't turn out normal
actually this is possible...its called irish twins.

It's possible- I was a 7 month baby, and I'm normal(I hope)

Someone previously suggested that Neville and Harry could be related. I find this highly un-likely. Neville lives with his grandmother. Why would an elderly woman adopt a young baby? Any way, thats a little off the topic,
I think Harry would have some idea if he had a sibling, Sirius wouldnt/couldnt keep that from him.

Also, Neville looks just like his mother.

heheh, I almost feel bad for JKR. A lot of people are going to be very disappointed when the final main plot unfolds and all of the “conspiracy” ideas never receive so much as a backwards glance.

hmmmmm..............iv been reading ova this and i dont think harry had a bro/ss at all. jk said PERTUNIA WAS HIS ONLY LIVING RELATIVE shes never told a lie when asked about the books .
I don't think he has a sibling either but just to point this out to you, the sibling could have easily died leaving Petunia as his only living relative.

If Lily did have two children, then I highly doubt that the other one is Neville. I have also read that the other child could be Hermione. It is true she is 10 months older than Harry, so it is medically possible, but it is not likely, even if the first was born premature. Let me say that if indeed Lily had a previous child, I don't think it was James' child. I found it oddly peculiar the way Lupin talked about her. You don't talk about your best friend's wife in that manner unless something was going on.

Unfortunatly, I don't see a good deal of evidence to support the idea that Lily had a child before Harry, however. I really like the theories though, especially if it involves Lupin. Of all the Lily having two children, I think this has the most probability, but I am not convinced of its existing as of yet.

in the prisoner of azcaban, when harry comes to close to the dementor, he hears his father say, "take harry and run". wouldn't he have lily take the other child, if there was one, to take them, too? so really, there couldn't be another child. and another thing, if there was another child, which i highly doubt, even of they wern't james, do you think he would want to save the other child?

^^^ true, unless they split up harry and his sibling when they were younger...
(and thats not to say that i believe harry isnt an only child)

i think that we would know if harry was not the only child. i think that hagrid would have told harry this. hagrid is after all harry's best grown friend

No it doesn't, pregnancy is a nine month period which leaves one month to get pregnant which doesn't leave Lily enough time to get better from her pregnancy, and Harry wouldn't turn out normal



LOL sorry I know this is off topic and all but I just wanted to say that it is very possible to have a two babies back to back. My aunt had a baby girl in July and when she went back for her 6 week check up she was pregnant again. That baby was born in May of the next year making her kids almost exactly 10 months apart. :huh:

They are adults now and yes they are perfectly normal. LOL sorry to go off topic but just thought I would share that yes it is possible if a person does not take precautions to prevent such things from happening. :p

Okay carry on with this unusual theory. I personally do not think that JK would introduce something like this so late in the series. It just wouldn't work. As others have said it seems a little too much star warish. Even though I love Star Wars this is Harry Potter. Lets leave it at that :cool:

Let me say that if indeed Lily had a previous child, I don't think it was James' child. I found it oddly peculiar the way Lupin talked about her. You don't talk about your best friend's wife in that manner unless something was going on.

Are you suggesting Lily/Lupin? I think that they were only friends, they were both Prefects and as we see in Snape's Worst Memory, she was obviously a compassionate person. And plus, Remus never talked about her in any other way than friendly except in the third movie, and I think you'll excuse me for not exactly trusting the script writer. I'm sorry about that argument, it's just that I'm diehard Lily/James, so the idea of Lily/Lupin is not my favourite.

How very Star Wars

As I posted in the thread about what Voldemort did to "guard himself against mortal death", I believe the bond of blood is extremely important in the plot.

In OotP, talking about Lily, Dumbledore told Harry :
Her sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you.
He meant Petunia, of course. But only Petunia ?
I believe there is much more to this !

Yes, I think Harry could very well have a sibling. If some people find this too Star Warish... too bad for them ! JKR is writing the story she likes.

I used to participate in a discussion on another forum (Darkmark), and we built a big theory there... One of my fellow "sibling theory supporters" (dtpoet... are you still here ? ) posted the theory many months ago here on Cosforums, in the first "Lily had two children" thread. Some of you might have read it...

This "Sibling Theory" explained quite a lot !

The discussion on Darkmark ended last August... after JKR said something that seemed to contradict our theory. Now, however, I think there is a lot of room for interpretation.

I've updated the theory since that time... If people here are interested, I can post it (it's a very long read, though... )

As I posted in the thread about what Voldemort did to "guard himself against mortal death", I believe the bond of blood is extremely important in the plot.

In OotP, talking about Lily, Dumbledore told Harry :

He meant Petunia, of course. But only Petunia ?
I believe there is much more to this !

Yes, I think Harry could very well have a sibling. If some people find this too Star Warish... too bad for them ! JKR is writing the story she likes.

I used to participate in a discussion on another forum (Darkmark), and we built a big theory there... One of my fellow "sibling theory supporters" (dtpoet... are you still here ? ) posted the theory many months ago here on Cosforums, in the first "Lily had two children" thread. Some of you might have read it...

This "Sibling Theory" explained quite a lot !

The discussion on Darkmark ended last August... after JKR said something that seemed to contradict our theory. Now, however, I think there is a lot of room for interpretation.

I've updated the theory since that time... If people here are interested, I can post it (it's a very long read, though... )

I haven't read it before, and while I doubt you could convince me that Harry has a sibling, I'd like to here your thoughts on the matter. :)

We can't rule out the possibility, but it's very unlikely. If Lily did have another child, then where was him/her? After all, Lily and James were killed because Harry had his name written on something. If Lily really had another child, it's unnecessary to hide that child, as he/she was not in danger. And if she didn't hide him/her, Hagrid would find him/her when he found Harry.

Yes, we can't rule it out. It's the Harry Potter universe, and I think we've learned that anythin is possible in HP. :)

I haven't read it before, and while I doubt you could convince me that Harry has a sibling, I'd like to here your thoughts on the matter. :)

OK. I want to fix a few details first, I'll try to post it soon.
(By the way, is there a limit here to the size of a single post ? Because the theory is really long... )


In the meanwhile, here is something for you to ponder :
In PS, Dumbledore finds Harry gazing at an image of his family in the Mirror of Erised... And what does Dumbledore immediately tell Harry ? That the Mirror cannot give "knowledge or truth" !
Knowledge... So, what is it Harry doesn't know about his family, that the Mirror didn't tell him ? Who is the unknown relative ?

OK. I want to fix a few details first, I'll try to post it soon.
(By the way, is there a limit here to the size of a single post ? Because the theory is really long... )


In the meanwhile, here is something for you to ponder :
In PS, Dumbledore finds Harry gazing at an image of his family in the Mirror of Erised... And what does Dumbledore immediately tell Harry ? That the Mirror cannot give "knowledge or truth" !
Knowledge... So, what is it Harry doesn't know about his family, that the Mirror didn't tell him ? Who is the unknown relative ?

I don't know if thre is a post limit, I've only been here for 9 days, so I'm not familiar with the rules yet. But that is an interesting thought...maybe Dumbledore was referring to the fact that the mirror can't tell him anything about his family or bring them back, but then again....maybe it does have a deeper meaning.

OK. I'm almost ready to post my essay... I hope I can do it tonight.
First, I want to say that, while I actually wrote it, I couldn't have done it alone. The group of fans who supported this "Sibling Theory" (as early as 2002, and until last August) on the Darkmark boards helped a lot. So, thanks to them all !

Now, I'm going to try and convince you that Hermione is Harry's sister !
Yes, I mean it !
Hey ! They even have the same initials, don't they ? Harry James and Hermione Jane...
And JKR revealed on her website that Hermione's original name was "Puckle" (she changed it to "Granger" later).
H.J.P. and H.J.P. ! Quite a coincidence... Or is it a coincidence ?

The essay coming soon if I am allowed such a huge post (it's about 1500 lines, or 18000 words long. Will it work ? Anyone knows ? )

I here your theory it is a bit far-fetched but i like it, whether or not i believe it to be true is another thing. Hermione has no resemblance to Lily or James at all not that she has to look them them not every child looks like there parents. i'm sure Sirius or even Dumbledore would have known about this and wouldn't Lily have died then? Wouldn't Voldie have her killed after the birth of her child. The more i write the more i don't believe this thoery enough.

As promised, here is the essay.
Don't try to read this in 5 minutes... :p

It seems I have to split it because it's too long...

--------------------------------------------------
Harry Potter : the Sibling Theory.
The Secret at the heart of it all !
By “Merlin”, April 2005 version.

The base idea of the Sibling Theory is that Hermione is Harry’s sister, James’ and Lily’s secret daughter.
She was hidden (at birth or possibly later), and her true identity remained a secret, known by only very few people. Hermione was raised by adoptive parents : Mr and Mrs Granger.

In a pre-OotP interview (June 19th, 2003), JK Rowling said :
There is one thing… it is kind of the heart of it all. And it kind of explains everything and no-one’s quite got there but a couple of people have skirted it. So you know… I couldn’t divert now, everything has been building up to it, and I’ve laid all my clues.

The Sibling Theory could be just it. It is based on many clues from the books - and a few clues from other sources, mostly interviews given by JK Rowling herself. We’ll examine these clues first, as this is what the theory is based on, and then we’ll examine some ideas about how the theory can work, as well as a few possible variants. Also, we’ll see how it could be “the heart of it all” in the plot.

Of course, the details of how everything can work are rather speculative. But the heart of the theory is pretty strong. It can be summarised very simply as follows :
- Hermione is Harry’s sister, Lily’s and James’ daughter.
- Hermione knows it.
- As she has Lily’s blood, Hermione is important for Harry’s protection (Protection Theory).

Sure there are some difficulties with the theory, and we’ll examine them, but we’ll see there are very good reasons to believe that Harry James and Hermione Jane (H.J. and H.J.) are – indeed – brother and sister.


1. THE CLUES :

These are the clues to support the theory. Obviously, there is no absolute proof, and there won’t be any until JKR herself decides it is time for the secret to be revealed – most probably in book 7. Some of the clues are rather vague, or could easily have a different interpretation, or are just little things that would fit. But some other clues are pretty strong. A precious few clues are really big.

Also, so many different clues point to the same conclusion… so many details fit so well : how could it be a coincidence ? When you put all the clues together, you get – maybe not quite a certitude – but at least the strong feeling there MUST be something.

Note that several clues imply that Hermione herself knows the truth.
On the other hand, Harry doesn’t know - except possibly for a memory hidden very deep in his subconscious.

1.0 General clues

- Hermione’s overall behaviour with Harry.
When reading the books, we have the feeling that Harry and Hermione have a special relation. They have a special thing - something unique, beyond friendship - that is not romantic. This is more visible on Hermione’s side. Her behaviour at the beginning of PS (before Harry and her become friends) is very interesting (see below). Through the entire series, her behaviour with Harry is very “sister-like”.
Harry and Hermione also have a way of guessing each other’s thoughts : this happens quite often, they know at first glance what the other has in mind while Ron is completely lost. Sometimes, they also finish each other’s sentences (not unlike Fred and George).

- In GoF, Hermione wasn’t affected in any way by the rumours about her and Harry. Harry was annoyed, not her. When she read Rita Skeeter’s article “Harry Potter’s Secret Heartache”, she was rather amused… On the other hand, Harry kept repeating “no she is not my girlfriend”. Does it mean Hermione knew something that allowed her to laugh at these rumours ?
And in OotP, she was perfectly comfortable talking about Harry’s relation with Cho. Even when Harry told her Cho was getting jealous… she was just “sorry”. A friend - even a close friend - of the opposite sex should have been at least slightly embarrassed in such a situation (after all, Cho had got jealous of her ).
Not Hermione : she just gave Harry more advice… this makes sense if she is Harry’s sister.

- By the way, JKR has developed this topic (Harry and Hermione causing jealousy around) quite a lot already : First Rita’s articles, Krum’s jealousy and Harry having to say “no she is not my girlfriend” in GoF, then Cho’s jealousy in OotP… So, now what ? Is it all to have them stay “just good friends” in the end ? Why insist so much on that topic in that case ? Or will Hermione be Harry’s girlfriend (thus making Krum and Cho right after all) ? Or will something else be revealed in the end (something that will make Krum’s and Cho’s jealousy pointless) ?

- Hermione’s psychology : why is Hermione a “know-it-all” ? Why is it so important for her to be the best student in school ? There is a strange lack of background information concerning Hermione : JKR usually tells us about such things. For instance, we know Ron is a jealous character because of his childhood in the shadow of his five brothers, and also because of his family’s lack of money. We know Voldemort hates Muggles because of his father.
The Sibling Theory provides an answer : if Hermione knows that Harry is her brother, she wants to keep up with him ! Harry is “the boy who lived”, he is famous in the entire world ; so, Hermione must prove that she can do as well as he can do, or even better. At least, in class, she can answer questions he can’t !
The other possible answer would be : Hermione must prove she is the best because she is Muggle-born. But this doesn’t work : she was already a “know-it-all” when she first arrived at Hogwarts. If she had been knowing about the wizarding world for a few weeks only, this couldn’t have affected her psychology so quickly.

- And by the way, Hermione really knew a bit too much about the wizarding world - and particularly about Harry Potter - when she first arrived at Hogwarts…

- Hermione sometimes speaks in Harry’s name (something nobody else does).
Examples :
PoA, chapter 11 : “Don’t be silly”, said Hermione in a panicky voice, “Harry doesn’t want to kill anyone, do you, Harry ?”
GoF, chapter 10 : “Ron… Harry doesn’t want to play Quidditch right now… He’s worried, and he’s tired… we all need to go to bed.”
And of course in OotP - with Rita Skeeter - about Harry’s love life.
She even speaks in James’ and Lily’s name (something nobody but their old friends does). Example :
PoA, chapter 11 : “Your mum and dad wouldn’t want you to get hurt, would they ? They’d never want you to go looking for Black !”

- Why do we know so little about the Grangers ? They are the parents of one of the main three characters, but we know almost nothing about them, except they are dentists. Why ? Also note that Hermione has never said “mum” or “dad” (alone) in the story. Not once ! It’s always “my parents” or “mum and dad”…
They are Muggles, thus unimportant ? But there are important Muggle characters in the story ! And it’s not just the Dursleys… And even if they are not very important (as JKR herself said), it is still a bit strange that we should know less about Hermione’s parents than we do about the Dursleys’ neighbours or about the villagers of Little Hangleton !

- Physical resemblance is an issue ; JKR almost always tells us about features of physical resemblance between relatives : Harry and his parents, Dudley and Vernon, Vernon and Marge, the entire Weasley family, Draco and his father, Neville and his mother, Hagrid and his father (same eyes) ; even for minor characters such as Fleur and her sister, Viktor Krum and his father, etc…
But NOT Hermione and the Grangers. Even though Hermione is one of the main three characters, and even though we have seen the Grangers twice (in CoS and in OotP), we have never been told Hermione looks anything like “mum and dad”.
Most unusual for JKR !
True, we aren’t told Hermione looks like Harry either (well… they are about the same height, and they both have “wild” hair ! But they don’t have the same hair).
We are told another character in the story has large front teeth : Petunia Dursley (Hermione’s aunt if the theory is true).

- Could there be a riddle hidden in Hermione’s name ? JKR likes to play with words and names…
Hermione = “Her my own” or “Her my one”…
This one is a bit unsure. See below though (Krum’s pronunciation in GoF).

- The “Theory of Interruptions”.
This theory is independent from the Sibling Theory, and - in fact - it has been mostly used by H/Hr shippers. It suggests there is a regular pattern in the books : when a character (often Hermione) suddenly stops speaking in the middle of a sentence (doesn’t apply if interrupted by someone else) then there is a clue for us to find. The interruption is materialised by a “-” in the text.
As a matter of fact, this “Theory of Interruptions” works pretty well with the Sibling Theory ! Here are a few examples :
PS, chapter 6 : I mean, it’s the very best school of witchcraft there is, I’ve heard –
(Yes ? Heard from whom ? )
PS, chapter 6 : I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading…
(Yes, Hermione ? How did you learn so much about Harry ? )
PS, chapter 16 : …friendship and bravery and – oh Harry…
(Friendship and bravery and what ? Family ? )

1.1 Clues from book 1

- The very first time we hear about Harry, in chapter 1 :
The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son too…
Why this indirect form “the Dursleys knew…” ? What did the Dursleys ignore then ?
A few lines above, we hear about Lily directly from the narrator :
Mrs Potter was Mrs Dursley’s sister…
So, why is it not just : “The Potters had a small son too” ? Because this would not be the entire truth if the Potters had two children. But the sentence about what the Dursleys knew is the exact truth.

- Chapter 1 : Dumbledore has just said he is going to bring Harry to the Dursleys. At first, McGonagall doesn’t agree :
Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed and then said, “Yes – yes, you’re right, of course.”
Well, JKR insists quite a lot here, doesn’t she ? (McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed…) So, what was Minerva going to say ?
Was it : “Don’t you think he should rather go with his sister ?”

- The first time Hermione and Harry meet in the train… She says :
I’d have found out everything I could if it was me.
“If it was me”… Well, yes. Somehow, it could have been her !

- More about this scene :
Hermione entered Harry’s compartment on the pretext of searching Trevor the toad. But… where was Trevor during all that time ? Did the little toad find his way to the boats all by himself ? Clever Trevor !
Or was he in Hermione’s pocket ? Had she taken the toad just to send Neville look around, and then have a good reason to see her long-lost brother at last ?
Otherwise… it’s a bit strange, the way she came and asked for Trevor : Neville had already asked.
And note that when Ron told her they hadn’t seen Trevor, Hermione wasn’t listening. The answer didn’t interest her : so why had she asked that question in the first place ?
(More about this hint in the movie : see below).

- Just after that : as soon as she hears that Harry and Ron might have been fighting (with Draco), Hermione comes back in a hurry !
You haven’t been fighting, have you ?
It seems that she cares a lot for two boys she had never met before… She also tells them to change clothes : typical thing an (older) sister would say !

- Before Harry and Hermione become friends, Hermione’s behaviour is quite excessive (chapter 9) :
I can’t believe you are going to do this, Harry.
Sure enough, Harry notices it :
Harry couldn’t believe anyone could be so interfering.
At that point, they aren’t friends yet. They’ll become friends after Halloween and the troll. But if Harry is her brother, and if she knows it, Hermione’s behaviour makes perfect sense. Note that we aren’t told she behaves like that with anyone else at that time.

- Chapter 10, Halloween. Hermione is crying, alone in the girls’ toilets.
Let’s consider it from Hermione’s point of view… if she is Harry’s sister. Let’s see how much sense it makes.
At the beginning of PS, she is finally going to meet her brother. She knows he’s famous, she might also know he doesn’t know anything about the wizarding world… So what does she do ? She studies hard, so that she can help Harry cope with Hogwarts, to make his transition into the wizarding world easier. She gets on the train, and as soon as possible she meets him… with the cover story of looking for Neville’s toad. She sees Ron there, and maybe she is a little jealous : Harry already has a friend ! Maybe he won’t need to rely on her… maybe she won’t be able to help him. So what does she do, then ? She puts Ron down… twice… first with the “are you sure that’s a real spell ? Well, it’s not very good, is it ?” comment ; and then with the “you’ve got dirt on your nose” comment. At that time, she sees Ron almost as a threat to her relationship with her brother.
Then we get to the day in question… Halloween ! Hermione is already feeling bad...it’s the anniversary of her true parents’ death : 10 years today ! Then instead of being paired with her brother in charms class, she is paired with her rival. She wants to prove to Harry that she can be more helpful than Ron… so once again, she shows Ron up. That’s too much for Ron, who makes the “she’s a nightmare, honestly !” comment to Harry. Hermione overhears it, “knocks into Harry” and starts crying.
From what we know of Hermione, she is not really prone to hysterics, so crying like that does seem a bit out of character. Could it be that it’s not only Ron’s comment that brought on the tears ? The fact she “knocked into Harry” strongly suggests she’d been upset because Ron had said that to Harry ! Otherwise, she would rather have knocked into Ron, wouldn’t she ?
Let’s look at it like this… This is the anniversary of a very traumatic day for her… and it looks to her like she might lose her brother to Ron. If Harry ends up not liking her… who will she have left ? He is the only true family she has, and she knows it.
That would make anyone cry, wouldn’t it ?
But finally, that very evening, they will become friends at last. Just 10 years after their parents’ death.

- JKR arranged the plot so that Hermione never looked into the Mirror of Erised, unlike Harry and Ron. Why ? What would she have seen there ? Would this have given away too much ?
(Almost the same as the “Boggart” clue in book 3 : see below).

- Chapter 13, Quidditch.
“Come on Harry !” Hermione screamed, leaping on to her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape – she didn’t even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat…”
Hmmmm… who do you think she cares for most in that scene ?

- Chapter 16 : Hermione is reluctant to let Harry go through the trapdoor ( “You’ll be expelled !” ) Then Harry explains there will be no school to be expelled from if Voldemort comes back, and concludes : “Voldemort killed my parents, remember ?”
This makes Hermione change her mind : “You’re right, Harry”, said Hermione in a small voice.
Of course : Voldemort killed her parents too !

- Chapter 16 : the Giant Chessboard.
Harry, Ron and Hermione play a game of chess, and take the place of three pieces : Harry is a bishop, Ron is a knight, Hermione is a castle.
- The Bishop : this piece is usually represented with it's head cracked open, quite an obvious reference to Harry's scar !
- The Knight : The faithful friend... The Knight piece is a good symbol of Ron's qualities (Ron sacrifices himself in the game).
- The Castle : so, what could it mean for Hermione ?
Well, it's obvious, isn't it ? The Castle is Home ! Protection ! Hermione is Harry's protection when he is home... home where his mother's blood dwells !
(See the “Protection Theory”, appendix 1 below).

- The scene before Harry meets Quirrell/Voldemort (chapter 16) :
Hermione’s lips trembled and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.
This could have been one of the moments she desperately wanted to tell him the truth !
And then she said :
friendship, and bravery, and - oh, Harry
What was she about to say ? Was it and family ?

- Chapter 17 :
“Hope you have – er – a good holiday,” said Hermione, looking uncertainly after Uncle Vernon, shocked that anyone could be so unpleasant.
And shocked that her uncle could be so unpleasant !

1.2 Clues from book 2

- Chapter 4. Hermione writes :
I hope everything went all right and that Harry is OK and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once…
Note that she mentions Harry three times in this letter, and Ron only once.
Also note the way she says : “because that would get Harry into trouble, too”.
This could mean something like : “I can’t prevent you from getting yourself into trouble, this is your business. But don't get my brother into trouble, Ron !”

- Chapter 12, Christmas morning. Harry and Ron are woken by Hermione :
“Wake up,” she said loudly, pulling back the curtains at the window.
“Hermione – you’re not supposed to be in here,” said Ron, shielding his eyes against the light.
“Merry Christmas to you, too,” said Hermione, throwing him his present. “I’ve been up for nearly an hour, adding more lacewings to the Potion. It’s ready.”
Harry sat up, suddenly wide awake.
“Are you sure ?”
“Positive,” said Hermione, shifting Scabbers the rat so that she could sit down on the end of his four-poster…
First : Hermione enters the boys’ dormitory… Even if only Harry and Ron are there, it’s quite against the rules. But in Hermione’s mind, this must be simply “my brother’s room”…
Second : Harry is still (sitting) in bed, and she “sits down on the end of his four-poster” ! (In the sentence above, “his four-poster” must refer to Harry’s… unless Scabbers the rat had his own bed).
Again, this makes sense if Hermione knows Harry is her brother. Otherwise… it’s a bit strange.

- After Hermione and Penelope have been petrified (chapter 14)… Professor McGonagall goes straight to Harry :
Potter, I think you’d better come with me…
Is it because Harry is Hermione’s friend ? If it was that… then she would ask Ron as well, wouldn’t she ?
But she doesn’t seem to care about Ron… She includes him as an afterthought, and only after Ron himself comes running up to them :
Yes, perhaps you’d better come too, Weasley.
Note the “perhaps… too…”
Quite strange, isn’t it ?
Could McGonagall be a H/Hr shipper ? Hmmmm… that wouldn’t make much sense, would it ?
But this is perfectly normal if Hermione is Harry’s sister and McGonagall knows it.

- And a bit later (chapter 16), McGonagall is moved to tears when Harry (not Ron) asks her if they can see Hermione in the Hospital Wing :
Yes, Potter, of course you may visit Miss Granger. (Then she must blow her nose ! )
Again, not a word for Ron…
And note that she is allowing Harry to break a security rule ! It is for security reasons that visits to the Hospital Wing had been forbidden. Not really like Minerva McGonagall, is it ? There must be very exceptional circumstances for her to behave like that ! A secret sibling is a very exceptional circumstance indeed.
Minerva must have thought something like :
“Poor boy ! He doesn’t know… He doesn’t know, and yet he must feel it somehow… and he misses her.” (At this point, she must blow her nose).

- Being called a Mudblood doesn’t seem to affect Hermione very much, does it ?
OK, it could be because she doesn’t understand what it means at first. However, it still doesn’t affect her very much in GoF (Malfoy) and OotP (Malfoy and Kreacher). And at that time, she does know what it means.
This could be because she is not really Muggle-born. Just pretending.

1.3 Clues from book 3

- Lupin’s class with the Boggart (chapter 7)… All students fight the Boggart except Harry and Hermione.
Lupin didn’t allow Harry to do it because he was afraid (wrongly) that the Boggart would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort. But why didn’t Hermione fight the Boggart ? This question has never been answered.
Well… A Boggart can give away quite a lot. For instance, Lupin’s Boggart (the moon) does reveal his big secret. So, this should mean either that Lupin didn’t want Hermione to do it (because he personally knows the truth or possibly because Dumbledore had told him “Miss Granger shouldn’t do it” ) or that Hermione herself didn’t want to fight the Boggart in public (and thus stayed behind during the lesson).
And by the way, when Hermione finally fought a Boggart during her exam (chapter 16), nobody but her could see what shape it assumed… She said it was McGonagall telling her she had failed “everything”. Did “everything” mean her exams ? A bit ridiculous, isn’t it ?
With the Protection Theory (see Appendix 1 below) Hermione’s Boggart could actually have been McGonagall telling her she had “failed everything” : Hermione saw her dead brother, and a very reproachful McGonagall telling her she had failed to protect him !

- Chapter 11 :
“I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with Voldemort. And if you’d heard your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn’t forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her -”
“There’s nothing you can do !”, said Hermione, looking stricken.
Note the way Harry says : “If YOU had heard, YOU wouldn’t… if YOU found out…”
Now, why is Hermione “stricken” at these words ? Is it because she is afraid Harry might try and look for Sirius Black himself ? Sure she is afraid ; she must be worried, maybe “dead anxious”… but why “stricken” ?
Because Lily is her mother too !
Harry’s words “You… You… You…” must have had a powerful impact on her ! Each of Harry’s “YOU” was like a slap in the face.

- Why did JKR want Hermione to hide a big secret (the Time Turner) during all book 3 ? Was it to get the readers prepared to the idea that keeping a secret is a very serious thing for Hermione ?
Does it mean we should expect a much bigger secret about her to be revealed in the end ?

- Chapter 17 (Cat, Rat and Dog) :
“Ron !” Hermione moaned.
She and Harry looked at each other, then followed at a sprint ; it was impossible to run full out under the Cloak ; they pulled it off and it streamed behind them like a banner as they hurtled after Ron...
JKR could simply have written : “they pulled it off and hurtled after Ron...” But no, she described the Cloak, “streaming behind them like a banner”.
“Like a banner”... A family banner, maybe ? The cloak was James’ ! So in a way, it’s the Potter banner.
It is important to remember that this scene happens on that particular night when the four Marauders are out in the Hogwarts grounds – James only symbolically so. Harry wondered :
Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs… Had all four of them been out in the grounds tonight ?
James Potter is dead. But his banner was “streaming behind” Harry and Hermione. James was symbolically present in his son… and daughter !

- At the end of book 3, when Harry creates his stag Patronus, Prongs symbolically comes back to save three people from the Dementors : Harry, Hermione and Sirius.
In a symbolic way, James Potter “comes back” for his son, his daughter and his best friend.

- Chapter 22 : In the train returning to London, talking about the Time Turner, Ron says to Hermione :
I still can’t believe you didn’t tell us about it… We’re supposed to be your friends.
Hermione answers :
“I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
She looked around at Harry…
“Oh, cheer up Harry !” – said Hermione sadly.
(The words friends and anyone are emphasised in the book, strongly suggesting that someone present – Harry – is more than a friend to Hermione).
Quite clear isn’t it ? She is talking about secrets and about not telling, then immediately she looks around at Harry ! And she feels sad for him : if only she could tell him right now ! But no : she can’t. Harry has to go to those Dursleys…
Otherwise, why would Hermione speak “sadly” ? Not the best way to improve Harry’s spirits, is it ?

1.4 Clues from book 4

- Chapter 13, Divination class :
“I’ve got two Neptunes here,” said Harry after a while, frowning down at his piece of parchment, “that can’t be right, can it ?”
Well… can it ? The interesting thing is that Harry seems doubtful.
Ron immediately makes a joke about Harry’s birth, but it would be very much JKR’s style to hide an important clue by having someone make a joke about it. And Ron’s joke - “a sure sign a midget in glasses is being born” - emphasises that it is all about Harry’s birth.
This wouldn’t be true divination anyway : Harry was tired after his complicated planetary calculations concerning his own birth, and his subconscious memory might have influenced him into finding this result…
Neptune is associated with hidden memory… He has a hidden memory of a duality… two children… So he finds “two Neptunes”.
Note that Harry’s hidden memory is important in the story : his memory of “a flash of green light” in PS, the Dementors in PoA… So, the fact Neptune is the planet associated with hidden memory is probably not a coincidence.
This clue could even suggest twins, but given Harry’s and Hermione’s birthdays, this doesn’t seem possible. So, it probably just represents the two Potter children.

- Chapter 23 : Krum is trying to pronounce Hermione’s name…
“Her-my-oh-nee”, she said, slowly and clearly.
“Herm-own-ninny”.
“Close enough”, she said, catching Harry’s eye and grinning.
Would you say that was “close enough” ? Hmmmm… and Hermione “catches Harry’s eye” just at that moment.
“Ninny” is a mere joke, but it could mean she is “hermy-own-???” for Harry…
Furthermore, the “ninny” joke could refer to the “ninny sister syndrome” : in children literature, this is the tendency for girls to be – quite often – weak and clueless characters. It’s a joke here, of course, because Hermione is quite the opposite of a “ninny sister”. But it’s also a clue, because the words “ninny” and “sister” are connected.
Last point : the way Krum mispronounces Hermione’s name doesn’t seem very likely. A foreigner having difficulties with spoken English would not – I think – repeat the last syllable like that ( the way “nee” becomes “ninny”. ) So, I think JKR had Krum pronounce the name that way in order to give us the clue.

- Chapter 24 : at the Three Broomsticks pub, Rita Skeeter is trying to get one last interview from Harry.
About Hagrid, she asks him :
Would you call him a father substitute ?
Hermione’s reaction is immediate and extremely violent ; she stands up
very abruptly, her Butterbeer clutched in her hand as though it was a grenade.
Why ? And why so abruptly (she was quiet seconds before) ? After all, these words were nothing worse than what Rita had been saying before. In fact, compared to Rita’s normal standards, this was almost nice ! And not completely wrong…
“Very abruptly” implies it is Rita’s last words that made Hermione react like that.
So, obviously, it is the words “a father substitute” that triggered Hermione’s reaction.
Quite normal if “mum and dad” are not her true parents.
I suppose Hermione was scared when Rita used this expression : “a father substitute”. She was afraid this could be an allusion. Afraid Rita might have found something about her… So, Hermione began her “anti-Rita crusade”. After that, she had no rest until she had found out how Rita could spy on people.
Note that after Rita’s article “Harry Potter’s Secret Heartache” (chapter 27), Hermione sounded much relieved :
If that’s the best Rita can do, she’s losing her touch…
Of course : only Hermione – and the few other people who know the secret – could understand how ridiculous this article was ! At least, it proved Rita hadn’t discovered anything.

1.5 Clues from book 5

- Chapter 4 :
Hermione had thrown herself on to him in a hug that nearly knocked him flat…
“Let him breathe, Hermione”, said Ron…
Note that before Ron tells her “let him breathe”, Hermione is making a fairly long speech… “I’ve looked it up, they can’t expel you, it’s just outrageous…” while still hugging Harry.

- Chapter 9 : the Prefect’s badges have just arrived.
First part : She spotted the badge in Harry’s hand and let out a shriek.
“I knew it !” she said excitedly, brandishing her letter. “Me too, Harry, me too !”
“No,” said Harry quickly…
Second part : a bit later, Ron shows his mother his Prefect’s badge.
Mrs Weasley let out a shriek just like Hermione’s.
“I don’t believe it ! I don’t believe it ! Oh, Ron, how wonderful ! A prefect ! That’s everyone in the family !”
“What are Fred and I, next-door neighbours ?” said George indignantly…
See ? Why does JKR insist on the similarity ?
“A shriek just like Hermione’s”…
Because it is for just the same reason ! Family pride !
“Me too, Harry, me too !” = “That’s everyone in the family !”

- Chapter 12 : Pr. McGonagall has just told Harry he needs to be careful with Dolores Umbridge. And she adds :
“Well, I’m glad you listen to Hermione Granger at any rate,” she said, pointing him out of her office.
This sentence is emphasized by the fact it is the end of the chapter.
Quite strange, isn’t it ? How can McGonagall know what Hermione had been telling Harry ? She wasn’t anywhere near them when Hermione explained the meaning of Umbridge’s speech.
This strengthens the idea that Hermione is, in some way, “protecting” Harry – and that she is reporting to McGonagall.

- Chapter 19. McGonagall is punishing Harry and George :
“Now, you two had better listen closely. I do not care what provocation Malfoy offered you, I do not care if he insulted every family member you possess, your behaviour was disgusting…”
“Every family member you possess” !
Strange expression to use when talking to Harry Potter, who has no proper family as everyone knows…
But wait… Who is the character Draco Malfoy has insulted most in the story ? Who is the character he keeps calling “a Mudblood” ?
That’s Hermione !
McGonagall was so upset in this scene that she let slip out something !

- Chapter 23, Harry is feeling really bad. He is hiding alone in Buckbeak’s room.
Then Hermione arrives. She was supposed to be skiing with “mum and dad” for Christmas, but she comes to Grimmauld Place instead. Just when Harry really needs her ! It is her who manages to get Harry out of that room. Couldn’t JKR have had Sirius do it ? Or Mrs Weasley ? Or Ron ? Or Ginny ? Someone who was there ? Why did it have to be Hermione ?
Now, here is the really strange thing : Hermione went directly to the door of that room where Harry was hiding (there was still snow in her hair). But Harry was hiding ! The Weasleys and Sirius couldn’t know exactly where he was ! He had “retreated further upstairs” when Mrs Weasley had called his name earlier.
So, how could Hermione know Harry was in that room ?
Answer : Dumbledore must have told her. It must be him who sent Hermione to Grimmauld Place, because of Harry : “Your brother needs you now, Miss Granger. I’m really sorry for your ski trip”.
(Dumbledore could know exactly where Harry was through Phineas Nigellus).

- Why is Hermione nagging Harry so badly about his Occlumency lessons ? Is it because she is thinking :
“Come on, Harry ! If you mastered Occlumency, then maybe I’d be allowed to tell you !”
(See below : the reason why Harry mustn’t know the truth is his mind connection with Voldemort).

- Chapter 25, Hagrid tells Harry they are very much alike :
“In the same boat, yeh an’ me, aren’ we, ‘Arry ?”
“Er –“ said Harry.
“Yeah… I’ve said it before… both outsiders, like”, said Hagrid, nodding wisely. “An’ both orphans. Yeah… both orphans”…
“Family,” said Hagrid gloomily. “Whatever yeh say, blood’s important…”
In chapter 30, we understand - at last - what Hagrid meant. His giant brother Grawp.
So, “ In the same boat, yeh an’ me, aren’ we, ‘Arry ?” could be a foreshadowing : in the end, Harry will find his lost sibling too !
But in OotP, all that happened is that he lost “the closest thing to a parent he had ever known”. Something should happen later to compensate this…
And note that the entire “Grawp” story is between Hagrid, Harry and Hermione. Ron takes no part in it… It’s all about lost relatives !

- Later (chapter 30), Hagrid tells them (Harry and Hermione) about Grawp :
“Hermione, I couldn’ leave him,” said Hagrid, tears now trickling down his bruised face into his beard. “See - he’s my brother !”
Hermione simply stared at him, her mouth open.
“Hagrid, when you say “brother”,” said Harry slowly, “do you mean - ?”
“Well - half-brother,” amended Hagrid.
The interesting thing here is that Harry is still able to think logically - Grawp can’t be Hagrid’s father’s son - while Hermione is stunned. This is quite unusual : normally, cold logic is rather Hermione’s thing.
But here, she is unable to say anything… Of course ! A lost brother… this means so much for her !

- Hermione and Rita again, chapter 25 :
“It’s none of your business if Harry’s been with a hundred girls,” Hermione told Rita coolly.
(The word your is emphasised in the book).
It seems Hermione considers it’s Harry’s business… as well as hers ! Harry isn’t saying anything : she is speaking for him !

- The way Hermione behaves with Harry and Cho is rather interesting. Chapter 26 :
“You should have said it was really annoying…
And it might have been a good idea to mention how ugly you think I am too,” Hermione added as an afterthought.
“But I don’t think you’re ugly,” said Harry, bemused.
Harry had just told her how Cho had got jealous… jealous of her !
1- If she was just a friend for Harry, even a very close friend… well, she would have been at least slightly embarrassed, wouldn’t she ?
2- If she had romantic feelings for Harry, then she should have been very embarrassed.
3- But her reaction was exactly what Harry’s secret sister would have done !

- Chapter 27 : Hermione’s Patronus is an otter.
Patronus otter… P/otter…
Note that in chapter 9, Lucius Malfoy had called Harry “Patronus Potter”.

- OotP, chapter 31 (OWLs) :
“I mistranslated ehwaz,” said Hermione furiously. “It means partnership, not defence ; I mixed it up with eihwaz.”
Here is the meaning of these runes :
1- “Ehwaz” : symbol shaped like a “M”.
Partnership, Harmony, Duality, Horse (or two horses), Ideal marriage or partnership…
“Ehwaz is the rune associated with twin gods, heroes or horses.”
It is the rune associated with the gods Frey and Freyja (twin brother and sister).
And, “it also represents partnership, trust, loyalty, and faithfulness, such as that between horse and rider, brother and sister, two halves of the whole”.
2- “Eihwaz” : symbol shaped vaguely like a lightning bolt.
Yew tree, Strength, Endurance, Defence, Protection.
And : “It contains the mystery of life and death. It is a life giving force which has its roots in the underworld and death.”
This clue strongly supports the “Protection Theory” : Hermione has a key role in Harry's protection, a bit like Petunia (as we know Lily’s blood is Harry’s protection).
Here is how the clue can work :
Hermione must translate Ehwaz, which can mean partnership (such as that between brother and sister) and “twin heroes”... so obviously she thinks of her brother Harry, and she mixes it up with Eihwaz. Why ? Because the Eihwaz rune looks a bit like Harry's scar, because it can mean “protection” (this would be Hermione’s task ) and “yew tree” (the wand that gave Harry his scar is made of yew).
To sum up :
Ehwaz : partnership, duality between brother and sister.
Eihwaz : “a life giving force which has its roots in the underworld and death”. The protection force Hermione is carrying does have its roots in death (Lily’s sacrifice).

Think about it… This clue is particularly striking. Hermione mixes up ehwaz and eihwaz. Ehwaz is partnership, duality, such as that between brother and sister. Eihwaz is defence, protection. Now, what is Harry’s protection, Harry’s defence in the story ? Dumbledore answered this question in OotP : it is the bond of blood. Everything fits : the bond of blood, a partnership, a duality (ehwaz) is Harry’s defence (eihwaz). As all this concerns Hermione (she is the one who mixes up the runes), she and Harry must be linked by “the bond of blood”.

- Chapter 35 : Hermione stops Harry from hurting the baby-headed Death-Eater.
“You can’t hurt a baby !”
What could that mean ?
It reminds us of the beginning of the story, when Voldemort tried to hurt (well... to kill) baby Harry : he couldn't, because Harry had received a protection from Lily.
This protection is an essential part of the plot. It is still active, through Dumbledore's ancient magic. (See appendix 1 : the “Protection Theory” ).
If Harry did “hurt a baby”, what would happen ? Maybe that would jeopardise his protection. Maybe, in a mysterious magical way, he would no longer be “worthy” of his mother's sacrifice, and thus would lose her protection...
Of course (if this idea is correct), the fact it is Hermione who stopped Harry from “hurting a baby” implies she knows a lot about Lily's sacrifice and Harry's protection. That would fit perfectly with the Sibling Theory.

- In chapter 37, Dumbledore tells Harry :
“I guessed, fifteen years ago,” said Dumbledore, “when I saw the scar on your forehead, what it might mean. I guessed that it might be the sign of a connection forged between you and Voldemort.”
OK, we know Dumbledore is very smart... But the question is : why did JKR want him to guess as early as that ? It would have been simpler to have Dumbledore understand about this connection during Harry's 4th year (when Harry began having dreams). Why make him guess when Harry was a baby ? How did this influence the plot ?
Easy : This is the reason why the truth about Hermione was kept hidden from Harry ! (See below : the reason why Harry mustn’t know the truth is his mind connection with Voldemort).
If Dumbledore had guessed about the connection not earlier than GoF, then the Secret would have been revealed to both Harry and Hermione. So, there would have been no “Big Secret” for Harry... and for the readers !
In GoF, Dumbledore would have understood that telling Harry was a huge blunder... but it would have been too late !
For the plot to work, Dumbledore had to understand very early that this connection existed.

- Overall, Hermione spends very little time with her “parents”. First, she spends most of July cleaning Sirius’ house with Ron and the Weasleys. If she saw “mum and dad” that summer, it’s at most for a week or so. Then, she doesn't go home for the holidays. She blows off the ski trip her parents had planned. She says, “they'll understand”. Will they ? Will it be because a friend’s father was nearly killed, or because she knows and they know that they are not her biological parents ?
And when she finally meets them again after all that time (chapter 38 ), she hugs them quickly, then :
Hermione disengaged herself gently from her mother to join the group.
This is the group of people who talk to the Dursleys, to make sure they treat Harry well that summer. Note that Hermione is the only student who joins the group – we aren’t told Ron does the same - all the others are adults.

1.6 Clues from movie 1

Note that the movies cannot be an important source of clues, as they are not directly JKR’s creation. However, we can assume that JKR gave some advice here and there…

- Trevor the toad again (see the clue from book 1, suggesting that Hermione had taken Trevor in the train). From the book to the movie, the place where Neville finds his toad changes. In the movie, it is in the castle, during McGonagall’s speech…. and just in front of Hermione !

- When the trio are climbing the stairs, Ron says to Harry :
It’s spooky : she knows more about you than you do.
Harry answers :
Who doesn’t ?
Well… if Ron, who comes from an old wizarding family, finds it “spooky” then it means Hermione knows considerably more about Harry than other people do. Not bad for a girl who is supposed to have been knowing she is a witch for only a few weeks ! But if Harry is her brother, and if she knows the truth, this is perfectly normal !

1.7 Clues from movie 2

- The hug scene in the end. Hermione is very comfortable hugging Harry (not Ron).

1.8 Clues from movie 3

- There is even more physical interaction between Harry and Hermione, without the slightest trace of embarrassment. Ron looks scared when Hermione briefly grabs his wrist. On the other hand, Harry and Hermione hold hands for quite a long time, he takes her in his arms to protect her, he takes her wand from her pocket… and they are still perfectly comfortable. They are also very protective of each other : in the Shrieking Shack, she steps in front of him : “If you want to kill Harry, you will have to kill us too”. When they are facing the werewolf, he takes her in his arms.

- JKR said that Cuaron “inadvertently foreshadowed events that will happen in books six and seven”.
I really got goose bumps when I saw a couple of those things, and I thought, people are going to look back on the film and think that those were put in deliberately as clues.
It could very well be the Harry-Hermione interaction (see above).
But also the remarkable parallel between James and Lily on the one hand and Harry and Hermione on the other hand. The parents and the children…
Both Remus and Sirius seem to be drawing that subtle parallel - even if they don’t say it explicitly. Harry is a lot like James, Hermione is a lot like Lily :
1- On the bridge, Lupin tells Harry that he is much like his father and that his mother was a powerful witch but also a very good person : “Not only was she a singularly gifted witch, but she was also an uncommonly kind woman. She had the ability to see the beauty in others, and perhaps most especially of all, when that person couldn't see it in themselves.”
Well, Hermione is a lot like Lily, isn’t she ? No doubt she is a “singularly gifted witch”, and in GoF, she is the one who comforts Hagrid when he can no longer see “the beauty in himself” (after Rita Skeeter’s article) :
“Did you by any chance hear what Miss Granger was shouting, Hagrid ?”
2- In the end, Sirius repeats that Harry is very much like James. Then he tells Hermione: “You really are the cleverest witch of your generation”.
Why this sentence ? Does Hermione vaguely remind him of Lily ? Anyway, it certainly strengthens the parallel.

1.9 Clues from JK Rowling’s interviews

- During a chat (AOL chat, 04/2000) JKR was asked about a possible Harry-Hermione romance in the future books. She answered :
…as for Harry and Hermione, d’you really think they’re suited ?
Ooooh ! Did JKR let slip something big here ? What did these words mean ?
1- Most R/Hr shippers would answer this just means they are not suited. But why ? They get along very well, after all… And if it was so simple, why would JKR have given away that much ?
2- For H/Hr shippers, JKR made an ambiguous answer and no conclusion is possible… Maybe the answer was a humorous one…. “well, yes they are !” However, this would be very misleading !
3- The Sibling Theory fits perfectly here :
“…as for Harry and Hermione, d’you really think they’re suited ? Wait till you know who they really are !”
The answer is not misleading… yet JKR isn’t giving away the main piece of information ! Brilliant !

- Something else JKR said :
JKR: *looking through questions* No, don’t like that one. Oh, I like this one… do Harry and Hermione have a date? *laughter* No. They are – they’re very platonic friends. But I won’t answer for anyone else, nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
Again, the Sibling Theory fits perfectly… JKR said it herself : “wink, wink.”
And note that she chose that particular question from a list (while ignoring other questions). This suggests there is more to this. There must be something ! Something she is NOT telling us here, and is enjoying not to tell us ! (Hence her laughter).
Additionally, note that the “theory of interruptions” (see above) seems to apply to JKR herself :
No. They are – they’re very platonic friends.
Finally, why did JKR say “very platonic friends” ? Why insist that much ? “Platonic friends” would have been enough if it was all she wanted to say. Is it because the mere suggestion of a non-platonic relation between Harry and Hermione was unacceptable for JKR ? Because such a relation would be incestuous, and thus inappropriate in the story ?

- Yet another quote :
She is the most brilliant of the three and they need her. Harry needs her badly.
What does Harry need badly ?
Do you remember his vision in the Mirror of Erised ? His “heart’s greatest desire” ?
It was… family !
So… of course he needs Hermione badly !

- JKR once said Hermione’s name is based on Shakespeare.
The Hermione in “The Winter’s Tale” went into hiding for 16 years. If the truth about Harry’s sister is revealed before the end, that’s about the time she will have been “hiding”.

- During the BBC TV show “Harry and Me”, JKR showed a few items to the camera. These included a school-list. You can have a look at the pictures here :
http://www.fictionalley.org/harryandme
http://www.crusaders.no/~afhp/notebook/
JKR changed Hermione’s name : she had originally named her Hermione Puckle. She changed the name to Granger later (in the list, the name “Puckle” is crossed out and replaced by “Granger” ).
This implies that :
1 - Harry and Hermione are together in this alphabetical list, as all other siblings are (the Patil sisters for instance).
2 - When JKR first created Hermione, she gave her the initials “H.P.”
She changed it later, probably because it would give away too much !
And this clue has become even stronger (much stronger ! ) since JKR revealed (March 2004) that Hermione’s middle name is Jane.
H.J.P. ! Harry James Potter… Hermione Jane Puckle. Coincidence ? Do you believe in such coincidences ?

- During an interview in October 2000, JKR said :
Q. Why not then a heroine? Why isn't this Helene Potter?
JKR. Very good question. I was-- this is weird-- I was writing the books for six months, before I stopped and thought: Well, he's a boy. How did that happen? Why is he a boy? Why isn't it Harriet? And number one, it was too late. Harry was too real by then for me to try to put him in a dress. That wasn't going to work. And then there was Hermione-- and Hermione is an indispensable part of the books and how the adventures happen. And she so much me that I felt no guilt about keeping the hero who had walked into my head. You know, it was uncontrived. It wasn't conscious. That's how he happened. So I kept him that way.
So, Hermione is “an indispensable part of how the adventures happens”… Interesting, isn’t it. This sounds like she is the heroine, almost on par with Harry. That her role in the overall plot is almost as important as Harry’s.
Note that elsewhere in the same interview, JKR calls Ron “Harry’s other best friend”. Other best friend…

- JK Rowling's interview with Katie Couric, June 20th 2003 :
Couric: Any snogging with Hermione?
Rowling: Hermione and Harry?! Do you think so?
Couric: No I’m kidding.
Rowling: Ron and Hermione, I would say, have more tension there...
One more interview that can support the Sibling Theory.
You can have a look at her facial expression when she says “Hermione and Harry?! Do you think so?” :
http://www.sugarquill.net/goodshiprh/goodshipclip.mov
Look at her eyes at that precise moment - the way she is looking at Couric, this expression of sudden interest in her eyes when she says “Hermione and Harry?! Do you think so?” She is obviously fighting back a smile… Then, when she says “Ron and Hermione...”, her expression is quite neutral again.

- Here is what JKR said on June 19th, 2003 (just before the release of OotP) :
JP: So there will be some pairing up will there in this book?
JKR: Well in the fullness of time.
JP: Unlikely pairings? Not Hermione and Draco Malfoy or anything like that?
JKR: I don’t really want to say as it will ruin all the fan sites. They have such fun with their theories … and it is fun, it is fun. And some of them even get quite close. No-one has ever - I have gone and looked at some of it and no-one’s ever … There is one thing that if anyone guessed I would be really annoyed as it is kind of the heart of it all. And it kind of explains everything and no-one’s quite got there but a couple of people have skirted it. So you know, I would be pretty miffed after thirteen or fourteen years of writing the books if someone just came along and said I think this will happen in book seven. Because it is too late, I couldn’t divert now, everything has been building up to it, and I’ve laid all my clues.
So, now we know there is a Big Secret in the story ! The “heart of it all” ! And it should affect character “shipping” somehow (as the question was about shipping).
The Sibling Theory fits : it does affect shipping of course (as it makes one of the most popular ships impossible), and it can certainly be “the heart of it all”, the secret that “kind of explains everything” (especially if Hermione is the key to Harry’s protection – see the Protection Theory below – or if she is somehow involved in the Prophecy). And many, many clues have been “building up to it”.

- March 4th, 2004 Chat :
Jami: Is Harry related to Godric Gryffindor?
JK Rowling replies : People are always wondering who Harry might be related to. Maybe he is. Wink
JKR could have simply answered the question : yes he is / no he isn't / maybe he is / you'll see / what makes you think so / do you really think I would tell you...
But the interesting thing is that she widens the question :
“People are always wondering who Harry might be related to.”
“Maybe he is...” (related to... someone).
As if the question about Harry being related to Gryffindor had aroused something else in her mind...


2. J.K. ROWLING’S WEBSITE :

http://www.jkrowling.com
A number of things on JKR’s website are of great interest for the Sibling Theory.

- JKR confirms that she had originally named Hermione “Puckle” (see above). There’s no doubt about this, no more room for interpretation : JKR created Hermione Puckle, and changed the name to Granger later.
So... Harry James Potter and Hermione Jane Puckle originally had exactly the same initials : H.J.P.

- In the very first draft of PS, an early connection existed between the Potters and the Grangers, as the Potters lived not far from the Grangers (JKR moved them to Godric's Hollow later) :
The very, very earliest drafts of the first chapter of 'Philosopher's Stone' have the Potters living on a remote island, Hermione's family living on the mainland, her father spotting something that resembles an explosion out at sea and sailing out in a storm to find their bodies in the ruins of their house. I can't remember now why I thought this was a good idea, but I clearly recognised that it wasn't fairly early on, because the Potters were re-located to Godric's Hollow for all subsequent drafts.
Maybe the Potters didn’t want their daughter too far away in this first draft of the book…
Or maybe – in this early version – Mr Granger found Hermione in the ruins… and adopted her !
Anyway, the existence of a connection in this early version of PS certainly helps support the Sibling Theory.

- JKR gives us some information about herself and her sister Di.
We all know Hermione is very much like JKR herself.
Well… JKR's sibling (her sister Di), has a scar on her forehead !

- JKR reveals that “Potter” was the name of two friends of hers when she was a little girl : a brother and sister !

- JKR reveals that, while everyone believes Dean Thomas is Muggleborn, he is - in fact - a half-blood.
A half-blood whom everyone believes is Muggleborn... Maybe he is not the only one !

- JKR writes :
Does Hermione love Ron or Harry?
I can't believe that some of you haven't worked this one out yet, but I'm not going to answer because that would spoil the arguments, which I enjoy.
Sure she must enjoy the arguments ! So many fans are busy discussing H/Hr versus R/Hr… not seeing the main thing !

Now, one thing that could be used against the theory :

- JKR says that Harry and Voldemort are not related. She also says she is not going to write a prequel about James and Lily. In both cases, she says Harry Potter is not Star Wars.
Right. However :
1- If she knows a big revelation is coming that some readers might find a bit Star-Wars-like (even though it's very different – especially if Hermione knows the truth), then it makes sense for her to underline the important facts that make the two stories very different : no, Voldemort isn't Harry's father ! This is not Star Wars !
2- How easy it would have been for her to add : “and Hermione isn't Harry's sister either !”
But she didn't say so !


3. THE THEORY, HOW IT CAN WORK, AND POSSIBLE VARIANTS :

- Harry’s birthday is July 31st. Hermione’s is September 19th.
How old is Hermione ? Is she younger or older than Harry ?
This was a highly debated point before JKR gave us the final answer, late 2004. Before that, we didn’t know if Hermione was younger or older than Harry. A majority of fans assumed she was younger.
Since JKR revealed on her website that Hermione was nearly twelve when she entered Hogwarts, we know she is about 10 months and a half older than Harry. She can definitely be his older sister : the delay between Hermione’s birth and Harry’s conception is short, but it is possible. Especially if Harry was born a bit premature…
Before JKR revealed Hermione’s age, we had several variants of the Sibling Theory. The “older sister theory” of course, but also a “twin theory” (Hermione’s official birthday would have been changed in order to hide her even more effectively).
Now, only the older sister theory remains. Unless Time Magic of some sort is involved, which is not impossible…

- When did Hermione go to the Grangers ?
Several possibilities : at birth, a bit later, after Voldemort killed the Potters. In the later case, she could have been present (just hidden) the night Voldemort killed Lily and James…

- Why was Hermione hidden ?
Before OotP, the answer was quite simple : she was hidden for her own security, to protect her from Voldemort. The idea was that Voldemort was after the Potter bloodline. Now we know the reason why Voldemort wanted to kill baby Harry (the Prophecy), and it is a bit more difficult to answer this question.
One thing remains : she was hidden so that Voldemort wouldn’t know.
1- The reason why she was hidden initially is still mysterious. It could have something to do with the Potter bloodline… After all, why did Voldemort consider that James had to die, while Lily “needn’t have died” ? If Voldemort was indeed after the Potter bloodline, Hermione’s existence was kept a secret for her own safety. On the other hand, Harry’s existence was not hidden because of the Prophecy : Dumbledore knew that before the prophecy could be fulfilled, Harry had to be “marked” by the Dark Lord.
Now, what could there be with the Potter bloodline ? Maybe we’ll learn more in book 6… For instance, the Potters could be descendants of Gryffindor… There could be another Prophecy, made years or centuries before Trelawney’s, about the heirs of the Founders.
2- A completely different idea : maybe the reason why Hermione was hidden has something to do with the fact the Potters had “thrice defied” Voldemort. As for Harry, he wasn’t hidden because of the Prophecy (as above).
3- The reason why Hermione’s secret is still being kept now could very well be something else : Hermione is important for Harry’s protection. We know Harry is protected by “his mother’s blood”. It works with Petunia. So it should work with Hermione too ! In that case, the fact Voldemort ignores the existence of this particular protection could be, in the end, the key to his downfall.
The Ehwaz/Eihwaz clue (see above) can support this idea.
This “Protection Theory” has been detailed in an appendix : see below.
Apart from the Protection Theory, there are a few alternative possibilities :
4- A slightly far-fetched idea : it has been suggested that Hermione could be “the one” in the Prophecy ! Using the roman calendar (September = seventh month) and lunar cycles, she was born “as the seventh month dies”. And we don’t know precisely when the Prophecy was made. Though I don’t really think it could have been made before Hermione’s birth, some people have suggested this possibility (independantly from the Sibling Theory).
This would imply Voldemort will “mark” her somehow, before the end of the story.
5- Or maybe it is something else, something we’ll learn later. Anyway, whatever it is, it must be something essential, the heart of the entire plot.

- How will the sibling relation be important in the plot ? How will it be “the heart of it all” ?
There are several possibilities. Note that the third one can work along with either of the first two.
1- Hermione could be “the one” in the prophecy (unlikely).
2- Hermione can give Harry a protection, much like Petunia does, that will be the key to the final outcome. (Protection Theory).
3- Maybe, in the end, Harry will feel a strong desire to go through the veil, to go the “other side”. He believes all his family is there : his father, his mother. Now his godfather is there too. JKR said Sirius had to die for a reason. That could be it. In the end, Harry will feel a very strong desire to be with them. At that time, having his sister, his closest relative, this side of the veil will make a difference !
Note that in OotP, when they first found the veiled archway, Harry felt a strong desire to go through it. And it is Hermione who held him back… Foreshadowing ?

- Who knows the truth about Hermione ?
Very few people do.
The Potters obviously knew. They probably told Dumbledore.
The Grangers must know that Hermione is not their biological daughter (they may, or not, know who Hermione really is). Based on the clues, McGonagall knows the truth, and maybe Lupin (not sure for Lupin).
Many clues suggest that Hermione herself knows the truth, and that she already knew when she first arrived at Hogwarts.

- Why not tell Harry ?
Because Harry has a mind connection with Voldemort. And if it is of utmost importance that Voldemort ignores the truth, then telling Harry would be too risky as long as he has not mastered Occlumency.
If Hermione herself knows the truth, then Dumbledore or McGonagall made her promise not to tell. It must be hard for her, poor girl…


4. OBJECTIONS AND ANSWERS :

- Dumbledore says in PS that the Dursleys are Harry’s only left family.
I’ve come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They’re the only family he has left now.
Given the context, Dumbledore probably means “the only family that can take care of him”… Adult relatives. Not other babies… This is why he doesn’t mention Dudley. So of course, he doesn’t mention Hermione either.
(Otherwise… Dumbledore’s sentence would imply that Dudley is not Harry’s cousin ! )
Besides, “left” doesn’t mean exactly the same thing as “alive”. Dumbledore’s sentence could mean :
“His parents are dead and his sister is gone. So, his aunt and uncle are the only family he has left”.
Dumbledore is talking to McGonagall (who knows the truth) : he is not lying to her… She can understand what he means.

- But in OotP (chapter 37), Dumbledore tells Harry :
I delivered you to her sister, her only remaining relative.
As above, given the context, this must mean “her only (adult) relative who could take care of you.”
(Otherwise… what about Dudley ? )
And “remaining” is not an exact synonym of “living” : if Hermione had been hidden, she may not count as “remaining”.

- It is said in book 3 (chapter 1) and 4 (chapter 2) that Vernon, Petunia and Dudley are Harry’s only living relatives. And this time, it is said directly by the narrator, not by Dumbledore…
But does the narrator always say the “absolute” truth, or just the truth from Harry’s point of view ?
It is quite clear that in all chapters where Harry is present (which means all the time except in book 1 chapter 1 and book 4 chapter 1), the narrator gives us Harry’s vision of things, NOT the “absolute” truth.
For instance : in GoF, the narrator often says “Moody did this” or “Moody said that”, which is the truth from Harry’s point of view. An omniscient narrator would have said “Crouch”, not “Moody”.
And Harry obviously has no doubt that the Dursleys ARE his only living relatives. But Harry could be wrong…

- When looking into the Mirror of Erised, Harry doesn’t see Hermione.
As Dumbledore himself explains, the Mirror cannot give anyone Knowledge or Truth. Thus, if Harry has secret relatives, he can’t learn anything about them from the Mirror.
What he can see is simply his heart’s greatest desire, an image from his own subconscious (and maybe it’s a subconscious memory, people he actually saw when he was a baby – this is the case for James and Lily anyway).
Even if Hermione was in the picture, would Harry be able to recognise a 1 or 2 year old baby Hermione ?
Actually, the Mirror scene is good for the Sibling Theory ! The fact Dumbledore told Harry that the Mirror can’t give knowledge – while Harry was looking at his family – strongly suggests there is something about his family Harry doesn’t know (and couldn’t learn from the Mirror) : a secret relative !

- If Hermione was hidden for her security, then why wasn’t Harry protected the same way ?
First point, the two Potter children were both very well protected. Just protected in different ways. Hermione’s security was based on the Secret. No one would know who she really was. But her Muggle “parents” would be quite unable to protect her against a Death-Eater attack. Harry stayed to live with Lily and James, a powerful witch and wizard. And the Fidelius Charm should have been a good protection too…
Second point, Dumbledore knew the Prophecy. And knowing that “the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal”, he couldn’t accept to hide a boy who could be “the one” so well that Voldemort could never, ever find him. Voldemort had to find Harry, and to mark him, before the Prophecy could be fulfilled, one way or another… and Dumbledore knew that.

- Hermione doesn’t have Lily’s and Harry’s green eyes.
Many siblings have different eye colours. We know (CoS) that Hermione has brown eyes (shade unknown). Lily had green eyes and we learnt in OotP that James had hazel eyes. The definition of “hazel” is rather vague, but it can definitely mean “light brown”. A green eyed woman and a somewhat-brownish-hazel eyed man can have both a green eyed child and a brown eyed child (though probably not a dark-brown eyed child).
Furthermore, we don’t know exactly how magic could interfere, as 1) James was an animagus (this hazel color could have something to do with the stag’s coat) and 2) it has often been suggested there might be something magical about Lily’s eyes.

- Harry and Hermione are close platonic friends ; all of their interaction can be explained by that kind of relationship.
First, we have the feeling they are more than just close friends.
And Hermione’s behaviour with Harry is special, as early as the beginning of PS : that’s before they become friends !
Finally, such a “very close platonic friends” relation between a boy and a girl would be unique in the story. All other “close friends” are of the same sex. All of them ! James had his group of Marauders. We saw Lily with a group of girls. Cho has her gang, including Marietta. Draco has Crabbe and Goyle. Parvati and Lavender are always together. Dudley has his gang. Etc… Hermione is a unique exception in the story. It’s not really difficult to understand that there is some “tension” between her and Ron (JKR herself said so). But what about Harry ?

- In CoS, the Basilisk attacked Hermione. So, she must be Muggle-born.
First, Hermione was with Penelope. So, Penelope could have been the target, and Hermione just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And even if Hermione was the target, this doesn’t prove anything : the Basilisk was just a tool - it attacked whoever Tom Riddle told it to attack.
Muggle-borns of course, but also a cat, and also Harry in the end.
As Tom Riddle believed Hermione was Muggle-born (because Ginny believed it), he could have sent the Basilisk after her anyway.

- Hermione being Muggle-born is important : she illustrates the fact a Muggle-born can be a powerful wizard/witch. If it is revealed that Hermione is not Muggle-born, this message will be lost.
But another character could illustrate the same fact. Lily, for instance.
And the revelation that Hermione is not Muggle-born will make her behaviour in CoS appear heroic indeed ! She was pretending she was Muggle-born while Muggle-borns were being attacked, but she kept the secret.
Finally, the theme of prejudice – a very important theme in the story – is illustrated mostly by Harry himself. As a halfblood, Harry will never be considered a true wizard by people like the Malfoys.

- An important message in the story is that it is our choices that really matter. Not blood. Hermione is already Harry’s friend. Why make her his sister ?
Before OotP, this was a serious objection.
But in OotP, things have become more complex : as Hagrid says, blood is important. Really important. NOT the way it is important for the Dark Side (purity of blood). But it makes a huge difference, having someone who is really your brother (Hagrid), or your mother’s sister (Harry).
OotP, chapter 2 : And all of a sudden, for the very first time in his life, Harry fully appreciated that Aunt Petunia was his mother’s sister. He could not have said why this hit him so very powerfully at this moment.
OotP, chapter 25 : “Family,” said Hagrid gloomily. “Whatever yeh say, blood’s important…”

- Harry’s birthday is July 31st. Hermione’s is September 19th. She was born 2 months after Harry if we believe the CoS DVD timeline. So they can’t be siblings.
See the birthday discussion above. The DVD Timeline was wrong : JKR revealed on her website that Hermione was born the year before Harry. She is 10 months and a half older than him.

- If Hermione was a Potter, the Marauder’s Map would have told Harry.
First point : we have never seen Harry reading Hermione’s name on the Map, so we are not sure how she would show up… Possibly as “Hermione Potter”, but maybe as “Hermione Granger” if she was legally adopted (and if “legally” means something for the Map).
Second point : JKR made sure the Map was returned to one of its creators (Moony) in PoA. Lupin kept it for several months, so he might have “fixed” the problem somehow… he could have put extra-enchantments on the Map to make sure “Hermione Potter” doesn’t show up.
Last point : the Map is supposed to show a person’s true name. But – as Shakespeare said – what is a name ? What is a person’s “true name” ? It is quite difficult to answer this question in an absolute way ! Maybe it is a subjective truth, maybe the Map shows the name a person considers is his/her true name. After all, Crouch Jr knew very well he wasn’t Moody. And Scabbers knew he was Pettigrew… What is the name Hermione considers her “true name” if she was told the truth when she was 9 or 10 ? The answer is far from obvious…

- JKR said in March 2004 that she had planned a sister for Hermione. Doesn’t this rule out the Sibling Theory ?
I always planned that Hermione would have a younger sister but she's never made an appearance and somehow it feels like it might be too late now.
This doesn’t change anything for the Sibling Theory : this girl would have been Hermione’s sister through adoption. Either the Grangers’ own biological daughter, or maybe yet another adopted child.

- But JKR said in an interview :
Um...it just seemed to suit her somehow. It's a name from Shakespeare. It's in “A Winter's Tale”. Um...although my Hermione bears very little relation to *that* Hermione, but it just seemed the sort of name that a pair of professional dentists, who liked to prove how clever they were...do you know what I mean...gave their daughter a nice, unusual name that no-one could pronounce! I mean, parents do that! Um...and I...and I did want in, in truth, I wanted quite an unusual name for her…
Doesn’t this imply that the Grangers named Hermione ?
First, JKR is just explaining here how she chose the name “Hermione”. One of the reasons is that she wanted a name that “seemed the sort of name that a pair of professional dentists… gave their daughter”. Strictly speaking, JKR didn’t say that – in the story – the Grangers actually named Hermione, although this sentence makes it sound likely. But it could be a misleading statement, and still not a lie.
Second, if the Grangers did name Hermione, the Sibling Theory can still work very well. It would just imply that Hermione went to her adoptive parents very early.

- Now, by far the strongest of all objections. JKR herself said on August 15th, 2004 :
Q. Does Hermione have any brothers or sisters?
JKR. No, she doesn’t. When I first made up Hermione I gave her a younger sister, but she was very hard to work in. The younger sister was not supposed to go to Hogwarts. She was supposed to remain a Muggle. It was a sideline that didn’t work very well and it did not have a big place in the story. I have deliberately kept Hermione’s family in the background. You see so much of Ron’s family so I thought that I would keep Hermione’s family, by contrast, quite ordinary. They are dentists, as you know. They are a bit bemused by their odd daughter but quite proud of her all the same.
So, JKR answered “no” to this question. Is there still any room for interpretation ?
This is certainly a problem. By far the biggest difficulty for the theory. However, given the context (this was a live discussion with children fans, after she had mentioned the possibility of Hermione’s younger sister in a chat a few months before – thus raising curiosity about that girl among fans), it is quite possible that she meant “no brothers or sisters in the Granger family”.
Maybe she would have corrected the wording on her website later if she could have, but it was too late : everyone would have noticed if she had.
Still, this is a strong objection. But it is not exactly the same thing as if JKR had answered “no” to the question “does Harry have any brothers or sisters ?” In the later case, there would have been no ambiguity : the question could have meant only “does he have a hidden sibling ?” On the other hand, the answer about Hermione is slightly ambiguous : JKR’s negative answer can very well mean “no sibling in the Granger family”. As JKR was very probably expecting a question about the Granger little sister, I think this interpretation is plausible.

- A lost sister… This has been done before !
But almost everything has been done before. Eternal myths belong to no-one !
A good little orphan who has hidden powers… A Dark Lord… All these ideas have been used before too, and more than just once ! And yet, JKR has written an original story based on this. So, why not a secret sister ?
Besides, a secret sister who knows the truth but can’t tell would be an original idea ! And the way JKR put this secret sibling relation at the heart of the entire plot would make her story unique !
Note : in that… er… other story where a young man meets his secret sister (there are many such stories, but everyone is always bringing up this one), the sibling relation is but a minor detail, with very little influence on the plot (unlike the father-son relation). On the other hand, in JKR’s story, the sibling relation could be the heart of it all.

APPENDIX 1 : THE PROTECTION THEORY

The Protection Theory is one possible variant of the Sibling Theory. The base idea is that Hermione is – much like Petunia – essential for Harry’s protection. We know the ancient magic Dumbledore invoked protects Harry against Voldemort (and probably against Voldemort’s followers) when he is home where his mother’s blood dwells :
While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort.
This protection is extremely important in the plot. However, Voldemort knows about Petunia protecting Harry (he said so in GoF). Thus, he won't try to Avada Kedavra Harry through the window of the Dursley’s kitchen, as he is not stupid.
So, how will this protection play an important role later in the story ?
Answer : through another blood relative, Harry’s sister, Hermione !

The above is the base idea of the Protection Theory.
Now, the details below are unsure… There are several ways it could work : no one really knows how the protection works anyway, Sibling Theory or not. So, what follows is more speculative.
The few sure things are :
- Lily gave Harry a Protection when she gave her life to save him. This Original Protection (in essence, love ) is in Harry’s “very skin”.
- Dumbledore invoked an “ancient magic” to ensure Harry’s safety when Harry is “home, where his mother’s blood dwells”, and he delivered him to Petunia. This protection is based on Lily’s sacrifice, so it is in some way an extension of the Original Protection.
- Voldemort took Harry’s blood in GoF. He believes that, by doing so, he has overcome the Protection. And as a matter of fact, he could touch Harry.

Now, think about this : WHY did baby Harry have to go to the Dursleys ? If the “lingering protection” that had once saved him was still in his blood, he was protected against Voldemort anywhere, wasn't he ? But Dumbledore clearly said in OotP that he had sent Harry to Privet Drive in order to protect him : “there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort”. He even said that Petunia “knows that allowing you (Harry) houseroom may well have kept you (Harry) alive for the past fifteen years.”

The answer must be : somehow, Lily's protection was a “one time” thing. It saved Harry directly once, just once. Maybe this protection was “one time” in essence. Maybe Voldemort’s curse broke it when it was deflected (thus giving Harry his scar). Anyway, in order for this protection to continue, it had to be carried by someone else, someone of Lily's blood : Petunia or Hermione. Lily’s sacrifice is still protecting Harry indirectly through Dumbledore’s ancient magic.
- Harry is safe at Privet Drive, because his mother's blood dwells there (Petunia) and he can call this place “home”.
- He is safe at Hogwarts too, because this is a place he can call “home” (very often in the story), and Hermione is there : this is why Quirrell couldn’t touch Harry at the end of PS.

Note that if Lily’s direct protection really was a “one time” thing, then the events at the end of PS imply there must be someone of Lily's blood at Hogwarts. Hermione Granger ! By the way, her name could be symbolic of grange/farm or “home”. Family. Her-my-own Home ?

This Protection Theory explains quite a lot :

Chronology :

- At the beginning of PS : Harry is protected directly (just once) by Lily's sacrifice. Later, he will be protected indirectly by this sacrifice, through someone else.

The Protection Theory fits nicely with the fact Hermione was told the Secret. In order for the protection to be effective, the person carrying it must be aware of what is going on.
This is the case with Petunia : Dumbledore had to write her a letter explaining everything, and when she took Harry, she knew what she was doing. If Harry had been delivered to the Dursleys without a word, then the protection wouldn't have been activated :
But she took you… and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you.
Same thing for Hermione : some months before Hogwarts (before that, she was too young), Dumbledore must have told her the truth, and she agreed she would look after Harry. And that's exactly what she did... That's why “Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering” before they became friends.

- End of PS : Quirrell can't touch Harry because he is at Hogwarts, and Hermione is there (not far away).
Note that Hermione hugged Harry just seconds before the moment he needed his mother’s protection most ! The symbol is extremely strong !
“But Harry – what if You-Know-Who’s with him ?”
“Well – I was lucky once, wasn’t I ?” Said Harry, pointing at his scar. “I might get lucky again.”
Hermione’s lip trembled and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him.
1- “ I was lucky once” : Harry had a protection.
2- “ I might get lucky again” : maybe he is still protected.
3- “ Hermione’s lip trembled and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him” : the hug symbolises protection !

A possible objection : one could argue that Harry was hurt during the encounter with Quirrell/Voldemort.
But this is because Harry himself maintained physical contact with Quirrell deliberately, almost beyond endurance. Thus Harry hurt himself ! That’s what Dumbledore himself explains :
“the effort involved nearly killed you”.
It’s Harry who touched Quirrell - Quirrell couldn’t touch Harry, because Harry was protected. Dumbledore himself confirms this :
Quirrell, full of hatred, greed and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason.
Voldemort’s presence causes Harry pain in his scar (this has nothing to do with the protection), and Harry deliberately touched the source of this pain : thus, he hurt himself.

- End of CoS : Is the Chamber part of Hogwarts ? Anyway, this was not Voldemort, this was Riddle as he was long before Lily's sacrifice.

- End of PoA : as far as we know, these Dementors were not Voldemort’s servants. Thus the Protection didn’t work against them.

- End of GoF : In the graveyard, Voldemort can touch Harry.
He believes this is because he has taken Harry's blood, but he is wrong ! This is just because they are in a place where Harry has no protection.
Voldemort is aware of Harry's protection through Petunia, but he knows nothing about Hermione. So, he wrongly believes he can now touch Harry, even at Hogwarts... maybe this will be his downfall later.

- End of OotP : the Ministry of Magic is not a place Harry can call “home”.

Something about the Prophecy :
…but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…
What is this power ? It is love : the power contained in the room at the DoM that is kept locked at all times, Dumbledore practically said so in OotP.
However, there must be more to this. Dumbledore also said :
You would be protected by an ancient magic of which he knows, which he despises, and which he has, therefore, underestimated – to his cost. I am speaking, of course, of the fact your mother died to save you.
An ancient magic of which he knows ! Voldemort knows about love as a general concept (even though he despises it). So… what is the “power the Dark Lord knows not” ? It must be something more specific. But Voldemort knows about the power of Lily’s sacrifice and he knows about Petunia too…
The “Protection Theory” fits perfectly ! The “power the Dark Lord knows not” is Hermione’s protection, because he still doesn’t know anything about her. In essence, it is love. It is Lily’s love (her sacrifice), it is Hermione’s love, it is the protection Harry receives from Lily through Hermione, and about which the Dark Lord doesn’t know anything.

- End of book 7 (?)
The final battle should take place at Hogwarts, and the protection Voldemort isn’t aware of will save Harry.
And as the trace of Lily's sacrifice is now in Voldemort's blood (since he took Harry’s blood in GoF), he might be “human enough” to die :
Voldemort casts the AK spell at Harry (they are at Hogwarts, and Hermione is at Harry's side).
Lily's sacrifice protects Harry once more (because Hermione is present). The AK spell is turned back at Voldemort.
But this time, Voldemort can't survive as he had done years before, because he is “human enough” to die. The end.


Note : variants of the Protection Theory are possible. Maybe the Original Protection left by Lily was broken in GoF only, as Voldemort believes. In that case, it was still active in PS. Still, Hermione’s protection will be the key to the final outcome in book 7.


APPENDIX 2 : ALTERNATIVE THEORIES

Assuming that Harry and Hermione are blood-related, a few alternative theories have been proposed.
Rather than full siblings, could they be half-siblings ? Or maybe cousins ?

Many of our clues for the Sibling Theory could work just as well for a half-sibling or cousin theory. Basically, all the clues based on their “special relation” could still work – more or less.

These alternative theories can have a few advantages. If Hermione is not Lily’s daughter, then there’s no problem at all with the short delay between her birth and Harry’s conception. If she is Harry’s cousin, then the Grangers could be her true parents. Yet some clues indicate that they are not ! “Would you call him a father substitute ?” Finally, a cousin theory allows Hermione to have literally no brothers or sisters.

Not all clues work, though. The following clues work best for the Sibling Theory only :
- Harry’s “two Neptunes” indicate a hidden memory of two children. Harry must have lived at least some time with her when he was a baby.
- The “ninny sister syndrome” : there is no such thing as the “ninny cousin syndrome”.
- The Ehwaz rune means duality, which indicates a very close relation !
- “Her my own” (flesh and blood...) also indicates something closer than cousins.
- James’ cloak being compared to a banner “streaming behind them”.
- Twice (in PS and in OotP), Hermione told Harry : “if it was me”. This should mean it could have been her… and thus that she, too, was “born to those who have thrice defied him”.
- At least two clues indicate that Hermione’s true name should be “Potter” : her Patronus, and JKR’s school-list (the H.J.P. initials).

Alternative Theory 1 : Half-sister theory – Hermione is James’ daughter, but not Lily’s.
The advantage of this theory is that there is no birthday problem at all.
Objections :
- The Protection Theory can’t work… So what does Ehwaz/Eihwaz mean ?
- Several people (Hagrid, McGonagall…) remember Lily and James as a close couple.
- Harry would most probably never have met baby Hermione. So, he could have no hidden memory of her.
- Several clues don’t work : the two Neptunes, the Ehwaz rune, “If it was me”, Hermione’s large front teeth like Petunia’s…

Alternative Theory 2 : Half-sister theory – Hermione is Lily’s daughter, but not James’.
In that case, the Protection Theory could work.
Objections :
- Several people (Hagrid, McGonagall…) remember Lily and James as a close couple.
- The Potters would have got married a short time before or after Hermione’s birth… This doesn’t fit with the information we have.
PoA, chapter 11 : He stopped on a picture of his parents’ wedding day. There was his father waving up at him, beaming, the untidy black hair Harry had inherited standing up in all directions. There was his mother, alight with happiness, arm in arm with his Dad.
This doesn’t make it sound like Lily is about to abandon (or has just abandoned) an illegitimate child…
- Why was Hermione initially hidden ? Lily “needn’t have died”… Why hide Lily’s daughter then ?
- Several clues don’t work : the two Neptunes, “If it was me”, the banner-cloak, JKR’s school-list (H.J.P.) and Hermione’s Patronus.

Alternative Theory 3 : Cousin theory.
No birthday problem. The Protection Theory can work only if she’s a cousin on Lily’s side. Hermione has “no brothers or sisters”, literally speaking.
Objections :
- Harry would most probably never have met baby Hermione. So, he could have no hidden memory of her.
- Why hide Hermione anyway ?
- Many clues don’t work : the two Neptunes, the Ehwaz rune, “If it was me”, the banner-cloak, the “ninny sister” and “Her my own”. Plus JKR’s school-list and Hermione’s Patronus if Hermione is not a Potter.

There is one argument for the half-sibling theories… Harry and Hermione would be exactly like Hagrid and Grawp : “In the same boat, yeh an’ me, aren’ we, ‘Arry ?”
However, in that case, JKR would probably have written the following passage a bit differently :
“Hermione, I couldn’ leave him,” said Hagrid, tears now trickling down his bruised face into his beard. “See - he’s my brother !”
Hermione simply stared at him, her mouth open.
“Hagrid, when you say “brother”,” said Harry slowly, “do you mean - ?”
“Well - half-brother,” amended Hagrid.
JKR insists on Hermione’s astonishment when Hagrid tells her about his lost brother. Only after that, Hagrid explains that Grawp is in fact his half-brother. If Harry and Hermione were half-siblings, then JKR would probably have written something like :
“Hagrid, when you say “brother”,” said Harry slowly, “do you mean - ?”
“Well - half-brother,” amended Hagrid.
Hermione simply stared at him, her mouth open.

So, I think the Sibling Theory is far more likely than these alternative theories.
First, it is simpler. The clues work much better. Also, Harry’s lack of a proper family is a central topic in the story. When JKR finally gives Harry a family – a true blood relative – this will be a very close relative : Harry already has a cousin after all.
Harry has no family but the Dursleys, then he loses “the closest thing to a parent he had ever known” in OotP… What is the aim of all this ? About Sirius’s death, JKR said : “I didn't want to do it, but there was a reason”. If the aim is to prepare the final revelation about Hermione, then JKR will make them as close as she can.


APPENDIX 3 : VARIOUS IDEAS

These ideas have been proposed and discussed over months of debate. They are in no way essential to the Sibling Theory… But they could work with the theory.

- We often have the feeling Hermione has a special relation with Pr. McGonagall. Here is an idea that would account for it :
Professor McGonagall has a daughter, who was at Hogwarts with James and Lily. This girl was Lily’s best friend, and she knew James very well too because they were Quidditch team mates.
Later, when James and Lily were killed, MacGonagall’s daughter adopted her best friend’s child and became Hermione’s adoptive mother : she is Mrs Granger, and Mr Granger is her Muggle husband.
So, Hermione is Minerva McGonagall’s adoptive grand-daughter.
The only clue to support this idea is in movie 1 : when Hermione shows Harry his father’s name on the Quidditch Shield, the name “McGonagall” is clearly visible.
There are some difficulties with this little idea. In PS, Hermione said : Nobody in my family’s magic at all, which should mean the Grangers are really Muggles. And JKR herself said the Grangers are not very important in the story… So, maybe there is a connection with Minerva McGonagall, but it is a bit more complicated than that.

- The Fidelius Charm is used to protect important secrets. So, maybe the secret of Hermione's birth was protected that way.
Before Hermione goes to the Grangers, the secret of her birth is protected by the Fidelius Charm. The Potters, the Grangers, Dumbledore and McGonagall all know the truth, but only the Secret Keeper (Dumbledore or McGonagall ? ) can tell other people.
This could be the reason why James couldn't tell Sirius ! Or, if you suppose Sirius knew the truth, this could be the reason why Sirius couldn't tell Harry !
Later, the Secret Keeper decides to tell Hermione. It's safe to do so : she can't tell anyone else - because she is NOT the Secret Keeper. Why tell Hermione ? Possibly because she will be important for Harry's protection, so she must know the truth (Protection Theory). Or possibly because the Secret Keeper knows Harry and Hermione will be at Hogwarts together. And he understands that it is safer to have one of them know the truth. Otherwise... two teenagers, who will grow older... you get the idea.
But Harry mustn't know the truth. His mind connection with Voldemort would make it too dangerous :
“I guessed, fifteen years ago,” said Dumbledore, “when I saw the scar on your forehead, what it might mean. I guessed that it might be the sign of a connection forged between you and Voldemort.”
Legilimency is not thought-reading, as Snape explains in OotP. It's more about feeling someone's emotions. Voldemort could perceive the nature of Harry's feelings, of his emotions... and understand. At least, he could understand enough for Hermione to be in great danger after that…
So, in the story, there is Harry who mustn't know the truth, and Hermione who does know but can't tell.
She fully understands that she mustn't tell Harry, but even if she accidentally was about to do so, the Fidelius Charm would prevent her.
“... friendship, and bravery and – (here the Fidelius Charm blocks her) oh, Harry !”

- An interesting detail… About Crookshanks, JKR writes on her website :
Crookshanks, as anybody who has read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them will have guessed, is half Kneazle.
Good… About Mrs Figg, JKR writes :
Arabella Figg does a roaring trade in cross-bred cats and Kneazles, and if you don‘t know what a Kneazle is yet, shame on you.
Hmmm… So, does Crookshanks come from Mrs Figg’s ? The two quotes above make this sound highly probable.
So, is there a hidden connection here ? Could Hermione perhaps know Mrs Figg ? If Hermione knows a neighbour of Harry’s at Privet Drive… then she hiding a lot of things !
The difficult point here is that Crookshanks is supposed to have been in the shop for several years before Hermione bought him.

- Several different ideas have been proposed as for how Harry will eventually learn the truth :
1- He will find it in his own memory,
2- Voldemort will find it… so there will be no point hiding the truth from Harry anymore,
3- Harry will learn Occlumency. Once he is able to close his mind, Hermione or Dumbledore will tell him,
4- Harry will see “Hermione Potter” on the Marauders Map (interestingly enough, he has never seen Hermione on the Map up to now).
5- JKR once said Professor McGonagall has a magical quill that writes the names of all magical babies into a book when they are born (this is how she can send them an owl when they turn 11). The book is kept in McGonagall’s office. So, it is possible that Harry will somehow find this book and read : “Potter, Hermione - Potter, Harry”.
6- Harry will see it in Dumbledore’s Pensieve.
7- During the final battle, Harry will realise Voldemort cannot harm him when he is at Hogwarts. Just like when he is at Privet Drive in his aunt’s house. So, he will understand that “his mother’s blood” is at Hogwarts…
8- In the end, Hermione will fulfil the prophecy by killing Voldemort, after Voldemort will have “marked” her with a scar. At that time, Harry will understand.


APPENDIX 4 : THE SIBLING THEORY, A HISTORY

The idea that Hermione could be Harry’s secret sister probably came up early in the Harry Potter fandom.
I certainly didn’t start it. The earliest reference I could find is this one, from HPFGU :
http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/faq/hermione.html
Most members have rejected out-of-hand the notion that Hermione could be Harry's sister (placed with the muggle Granger family): too "Star Wars-ish." While it is possible that Harry and Hermione are second cousins or first cousins once removed, it seems too genealogically implausible to some members.
Note that the idea is rejected here : nothing at all is said to support it and no one seems to think it is possible…

In June 2002, I proposed a Harry-Voldemort theory in the a-f-hp newsgroup, that included a very early version of the Sibling Theory.
The sibling relation between Harry and Hermione was just an appendix to a bigger theory about Voldemort… I gave up about most of this (Voldemort being Harry’s great-uncle), but I continued to ponder the Harry-Hermione Sibling Theory. Some of the most important sibling clues from books 1-4 were already there.

This theory resurfaced on the Darkmark.com boards, so I joined the discussion.
This was the great period of the STS (2002-2004). The “Sibling Theory Supporters” were a group of fans on Darkmark, who developped the theory with me for about 2 years. Thanks to them all ! The theory grew, we found loads of clues and discussed some difficulties.
We had a big problem when the CoS DVD Timeline came out, as it stated that Hermione was younger than Harry... Before that, most STS defended the idea that Hermione was older. I proposed that Hermione could be Harry’s twin sister and that her birthday could have been changed… For a while, this “twin-theory” was my favourite… Now (since JKR said that Hermione was nearly 12 when she entered Hogwarts), I have returned to my original idea : she is Harry’s older sister.

The discussion on the Darkmark boards ended in August 2004, after JKR said Hermione had no brother or sister… For a while, I thought this was the end of the Sibling Theory. But now, I think JKR could very well have meant “no brother or sister in the Granger family”.

After that, I continued the Sibling Theory discussion on a French website.

The “Lily had two children” thread on the Mugglenet boards is another place where the Sibling Theory has been discussed. One of my fellow STS on the Darkmark boards posted our summary there.


APPENDIX 5 : THE SIBLING THEORY, ITS SUCCESSES

A good theory helps us make good predictions.
The Sibling Theory has already allowed us to make a few correct predictions.

- Before OotP, we knew very little about Harry’s mind connection with Voldemort. All we knew was that Harry had had two dreams in GoF.
The theory supporters speculated that a mind connection existed, and that Voldemort could also use it to see in Harry’s mind. This was quite speculative at that time, but it was necessary for the Sibling Theory, as it was the reason why the truth was being hidden from Harry.
When OotP came out, we learned everything about Legilimency, Occlumency and the mind connection.
We had been right !

- Before OotP, some theory supporters had already proposed the concept of the Protection Theory – as we already knew that Voldemort couldn’t harm Harry at Privet Drive.
So, we predicted that in book 5, whenever Harry goes somewhere, Hermione would go with him, even if not expected to.
This prediction was quite correct : Hermione went to Grimmauld Place, cancelled her Christmas ski trip, etc…

- And of course, the biggest one ! In 2003, comparing Harry’s and Hermione’s initials, I suggested in the Darkmark discussion that Hermione should have a middle name beginning by the letter “J”.
In March 2004, JKR revealed that Hermione’s middle name is “Jane”.


APPENDIX 6 : THE SIBLING THEORY AND BEYOND

The Harry-Hermione sibling relation may very well be only a part – though obviously a major part – of something bigger.
What is exactly the importance of “the bond of blood” in the story ?
I think that, as Hagrid said in OotP, it is essential : “whatever you say, blood is important”.

On the Good Side, the bond of blood is the base of Harry’s protection, since his mother gave her life to save him. Harry is safe when he is “home, where his mother’s blood dwells”.

The bond of blood is also very important for the Dark Side. For instance, Voldemort used his father’s bones for his rebirth :
“Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son !”
Could it be that the bond of blood is even more important than that for the Dark Side ? We know Voldemort took steps, long ago, to “guard himself against mortal death”. I suggest that the murder of his father (and grandparents) was part of it. It was part of whatever dark ritual Voldemort did to guard himself against death.

There is one hint in GoF to support this theory. In chapter 35, Barty Crouch Jr told Harry :
“The Dark Lord and I… have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers… very disappointing indeed. Both of us suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure… the very great pleasure… of killing our fathers, to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order !”
Well… how did the murder of Tom Riddle Sr by his son help “ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order” ?
If this was one of the steps Voldemort took to “guard himself against mortal death”, it most certainly did !

One can even go a little further than that ! We know there are many similarities between Harry and Voldemort :
“Both half-bloods, orphans, raised by Muggles. Probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. We even look something alike…”
If Harry has a sibling, then could Voldemort have had a sibling too ?

I suggest the Half-Blood Prince is Voldemort’s (twin ? ) brother. A brother Voldemort himself killed quite early. Maybe this was his very first crime (like Caïn and Abel…) And the first of the steps he took to guard himself against death – if the dark ritual he used involved killing blood relatives.

True, Dumbledore said in CoS that Voldemort was the last remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin. But if Voldemort’s brother died young, Dumbledore’s statement was true anyway.

One little clue can support the idea that Voldemort had a brother. It is in CoS, chapter 2 :
Harry, however, was completely at sea.
“He hasn’t got a brother, has he ?”
Dobby shook his head, his eyes wider than ever.
“His eyes wider than ever”… As Dobby was the Malfoys’ house-elf, he could have known something…


APPENDIX 7 : BOOK SIX IS COMING !

Book 6, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, will be released next July.
I am not expecting Hermione’s Secret to be revealed in book 6. If it is “the heart of it all”, it will be revealed in the last book.
But as OotP gave us more clues than any other book, I hope HBP will bring many, many more clues !

Here is what I think we can expect for the Theory.

Things that would be good for the Sibling Theory
- Any revelation that Voldemort already had a reason to attack the Potter family before the Prophecy (as this could be the reason why Hermione was hidden).
- If, wherever Harry goes, Hermione goes with him (Protection Theory).
- JKR said that, when he is ready, Harry will tell “his nearest and dearest” about the Prophecy. As this expression can mean a very close relative, it will be a very good thing for the Sibling Theory if, in book 6, the first person Harry tells about it is Hermione.
- More clues like the ones we have already found in the first five books…
- If the Half-Blood Prince is Voldemort’s brother, or at least a relative (see appendix 6 above).

Things that would be not-too-good for the Sibling Theory
- The lack of any revelation that Voldemort already had a reason to attack the Potter family before the Prophecy. Of course, this revelation could still take place in book 7.
- If Harry fully masters Occlumency, and the secret is still not revealed to him.

Things that would mean the end of the Sibling Theory
- Any strong proof that Hermione is really the Grangers’ daughter (physical resemblance for instance).
- If a Harry-Hermione romance takes place in this book.

I was under the impression that Hermione was approximately one year YOUNGER than Harry.

Or perhaps JK Rowling was lying...but somehow I think she isn't.

I was under the impression that Hermione was approximately one year YOUNGER than Harry.

Or perhaps JK Rowling was lying...but somehow I think she isn't.

She's nearly 1 year OLDER than him : that's what JKR revealed late 2004.

I posted the essay in 2 parts, but somehow, they were merged... Well, this way you have it all in 1 post !

Take time to read it (many questions and objections are already answered there). See you !

Wow :wow: Merlin455 my eyes are streeming! You have lots of good points and you have obviously worked very hard on that. Well done :clap: You make me believe that this could be true.

Excellent essay! On a side note...so if Ron dates Hermione and Harry dates Ginny. That would mean Ron and Harry would date each other's sisters. :p

If this theory is true, well... this may be out of left field... I got the impression that Ron and Hermione were harboring secrets of their own in Book 5 (lots of whispering at Grimmauld Place). Do you think Hermione let Ron in on her secret?

P.S. Another possible clue...not only do we know precious little about Hermione's family. Quite odd for a major character. If you think about it, we know precious little of HARRY's family.

I've have pointed this out many times before in other threads. Isn't it EXTREMLY ODD that we have NO CLUE what happened to Harry's grand parents? Was every last member of the Potter and Evans family was annihilated (grand parents both sides, cousins, great uncles, great aunts, etc...)?

Are Aunt Petunia and Dudley indeed the ONLY living blood relatives Harry has? How come we've never had ANY explanation about what happened to the rest? How come Harry hasn't inquired about them? I mean at the VERY LEAST, Harry should be wondering about his grand parents. How come absolutely NO ONE has discussed it or even broached the subject?

They couldn't have died of old age. Lily and James were 21ish when they had Harry. His grand parents would have been late 40s/early 50s at the time. What's the dealio?

It's VERY fishy.

Since this is Version 2 of this discussion, I doubt it's going to be closed anytime soon.

I was under the impression that Hermione was approximately one year YOUNGER than Harry.

Or perhaps JK Rowling was lying...but somehow I think she isn't.

She was born in September. She was 11 when she got the letter and arrived at Hogwarts, but turned 12 during the year. She couldn't have been 12 at them time that she got the letter or she would have been a year ahead, and the same with her getting it at 10. Harry was 11 when he recieved the letter in July.

...and I don't know where I am heading...but since Hermione's birthday is in September and Harry's in July, both were 11 when recieving the letter, Hermione turns 12 during the year and Harry doesn't...

..I think that's good. :D

Wow....Wow, merlin455, your essay blew me out of the water. You definitely touched on something that could be absolutely huge. Please don't take this the wrong way, but I hope that you are wrong; because I want to be completely surprised at the end of the books and if your theory turns out to be true, and I have read all about it already, then I'll be bummed out. Big time. But I think you and everyone that helped you out with this theory are BRILLIANT. Simply genius; and you have SO much canon to back up everything. Well done. Well done.

I seriously doubt there is another child. According to the Lexicon at TLC, James and Lily were 21 years old when they died. Lily and James were around 18 when they left Hogwarts. This means that she had Harry when she was 20. So, I doubt she had another baby before Harry in such a short amount of time. If she were to have another child, it would mean that she would have to be pregnant when she was 18, and I'm pretty sure they weren't married yet at that time. So I'm saying there wasn't another child...

Edit: (On Hermione being Harry's sister) : I don't think JKR would be a bit ambiguous about Harry and her having some kind of romance. It would be extremely strange if she turned out to be his sister when she's always responded about R/H, H/H shipping questions with "Oh, I don't want to spoil the fun for the shippers". She would have completely shot down H/H theories forever if they were indeed siblings. Do you guys get what I'm trying to explain? :huh:

She would have completely shot down H/H theories forever if they were indeed siblings. Do you guys get what I'm trying to explain

Well maybe shooting down H/Hr completely would be too big of a clue that Harry and Hermione are siblings. Get what I mean?

I haven't read Merlin455's theory yet. Saving it for tomorrow, it's a little long for this time of night.

But my first thought when seeing this topic was Star Wars with Luke and Laia (sp).

Well maybe shooting down H/Hr completely would be too big of a clue that Harry and Hermione are siblings. Get what I mean?

Yeah but would she really want to have them possibly get together and then be 'oh wait, you guys are related.' She doesn't strike me as the type to push that type of a relationship...

Yeah but would she really want to have them possibly get together and then be 'oh wait, you guys are related.' She doesn't strike me as the type to push that type of a relationship...

Yes, you got the point I was trying to get across in my post on the page before this one. It would be really odd if she kept making their relationship a possibility and not give a direct answer to shippers. If they were really related, she wouldn't do that!

Ok, I haven't had a chance to read the whole theory yet, but I've read most. First, let me say that is an excellent essay, and it was very well thought out. Good on you! :) But I have a question which I don't think will b answered in the rest of the essay. In the first book, Hermione states that Harry must face Voldemort alone. If she really is a sibling, why wouldn't she go with him? She could use the bond of blood to protect him, but she went to care for Ron. Does that make sense? I like how musch effort and detail you've put in, but it's getting to be more and more Star Wars by the minute, and I don't think JKR would do that. And furthermore, a lot of the information is speculation. And I don't think JKR would examine everything that closely to make sure there were clues. Good theory though, I'm off to read the rest of it.

Ok, I'm almost finished but I have something to add, if Hermione fulfills the prophecy, then why have a series called Harry Potter about the Good vs Evil struggle if she isn't going to defeat Vpoldemort. And the theme of the book is basically about racism and the Good vs Evil battle, not about finding hidden family. Almost finished reading now.

Originally Posted by Sabi
Yeah but would she really want to have them possibly get together and then be 'oh wait, you guys are related.' She doesn't strike me as the type to push that type of a relationship...

You're assuming she's promoting the possibility. The only thing JKR has done is not officially take a side on the shipping wars.

I read merlins theory. Merlin has a lot of good points but it also seems like he is reaching alot too though. I don't know iif I am convinced or not but it has made me start thinking. Hopefully, the HBP will open a few more mysterious doors show us the truth.

Good Essay Merlin it seems well thought out and well written.

I wish I could write an essay! lol

:cool:

I saw this thread and and automatically I thought 'what the #@$*?!'

It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

Edit: (On Hermione being Harry's sister) : I don't think JKR would be a bit ambiguous about Harry and her having some kind of romance. It would be extremely strange if she turned out to be his sister when she's always responded about R/H, H/H shipping questions with "Oh, I don't want to spoil the fun for the shippers". She would have completely shot down H/H theories forever if they were indeed siblings. Do you guys get what I'm trying to explain? :huh:

JKR called Harry and Hermione "very platonic friends"... I think that's the most she could say without giving away the big secret.
In fact... it almost gives it away... As I wrote in the essay... why very ?


But I have a question which I don't think will b answered in the rest of the essay. In the first book, Hermione states that Harry must face Voldemort alone. If she really is a sibling, why wouldn't she go with him?
Was that in the book, or just in the movie ? Sorry, I don't have the book at hand right now...
Anyway, she isn't far away, and she hugs him just before he faces Voldemort (which symbolizes love, thus protection per Lily's sacrifice).
Plus there is only one dose of potion left to go forwards. They can't both go.
And I think it's Harry who tells her to go and care for Ron.

Ok, I'm almost finished but I have something to add, if Hermione fulfills the prophecy, then why have a series called Harry Potter
I don't really believe this will happen... This was just an "alternative idea" I proposed.
I rather believe that Harry will fulfill the Prophecy, but the power he has that "the Dark Lord knows not" comes from Hermione (well... from Lily, through Hermione).

Was that in the book, or just in the movie ? Sorry, I don't have the book at hand right now...
Anyway, she isn't far away, and she hugs him just before he faces Voldemort (which symbolizes love, thus protection per Lily's sacrifice).
Plus there is only one dose of potion left to go forwards. They can't both go.
And I think it's Harry who tells her to go and care for Ron.


I don't really believe this will happen... This was just an "alternative idea" I proposed.
I rather believe that Harry will fulfill the Prophecy, but the power he has that "the Dark Lord knows not" comes from Hermione (well... from Lily, through Hermione).

I'm sure it was in the book, but I could be mistaken. So basically, what you're saying is whenever the person with the blood protection is close, then Harry can't be harmed? But I did forget about there being only one potion, sorry about that.

I'm glad it was only alternative, I must admit I'd be disappointed if we had this whole story about Harry, then it turns out that he doesn't defeat Voldemort! :)

BTW, If Lily and James left school at 17 or 18, that would give them them 2-3 years to have a child before Harry. (that doesn't go for the Hermione argument this is just the general Lily had 2 children theory).

It was well explained, but I still have my doubts on the theory.

I'm sure it was in the book, but I could be mistaken. So basically, what you're saying is whenever the person with the blood protection is close, then Harry can't be harmed?

Dumbledore himself explained this quite clearly in OotP :

While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort.
It works for the Dursleys' house, because Petunia lives there.
Hogwarts is another place Harry calls "home" (he calls it "home" quite often in the story). So, if Lily's blood is present at Hogwarts, then Harry should be protected there.

EDIT : thinking about it... why did Dumbledore use such an expression "the place where your mother's blood dwells" ? Why not just "the house where your mother's sister dwells" ? Or simply "your aunts house" ?
Because he meant MORE than just Petunia !

Dumbledore himself explained this quite clearly in OotP :

It works for the Durley's house, because Petunia lives there.
Hogwarts is another place Harry calls "home" (he calls it "home" quite often in the story). So, if Lily's blood is present at Hogwarts, then Harry should be protected there.

EDIT : thinking about it... why did Dumbledore use such an expression "the place where your mother's blood dwells" ? Why not just "the house where your mother's sister dwells" ? Or simply "your aunts house" ?
Because he meant MORE than just Petunia !

Yes, that edit is very interesting, maybe it's because he means whenever he's with Petunia, I'm sure she's not a complete hermit, she would have to leave the house at some time! :) I think it's possible for Hermione to be Harry's sibling, I just think it very unlikely.

I like your theory Merlin455. I've come across it somewhere before, though, I don't remember where. Granted, it wasn't as well written nor as easy to follow as your's is.

Anyway, for Harry's sake, I do hope that its true. It would be nice to learn, that after all he's been through, there was someone out there that he could call family. Not the pathetic excuse of a family that the Dursleys are. Or even a surrogate family, such as the Weasleys, but a real family.

If this theory is true, well... this may be out of left field... I got the impression that Ron and Hermione were harboring secrets of their own in Book 5 (lots of whispering at Grimmauld Place). Do you think Hermione let Ron in on her secret?


I always thought that Ron and Hermione are already having and relationship in the OOTP and thats what all the secrets were about. Would Hermione tell Ron and risk him telling Harry? I don't think she'd be that stupid because it would probably slip out of his mouth. I'm not saying he would do it on purpsoe but just accidentley.

I like your theory Merlin455. I've come across it somewhere before, though, I don't remember where. Granted, it wasn't as well written nor as easy to follow as your's is.

Maybe you read it on the Darkmark boards. Or here on cosforums, in the first "Lily had two children" thread (dtpoet, who was one of my fellow theory supporters, posted it there).


If this theory is true, well... this may be out of left field... I got the impression that Ron and Hermione were harboring secrets of their own in Book 5 (lots of whispering at Grimmauld Place). Do you think Hermione let Ron in on her secret?
I'm almost sure Hermione didn't tell anyone.

Maybe she cannot tell (if a Fidelius charm is protecting the secret - this is just a suggestion - she can't tell it even if she wanted to).
But even if she could tell, I think she never did. Dumbledore and McGonagall must have made her promise.

Remember at the end of PoA, when Ron asked her why she had never told them about the Time-Turner, she answered quite severely :
"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone !"
Bit of foreshadowing ?

Keeping a secret is a very serious matter for Hermione. Yet, I believe she has been, once or twice, on the edge of telling Harry :
"friendship, and bravery and - oh Harry !"
But she stopped just in time...
It must be hard for her, poor girl...

Hermione would have took a secret to the grave if she was told to she is like that. If this is true how do you think Harry would find out, I'm sure it wouldn't come from Hermione unless she was told that she could now tell him the truth.

In the first book, Hermione states that Harry must face Voldemort alone. If she really is a sibling, why wouldn't she go with him? She could use the bond of blood to protect him, but she went to care for Ron. Does that make sense? I like how musch effort and detail you've put in, but it's getting to be more and more Star Wars by the minute, and I don't think JKR would do that. And furthermore, a lot of the information is speculation. And I don't think JKR would examine everything that closely to make sure there were clues. Good theory though, I'm off to read the rest of it.





In SS/PS Hermione did NOT say Harry had to face him alone.

There was only enough potion for one person to go thru the black flame toward the stone. Harry told Hermione to drink the potion to take her back thru the purple flame, get Ron and grab brooms from the key room and fly out the trap door and past fluffy. He then told her to send an owl to Dumbledore. At this point they think that it is Snape who is trying to steal the stone but then Hermione says this

SS American paperback version, Ch 16 Through The Trapdoor, Pg. 356-357

"But Harry --- what if You-Know-Who's with him?"

"Well --- I was lucky once wasn't I?" said Harry, pointing at his scar. "I might get lucky again."

Hermione's lip trembled, and she suddenly dashedat Harry and threw her arms around him.

"Hermione!"

"Harry --- Your a great wizard, you know."

"I'm not as good as you," said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.

"Me!" said Hermione. "Books! And cleverness! There are more important things ---friendship and bravery and ---oh Harry --- be careful!"

"You drink first," said Harry. "You are sure which is which, arn't you?"

"Positive," said Hermione. She took a long drink from the round bottle at the end, and shuddered.

"Its not poison?" said Harry anxiously.

"No---but it's like ice."

"Quick, go, before it wears off."

"Good luck --- take care ---"

"GO!"

Hermione turned and walked straight thru the purple fire.

Harry took a deep breath and picked up the smallest bottle. He turned to face the black flames.

"Here I come," he said, and he drained the little bottle in one gulp.

Then he moves on and the rest is history with the whole weird headed Quirrel thing LOL

Hope I helped :cool:

In SS/PS Hermione did NOT say Harry had to face him alone.

There was only enough potion for one person to go thru the black flame toward the stone. Harry told Hermione to drink the potion to take her back thru the purple flame, get Ron and grab brooms from the key room and fly out the trap door and past fluffy. He then told her to send an owl to Dumbledore. At this point they think that it is Snape who is trying to steal the stone but then Hermione says this

Then he moves on and the rest is history with the whole weird headed Quirrel thing LOL

Yes, thankyou, I acknowledged that after it was explained to me by merlin455. Thankyou for that, I must have got it muddled up somehow.

Hey its easy to do :)

I saw the movie before I read the series so I sometimes get confused about the actual events that happend too. Some people don't realize just how very different things happen in the movies compared to the books.

But that is just Hollywood :)

They can't include everything that happend in the book and sometimes they have to change things in the film for it to make sense to an audience who doesn't have the luxury of JK's awesome writing skills.

I just look at the movies completely separate from the books. That way I don't get all bent out of shape when they change something very cool (Marauders anyone?)

Its all good. The basic idea gets thru and they will have to cut ALOT from Goblet of fire to carry on the story. Sad but true.

I saw the movie before I read the series so I sometimes get confused about the actual events that happend too. Some people don't realize just how very different things happen in the movies compared to the books.


They can't include everything that happend in the book and sometimes they have to change things in the film for it to make sense to an audience who doesn't have the luxury of JK's awesome writing skills.

I just look at the movies completely separate from the books. That way I don't get all bent out of shape when they change something very cool (Marauders anyone?)

Its all good. The basic idea gets thru and they will have to cut ALOT from Goblet of fire to carry on the story. Sad but true.

My friend actually found a movie review of GoF and she showed me, I was alarmed at what they had cut and shortened. I know they can't fit it all in, but I found the 3rd movie completely distorted. What exactly did they change about the marauders? (Apart from spelling 'Moony' wrong and getting Lily and James's hair and eye clour wrong). My brain is not functioning properly right now. (lol)

JKR called Harry and Hermione "very platonic friends"... I think that's the most she could say without giving away the big secret.
In fact... it almost gives it away... As I wrote in the essay... why very ?

She put in very to indicate Ron and Hermione's impending relationship. She was giving us a clue as to which ship is more likely. Saying that someone is "very platonic" doesn't automatically mean that a boy and girl are siblings. Friends can be very platonic. I honestly think there is no way Hermione will end up to be Harry's sister. Her parents have already been introduced as Muggles who are Dentists. When people ask JKR about why we don't see much of Hermione's parents, in one quote she said that they weren't important to the plot and were quite "boring". If Hermione was actually Harry's sibling, JKR would have said that Hermione's history is something we'll find out about in other books, but she hasn't said this. Hermione's family has already been mentioned and there's nothing else to them. There simply isn't or else JKR would have said something beforehand. Remember Rita Skeeter's article about Harry and Hermione being potential partners and them having to deny it? Imagine them coming out as brother and sister a year later, wouldn't that be extremely strange to have an article about a possible romance between the two, only for people to find out a few years later that they're related? That's what I'm trying to explain. On another note, I'd like to say that I believe that Ron and Hermione have a relationship coming on the way so my views aren't influenced by me "supporting H/H" because that's not happening at all. But that's another whole story..

My friend actually found a movie review of GoF and she showed me, I was alarmed at what they had cut and shortened. I know they can't fit it all in, but I found the 3rd movie completely distorted. What exactly did they change about the marauders? (Apart from spelling 'Moony' wrong and getting Lily and James's hair and eye clour wrong). My brain is not functioning properly right now. (lol)


Well other than they comepletely cut out any explanation as to who made the map.

Harry didn't find out that his father was an animagus.

Harry didn't find out that his father form was a stag.

He didn't even know that Sirius, Lupin, Peter and his father called theirselves the Marauders.

Lupin didn't tell Harry that it was he and his father and sirius that made the map in the first place. so yeah they cut out alot about the Marauders.

Well other than they comepletely cut out any explanation as to who made the map.

Harry didn't find out that his father was an animagus.

Harry didn't find out that his father form was a stag.

He didn't even know that Sirius, Lupin, Peter and his father called theirselves the Marauders.

Lupin didn't tell Harry that it was he and his father and sirius that made the map in the first place. so yeah they cut out alot about the Marauders.

Oh...yeah. Sorry, as I said, brain not working (lol). It did disappoint me that they didn't show as much about the marauders; they're my favourite characters, minus Wormtail plus Lily...if that makes sense. But we're getting off topic, this would probably be more of a Leaky Cauldron thing...

Answering NYCwitch920.

I think that when the Harry-Hermione sibling relation is revealed in the end, people who had been jealous of them, jealous of their closeness (like Viktor Krum, Cho Chang... and possibly Ron - depending on what will happen in HBP) will simply feel... well, a bit stupid.

I'm quite aware that the Sibling Theory has a huge impact on character shipping. But it is basically NOT a shipping theory. Among the supporters, there were R/Hr's of course, but not only... Even a few H/Hr shippers, though they didn't support the theory, said they kind of liked it : at least, the theory accounts for a "special relation" between Harry and Hermione. Not the kind of relation they had imagined, but still something very strong, and something essential in the overall plot.


My point of view is that "shipping" - romance between characters - is not very important in the story. JKR wanted realistic characters, so she wanted some romance in the story, but this is not essential.
LOVE is essential. It is the power at the very heart of the plot. The power "the Dark Lord knows not".
Love. Not romance. The purest example of love we've seen up to now is a mother's sacrifice.

In fact, I have quite a lot in common with H/Hr shippers. Like them, I think the H/Hr relation is at the heart of the plot. But, unlike them, I believe this is family love, not romantic love.

As for the ships that will "sail" in the end... I don't know, and I don't really care. Will Ron end up with Hermione or Luna ? Will Harry end up with Ginny, Luna or a new girl ? Will they end up alone ? I'm not sure... I sort of like H/G. I don't like R/Hr too much... (but it would still be OK for me). Anyway, this is not important.

I think someone has been watching a bit too much Star Wars.... This is Harry Potter. By now we would have had some hints about a second child.

Answering NYCwitch920.

I think that when the Harry-Hermione sibling relation is revealed in the end, people who had been jealous of them, jealous of their closeness (like Viktor Krum, Cho Chang... and possibly Ron - depending on what will happen in HBP) will simply feel... well, a bit stupid.

I'm quite aware that the Sibling Theory has a huge impact on character shipping. But it is basically NOT a shipping theory. Among the supporters, there were R/Hr's of course, but not only... Even a few H/Hr shippers, though they didn't support the theory, said they kind of liked it : at least, the theory accounts for a "special relation" between Harry and Hermione. Not the kind of relation they had imagined, but still something very strong, and something essential in the overall plot.


My point of view is that "shipping" - romance between characters - is not very important in the story. JKR wanted realistic characters, so she wanted some romance in the story, but this is not essential.
LOVE is essential. It is the power at the very heart of the plot. The power "the Dark Lord knows not".
Love. Not romance. The purest example of love we've seen up to now is a mother's sacrifice.

In fact, I have quite a lot in common with H/Hr shippers. Like them, I think the H/Hr relation is at the heart of the plot. But, unlike them, I believe this is family love, not romantic love.

As for the ships that will "sail" in the end... I don't know, and I don't really care. Will Ron end up with Hermione or Luna ? Will Harry end up with Ginny, Luna or a new girl ? Willl they end up alone ? I'm not sure... I sort of like H/G. I don't like R/Hr too much... (but it would still be OK for me). Anyway, this is not important.

I absolutey agree with you that shipping isn't the part of the main plot, it's added to be a side story. However, do you really think that JKR's going to suddenly reveal that they're siblings at the end? Do you really think so? She's always told us that she would never spring anything upon us without giving us clues beforehand. I don't see any significant clues that have pointed to them being related thus far. I could be wrong of course and you could be right. Your ideas are great and JKR is unpredictable but I really believe that they aren't related and are just great friends. He gets annoyed at her just like a brother though. :lol: Yeah, but I stand firmly with my idea that they're not related. She has her own parents and he once had his own.

About this "it's not STAR WARS" comments that crop up so often. Listen, even STAR WARS isn't "new" in it's themes and plots. There is this book by Joseph Campbell called "The Hero With a Thousand Faces". It's famous because it inspired George Lucas into creating STAR WARS. Here is a review:

"Originally written by Campbell in the '40s-- in his pre-Bill Moyers days -- and famous as George Lucas' inspiration for "Star Wars," this book will likewise inspire any writer or reader in its well considered assertion that while all stories have already been told, this is *not* a bad thing, since the *retelling* is still necessary. And while our own life's journey must always be ended alone, the travel is undertaken in the company not only of immediate loved ones and primal passion, but of the heroes and heroines -- and myth-cycles -- that have preceded us."

If I've learned ANYTHING on this board is that JKR's story telling has been HEAVILY influenced by classic stories and myths of all kinds. She's even named characters after other characters from other stories. We've proved that she's lifted bits and pieces of other stories and woven them into her own.

This does NOT make her a bad writer OR unoriginal. In fact, quite the opposite, she's placed traditional themes and stories in a world and universe entirely of her own making.

Suffice it to say, if Harry and Hermione end up being brother and sisters, it doesn't mean she's stealing from STAR WARS, because I'm 100% positive the secret sibling plot has been used a hundred timess before in other stories and myths throughout the centuries.

because I'm 100% positive the secret sibling plot has been used a hundred timess before in other stories and myths throughout the centuries.
It would be nice to see some research into that particular relationship in pre-HP literature. Any of those stories spring into mind? :eyebrows: Arthurian myth/legend/fabrication is one (at least in some versions Arthur is unaware that Morgan is his half-sister)....

LOL sorry I know this is off topic and all but I just wanted to say that it is very possible to have a two babies back to back. My aunt had a baby girl in July and when she went back for her 6 week check up she was pregnant again. That baby was born in May of the next year making her kids almost exactly 10 months apart. :huh:

They are adults now and yes they are perfectly normal. LOL sorry to go off topic but just thought I would share that yes it is possible if a person does not take precautions to prevent such things from happening. :p

Okay carry on with this unusual theory. I personally do not think that JK would introduce something like this so late in the series. It just wouldn't work. As others have said it seems a little too much star warish. Even though I love Star Wars this is Harry Potter. Lets leave it at that :cool:


Thank you for clearing that up. It is very possible to have children close in age. My son and daughter were born 11 months apart.

I have a theory that most people will totally disregard, but I would like to mention it anyway. Alot of the theories about Harry having a sibling focus on Hermione or someone older than Harry. I think it is possible that James and Lily had another child after Harry. According to Harry Potter Lexicon, Harry was born 7-31-80 and Voldemort's attack was on 10-31-81, so that means Harry was 15 months old. It could be possible that James and Lily had another child. Harry's memory of that night are from when he was a baby. He more than likely does not remember all the details.

It could be possible that this other child is Ginny. She was born on 8-11-81, a little over 12 months after Harry was born. Ginny has many similarities to the Potter family, such as red hair (Lily), bright brown eyes (James' eyes were hazel), good at quidditch, came in contact with Voldemort, and is bold and daring like James. I do see that some of these similarities are also from the Weasley's, but what a great cover, to place Ginny with them! She was definitely young enough (only 2 months old) to be placed with them without too many questions. Maybe Molly was pregnant at the same time and lost the baby around the time of the Voldemort attack on Oct. 31, so Dumbledore chose them to care for "Lily's daughter", the baby had red hair after all.

Ginny seems so much like a Weasly appearance-wise that nobody would be the wiser. I find it very interesting, that Ginny was the one in CoS chosen by Lucius Malfoy to give the diary to. Ginny and Harry are the only ones who have been possessed by Voldemort.

It could be a huge plot twist. Sirius came along and was all of a sudden Harry's godfather. It could be the same with a sister. She would have to be protected because I think there is more to the Potter family history than what we have read. There is probably something bigger going on and possibly other prophecies. Maybe Harry needs something from his sister in order to defeat Voldemort.

Ok, I think that is it. This is total speculation and alot of fun to think about, so be nice!

I think the Ginny theory is plausible. It's been mentioned many times before how much Ginny looks like Lily. Witness the debate about the cover "is it Ginny or is it Lily!?"

And JKR has stated that Ginny is the first girl born to the Weasly family in several generations. She's a rarity.

Oh, NO! Now we've gone and made both Harmony and Chocolate shippers mad! :evil:

I think the Ginny theory is plausible. It's been mentioned many times before how much Ginny looks like Lily. Witness the debate about the cover "is it Ginny or is it Lily!?"

And JKR has stated that Ginny is the first girl born to the Weasly family in several generations. She's a rarity.

Oh, yes I forgot about that! That definitely helps my theory. I also thought of something else people mention and that is why Hagrid took so long getting Harry to the Dursleys after the attack. Maybe Hagrid first took Ginny to the Weasleys and then Harry to the Dursleys.



Oh, NO! Now we've gone and made both Harmony and Chocolate shippers mad! :evil:

Ahhhhh, run for the hills!! :elaugh:

In fact, I think the Ginny idea works out better because as many have mentioned it's kind of important in a symbolic way that Hermione remain a true Muggleborn.

Ron=Pureblood, Harry=Halfblood, Hermione=Muggleborn (all three types of wizards uniting and working together).

Well other than they comepletely cut out any explanation as to who made the map.

Harry didn't find out that his father was an animagus.

Harry didn't find out that his father form was a stag.

He didn't even know that Sirius, Lupin, Peter and his father called theirselves the Marauders.

Lupin didn't tell Harry that it was he and his father and sirius that made the map in the first place. so yeah they cut out alot about the Marauders.

I hated that they missed all that out and have been telling everyone who as seen the film but not read the book the proper version the truth. They actully thought something was missing from the film and when i explained they said it made more sense. I was so mad watching it the first time at the cinema and i hate it more when they add things in!

She's always told us that she would never spring anything upon us without giving us clues beforehand. I don't see any significant clues that have pointed to them being related thus far.
Well... I think a few of the clues I mentionned in the essay are big enough.
For instance, Hermione jumped from her chair when someone said the words "a father substitute"...

It would be nice to see some research into that particular relationship in pre-HP literature. Any of those stories spring into mind? Arthurian myth/legend/fabrication is one (at least in some versions Arthur is unaware that Morgan is his half-sister)....
I could quote Moliere's theatre (17th century). In at least 2 or 3 pieces, lost brothers/sisters/fathers are reunited in the end.


It could be possible that this other child is Ginny.
Why not ?
But there is a problem : do you think JKR would have had Ginny have an obvious crush on Harry ? Because I think everyone agrees that young Ginny had a crush on him.
Whatever you think the odds are for H/G now, Ginny was in love with Harry.
I doubt JKR would have done that...

On the other hand, Hermione never openly had a crush on Harry. The true nature of her feelings is debatable (I think that she deeply loves him... as a brother, as she knows exactly who he is).

But there is a problem : do you think JKR would have had Ginny have an obvious crush on Harry ?

Yeah but nothing ever happened. Not even the slightest. Hey, and remember how in BACK TO THE FUTURE, Marty's teenage mother had a crush on him? Now that was funny!

And I wouldn't say Ginny was "in love" with Harry. She had a school girl/hero worship crush on him.

- Now, by far the strongest of all objections. JKR herself said on August 15th, 2004 :
Q. Does Hermione have any brothers or sisters?
JKR. No, she doesn’t. When I first made up Hermione I gave her a younger sister, but she was very hard to work in. The younger sister was not supposed to go to Hogwarts. She was supposed to remain a Muggle. It was a sideline that didn’t work very well and it did not have a big place in the story. I have deliberately kept Hermione’s family in the background. You see so much of Ron’s family so I thought that I would keep Hermione’s family, by contrast, quite ordinary. They are dentists, as you know. They are a bit bemused by their odd daughter but quite proud of her all the same.
So, JKR answered “no” to this question. Is there still any room for interpretation ?
No. JKR does not deliberately lie. If Hermione did have any siblings, and Jo didn't want to reveal some secret, she would have dodged the question with some other type of answer. In all your other rebuttals, merlin455, you assume that the Sibling Theory is at the top of her mind when answering questions--but not in this instance. Why would she just suddenly forget this part of the story and blatantly answer "no"?

Your hypothesis is very well written, backed by plenty of canon...quite believable, too. But when the author says Hermione has no siblings, she means none. Not even a hidden relationship. She would have skipped saying "no" and just gone on with the rest, leaving us to debate the matter for ourselves.

No. JKR does not deliberately lie. If Hermione did have any siblings, and Jo didn't want to reveal some secret, she would have dodged the question with some other type of answer. In all your other rebuttals, merlin455, you assume that the Sibling Theory is at the top of her mind when answering questions--but not in this instance. Why would she just suddenly forget this part of the story and blatantly answer "no"?

Your hypothesis is very well written, backed by plenty of canon...quite believable, too. But when the author says Hermione has no siblings, she means none. Not even a hidden relationship. She would have skipped saying "no" and just gone on with the rest, leaving us to debate the matter for ourselves.

Now i still don't know if i believe this theory fully yet but when JK answered the quetion that Hermione and no siblings she was talking about Hermione Granger and her muggle mam and dad. now as for Hermione Potter she has a very famous brother indeed.

No. JKR does not deliberately lie. If Hermione did have any siblings, and Jo didn't want to reveal some secret, she would have dodged the question with some other type of answer. In all your other rebuttals, merlin455, you assume that the Sibling Theory is at the top of her mind when answering questions--but not in this instance. Why would she just suddenly forget this part of the story and blatantly answer "no"?
I suppose it's because, at that moment, her mind was focused on the "Granger little sister". She wanted to say that, while she had considered giving Hermione this little sister, she had finally decided that the little sister didn't exist.

It's important to remember that this was not something JKR wrote quietly, sitting at her desk. This was a live discussion with fans. I think it is possible that she said "no", meaning "no little sister in the family who raised her".
I won't deny the objection is serious ; if there hadn't been so many clues in favor of the theory, I would have given up. I almost did... Still, if you consider this sentence in context, I think there is room for interpretation.



And talking about that, would you say there is room for interpretation for THIS sentence. Directly from JKR's website (and here, it IS something she wrote quietly sitting at her desk) :
Ginny (full name Ginevra, not Virginia), is the first girl to be born into the Weasley clan for several generations.
Ginny is the first girl to be born into the Weasley clan for several generations.
If you find a hole in this, that would allow Ginny to be Lily's daughter, please let us know...
(The only solution I can think of is if Lily herself was a Weasley... er... this is becoming horribly complicated ! )

Yeah but nothing ever happened. Not even the slightest. Hey, and remember how in BACK TO THE FUTURE, Marty's teenage mother had a crush on him? Now that was funny!

And I wouldn't say Ginny was "in love" with Harry. She had a school girl/hero worship crush on him.

I agree with this. I think it was more of a hero worship kind of thing. Also, Ginny would have no idea Harry is her brother. She has moved on from that crush and probably does not have romantic feelings for Harry.


Ginny is the first girl to be born into the Weasley clan for several generations.
If you find a hole in this, that would allow Ginny to be Lily's daughter, please let us know...
(The only solution I can think of is if Lily herself was a Weasley... er... this is becoming horribly complicated ! )

Well, everybody interprets things literally and not so literally. To me, the thing that sticks out here that she was the first girl in several generations. Jo wants us to think Ginny is just another Weasley, but she is not :evil:

I'm a bit confused by the whole "Ginny is Harry's sister" theory. Apparently after Lily and James were killed, the Weasleys took in Ginny but not Harry? And why would the Weasleys take any Potter children, since (correct me if I'm wrong, I don't have my books with me) they were never close to the Potters?

I can't really believe that Harry has any living brothers or sisters, but what about this: what if Lily was pregnant again when Voldemort attacked? It might explain why LV offered to let her go -- even really bad guys might feel awkward about killing a pregnant woman. And if Harry found out about it (I'm assuming that LV would tell him, having magically sensed it or something, since it clearly wasn't public knowledge), that would be the final blow to Harry. After that he would pretty much HAVE to go after Voldemort.

And why would the Weasleys take any Potter children, since (correct me if I'm wrong, I don't have my books with me) they were never close to the Potters?

Weren't the Weasley's part of the original Order? I know Molly's brother's were. My guess is, if true, they split the kids up for their safety.

If Lily had another child..don't you think that someone would have told him by now? Or at least heard of such a thing...

Lily and James were 21 when they died, and Harry was a year old, so she must have had him at 20. Maybe even gotten pregnant at 19...but that one is a little off...

Anyway, they were 18 when they left, and they must have had to wait a couple of months to get married, and maybe they were 19 then, so...I think having a child in-between all of that is impossible...

I don't think at all that Lily has ever had another child...Harry would have heard about it, and if there was such a kid..why would be be in another home, when under the Dursley's protection was the only safe place for Harry?

How could Ginny be Harry's sister of Harry is older than her? His mom did die..you all know that right? :p

Ginny is the first girl to be born into the Weasley clan for several generations.
If you find a hole in this, that would allow Ginny to be Lily's daughter, please let us know...
(The only solution I can think of is if Lily herself was a Weasley... er... this is becoming horribly complicated ! )I don't find a hole in it, there is no reason to doubt Ginny being a full member of the Weasley clan--by blood and birth! And as protective as Molly is...and as sorry as she feels for Harry being an orphan....If she was related to him in any way, she would have told him. She would have offered comforting words about his parents being relatives or close friends of hers--but she never has.
This was a live discussion with fans. I think it is possible that she said "no", meaning "no little sister in the family who raised her". Yes, but it isn't the only "live discussion" JKR ever had. She dodges questions she doesn't want to answer quite well in the other live sessions....

How could Ginny be Harry's sister of Harry is older than her? His mom did die..you all know that right?
Ginny was born before Lily's death....

Weren't the Weasley's part of the original Order? I know Molly's brother's were. My guess is, if true, they split the kids up for their safety.


Where the Weasleys on the picture that Mad Eye Moody showed Harry in the OOTP? i'm sure the prewetts were, wern't they Molly's brohers or relation? I can't remember now. I can't remember reading that Mrs and Mr Weasley where on the the photo, corected me if i'm wrong please. As for Ginny being Harry sister now, I'm still with Hermione it makes more sense.

Arthur and Molly were not part of the original Order. So they definitely were not in the photo...

Arthur and Molly were not part of the original Order. So they definitely were not in the photo...

Well i'm glad i'm not going mad!

The question is why not! Why wern't they in the Order the first time around? To many kids to look after i supose.

Right, well Gideon and Fabian Prewitt (Molly's brothers) were definately in the photo. So it's not a stretch that Arthur and Molly did their bit to support the Order.

Although it is possible that Harry and Hermione are siblings, I think it’s highly unlikely, however, whenever someone mentions this theory I remember an interesting edit that JKR posted on her website when it was launched, it was about the early drafts of SS/PS, in that version Voldermort's attack on Harry's family took place on an island near the shore and Hermione's parents witnessed the attack from the mainland.

So, in an early version either Hermione's parents (and a baby Hermione) witnessed the Potter's death from a distance (and coincidentally Hr turned out to be a witch) or Hermione presumably was WITH the Potters during the attack and she was rescued by the Grangers.

Why would JKR even considered introducing Hermione's family so early in the story? Why did she considered on linking Harry and Hermione so early in their lives? There must be dozens of discarded story lines, then why would she mention this one particularly in her webpage? Is this a clue?

Now because we don’t exactly know if Hermione’s parents are indeed her BIOLOGICAL parents, let’s assume that Hermione’s parents WHERE wizards, so we have two possibilities:
1) She’s Lily’s older daughter, she’s 10 months older than Harry, so she could be (JKR has never denied or confirmed this, except for the “too Star Wars” comment).
2) Hermione’s parents where related or close acquaintances of James and Lilly and they died during the war, so she was staying with the Potters and hence when into hiding with them.

I’m gonna refute myself here and just mention that because of the strong feelings that JKR has against bigotry, racism and prejudice, and that in her world a muggleborn would be considered by some as inferior or unworthy, it is important that an outstanding wizard or witch has to be of muggle parentage. So Hermione (a very talented muggleborn) is probably going to stay a muggleborn.

Right, well Gideon and Fabian Prewitt (Molly's brothers) were definately in the photo. So it's not a stretch that Arthur and Molly did their bit to support the Order.
Yes, Molly's brothers were in the Order the first time around. However, there is no indication that Molly and Arthur had anything to do with the Order then.
"Oh, Molly, come on, it's about time you got used to hearing it [Voldemort's name]--look, I can't promise no one's going to get hurt, nobody can promise that, but we're much better off than we were last time, you weren't in the Order then, you don't understand, last time we were outnumbered twenty to one by the Death Eaters and they were picking us off one by one..."

I do think the deaths of the Prewett brothers was motivation for Molly and Arthur joining the Order this time around, though.

Having family in the Order means they KNOW something about it. I'm sure Gideon and Fabien kept Molly abreast of what was going on. She had 7 young children then. I would think she would want to keep up to date on everything.

Having family in the Order means they KNOW something about it. I'm sure Gideon and Fabien kept Molly abreast of what was going on. She had 7 young children then. I would think she would want to keep up to date on everything.
Sirius Black was an Order member back then, you think he told that to his mum? You think Order members should blab their activities to non-Order people (family or not)? Should Order members reveal their activities when it might place others in danger for having the knowledge? Especially to a young mother with six or seven young children (we don't know whether they were killed before or after the Potters)? :wow:

Sorry, that's getting way off topic. My fault.

No, I don't think Ginny is anything other than a Weasley. I do not believe she is Harry's sister adopted by the Weasleys. I don't even think Lily had two children at all. :no:

Sirius Black was an Order member back then, you think he told that to his mum?

Ummmm.....NO....because his Mum was on the OTHER SIDE. Molly and Arthur supported Dumbledore and The Order. I think it's plausible that Gideon and Fabian let her in on a few things. Not EVERYTHING mind you. But SOME things.

Having family in the Order means they KNOW something about it. I'm sure Gideon and Fabien kept Molly abreast of what was going on.

The Order were a secret organisation, that's why they always talk so quietly when they mention it at the MoM. No one is supposed to know about the Order, so I very much doubt that Gideon and Fabian would have told anybody that they were part of it, especially Molly, she would go insane with worry, plenty of reasons for them not to tell her. And it was for good reason wasn't it? I mean, they were killed by 5 death eaters. Not to mention that Molly knowing about the Order would put her and her children in serious danger.

Ok, sorry for the rant. I'm going to have to agree with Nicole on this one, I think Ginny is definitely a Weasley. With the words 'born into' there is no room for interpretation. To me this means that she is definitely a Weasley. I don't think it very possible that he has a sibling at all. Sorry :no:

If Lily had another child..don't you think that someone would have told him by now? Or at least heard of such a thing...

Lily and James were 21 when they died, and Harry was a year old, so she must have had him at 20. Maybe even gotten pregnant at 19...but that one is a little off...

Anyway, they were 18 when they left, and they must have had to wait a couple of months to get married, and maybe they were 19 then, so...I think having a child in-between all of that is impossible...

I don't think at all that Lily has ever had another child...Harry would have heard about it, and if there was such a kid..why would be be in another home, when under the Dursley's protection was the only safe place for Harry?

How could Ginny be Harry's sister of Harry is older than her? His mom did die..you all know that right? :pYou are right... But you forgot to fit in becoming famous wizards, defying LV for 3 times and such... Though, I have a very strong suspicion that JKR made another math blooper when she named Snape's age (and, therefore, all the marauders). It does not quite fit that James and Lily not only became so well known, but also joined the order, apparently, accomplished plenty, and became friends with people so much older, than they in just a year or two after school. I mean, possible, but not very believable.

I always thought that they finished school before LV came to his full power - in part, because there is no concern and no anxiety in all the kids we see in the pensieve, and Snape is looked upon as a weirdo rather than a potentially dangerous with his dark arts addiction. During a war, people become paranoid about such things, and if parents/relatives are dying somewhere behind the school walls, it is bound to reflect on 15-16 years old kids.

Another thing, a YOUNGER brother of Sirius had time to finish school, join DE, work for them for some time, fail, and get killed before Potters were attacked. And Sirius himself was visiting elder potters, apparently for an extended period of time, and yet by the time of the attack all grandparents are dead. Putting all the things together, there is a gap of 6-7 years between maradeurs finishing school and the attack in Godric Hollow. Goes along with my feeling that Snape is older than Malfoy... I do not know where I get it, but it is in the interaction... I know, this last bit is not really canon supported, so it is purely IMCPO.

Back to the topic:
I see no way Lily patrting with her child, seeing how desperately she protected Harry.
I see no way Dursley's would not be aware of another child, remember, they did meet up to the time when Harry was born.
I do not see McGonagall and Hagrid failing to inquire after the fate of another child, or even ever mention it.
I do not see Sirius not knowing about it or keeping it secret from Harry.
And, I do not see Peter failing to use such a juicy bit of information as a bargaining chip for his life in PoA, he should have known about Potters family as well or better than any other, being a secret keeper.

Back to the topic:
I see no way Lily patrting with her child, seeing how desperately she protected Harry.

In my theory, posted earlier, I said that after Lily was killed the 2 month old Ginny, if she is Lily's, could have been brought to the Weasley's. There was no harm in having her in the magical world since LV was focused on the prophecy of a child born in July.

I see no way Dursley's would not be aware of another child, remember, they did meet up to the time when Harry was born. I am not so sure they met with the Potters. Vernon heard they had a son, probably from Petunia who recieved a letter from Lily.

I do not see McGonagall and Hagrid failing to inquire after the fate of another child, or even ever mention it.
As for inquiring about the fate of another child, who were they inquiring to? We only know what is written. I am sure there are plenty of secrets that have not been told.

I do not see Sirius not knowing about it or keeping it secret from Harry.
And, I do not see Peter failing to use such a juicy bit of information as a bargaining chip for his life in PoA, he should have known about Potters family as well or better than any other, being a secret keeper.
The Potters were well aware LV was out to get them and maybe decided to keep the baby a secret from everyone but possibly Dumbledore. There is not enough history written about Harry's family to say for sure.

My whole theory is speculation and I think plausible to a certain extent.
I think it is something to keep in mind.

You are right... But you forgot to fit in becoming famous wizards, defying LV for 3 times and such... Though, I have a very strong suspicion that JKR made another math blooper when she named Snape's age (and, therefore, all the marauders). It does not quite fit that James and Lily not only became so well known, but also joined the order, apparently, accomplished plenty, and became friends with people so much older, than they in just a year or two after school. I mean, possible, but not very believable.

I always thought that they finished school before LV came to his full power - in part, because there is no concern and no anxiety in all the kids we see in the pensieve, and Snape is looked upon as a weirdo rather than a potentially dangerous with his dark arts addiction. During a war, people become paranoid about such things, and if parents/relatives are dying somewhere behind the school walls, it is bound to reflect on 15-16 years old kids.

Another thing, a YOUNGER brother of Sirius had time to finish school, join DE, work for them for some time, fail, and get killed before Potters were attacked. And Sirius himself was visiting elder potters, apparently for an extended period of time, and yet by the time of the attack all grandparents are dead. Putting all the things together, there is a gap of 6-7 years between maradeurs finishing school and the attack in Godric Hollow. Goes along with my feeling that Snape is older than Malfoy... I do not know where I get it, but it is in the interaction... I know, this last bit is not really canon supported, so it is purely IMCPO.

Back to the topic:
I see no way Lily patrting with her child, seeing how desperately she protected Harry.
I see no way Dursley's would not be aware of another child, remember, they did meet up to the time when Harry was born.
I do not see McGonagall and Hagrid failing to inquire after the fate of another child, or even ever mention it.
I do not see Sirius not knowing about it or keeping it secret from Harry.
And, I do not see Peter failing to use such a juicy bit of information as a bargaining chip for his life in PoA, he should have known about Potters family as well or better than any other, being a secret keeper.

I can see your train of thought on this one. Harry's parents would only of had about three years outside of school to become "great" outside of school. But we really haven't had a lot of history of them as youths back then. People in Harry's grade seem to have plenty of kid-like fun without always fearing the dark Lord. Even harry has a lot of down time. And Harry and the gang treat Malfoy poorly and people think bad about him without much fear for what death eater will do.

I always thought that they finished school before LV came to his full power - in part, because there is no concern and no anxiety in all the kids we see in the pensieve, and Snape is looked upon as a weirdo rather than a potentially dangerous with his dark arts addiction. During a war, people become paranoid about such things, and if parents/relatives are dying somewhere behind the school walls, it is bound to reflect on 15-16 years old kids.

According to my calculations/lexicon, Voldemort was beginning to appear in their first year of school.

Goes along with my feeling that Snape is older than Malfoy... I do not know where I get it, but it is in the interaction... I know, this last bit is not really canon supported, so it is purely IMCPO.

Well, again, (according to Lexicon) Malfoy was in his 7th year when they began their 1st. How old did JKR say Snape was? He'd have to be around 35-36, seeing as that's how old Lily and James would be if they had lived.

But I do agree that it is not probable that they had a child before or after Harry.

According to my calculations/lexicon, Voldemort was beginning to appear in their first year of school.



Well, again, (according to Lexicon) Malfoy was in his 7th year when they began their 1st. How old did JKR say Snape was? He'd have to be around 35-36, seeing as that's how old Lily and James would be if they had lived.

But I do agree that it is not probable that they had a child before or after Harry.

JKR says (basically) that Snape was born c. 1959-1960...based on Harry being born in 1980. That's only 20 years before him.

harry could not have any brother/sister, first of all his parents would not hae time to have one if he is the oldest, adn he would have seen it in the miror of erisid, and sirus would have know, and ofcourse dumbledore would have known the first even befor lily knew.

JKR says (basically) that Snape was born c. 1959-1960...based on Harry being born in 1980. That's only 20 years before him.

That sounds about right to me, Lily and James would be 35 if they were still alive, so that would mean Snape would be too, but I can see where you're coming from.
How old do Hogwarts professors have to be? He's been teaching there for 14 years, that means that the same year Lily and James died, Snape became a teacher.....maybe their deaths is what made him go to Dumbledore....sorry about that, but I just think we've stumbled onto something important here.

I could definitely see Snape's which to the good guys playing a big part in Harry's parents knowing to go into hiding in a hurry. Maybe he took the job just before then, so that he could get info to DD and still be able to say to LV the reason he was around Dumbledore was so he could spy on DD.

harry could not have any brother/sister, first of all his parents would not hae time to have one if he is the oldest, adn he would have seen it in the miror of erisid, and sirus would have know, and ofcourse dumbledore would have known the first even befor lily knew.

We discussed this earlier and found that it completely possible that he had a sibling. And also, the mirror of Erised shows 'neither knowledge nor truth'. And if Harry didn't know about a sibling, he wouldn't have seen it, especially if they were a secret.

I don't think he has a sibling, but it is certainly possible.

ramzk,

He wouldn't have seen it in the mirror of Erised. The mirror gives us neither knowledge or truth, something like that.

I don't think Lily had another child. I would think that would take the story somewhere completely different. The other comment that was made about their ages. Elements in ones life can force them to grow up very quickly. Alot can be accomplished by someone just 3 years out of school or it can be wasted. Harry and his group are close to most of the older characters, their bond started early in school, whose to say it wasn't the same for Lily and James. I do think they had already left school or where in their last year when they started to defy Voldemort ( 3 times). I can't figure out why Voldemort says that Lily didn't have to die. I mean, if James and Lily both defyed him and it ticked him off why would he even think about sparing Lily? I know it says nothing about sparing her but the reference is made just by him say it. :blush:

I could definitely see Snape's which to the good guys playing a big part in Harry's parents knowing to go into hiding in a hurry. Maybe he took the job just before then, so that he could get info to DD and still be able to say to LV the reason he was around Dumbledore was so he could spy on DD.

That does make sense. But didn't they go into hiding because Dumbledore told them about the prophecy?

I agree with ispep. Circumstances such as war can force people to grow up quickly. I don't quite understand whyVoldemort was willing to let Lily go either, it just doesn't make sense to me, after all, have we ever seen Voldemort being merciful before?

Just a reminder for people who haven't read this whole thread : the Harry-Hermione Sibling Theory essay is on page 3 of this thread.
Many questions (timeline, Mirror of Erised, etc... ) are already answered there.

Yes, but it isn't the only "live discussion" JKR ever had. She dodges questions she doesn't want to answer quite well in the other live sessions....
Well, she has been known to mix up her answers a bit when a live discussion was going a bit fast... For instance, about Bill's and Charlie's age. She admitted on her website :
I knew I'd messed up that question the moment I had answered it, but web chats move fast and I wanted to keep going to get through as many questions as I could.


As for the Ginny-Harry Sibling Theory... Sorry, I can't buy it. Many times in the story, JKR insists on physical resemblance between the Weasleys. It's more than just the red hair. In OotP, the resemblance between Ginny and the twins is underlined several times. JKR has carefully planned all this : Ginny strongly resembles the twins (and Charlie). Ron is more like Percy (and Bill).

On the other hand, after five books, and after we have seen the Grangers twice (CoS and OotP) we haven't been told - not a single time - that Hermione looks anything like her "mum and dad".

That does make sense. But didn't they go into hiding because Dumbledore told them about the prophecy?

I agree with ispep. Circumstances such as war can force people to grow up quickly. I don't quite understand whyVoldemort was willing to let Lily go either, it just doesn't make sense to me, after all, have we ever seen Voldemort being merciful before?

Well, heres the thing about that. I was thinking that what they did seemd rushed. When you go back into the events of that night, you come up with a lot of questions.

1.Just one minor one is that how did DD or at least Hagrid know where to find them if they didn't know Peter was secret keeper? I was thinking because he sent it to them by written form(or at least Hagrid) because we know that works. When harry was given the paper to be able to see the Grimmauld Place, I was thinking...why did she do that? We just found out that having a secret keeper could be really done (beyond just the one mention in PoA). So, I thought it had a purpose.

2.Another question was why did Hagrid come by at night(he was the first one to find Harry, and he had to have found him before morning and take him somewhere long enough to talk to McGonnagal, he's who told her where to go, but he didn't have harry...which means he knew about Harry but didn't have him...he found him so that means he left harry for a little while.) I was thinking he came by that night because he was going to give info on a better solution than hiding in godric hollow.

3.Also, it was a last minute thing to switch to Peter...and the only other person to know was Sirius. Another thought was why couldn't James be secret keeper for Lily and vis versa(I have different reasoning for that...like its got to be a place) but why couldn't one of them be it? i was thinking it was because it takes a lot of magic and time to do the spell, so in a rush they covered both James and Lily at the same time with the same spell.
And Hiding doesn't seem like something the Potters would really do if you ask me unless it was last minute.

4.Finally i believe it to have been last minute because Neville's parents didn't have time to go into hiding before they were attacked(at the time there was just as much chance...if not more because they were pureblood, that it could have been them needing the protection.

On the other hand, after five books, and after we have seen the Grangers twice (CoS and OotP) we haven't been told - not a single time - that Hermione looks anything like her "mum and dad".

We've never seen that she looks anything like Harry either. I know you said the 'messy hair' example, but Hermione's hair is described as bushy, not messy. So therefore, there is no resemblance. So forgive me, but I don't buy that Hermione is Harry's sister. You've made some good points but I'm still not convinced at all.

AmeliaPotter

What do you think could possibly be the reason why Voldemort didn't have to kill Lily? I think we all now know the one thing he never had in his life was love. Look at his family, his desperation to stay at Hogwarts while school was out. The books never mention anything regarding a loving and caring nature from him. This is why Harry is able to defeat him each time. It's like trying to mix water and oil. Voldemort is to far gone, when Harry has any loving emotions regarding family or friends, it's not something Voldemort can comprehend. So why then would he give a second thought about Lily?

theSentry,
Maybe it's late but I'm trying to wrap my mind around your 2nd point. I think I'm going to have to do some re-reading. Will get back to you all later. night.

Well, heres the thing about that. I was thinking that what they did seemd rushed. When you go back into the events of that night, you come up with a lot of questions.

1.Just one minor one is that how did DD or at least Hagrid know where to find them if they didn't know Peter was secret keeper? I was thinking because he sent it to them by written form(or at least Hagrid) because we know that works. When harry was given the paper to be able to see the Grimmauld Place, I was thinking...why did she do that? We just found out that having a secret keeper could be really done (beyond just the one mention in PoA). So, I thought it had a purpose.

2.Another question was why did Hagrid come by at night(he was the first one to find Harry, and he had to have found him before morning and take him somewhere long enough to talk to McGonnagal, he's who told her where to go, but he didn't have harry...which means he knew about Harry but didn't have him...he found him so that means he left harry for a little while.) I was thinking he came by that night because he was going to give info on a better solution than hiding in godric hollow.

3.Also, it was a last minute thing to switch to Peter...and the only other person to know was Sirius. Another thought was why couldn't James be secret keeper for Lily and vis versa(I have different reasoning for that...like its got to be a place) but why couldn't one of them be it? i was thinking it was because it takes a lot of magic and time to do the spell, so in a rush they covered both James and Lily at the same time with the same spell.
And Hiding doesn't seem like something the Potters would really do if you ask me unless it was last minute.

4.Finally i believe it to have been last minute because Neville's parents didn't have time to go into hiding before they were attacked(at the time there was just as much chance...if not more because they were pureblood, that it could have been them needing the protection.

1.Yes, that is quite interesting, how DID Hagrid know where to go?

I don't quite understand what you're getting at in question 2,it's slightly confusing.

3. I think it's impossible to be your own secret keeper, it just doesn't fit. I do however believe that it must have been a last minute thing, otherwise they may have had time to prepare.

AmeliaPotter

What do you think could possibly be the reason why Voldemort didn't have to kill Lily? I think we all now know the one thing he never had in his life was love. Look at his family, his desperation to stay at Hogwarts while school was out. The books never mention anything regarding a loving and caring nature from him. This is why Harry is able to defeat him each time. It's like trying to mix water and oil. Voldemort is to far gone, when Harry has any loving emotions regarding family or friends, it's not something Voldemort can comprehend. So why then would he give a second thought about Lily?

Are you suggesting that Voldemort may have loved Lily? I don't think Voldemort is capable of loving, especially someone like Lily, who was a mudblood, inferior in his eyes. I don't think it was pity either, it's just UN-Voldemort like.....it's worth discussing...

yeah...its late. uh...let me try to explain it again.

What I'm questioning is why did Hagrid come by in the middle of the night? it doesn't make much sense to me that he would be the first on the scene (he can do aparatition) unless he was already on his way. If he was just coming to check on them because of the distruction of the house, I think one of the other order members would be able to get there faster.
The other part of that was just how we know he got there and when. Hagrid says himself that he's the one to find harry...so we know that. Then we know that he met Siruis before he left Godric Hollow and before he thought that Sirius betrayed the Potters. the other part was that we know it was before morning, and that he had to have left Harry at least for long enough to talk with Mcgonnagal and tell her where DD would be later in the day/that night.

Also...just adding this part. If Hagrid was the one to find Harry, I think he would have given to hint about a sister or brother...Hagrid is the world's worse secret keeper...ever...besides Wormtail.

yeah...its late. uh...let me try to explain it again.

What I'm questioning is why did Hagrid come by in the middle of the night? it doesn't make much sense to me that he would be the first on the scene (he can do aparatition) unless he was already on his way. If he was just coming to check on them because of the distruction of the house, I think one of the other order members would be able to get there faster.
The other part of that was just how we know he got there and when. Hagrid says himself that he's the one to find harry...so we know that. Then we know that he met Siruis before he left Godric Hollow and before he thought that Sirius betrayed the Potters. the other part was that we know it was before morning, and that he had to have left Harry at least for long enough to talk with Mcgonnagal and tell her where DD would be later in the day/that night.

Also...just adding this part. If Hagrid was the one to find Harry, I think he would have given to hint about a sister or brother...Hagrid is the world's worse secret keeper...ever...besides Wormtail.

That is quite interesting too, why was he already on his way there? I don't think he would be able to keep that secret, he wouldn' be able to keep it from Harry. I agree that if there was a hidden son or daughter, it would have been mentioned from the beginning,

Hmm...I don't think Dumbledore would be mean enough to lie to Harry about a secret sibling...he'd have to have a plausible reason! And how exactly could you keep a child a secret? Secret keeper? Why would they need one? But (although it's not very likely) if Harry were to have a "secret sibling," I guess it'd be an older one. It's not all that likely that HP would have a younger one because there's only about one year between his birth and his parents' death. Lily would have to be pregnant for 9 months and the baby would be 3 months old when sweet old Voldy came and killed the parents...and where would that baby go? In the dumpster? Not a likely theory, but I like your creativity!

Hmm...I don't think Dumbledore would be mean enough to lie to Harry about a secret sibling...he'd have to have a plausible reason! And how exactly could you keep a child a secret? Secret keeper? Why would they need one? But (although it's not very likely) if Harry were to have a "secret sibling," I guess it'd be an older one. It's not all that likely that HP would have a younger one because there's only about one year between his birth and his parents' death. Lily would have to be pregnant for 9 months and the baby would be 3 months old when sweet old Voldy came and killed the parents...and where would that baby go? In the dumpster? Not a likely theory, but I like your creativity!

He would have a plausible reason, for the siblings protection, otherwise Voldemort would probably go after them too. And a secret keeper would work. I'm not saying that I believe it, I'm just explaining that it's possible. :)

According to my calculations/lexicon, Voldemort was beginning to appear in their first year of school. calculations? You mean, you substracted 10 years of LV reign from apparent age of J&L at the moment of death of 21? Well, Lexicon did not look any deeper, either. Well you see, we argue here that the only quote that the J&L was based upon, JKR saying that Snape was 35, is another miscalculation on her part, sinse it does not sit well with the facts in the books. Did the scene in the pensieve strike you as a middle-of-the-war, reign-of-horror kinda thing? Kids not knowing if their parents alive or dead, any mentioning of darlk magic sending waves of terror and paranoya everywhere?
I asure you, most of the members of the forum can substract.

Well, again, (according to Lexicon) Malfoy was in his 7th year when they began their 1st. How old did JKR say Snape was? He'd have to be around 35-36, seeing as that's how old Lily and James would be if they had lived. But I do agree that it is not probable that they had a child before or after Harry.
See above.

In my theory, posted earlier, I said that after Lily was killed the 2 month old Ginny, if she is Lily's, could have been brought to the Weasley's. There was no harm in having her in the magical world since LV was focused on the prophecy of a child born in July.Ah, so you say that Lily had no concern over her new-born baby at all? She just went to protect Harry? Right.
I am not so sure they met with the Potters. Vernon heard they had a son, probably from Petunia who recieved a letter from Lily.Read the first chapter of PS. They did meet.
As for inquiring about the fate of another child, who were they inquiring to? We only know what is written. I am sure there are plenty of secrets that have not been told.Sure, we are not told everything in the world. But we are told essential facts. And if we are to remain untold about Lily having another child, it is not a secret, it is a non-existing thing.
The Potters were well aware LV was out to get them and maybe decided to keep the baby a secret from everyone but possibly Dumbledore. There is not enough history written about Harry's family to say for sure.
I doubt very much that it is even POSSIBLE to keep it from a secret keeper. Remember, in order to enter a protected dwelling, a person should be either one of those over whome the spell was cast (and Peter was presen then, as a secret keeper) or to be told where it is by a secret keeper himself (and that, again, was Peter).

So, either Potters could not have another child with them at all, and Peter, one of the best friends they had, did not know about it, or there was no child at all. BTW, only someone who has no children can even suggest that such an event as birth of a child can be kept secret from close and not-so-close friends. I know, I tried. Impossible. And with Peter, how could they keep such a secret? Peter did not wait for too long to deliver Potters to LV, surely. Why would he? So, the spell was cast weeks, at the most, month before the attack. Lily should have been very much pregnant at the moment or just gave birth, a baby yet practically unseparable from her mother. How inm the world would Peter fail to notice that???

Ah, so you say that Lily had no concern over her new-born baby at all? She just went to protect Harry? Right.

You have missed my point. AFTER she died, there is no way she could have concern over anyone. I was not saying Lily took the baby to live with the Weasleys. She is dead, she cannot take the baby anywhere. Just like Harry was taken to the Dursley's, if there was a younger sibling, they would have had to go somewhere too.

Read the first chapter of PS. They did meet.

Page 2 of American version of SS: "They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years......." "The Dursley's knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him."

This was the day after the attack on James and Lily. The Dursleys had never met Harry and haven't seen the Potters for several years.



So, either Potters could not have another child with them at all, and Peter, one of the best friends they had, did not know about it, or there was no child at all. BTW, only someone who has no children can even suggest that such an event as birth of a child can be kept secret from close and not-so-close friends. I know, I tried. Impossible. And with Peter, how could they keep such a secret? Peter did not wait for too long to deliver Potters to LV, surely. Why would he? So, the spell was cast weeks, at the most, month before the attack. Lily should have been very much pregnant at the moment or just gave birth, a baby yet practically unseparable from her mother. How inm the world would Peter fail to notice that???

Well I am someone with 2 children and I did suggest that a baby can be kept a secret. If the baby's life is in danger and the only way to protect it is to keep it a secret, then you better believe that is what I would do!

calculations? You mean, you substracted 10 years of LV reign from apparent age of J&L at the moment of death of 21? Well, Lexicon did not look any deeper, either. Well you see, we argue here that the only quote that the J&L was based upon, JKR saying that Snape was 35, is another miscalculation on her part, sinse it does not sit well with the facts in the books. Did the scene in the pensieve strike you as a middle-of-the-war, reign-of-horror kinda thing? Kids not knowing if their parents alive or dead, any mentioning of darlk magic sending waves of terror and paranoya everywhere?
I asure you, most of the members of the forum can substract.

No, I don't remember how I did it but I calculated how old they were when they died by the dates that JKR has given us and I'm quite sure I was right. If I was wrong, it would mean that JKR made an error, meaning that no-one would know their actual age. And yes, I can subtract, I am not stupid but it did not involve subtraction in the first place. I know it didn't seem to be a middle-of-war type thing, but they were teenagers, and maybe the war didn't concern them back then. Maybe the kids didn't understand how serious it really was, maybe that's why everything came as such a shock and they didn't have many Order members, they underestimated it. After all, Voldemort probably only got really powerful in their 7th year, and the pensieve scene was in the 5th. We don't know enough about Lily and James to know whether we're right or wrong, so you can't really disprove it, and I can't really prove it.

Don't you all find it funny,that if James and Lily were in their early 20's when they died, that the two actors in the HP movies look so much older. They look at least 30-ish in the moving picture at the begining of POA when Harry is in his room and he just got through blowing up Aunt Marge. :blush:

Don't you all find it funny,that if James and Lily were in their early 20's when they died, that the two actors in the HP movies look so much older. They look at least 30-ish in the moving picture at the begining of POA when Harry is in his room and he just got through blowing up Aunt Marge. :blush:

Yes, I did notice that, but then again, they got their hair colour wrong and spelled 'Moony' incorrectly, so nothing they've done really surprises me. I mean, Tom Felton was about 17 playing a 13-14 year old.

Yes, I did notice that, but then again, they got their hair colour wrong and spelled 'Moony' incorrectly, so nothing they've done really surprises me. I mean, Tom Felton was about 17 playing a 13-14 year old.
Also, Tom Riddle looks at least 21 in CoS, but he was only supposed to be 16. Harry's hair colouring doesn't bother me so much, until I tell people that he and Sirius have the same hair and they tell me I'm the one who's wrong. They also changed the house colours. Yes, Ravenclaw is Blue and Bronze, not Silver. That's one that will never be fixed. Also, Voldemort is pronounced with a silent T. Oh, I could go on and on. Instead I'll defend Amelia's post.

Just go to any schoolyard today. Do the children seem sad, depressed, miserable? Terrorists are running rampant in the world, the Pope is dead, people are dying by the hundreds in Iraq, gas prices are going up, I could go on and on, and yet they're still happy. Sure, after September 11th people mourned, but security relaxed, people moved on, and things have returned to the way they were before, really (if they haven't, then why is Britney Spears' pregnancy making headlines.)

When you get down to it, I doubt James would care too much "Oh James, we can't bully Snape, some Ravenclaw kid's parents died yesterday. And we should be inside, Voldemort might jump out of the bushes and kill us." "What, Sirius? Who cares, let's see Snape's undies." Sure, some of Hogwarts may have been in mourning at the time, but not everyone.

Now, to answer the poster's original question: no, Harry has to be an only child. All great heroes are only children. And if he had siblings, would they advance the plot?

Durandal,

When was it said that you pronounce Voldemort with a silent T?
I always pronounced it with a T.

Durandal,

When was it said that you pronounce Voldemort with a silent T?
I always pronounced it with a T.
Oh, here:
http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/1999/1099-orangecounty-takahama.html

and here:
http://www.godrics-hollow.net/modules.php?name=NukeWrap&page=http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/books/pronunciation/play.htm

Although some of them at the second link are wrong too. It depends on whether you use Church Latin, or Real Latin. The biggest difference between them is that the Church thinks all "c"s are pronounced CH, but in reality the Romans used a hard C (like in Cat.)

Voldemort is French for "steal from death" or "flight from death" (in French stolen objects have "taken flight", a funny way to view the concept of theft.) But, there you go.

Generally I pronounce it with a T because everyone else (except JKR) does, so I like them to know who I'm talking about.

Also, Tom Riddle looks at least 21 in CoS, but he was only supposed to be 16. Harry's hair colouring doesn't bother me so much, until I tell people that he and Sirius have the same hair and they tell me I'm the one who's wrong. They also changed the house colours. Yes, Ravenclaw is Blue and Bronze, not Silver. That's one that will never be fixed. Also, Voldemort is pronounced with a silent T. Oh, I could go on and on. Instead I'll defend Amelia's post.

Just go to any schoolyard today. Do the children seem sad, depressed, miserable? Terrorists are running rampant in the world, the Pope is dead, people are dying by the hundreds in Iraq, gas prices are going up, I could go on and on, and yet they're still happy. Sure, after September 11th people mourned, but security relaxed, people moved on, and things have returned to the way they were before, really (if they haven't, then why is Britney Spears' pregnancy making headlines.)

When you get down to it, I doubt James would care too much "Oh James, we can't bully Snape, some Ravenclaw kid's parents died yesterday. And we should be inside, Voldemort might jump out of the bushes and kill us." "What, Sirius? Who cares, let's see Snape's undies." Sure, some of Hogwarts may have been in mourning at the time, but not everyone.

Now, to answer the poster's original question: no, Harry has to be an only child. All great heroes are only children. And if he had siblings, would they advance the plot?

I agree, I could go on forever as well, but that's not really what the post is about, so I'll move on to say that you made an excellent point, and I couldn't have done better myself. :) I very very much doubt that Sirius or Lily would have had worried that much either. Sirius probably wouldn't have cared if his parents dropped off the face of the earth, and Lily, as a muggleborn probably would not have had much to worry about either. So, I do think that JKR got the dates correct and that it was basically mid-war.

I also agree that Harry would not have a sibling, it's too late in the plot to be going 'Oh by the way, you guys are related.' There'd be too much explaining to do in just 2 books. And the only way that it would effect the plot would be in shipping anyway. I think part of the plot is Harry's struggle to accept that he has no real family, it would be too much of a change to find out suddenly that he had been moping and unhappy over it, when he isn' in fact alone. So, no, :no: though it's a well formed theory I don't believe it.

I also agree that Harry would not have a sibling, it's too late in the plot to be going 'Oh by the way, you guys are related.' There'd be too much explaining to do in just 2 books. And the only way that it would effect the plot would be in shipping anyway.

For the way it could affect the plot, I think it could affect it a lot if Hermione was protecting Harry the way Petunia is, without Voldemort knowing about her...

For it being too late now for such a revelation... Here is what JKR said last August :
A lot happens in the sixth book and a lot of questions are answered. I really have a sense that we are nearly there and it is time for answers, not more questions and clues, although obviously there are a few clues as I am not quite finished yet. I hope that that is sufficiently frustrating for you, knowing that you can’t read it yet!
So, it seems that in her mind, books 1-5 were time for clues and questions. Book 6-7 are time for answers.
We'll have some first answers in book 6, and the final answers in book 7.

For the way it could affect the plot, I think it could affect it a lot if Hermione was protecting Harry the way Petunia is, without Voldemort knowing about her...

Then why couldn't Harry have come to Grimauld Place earlier then? It would have saved them a lot of hassle, they wouldn't have had to go through the ministry trying to get him expelled.

Then why couldn't Harry have come to Grimauld Place earlier then? It would have saved them a lot of hassle, they wouldn't have had to go through the ministry trying to get him expelled.

While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort.

Privet Drive is a safe place for Harry as long as this is a place he can call "home". For this, he must return there... not necessarily often, but at least once a year (as Dumbledore said).

Now, you could say : why does Harry need to keep Privet Drive as a safe harbour, if Hermione can protect him in other "homes" (places like Hogwarts, or possibly 12 GP - that is, if 12 GP is a place where Harry feels "home" ).

Well, I'll say that without Privet Drive, Harry would have to stay with Hermione all the time. Not just during school-year, but also during the summer holidays. Voldemort would notice that.
Voldemort knows Harry is protected at Privet Drive (he mentionned it in GoF). If Harry stopped returning there and stayed with Hermione instead, Voldemort would suspect something.

While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort.

Privet Drive is a safe place for Harry as long as this is a place he can call "home". For this, he must return there... not necessarily often, but at least once a year (as Dumbledore said).

Now, you could say : why does Harry need to keep Privet Drive as a safe harbour, if Hermione can protect it in other "homes" (places like Hogwarts, or possibly 12 GP - that is, if 12 GP is a place where Harry feels "home" ).

Well, I'll say that without Privet Drive, Harry would have to stay with Hermione all the time. Not just during school-year, but also during the summer holidays. Voldemort would notice that.
Voldemort knows Harry is protected at Privet Drive (he mentionned it in GoF). If Harry stopped returning there and stayed with Hermione instead, Voldemort would suspect something.

I think that if Hermione can protect him, and he would be much happier at 12 Grimauld Place, then why can't he stay there? I don't think the Dursleys could protect him any more than Hermione and she's almost 17 in the next book, so she'll be able to do magic outside of school, making it easier for her to protect him than the Durselys (And you could counter that by saying 'How would she protect him from Voldemort in the first place?' They could hide him using disillusionment charms and the cloak etc). During school he is already with her, they stay at Hogwarts for all holidays except summer, and if Harry goes to Grimauld Place during the summer holidays (Which is unplottable meaning that even if Voldemort did notice his abscence from Privet Drive, he couldn't do anything about it.) he would always be 'home' and protected.

It took a certain time at the beginning of OotP to make 12GP a safe place. Harry couldn't go there before the security had been improved (Dumbledore as secret keeper...) Because at the beginning, just upon arriving there, he could not consider that place "home". It takes a certain amount of time before you can feel "home" anywhere.

It took a certain time at the beginning of OotP to make 12GP a safe place. Harry couldn't go there before the security had been improved (Dumbledore as secret keeper...) Because at the beginning, just upon arriving there, he could not consider that place "home". It takes a certain amount of time before you can feel "home" anywhere.

I disagree, I'm pretty sure that making sure the building was unplottable and making sure not just anyone could access it would be the first priority, especially if you're going to be discussing plans as important as the Order's. If Harry can call anywhere his mothers blood dwells, and it dwells there, then it is home. We don't know whether Harry didn't feel at home. I think Sirius's presence there would make it more of a home than Hermione's presence. I think Sirius was more of a family than Hermione could ever be. If Hermione was there, then it should have felt like home, but it didn't.

Ok this seems like a really messed up theory that i hope to bits isn't true. sorry but it is really stupid what about all those people that think hermione and harry will hook up, arggghhh gross.

Ok this seems like a really messed up theory that i hope to bits isn't true. sorry but it is really stupid what about all those people that think hermione and harry will hook up, arggghhh gross.

I don't necessarily think it's true either but merlin455 worked hard on it, don't just completely disregard it because you don't like it. I know it's a bit wrong from the whole Hr/H side, but still, people worked hard on this theory, show some respect. A lot of time and effort went into it. Mature debate is a much better method of proving/disproving theories, making a statement like that does not further either side in their arguments.

Im sorry you took that the wrong way but it is just my opinion take it or leave it. I know someone worked hard on this theory but by putting it on this forum you are subjecting it to other peoples opinions. Yes it might seem that i'm flaming merlin455 but i can't show expressions on here so people are going to take it the wrong way.

There are a number of references which tell us the ages of James and Lily. In the fifth book, Harry refers to seeing his father abuse Snape "twenty years ago", which matches the age of about 35 for Snape. Also, on her website she said that Sirius hadn't time for a relationship because he was only 22 when he was sent to Azkaban. It seems like this is one part of the timeline that she's thought through.

By the way, Rowling said in an interview that she does not pronounce the T at the end of Voldemort. It's from French, in which language the T would be silent, so that's the way she pronounces it.

Steve Vander Ark
The Harry Potter Lexicon

So since Sirius was 22 when he was sent to prison. Then James and Lily were also 22 when they died. Harry was 15 months old when they died. So they had Harry at 21. Another child could have been born when they were 20 (Hermione theory) or 22 (Ginny theory) .

So it's all PLAUSIBLE. James and Lily could have gotten married anywhere from 18 - 20 years old. That's one fact we don't know yet, right? We just know they started dating at 17.

So it's all PLAUSIBLE. James and Lily could have gotten married anywhere from 18 - 20 years old. That's one fact we don't know yet, right? We just know they started dating at 17.

No, none of it is plausible. Hermione is too close to Harry's age to be an older sister. One cannot have a baby just 10 months after pregnancy (actual gestation time is closer to 10 months than 9, btw. - and JKR certainly is well acquainted with this). Also, Hermione looks nothing like Harry or Harry's mother.

So, that idea is false.

At 12+ months younger than Harry, she could just be young enough to be his younger sister. However, Ginny looks just like her brothers. JKR also has told us that Ginny is the first daughter born to the Weasley family in 7 generations.


There simply is no evidence of Harry having a sibling. It puzzles me why people would persist in believing this!

One cannot have a baby just 10 months after pregnancy

Tell that to the other people in the thread who either have had kids 10 months apart or family members who are born that close together. Tell that to my friend who has a brother 10 months younger than him. It IS possible.

I will be disappointed if James & Lily has another child than Harry. It's too much borrowing from Star Wars. Hermione has legitimate parents and actually Jo wanted to add a younger sister. In book 1, we were already told that Aunt Petunia only knew Lily had one son close in age to Dudley.

That would be so star wars all over again if Lily and James had a sencon kid, also it would have to be before Harry and they have gotten rid of it, but I dout it, so Harry must be the only child.

Hey, I'm not caught up in this theory. I'm just saying that it's technically (and medically) possible.

How horrible it would be if Harry had a sister, especially if someone knew and didn't tell him. At least Luke was raised by people who cared for him. Harry has been so utterly alone and abused growing up. It would be too cruel.

Tell that to the other people in the thread who either have had kids 10 months apart or family members who are born that close together. Tell that to my friend who has a brother 10 months younger than him. It IS possible.

Then the second birth was premature, as human gestation takes nearly 10 months. In my entire life, I have met one person who was born within 12 months of a sibling. That individual was born 6 weeks prematurely.

I suspect that this (or accurate counting) would eliminate most of the examples that you think exist.


Again, this is just a silly idea. It smacks way too much of Star Wars, and in case you have noticed, JKR is not a huge SW fans. She certainly resents it greatly whenever anyone tries to stick SW's plots (or convolutions) into her story.


I would recommend that people read the Occam's Razor thread. These ideas get sliced and diced by that principle.

I highly doubt that this theory is true, but you never know. Feel free to rip it to shreads.

What if Harry and Neville are twins? As far as we know they could have been born on the same day and both of their parents are dead. Neville doesn't seem much like his father, so their is the possibility that they're not related. So instead of being Neville Longbottom, he is Neville Potter. And since Mr and Mrs Longbottom are in no condition to tell us, Jo could suprise us.
It would HAVE to be this way around (Neville being Lily's son) coz of all that was revealed in PoA.

Neville doesn't seem much like his father, so their is the possibility that they're not related
But he does look like his mother, Alice. Harry notes the resemblence in the photo of the Order that Moody shows him in OotP...

Plus, Neville was born 30 July and Harry 31 July (yes, I know one could be born just before midnight and the other just after...).

But he does look like his mother, Alice. Harry notes the resemblence in the photo of the Order that Moody shows him in OotP...

Good point.... I seem to have forgotten that. Oh well, im re-reading the series at least three times before HBP comes out

Then the second birth was premature, as human gestation takes nearly 10 months. In my entire life, I have met one person who was born within 12 months of a sibling. That individual was born 6 weeks prematurely.
A pregnancy is 40 weeks (that's how you get closer to 10 months than to 9, but most months are a bit over 4 weeks long...) times 7 days in a week = 280 days. From Nov. 1, 1979 to 31 July, 1980 is 274 days (1980 was a leap year). This means Harry was likely conceived during the last week of October, 1979 . That leaves a full 5 weeks between Hermione's birth and Lily's pregnancy with Harry. Oddly enough, women can become pregnant that soon after childbirth (it happened to my mother-in-law; back then she was so sure it was a "safe" period...:lol: ).

I have no idea why I am supporting the argument that there [b]is a big enough gap between Hermione and Harry....I don't believe they are siblings. :lol:

A pregnancy is 40 weeks (that's how you get closer to 10 months than to 9, but most months are a bit over 4 weeks long...) times 7 days in a week = 280 days. From Nov. 1, 1979 to 31 July, 1980 is 274 days (1980 was a leap year). This means Harry was likely conceived during the last week of October, 1979 . That leaves a full 5 weeks between Hermione's birth and Lily's pregnancy with Harry. Oddly enough, women can become pregnant that soon after childbirth (it happened to my mother-in-law; back then she was so sure it was a "safe" period...:lol: ).

I have no idea why I am supporting the argument that there [b]is a big enough gap between Hermione and Harry....I don't believe they are siblings. :lol:

well, that sounds about right...I've always thought that Harry was conceived on Halloween...just because important stuff likes to happen to Harry on that day. It would make sense for JKR to choose that date.

The idea of Hermione being Harry's sister though, doesn't seem likely.

One reason I have is because other than Hermione's hair being brown and his mom's hair being reddish brown or whatever, they don't share too many simularities...also, one of the first chapters JKR was deciding on at one point had baby Hermione with her parents watching as the house blew up...they were already discribed as her parents back then as Harry's parents were being killed.

She could have then changed her mind and made them related later, but I believe it when its said that Harry has no other living blood relatives than the Dursleys.

Then the second birth was premature, as human gestation takes nearly 10 months. In my entire life, I have met one person who was born within 12 months of a sibling. That individual was born 6 weeks prematurely.

I suspect that this (or accurate counting) would eliminate most of the examples that you think exist.


Again, this is just a silly idea. It smacks way too much of Star Wars, and in case you have noticed, JKR is not a huge SW fans. She certainly resents it greatly whenever anyone tries to stick SW's plots (or convolutions) into her story.


My niece and nephew are 10 months apart. The second was NOT premature. It's actually a common occurrence often referred to as "Irish Twins", although I've heard it called other similar names.

In any event, whether you believe the theory or not (and this is for everyone), let's remember that anyone posting here has a right to express his or her own opinion without being ridiculed. There are ways to express that you disagree with an idea/theory without attacking the person. Please try to keep that in mind while posting in any thread who's ideas you do not believe in.

I was not ridiculing. I was merely pointing out that this has to be very rare. The idea that anyone knows many people with such spacings is too improbable to take seriously. (I am a statistical biologist, so between the erroneous ideas about probability and biology, I find it doubling galling!)

As for the 10 month difference not involving a premature birth, that is almost impossible. As I noted, human gestation actually is close to 10 months, not the classic nine that we often hear. (It actually is somewhat truncated - mammals our size should gestate for nearly a year, but our large heads necessitate early birth)

This makes the "Irish Twin" phenomenon not just rare and but also almost impossible without premature birth. Women rarely begin cycling so soon after giving birth, even if they do not breast feed.


Of course, the other problem that I have with this is with the logic. The "it is remotely possible" idea is being used as evidence in favor of an idea, when "it is remotely possible" is always evidence against an idea.

Given that there is no other evidence supporting these ideas, and given that this whole "conspiracy" mode contradicts JKR's storywriting style, I find it perplexing that anyone would defend the idea.

For people who weren't here : the Harry-Hermione Sibling Theory essay is on page 3 of this thread. The link is also in my signature. Many of the questions above are already answered there.


Just a side note about premature birth : although the H-Hr Sibling Theory can work without this, I think it is very possible that Harry was - indeed - born a bit premature.
I can even give you a little clue.
In GoF, joking about Harry's birth, Ron said "a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry".
Well... Ron's jokes often contain a bit of truth... accidentally.
A "midget in glasses"... Premature babies are smaller than other babies, aren't they ?
(And no, I do not believe Harry was born with his glasses ! :lol: )

For people who weren't here : the Harry-Hermione Sibling Theory essay is on page 3 of this thread. The link is also in my signature. Many of the questions above are already answered there.

That essay offers no evidence to support it's thesis. Let's look at a bit of it.

Hermione’s overall behaviour with Harry.
When reading the books, we have the feeling that Harry and Hermione have a special relation. They have a special thing - something unique, beyond friendship - that is not romantic. ….. Harry and Hermione also have a way of guessing each other’s thoughts :

These are not properties of brothers and sisters, but instead of friends. (It will be true of siblings who are friends, true - but there is no "psychic" link between siblings, nor is there any evidence of such a thing in JKR's universe.) If two siblings are raised apart, they will not subconsciously realize that they are related, after all.

- In GoF, Hermione wasn’t affected in any way by the rumours about her and Harry. Harry was annoyed, not her. When she read Rita Skeeter’s article “Harry Potter’s Secret Heartache”, she was rather amused… On the other hand, Harry kept repeating “no she is not my girlfriend”. Does it mean Hermione knew something that allowed her to laugh at these rumours?

It could mean that only if that were the only explanation. Another explanation (and one completely in keeping with her character) is that she just has better control over her emotions than does Harry.

However, Hermione does not entirely laugh - she swears vengence against Rita Skeeter, and she exacts it.


And in OotP, she was perfectly comfortable talking about Harry’s relation with Cho. Even when Harry told her Cho was getting jealous… she was just “sorry”. A friend - even a close friend - of the opposite sex should have been at least slightly embarrassed in such a situation (after all, Cho had got jealous of her ).

This is untrue. The best advice I ever got about women were from female friends. I was set up with some ex-girfriends by platonic female friends. (And they have not been in the slightest bit uncomfortable about offering some very frank advice about those ex-girlfriends!)


By the way, JKR has developed this topic (Harry and Hermione causing jealousy around) quite a lot already : First Rita’s articles, Krum’s jealousy and Harry having to say “no she is not my girlfriend” in GoF, then Cho’s jealousy in OotP…

Because they are platonic friends. Hermione is interested in Ron and possibly Krum. Harry is interested in Cho. Because of this, neither is in the least bit threatened by the other’s interests.


- Hermione’s psychology : why is Hermione a “know-it-all” ? Why is it so important for her to be the best student in school ? There is a strange lack of background information concerning Hermione : JKR usually tells us about such things. For instance, we know Ron is a jealous character because of his childhood in the shadow of his five brothers, and also because of his family’s lack of money. We know Voldemort hates Muggles because of his father.

Being Harry’s sister has no bearing on this. The fact that Hermione’s parents are dentists (and thus people who had to have done well in school and who must be industrious) plays a role. The fact that Hermione seems to perceive herself as plain and has a tough time making friends plays a role. However, I have known women with no brothers who applied themselves quite well.


The Sibling Theory provides an answer : if Hermione knows that Harry is her brother, she wants to keep up with him ! Harry is “the boy who lived”, he is famous in the entire world ; so, Hermione must prove that she can do as well as he can do, or even better. At least, in class, she can answer questions he can’t !

Er, maybe…. However, Hermione being raised by people who necessarily value hard work (one cannot become a dentist without some serious effort in school) seems to be a perfectly good explanation.


- And by the way, Hermione really knew a bit too much about the wizarding world - and particularly about Harry Potter - when she first arrived at Hogwarts…

Yes, because Hermione read every book that she could find. Again, this stems from her insecure nature (about which JKR has told us in interviews) - she has to make sure that everyone knows that she knows everything. Obviously, Hermione has toned down as she has aged, but that might have something to do with finally finding some friends.

- Hermione sometimes speaks in Harry’s name (something nobody else does).
Examples :[/quotes]

I’ve had female friends do that for me. Oddly, my sister never has…..


[quote] - Why do we know so little about the Grangers ? They are the parents of one of the main three characters, but we know almost nothing about them, except they are dentists. Why ? Also note that Hermione has never said “mum” or “dad” (alone) in the story. Not once ! It’s always “my parents” or “mum and dad”…

Why would Hermione do that? As JKR said, they are dentists, and thus uninteresting, at least in so far as this story is concerned.

Moreover, this is a negative evidence argument. We get the scenes that pertain to the story (except, occasionally, for Quidditch!). The scenes in which the characters tell each other about themselves do not figure into the story unless it pertains to the plot.

For example, do you think that they have ignored Hermione’s and Ron’s birthdays each year? Of course not. It is not relevant to the story.

- Physical resemblance is an issue ; JKR almost always tells us about features of physical resemblance between relatives….
But NOT Hermione and the Grangers.

This is a negative evidence argument. Hermione’s parents never have been described. Given this, they cannot be described as looking like her or not.

Moreover, Harry and his parents have been described. They look nothing like Hermione. (Indeed, Hermione cannot have gotten her eye color from Harry’s parents, as a hazel-eyed and green-eyed pair cannot have a brown eyed daughter.)


We are told another character in the story has large front teeth : Petunia Dursley (Hermione’s aunt if the theory is true).

This is not an unusual trait.

- Could there be a riddle hidden in Hermione’s name ? JKR likes to play with words and names…
Hermione = “Her my own” or “Her my one”…

Who is “my”? The name comes from Shakespeare and Greek mythology before that. JKR has presented her reasons for using this name.


- The “Theory of Interruptions”.
As a matter of fact, this “Theory of Interruptions” works pretty well with the Sibling Theory ! Here are a few examples :

Friends often do this, too. Especially if one of them is as pushy as Hermione. Hermione’s behavior is a common trait among people who cannot wait to have their view heard.

(Yes, Hermione ? How did you learn so much about Harry ?)

Because Harry is in all of the books, and because Hermione feels possessed to read every detail in ever book in order to impress people and cover up her insecurities?


I could go on, but it is the same. Evidence that they are siblings requires things that are much more apt to be found among siblings than among other people. Hermione and Harry are close, and and close people regardless of how they got to be that way will share these traits. What we have is a lot of evidence that Harry and Hermione are.... friends!


Just a side note about premature birth : although the H-Hr Sibling Theory can work without this, I think it is very possible that Harry was - indeed - born a bit premature.
I can even give you a little clue.
In GoF, joking about Harry's birth, Ron said "a sure sign that a midget in glasses is being born, Harry".
Well... Ron's jokes often contain a bit of truth... accidentally.
A "midget in glasses"... Premature babies are smaller than other babies, aren't they ?

That is not a clue. Ron was not refering to Harry's birth. Also, although premies are small, they are not midgets.



Let us return to the Irish twins issue. People seem to have the idea that just because something is possible then it is not evidence against an idea or that it even can be used as evidence for it.

This is incorrect. Let's consider two ideas. Two people are siblings. Two people are unrelated classmates. Under the first idea, we expect the two to be separated by 2-3 years. Sure, it could be less, but most of the time it will not be. Under the classmates idea, we expect them to be within a year of each other.

Thus, the classmates idea does a much better job of predicting what we know.

Let's look at other ideas. Siblings usually look alike. Two classmates picked at random might, but it is uncommon. Moreover, if two siblings do look different, then it usually is because one takes after one parent whereas the second takes after the other. Hermione looks nothing like Harry, nor does she look anything like his mother.

So what we have is an idea with a lot of evidence contradicting it, and no evidence supporting it that does not support an alternative hypothesis equally well.

Couldn't have said it better...except I would say that it shows they are very cloes friends that have know each other for five years and have gone through some very personal times together.

People sometimes for get that just because its possible, it doesn't mean its the most probable....
I would like to add, That I'm not saying everyone who shows support of the theory thinks its the most probable...I'm just say sometimes there are a few people that get carried away and forget that there are other likely possiblities.

Let's just say that in my line of work, you are not allowed to forget that there usually are multiple possible interpretations!

Seriously, I recommend that people read the Occam's Razor thread when discussing issues like this. Also, there was an excellent essay posted in the Editorials entitled "Are we getting it?," which (in part) focused on fans' tendencies to embrace "conspiracy theory" at the cost of missing the main themes of the books.

Let's just say that in my line of work, you are not allowed to forget that there usually are multiple possible interpretations!

Seriously, I recommend that people read the Occam's Razor thread when discussing issues like this. Also, there was an excellent essay posted in the Editorials entitled "Are we getting it?," which (in part) focused on fans' tendencies to embrace "conspiracy theory" at the cost of missing the main themes of the books.

The Occam's Razor thread sounds interesting. Do you know which section of the forums it's in?

That essay offers no evidence to support it's thesis. Let's look at a bit of it.
Ha ! But you chose to answer those clues that could be - more or less - explained by a "they are friends" statement. You carefully avoided the others !

First, they have been friends NOT from the beginning, but only since Halloween in book 1. And there was something in Hermione's behaviour BEFORE that. As you mention "siblings who are friends", I'd say Hermione was Harry's sister (but no friend) before that day, and his sister and friend ever since.

Second, can you give us your point of view on some of the other clues ?
- Do you believe the H.J.P. initials (Harry James Potter, Hermione Jane Puckle) are a coincidence ? Isn't it too big ?
- How do you understand the "father substitute" hint ? Hermione was staying quiet, and then "very abruptly" she lost control...
- How do you understand the "ehwaz/eihwaz" mistake ?
- How do you understand McGonagall's behaviour in CoS ?
- Why didn't Hermione fight a Boggart in public in PoA, unlike everyone else but Harry ?
- What is the meaning of Harry's "two Neptunes". That's duality again... just like in the "ehwaz" rune.
- "Her sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you". That's Petunia ? All right, but the trouble is, Voldemort knows about Petunia protecting Harry : he said so in GoF. So, how is this "shield" going to be important in the plot if it's not through another blood relative ?
- etc...

- Physical resemblance is an issue ; JKR almost always tells us about features of physical resemblance between relatives….
But NOT Hermione and the Grangers.

This is a negative evidence argument. Hermione’s parents never have been described. Given this, they cannot be described as looking like her or not.
But why have Hermione's parents never been described ? All right, they are not very important in the story (JKR said so), but still, they are the parents of one of the main 3 characters !
For even less important characters, JKR normally tells us about physical resemblance. For instance, we know Krum has his father's nose - even though we've seen the father - very briefly - just once.


We are told another character in the story has large front teeth : Petunia Dursley (Hermione’s aunt if the theory is true).

This is not an unusual trait.
Can you find just one other example from the books, besides Hermione and Petunia ?


That is not a clue. Ron was not refering to Harry's birth.
Yes he was. "A sure sign a midget in glasses is being born, Harry".
As the "midget in glasses" is obviously Harry, this sentence is refering to Harry's birth.

Ha ! But you chose to answer those clues that could be - more or less - explained by a "they are friends" statement. You carefully avoided the others !

Er, no. I went down the list in order until I felt that my point was made. It seemed sort of petty to point out that every one of your putative "clues" had a perfectly reasonable alternative explanations and/or was by no means a unique prediction of the sibling-conspiracy.


First, they have been friends NOT from the beginning, but only since Halloween in book 1. And there was something in Hermione's behaviour BEFORE that. As you mention "siblings who are friends", I'd say Hermione was Harry's sister (but no friend) before that day, and his sister and friend ever since.

???? And how would this be determined by Hermione being Harry's sister? They were not friends because Hermione was a bossy know-it-all - she had NO friends, as Ron so rudely noted. Subsequently, Harry and Ron saved Hermione's life. Hermione lied to bail them out. That is how they became friends.

The sister bit simply does not enter into it. Hermione is not Ron's sister (or at least I hope not, given their mutual feelings!), but you could just as easily spin the same story from that angle. Indeed, through out the books, Hermione tries harder to impress Ron than she does to impress Harry, and she takes far greater hurt from Ron's criticisms than she does from Harry's.


Second, can you give us your point of view on some of the other clues ?
- Do you believe the H.J.P. initials (Harry James Potter, Hermione Jane Puckle) are a coincidence ? Isn't it too big ?

A) No, especially not from the author who gave us Mark Evans by accident, B) JKR problably changed the name after realizing that she gave two characters the same intials.

Turning the tables, why didn't Vernon Dursley ever refer to the Potter's small daughter and small son in the beginning of P/SS? There would have been no reason to keep Hermione secret at that time.

- How do you understand the "father substitute" hint ? Hermione was staying quiet, and then "very abruptly" she lost control...

This means nothing regarding the sibling hypothesis.

- How do you understand the "ehwaz/eihwaz" mistake ?

To mark an event with change? How does this possibly bear on the sibling hypothesis? JKR needed to some classic old runic symbols and she chose those. (Good scholarship on her part, I might add.) It does not say "Oh, I am your sister."


- How do you understand McGonagall's behaviour in CoS ?

Sure. She knew (or thought that she knew) that Ron and Harry missed their best friend.

- Why didn't Hermione fight a Boggart in public in PoA, unlike everyone else but Harry ?

Ask Lupin. Again, how would Hermione being Harry's sister explain this? (Remember, we know what Hermione's fear is - failing, NOT Lord Voldemort, of whom she would have a better memory than Harry were this idea true.)


- What is the meaning of Harry's "two Neptunes". That's duality again... just like in the "ehwaz" rune.

If it has any reference to duality, then it refers to the fact that Harry has a chunk of Voldemort in him. (Personally, I suspect that it was JKR joking around - she does that, you know.)

- "Her sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you". That's Petunia ? All right, but the trouble is, Voldemort knows about Petunia protecting Harry : he said so in GoF. So, how is this "shield" going to be important in the plot if it's not through another blood relative ?

Dumbledore said that Petunia is the only relative. Why did he not place Harry into the care of the people who had Hermione, given that he knew that the Dursley's probably would abuse Harry?


But why have Hermione's parents never been described ? All right, they are not very important in the story (JKR said so), but still, they are the parents of one of the main 3 characters !

Because they are described only once or twice from afar. They never are featured prominently. Insofar as we know, Harry never interacted with them. The narrative is told entirely through Harry's perspective.

And, to continue your negative evidence argument, they never are described as looking unlike their daughter.

You really are making a mountain out of a mole-hill where this issue is concerned.


For even less important characters, JKR normally tells us about physical resemblance. For instance, we know Krum has his father's nose - even though we've seen the father - very briefly - just once.

And Daedelus Diggle looks like.... And Sturgis Bode looks like.....


Can you find just one other example from the books, besides Hermione and Petunia ?

One other example of what?

Yes he was. "A sure sign a midget in glasses is being born, Harry".
As the "midget in glasses" is obviously Harry, this sentence is refering to Harry's birth.

No it isn't. Ron is just making fun of Trelawney's charlatanry.


Look, you have presented a grand total of zero things from the book that uniquely support your idea. Everything can be explained much more simply by what we have been told. JKR is not ripping off George Lucas (in case you had not noticed, she is NOT as Star Wars fan), and she is not putting in petty "conspiracies." Hermione is Harry's friend. Friendship is a very important theme. Harry has no hidden siblings, and no close relatives beyond his aunt and cousin. This is an important aspect of the series.

Harry is the only chield of Lily and James Potter and how do we know this? Well Harry looks like his father(almost character in the books tells Harry how much he looks like James) and he has his mother's eyes(again everybody tells him this).

If he would have had a brother/sister he could have lived with him/her since that sibling would have had his mother's blood(the reason he goes to the Dursleys) and even if couldn't Sirius would have told him for sure.

Now for the Harry-Hermione thing:

JKR told in an interview(if i'm not mistaken) that she will not be using such plot twists in her books. So that meens Harry is related by blood only to Petunia and Dudley, he isn't related to Hermione,Dumbledore,Voldemort,Weasley's, etc etc.

Wimsey, given some of your answers, I must ask you this : how fast did you read the essay ?

Anyway...

First, they have been friends NOT from the beginning, but only since Halloween in book 1. And there was something in Hermione's behaviour BEFORE that. As you mention "siblings who are friends", I'd say Hermione was Harry's sister (but no friend) before that day, and his sister and friend ever since.


???? This makes absolutely no sense. Harry and Ron saved Hermione's life. Hermione lied to bail them out. That is how they became friends.

Why would the sister-conspiracy alter this?
Hermione was interfering in Harry's life to a point Harry himself "couldn't believe", as said in the book (chapter 9).


Do you believe the H.J.P. initials (Harry James Potter, Hermione Jane Puckle) are a coincidence ? Isn't it too big ?

No, especially not from the author who gave us Mark Evans by accident.
Precisely ! JKR aknowledged that "Mark Evans" was exactly the kind of little detail that should have meant something... She wrote on her website :
I've got nobody to blame but myself...

Then why – WHY – (I hear you cry) – did I give him the surname “Evans”? Well, believe me, you can't regret it more than I do right now.
So, I expect there aren't many more coincidences like that one.
Furthermore, a big coincidence sounds much less likely when a major character is concerned. Mark is nobody. Hermione is one of the main 3 characters in the story.


- How do you understand the "father substitute" hint ? Hermione was staying quiet, and then "very abruptly" she lost control...


This means nothing regarding the sibling hypothesis.
Yes it does. If the Grangers are not Hermione true parents - and if she knows it - one can understand her reaction.


- How do you understand the "ehwaz/eihwaz" mistake ?


To mark an event with change? How does this possibly bear on the sibling hypothesis?
The answer is in the essay. With details...

- How do you understand McGonagall's behaviour in CoS ?

Sure. She knew (or thought that she knew) that Ron and Harry missed their best friend.
Then why did she forget Ron before he came running up to them ?
"Yes, perhaps you'd better come too, Weasley."
(emphasis mine).


- Why didn't Hermione fight a Boggart in public in PoA, unlike everyone else but Harry ?

Ask Lupin.
I did. But he told me JKR made him promise not to tell anyone... :lol:

Again, how would Hermione being Harry's sister explain this? (Remember, we know what Hermione's fear is - failing, NOT Lord Voldemort, of whom she would have a better memory than Harry were this idea true.)
Failure of WHAT ? We haven't been told. Failure to protect Harry ? This is how the theory explains it. (Again, it's in the essay).

If it has any reference to duality, then it refers to the fact that Harry has a chunk of Voldemort in him.
You could, perhaps, suggest this for the "two Neptunes". But there is no way "ehwaz" can represent Harry and Voldemort. The "ehwaz" rune is a symbol of harmony, the duality of two forces working together towards the same goal. It can NOT symbolise a duality of opposites (like Harry/Voldemort would be). It can, on the other hand, represent a brother and sister (like the Norse gods Frey and Freyja).


Dumbledore said that Petunia is the only relative. Why did he not place Harry into the care of the people who had Hermione, given that he knew that the Dursley's probably would abuse Harry?
If you take Dumbledore's words literally, then Dudley is not Harry's cousin.
Why didn't Harry go to the Grangers ? The answer is in the essay. Baby Hermione was to young to give Harry a protection. Having Lily's blood is not enough, she must understand it. Dumbledore explains it about Petunia : "she sealed the charm I had placed upon you".


Because they are described only once or twice from afar. They never are featured prominently.
Neither is Viktor Krum's father.

And Daedelus Diggle looks like.... And Sturgis Bode looks like.....
We've never met a relative of theirs. If we do, I expect JKR will tell us.

Can you find just one other example from the books, besides Hermione and Petunia ?

One other example of what?
One other example of a character with oversized front teeth.


Ron is just making fun of Trelawney's charlatanry.
JKR's sometimes uses Ron's jokes to give us hints.
(In CoS, Ron joked : maybe Riddle got his award for murdering Myrtle... Well, Riddle had murdered her ! )


Friendship is a very important theme.
So is the bond of blood.
“Family,” said Hagrid gloomily. “Whatever yeh say, blood’s important…”


Look, you have presented a grand total of zero things from the book
I wouldn't say so... It might be your opinion.
We'll see. In two or three years... we should know.

no, Harry is the only child! It's impossible that she had two children and nobody knew it. Or why shouldn't Dumbledore,Hagrid,Sirius,Lupin,........ tell Harry about it? No, she had only one Child!

Something I'd like to add about the importance of the bond of blood in the story.

Think about Hagrid in OotP !
“Family,” said Hagrid gloomily. “Whatever yeh say, blood’s important…”
Think of ALL he did for Grawp. All the trouble he went through for him.
All he suffered for him.
And he felt happy about it :
"Me ?" said Hagrid. "Oh yeah, i'm grand, Harry, grand."

Why ? Is it friendship ? Another illustration of the importance of friendship in the story ? Obviously not. He was seeing Grawp for the first time in his life at that Giant's campsite.
And yet, at that moment, he felt :
“Hermione, I couldn’ leave him,” said Hagrid, tears now trickling down his bruised face into his beard. “See - he’s my brother !”
There was no other reason. "He's my brother". That was the only reason.

And in case you still doubt all this is foreshadowing something about Harry, here is what Hagrid said just before he said "blood is important" :
“In the same boat, yeh an’ me, aren’ we, ‘Arry ?”
“Er –“ said Harry.
“Yeah… I’ve said it before… both outsiders, like”, said Hagrid, nodding wisely. “An’ both orphans. Yeah… both orphans”…

I don't see what having the same initials can tell us anything. I was born on the same day as a girl in my class and have the same initials as her, does that mean we're secretly siblings? Highly unlikely, just like Harry and Hermione being siblings is.

Do you believe the H.J.P. initials (Harry James Potter, Hermione Jane Puckle) are a coincidence ? Isn't it too big ?

If their having the same initials was so important, and it was so much of a coincidence for us not to figure it out, then why did she put it on her site? Plus, I'm sure she realised Puckle was an ugly name and decided to change it.

Hermione was interfering in Harry's life to a point Harry himself "couldn't believe", as said in the book (chapter 9).
Hermione's naturally bossy, she messes with Ron's life as well. I don't see how that has anything to do with them being siblings.

Precisely ! JKR aknowledged that "Mark Evans" was exactly the kind of little detail that should have meant something... She wrote on her website :).

Yes, and Mark Evans, just like the coincidence of their initials (initials they used to have) means nothing. She did it by accident. It has no real meaning.

I was not ridiculing. I was merely pointing out that this has to be very rare. The idea that anyone knows many people with such spacings is too improbable to take seriously. (I am a statistical biologist, so between the erroneous ideas about probability and biology, I find it doubling galling!)

My comment about respecting other people's ideas was not addressed to you alone. If you look back at the post, it was addressed to everyone as a reminder.

This makes the "Irish Twin" phenomenon not just rare and but also almost impossible without premature birth. Women rarely begin cycling so soon after giving birth, even if they do not breast feed.


It actually is quite common. If you look up "Irish Twins" online, you will find quite a bit of information on the topic. There are other names that this phenomenon goes by, but this is the one I am most familiar with. It is actually considered derogatory by many, as it is considered to refer to the Irish's lack of birth control and quick reproduction.

Without getting into too much reproductive details, woman can get pregnant almost immediately after giving birth. As a matter of fact, that is when they are most fertile. Doctors strongly recommend women to take extra precaution during the first months after giving birth. I could go on, but no one here really need a biology lesson.

Let's steer this conversation away from the dynamics of whether it is possible to have kids 9 months apart and try to focus more on either arguing for or against the theory. The forums are family friendly and should be appropriate for people of all ages to read. Some parents may not want their children educated on pregnancy dynamics on a HP site.

In any event, I am not arguing for this theory. I absolutey do not think that Lily had 2 children, Hermione or not. I am just saying it is a physical possibility. I think Harry is the only child we have always believed him to be.

Quote:
We are told another character in the story has large front teeth : Petunia Dursley (Hermione’s aunt if the theory is true).

This is not an unusual trait.


Can you find just one other example from the books, besides Hermione and Petunia ?

Hey, what if Hermione is the illegitimate child of Petunia and a wizard? That would extend blood protection to Harry as a cousin. What if Petunia and Lupin got together?

Since Petunia is SOOOO secretive, it wouldN'T be a stretch for her to be hiding something as huge as that.

As for the Neville-Harry sibling theory, they are DEFINITELY not brothers. Someone said earlier that Neville wasn't a lot like his father -- well, from what we've heard about James and Lily, how does he resmble them? Not only is he completely unlike them in character, but he also is unlike them in image. Neville is said to look just like his mother and, in OotP, his show of bravery and loyalty to the greater good in the DoM is something I think was meant to show the likeness between Neville's integrity and his father's.

And the Harry-Hermione thing literally made me laugh out loud. Who thought of this one, anyway? I mean, hearing the descriptions of what they look like, it's pretty much biologically impossible. I mean, in order for Hermione's hair color to be what it is (brown) than she'd need at least one parent to have brown hair. But James and Lily have black and orange hair. You don't even NEED her parents to be described to figure that out. This -- hair color -- may seem completely insignificant, but I mean, I think it's pretty stable when you think about it. If you really wanted to get down to it, the WEASLEYS are more likely to be related to Harry than Hermione is (but orange hair is a recessive trait, so both parents would need orange hair for all seven children to mirror it, PLUS we already know Mr and Mrs Weasley).

Maybe that's a totally lame argument for you guys but, then again, so is the theory. Hermione and Harry are just really good friends, and there's no proof in the text to say otherwise.

Hey, what if Hermione is the illegitimate child of Petunia and a wizard? That would extend blood protection to Harry as a cousin. What if Petunia and Lupin got together?

That definitely would not work. Dudley's birthday is in May, and being such a large baby, he certainly was not a premie.

Other details contradicting this hypothesis include Hermione bearing no resemblance to Petunia, Petunia's hatred of wizards predating that (she would not hook up with Lupin), her clearly very conservative attitudes and the fact that she was almost certainly married to Vernon at the time Hermione was born.

Finally, this is not a cheezy soap opera. There are no illegitimate kids running around of this nature, and we have no reason to think that the characters were both that promiscuous AND that foolish regarding births. (Remember, the series is written by a woman, and if women could do magic, then very effective birth control would be at the top of their lists.)

Since Petunia is SOOOO secretive, it would be a stretch for her to be hiding something as huge as that.

Well, it would be a huge stretch....

As for the Neville-Harry sibling theory, they are DEFINITELY not brothers. Someone said earlier that Neville wasn't a lot like his father -- well, from what we've heard about James and Lily, how does he resmble them?

Neville's mother is described as looking like him. Neville does not have his parents' talent, as his grandmother frequently notes. However, the idea that Neville was the victim of a memory charm early in life has a lot of support (Neville's characteristics match Bertha Jorkin's symptoms extremely well).


And the Harry-Hermione thing literally made me laugh out loud. Who thought of this one, anyway? I mean, hearing the descriptions of what they look like, it's pretty much biologically impossible. I mean, in order for Hermione's hair color to be what it is (brown) than she'd need at least one parent to have brown hair.

Theoretically, James could have genes for black and brown; Lily might well have been heterozygous for red + blonde; so combine brown + blonde (one in four chance), and you would get brown.

However, Hermione's type of hair is dominant, as is her eye color. Thus, she cannot be James & Lily's child.


Maybe that's a totally lame argument for you guys but, then again, so is the theory. Hermione and Harry are just really good friends, and there's no proof in the text to say otherwise.

No, this is not lame at all. JKR certainly knows basic heredity rules. If she were trying to leave clues that Hermione was Harry's sibling, then she would have used those at least.

Actually, I think Dudley's birthday is mid-June (from hp-lexicon).
Hermione was born 10 months and a half before Harry - and about 9 months before Dudley. She can be Harry's older sister, but she could hardly be Dudley's, unless Dudley was born very premature. Given the fact we've always seen him as a very fat baby/boy/teenager... this seems unlikely.
(Note that Harry, on the other hand, has always been described as skinny...)

It actually is quite common. If you look up "Irish Twins" online, you will find quite a bit of information on the topic. There are other names that this phenomenon goes by, but this is the one I am most familiar with. It is actually considered derogatory by many, as it is considered to refer to the Irish's lack of birth control and quick reproduction.

Ah, there are two distinct concepts here. One is whether Irish Twins are numerous and another is whether they are freqeuent.

Irish twins represent a tiny fraction of siblings. Therefore, although there will be a lot of them because there are so many people, the probability of any two siblings being Irish Twins is very low. (I tried to look up the exact frequencies; all that I learned is that there typically is a 2.5 year distance between siblings, and that this actually is increasing as birth rates decrease.)


I absolutey do not think that Lily had 2 children, Hermione or not. I am just saying it is a physical possibility. I think Harry is the only child we have always believed him to be.

This is correct, it is possible. However, it is not probable, and thus the idea becomes implausible. My main point is that an idea that relies on an improbability should be considered a bad one when there are alternative ideas that make the fact probable.

(Note that Harry, on the other hand, has always been described as skinny...)


Maybe thats got something to do with the fact that while at the Dursley's he eats almost nothing and does all the house work.



Come on people get real Harry and Hermione aren't siblings, you've been watching too much Star Wars, they don't look alike and Hermione doesen't look like either Lily or James not too mention the fact that if Hermione would be Harry's sister that would meen that he could have lived with her because Lily's blood would be in her too. I can only imagine the kind of explosion Harry would have if Hermione is his sister, he lived 10 years in a cupboard with people that hate him.

Come on people get real Harry and Hermione aren't siblings, you've been watching too much Star Wars

First : no, I haven't been watching too much Star Wars. I've seen the movies, that's all... I never built the Sibling Theory on the Star Wars analogy. I've built it (along with a few other people) from the HP books themselves.

Second : Luke and Leia being siblings wasn't such a big thing in the original Star Wars trilogy. It had very little influence on the overall plot : had they NOT been siblings, almost everything could have worked just the same ; Vader would have had to find something else to enrage Luke in the end... that's all.
Vader being Luke's father WAS the big thing. The sibling relation was not. It was just a minor detail.

Third : There had been lost brothers and sisters in litterature long before Star Wars ! Eternal myths belong to no one !

I posted this a page back. I will paste it here as a reminder. Anyone violating this will be given warnings.

In any event, whether you believe the theory or not (and this is for everyone), let's remember that anyone posting here has a right to express his or her own opinion without being ridiculed. There are ways to express that you disagree with an idea/theory without attacking the person. Please try to keep that in mind while posting in any thread who's ideas you do not believe in.

Remember that the forum rules state:
2a. The goal of CoS Forums is to make sure everyone has a good time and can make friends. Obviously not everyone will agree with one another and we ask that you respect the opinions of others even if you cannot agree. Attacking other members for holding views different to your own will not be tolerated and you will be warned. If you see this taking place, please report it to a Professor.

First : no, I haven't been watching too much Star Wars. I've seen the movies, that's all... I never built the Sibling Theory on the Star Wars analogy. I've built it (along with a few other people) from the HP books themselves.

True, but JKR is not going to do much that would lead people to think that she is "borrowing" from Star Wars. Indeed, this is just the sort of idea that prompts her remark (which she has used at least twice) "you have been watching too much Star Wars."

As for building it from the books, as I and others keep pointing out, you still have not listed a single thing from the book that actually supports the idea that they are siblings. The problem is (and this is one that crops up in all levels of life, up to leaders of countries) that you are interpretting details in light of an idea and trying to find any way to use them to support that idea.


A far better approach for sorting out details is to see which ideas they eliminate. Among the ones that remain, chose the simplest ones and use them as your best bet. In this case, there is copious details contradicting the idea. Even where the idea is not inconsistent with details, there are simpler ideas that explain the details just as well.


Ultimately, we also have to remember what sort of story this is. This is a character story. It is not a great mythic epic, in which two siblings could be together somebody recognizing the fact, or in which women can dress up as men and fool people, or any of the things that are common to pre-18th century story telling. JKR is trying to tell a story about how one young man grows up under incredible burdens over which he had little control or choice, and then dynamically develop his character so that his choices and actions effect the events, and where the real story is why he does these things.

Having Hermione be Harry's sister simply does not serve any purpose in such a story.

My 2 cents:
I don't think Harry had a sibling, or that Lily had another child. The biggest flaw in that theory is where the other child is now [ and no, I don't think its Hermione, Neville or anyone else either ]. Also, it would mean that either James or Lily would have had to have been unfaithful to the other, and as far as we've been told, they loved eachother very much and had a happy marriage.

Ultimately, we also have to remember what sort of story this is. This is a character story. It is not a great mythic epic, in which two siblings could be together somebody recognizing the fact, or in which women can dress up as men and fool people, or any of the things that are common to pre-18th century story telling. JKR is trying to tell a story about how one young man grows up under incredible burdens over which he had little control or choice, and then dynamically develop his character so that his choices and actions effect the events, and where the real story is why he does these things.

Having Hermione be Harry's sister simply does not serve any purpose in such a story.
I agree. I really don't see why this theory is so popular, seing as there is no canon proof or hints from JKR to back it up. It's rather like the 'Ron is Dumbledore' theory - its all based on speculation and on what some fans would want to happen *cough*. Harry and Hermione don't look alike, there is no proof that Hermione was indeed adopted, or that Lily and James were unfaithful to one another etc. And the fact is, Hermione's name isn't Hermione Jane Puckle. It's Hermione Jane Granger. JKR chose to change her name, so it shouldn't count as 'proof'.

And in case you still doubt all this is foreshadowing something about Harry, here is what Hagrid said just before he said "blood is important" :

“In the same boat, yeh an’ me, aren’ we, ‘Arry ?”
“Er –“ said Harry.
“Yeah… I’ve said it before… both outsiders, like”, said Hagrid, nodding wisely. “An’ both orphans. Yeah… both orphans”…

In my opinion, this was written to show why Hagrid and Harry have a bond; why they're so close. It's because they've both lost a parent and they both feel isolated, like outsiders. JKR was also touching on the subject of prejudice and racism again, Hagrid being a half-breed, and Harry being a half-blood. I really don't see how this all relates to Hermione?

True, but JKR is not going to do much that would lead people to think that she is "borrowing" from Star Wars. Indeed, this is just the sort of idea that prompts her remark (which she has used at least twice) "you have been watching too much Star Wars."
Yes, JKR did say that about the idea of Voldemort being Harry's father (as I said above, Vader being Luke's father was the heart of the SW plot) and about the idea of writting a prequel about the Marauders.
She never said the same thing about Harry and Hermione.
(If she does, I'll accept it, disappointed as I will be :sad: But if the theory is true, she'll never do. :p )
As explained above, the sibling relation wasn't that important in the SW plot.
Furthermore, if (as suggested in the Sibling Theory essay) Hermione knows the truth, if JKR built Hermione's character from that, then the two stories are really quite different.

As for this :
JKR is not going to do much that would lead people to think that she is "borrowing" from Star Wars.
Do you think she really cares what people think ?
Let me remind you one of the latest things she added on her website :
Do you like ‘Half-Blood Prince’?
I like it better than I liked ‘Goblet’, ‘Phoenix’ or ‘Chamber’ when I finished them. Book six does what I wanted it to do and even if nobody else likes it (and some won’t), I know it will remain one of my favourites of the series. Ultimately you have to please yourself before you please anyone else!



A far better approach for sorting out details is to see which ideas they eliminate. Among the ones that remain, chose the simplest ones and use them as your best bet.
I agree this might be a very good principle in real life... but I'm not sure it works too well here.
If I use these principles (always chose the simplest solution) backwards on the first HP books, then Snape tried to kill Harry in PS, Karkaroff put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire, etc...

We must keep in mind that there is a big secret at the heart of it all. We know it from JKR herself (Paxman interview, 2003).

Ultimately, we also have to remember what sort of story this is. This is a character story. It is not a great mythic epic, in which two siblings could be together somebody recognizing the fact, or in which women can dress up as men and fool people, or any of the things that are common to pre-18th century story telling.
I'd say JKR put many ingredients in her story... including "mythic epic" ones.


In my opinion, this was written to show why Hagrid and Harry have a bond; why they're so close. It's because they've both lost a parent and they both feel isolated, like outsiders. JKR was also touching on the subject of prejudice and racism again, Hagrid being a half-breed, and Harry being a half-blood. I really don't see how this all relates to Hermione?
But is there nothing more to it ?
I could buy it if this was not just seconds before Hagrid adds :
"Family... Whatever you say, blood is important."


------------------------------------------
Anyway, whether the theory is true or not, we won't know for sure before the last book. In a few years...
(Unless, of course, JKR herself sinks this theory the way she sunk the K2K theory - Ron is Dumbledore - on her website).

In the short term, maybe we could discuss what we can expect for HBP... At least, we'll have an answer in... er... 88 days.

I think we'll have a big illustration of the importance of the bond of blood. This theme was important in OotP, with Hagrid and Grawp. It won't be Harry and Hermione yet (I believe that's for book 7). So, I suggest it might be Voldemort and the Half-Blood Prince.

I agree. I really don't see why this theory is so popular, seing as there is no canon proof or hints from JKR to back it up. It's rather like the 'Ron is Dumbledore' theory - its all based on speculation and on what some fans would want to happen *cough*. Harry and Hermione don't look alike, there is no proof that Hermione was indeed adopted, or that Lily and James were unfaithful to one another etc. And the fact is, Hermione's name isn't Hermione Jane Puckle. It's Hermione Jane Granger. JKR chose to change her name, so it shouldn't count as 'proof'.

In my opinion, this was written to show why Hagrid and Harry have a bond; why they're so close. It's because they've both lost a parent and they both feel isolated, like outsiders. JKR was also touching on the subject of prejudice and racism again, Hagrid being a half-breed, and Harry being a half-blood. I really don't see how this all relates to Hermione?You wrote exactly what I was going to say. I know people are bored to tears and antsy waiting for the book, so these involved theories get constructed. But there is zero, and I mean zero, canon to support this. It's all conjecture, and it even runs counter to the idea that James and Lily were deeply in love. I cannot believe that JKR would ever have Lily, whose very name signifies purity, being unfaithful and have an illegitimate child. And who really believes that JKR is going to have infidelity in a children's book?

I cannot believe that JKR would ever have Lily, whose very name signifies purity, being unfaithful and have an illegitimate child. And who really believes that JKR is going to have infidelity in a children's book?

In case that wasn't clear in my previous posts, I want to stress that I believe James and Lily really loved each other, and that neither had an illegitimate child.
I believe Hermione is Lily's AND James' daughter, Harry's full sibling, hidden in the Granger family.

I just don't really see how the Sibling theory would impact the plot. Sure it would affect shipping (which is a sub-plot) and the protection issue but I don't get what else it would do. As I've said, in the series, Hermione's being a muggle-born is important, because the trio are pureblood, half-blood and muggle born working together. This theory would change all that, and I don't see why JKR would do that. I know you worked hard on this, but a lot of the information is speculative.

In case that wasn't clear in my previous posts, I want to stress that I believe James and Lily really loved each other, and that neither had an illegitimate child.
I believe Hermione is Lily's AND James' daughter, Harry's full sibling, hidden in the Granger family.
Why is she hidden in the Granger family? Wouldn't she be safer with the Dursleys and the blood magic protection? And don't you think that this is too Star Wars? And what's the point of revealing that to us this late in the game? Why should it have been concealed for this long? And then we get into the issue of how difficult it would be for Lily to have a second child 10 months after the first one. I have given birth, and without getting into some icky non-family friendly details, women aren't ready to conceive that soon.

Hermione's being a muggle-born is important, because the trio are pureblood, half-blood and muggle born working together. This theory would change all that, and I don't see why JKR would do that.Absolutely excellent point.

I just don't really see how the Sibling theory would impact the plot. Sure it would affect shipping (which is a sub-plot) and the protection issue but I don't get what else it would do.
I think the protection issue could very well be the key to the final outcome of the series. A protection (love, in essence) Voldemort isn't aware of. In a way, it is a "power the Dark Lord knows not"...


Why is she hidden in the Granger family? Wouldn't she be safer with the Dursleys and the blood magic protection?
The blood magic is protecting Harry and only Harry (as far as we know, Lily gave her life to save him alone).
Why was she hidden in the first place ? This is still to be revealed... I've suggested a few possible answers in the essay.

And don't you think that this is too Star Wars?
See answer in my posts above.

Why should it have been concealed for this long?
Because Dumbledore understands this is a huge advantage against Voldemort, as long as Voldemort doesn't know.

And then we get into the issue of how difficult it would be for Lily to have a second child 10 months after the first one.
10 months and a half... Several people have posted evidence that it is possible... (and easier if Harry was born a bit premature).

Now, of course there might be more to this...
Maybe there isn't : maybe the Potters had two children less than 1 year apart, with no particular reason.
But one can imagine that they were in a hurry to have children... Suppose Voldemort was after the Potter bloodline, for some reason (heirs of Gryffindor or something like that... ) This could have been a very good reason to hide their first child. And also a good reason to have children before Voldemort had a chance to finish them...

10 months and a half... Several people have posted evidence that it is possible...
Have any of the people who posted the evidence ever given birth? I really can't post why this isn't possible here without getting into some fairly graphic details.

In case that wasn't clear in my previous posts, I want to stress that I believe James and Lily really loved each other, and that neither had an illegitimate child.
I believe Hermione is Lily's AND James' daughter, Harry's full sibling, hidden in the Granger family.


I still don't understand why Harry wouldn't have lived with Hermione in case they are siblings. Don't you get it? If they are siblings Lily's blood runs in Hermione so Harry could have lived with her and still have the protection. The prophecy tell that the one with the power is borned as the 7th month dies(end of July), Hermione is born on 19th on Septembre(in the middle of the 9th month) so there were no motives to put her up for adoption when she was born since there is no chance that she is "The One". In fact when Hermione was born i don't even think the prophecy was even made yet(not sure of this, we know it was made before Harry was born but i just don't remember how far back).

I think i remember an interview with JK where she said that she won't use Star Wars kind of plot twists anywhere in the book and i do belive that if Harry-Hermione are siblings thats exactly what it is.

In my opinion people that belive this theory is true are the ones that would like to see a RHr ship that won't cause a breakdown of the trio. Using this theory to make themselves belive that RHr is the real ship in the book and to hide their insecurities about a HHr ship.

Just my 2 cents.

I think the protection issue could very well be the key to the final outcome of the series. A protection (love, in essence) Voldemort isn't aware of. In a way, it is a "power the Dark Lord knows not"...
But in the final battle, Harry has to face Voldemort alone. Harry can not take Hermione with him, and he wouldn't want to, because it would endanger her. We know this from the prophecy. This would mean that the only reason that the Sibling Theory would benefit the plot is gone. I also notice that you didn't answer the other half of my post.

Absolutely excellent point.
Thankyou :)