What will Harry discover about Lily and James Potter?

[Thayet]

I've heard many times that Lilly and James's past will be in more depth in this upcoming book, but what do you think will be talked about?

[NrlyHdlssNick22]

I just want to know what James' job was. I think that will have to do alot with the plot. I also want to know why Lily didn't have to be killed. I hope JK reveals all this.

[Elangomatt]

I keep thinking that Lily is not muggle born and her family will become important. That would make Petunia a squib (or maybe someone who does not exhibit magical abilities till much later in life) and is bitter towards the magical world for this reason.

[Thayet]

That would explain a lot, I have a feeling it may reveal a lot about their jobs, and I dont know why but it sticks in my mind that maybe James was an auror.
About what you mentioned about Lilly not having to die, perhaps, this will sound stupid but I'll say it anyway, there was a big love thing at Hogwarts, and Voldemort loved Lilly? That would explain why he wanted to kill James, and not Lilly.

[Elangomatt]

Originally posted by Thayet
there was a big love thing at Hogwarts, and Voldemort loved Lilly? That would explain why he wanted to kill James, and not Lilly.

Problem with that though, Tom Riddle went to Hogwarts 50 years before book 2. I have not been able to figure out the timeline myself, but I am pretty sure that Lily and James went to school quite a bit after that.

[Thayet]

I guess thats true, but he could have fallen in love with her at any time. Its kinda wacky and unprobable, but its a theory. They could hvae met somewhere, or something like that.

[NrlyHdlssNick22]

Yeah maybe that's why Lily didn't have to die. Some sort of love triangle with Voldemort. But i kinda find it hard to believe voldemort ever loved someone except maybe his mother. :angry: the man is pure evil.

[Thayet]

Yes. Some wacky part of my brain just flashed.

What if Voldemort was Lillys father? Perhaps she wasn't muggle-born, an idea I saw in a different thread. She was only Petunia's half-sister. That could explain why Voldemort hates muggles: perhaps he dated one, had a child - Lilly - by her, then she cheated or something. That would explain his hatred for muggles. Its a very wacky idea but is anything really impossible? Lilly may never of known, and with voldemort back, dark times, things could be discovered.

What do you think?

[Cat]

Originally posted by NrlyHdlssNick22
But i kinda find it hard to believe voldemort ever loved someone except maybe his mother.

... And standing there holding a baby in her arms, Lily Potter looked very much like a mother.

That would be a good enough reason for me! Less soppy than romance, but still breaking Voldemort up a little. Quite deep, that.

[Thayet]

Yes, but why would Voldemort have compassion for any mother, even his own, if he is truly heartless and cold, and evil?

[Cat]

Even evil people can have an Achilles heel.

[ImpieGirl]

I think that JK will tell us 1)what both their jobs were 2)the big secret about Lily, and 3)Why Lily didn't have to be killed. I can't really think of anything else to know about them, except maybe more details of their lives at Hogwarts, how they met, etc, which on second thought I do think we'll also find out.

I've heard that theory too, about Lily being Voldie's father, and I really really really hope he is. It would make the books so interesting, with Voldie being Harry's grandpa! Ay...I must stop typing, my mind is racing.

[Thayet]

Yes, but why would it be mothers? Voldemort has killed many muggles, so why would he have a compassion for mothers? Hes probably killed dozens of muggle mothers with their children, so why care about one, witch mother?

Hes probably killed lots of families too, muggle and magical, and remember the Longbottoms.

He ay have an achilles heel, but I doubt mothers is it.

[Cat]

I don't think he stood face to face with his victims that often. He has a whole order of Death Eaters to do the dirty work.

(By the way, saying an idea doesn't mean I believe it. I never put any belief in theories).

[Manyasha]

I don't think that
1. Voldemort is Lily's father
2. Voldemort was in love with Lily.
For me, the possibility is pretty much the same as Lily is Voldemort's mother or Lily was in love with Voldemort. I think the plot will be very complicated and everything will turn out the way nobody expected. These are the first ideas that come to one's mind. They are too obvious for me. Just MHO.:)

[Thayet]

(Okay)

But surely he would have been in the centre of killings,since he's supposed to have loved it so much, he probably would lead his death eaters.

[Tarawyn]

I highly doubt Lily would be in love with a man who was about 40-50 years older than her. And, at any rate, by the time Lily would be anywhere near old enough to think about something like that (although it'd still be a long way off), Voldemort would have already permanantly disfigured his appearence in a way that would make it easy to identify him, and it's impossible for it to have been a childhood crush, for the same reasons: he rose in power at around the time they were 10-12 (actually, he would have disfigured his appearence before he rose, so we can assume she'd be somewhere around the age of 8-10), and he would not be desirable in any form as a lover. Not to mention the fact that I can't see Voldemort have anything to do with a Muggle-born, and I am convinced that Lily is a Muggle-born through and through.

Having Voldemort be related to Harry at all would be altogether too much. People bring up their similiarities as a sort of proof. My own opinion is that it's just a way of showing how different things could have turned out if Voldemort had chosen differently. It's a matter of how, when a person chooses something, they can go so far down in one direction or the other.

[Ghost]

Voldemort thinks of himself as beyond good and evil, the only two things he seems to care about are power and revenge. I wonder, would he be capable of doing something good, in order to obtain his goals?

And there's no way Harry and Voldemort are related. I agree with Tarawyns point on that, also I think JKRs too original to do something so cliched. :) Whatever happens, you can bet it'll be the thing you least expected.

[Thayet]

I see what you mean.....

I think Voldemort WOULD do anything for power and revenge,and I mean anything.

I think it'll be what no-one expected.

[Ghost]

Or as much as someone so psychopathic will allow himself to do anyway. :evil:

It's kinda sad though. He does seem to really care about loyalty among his followers. He seemed quite upset when a handful didn't turn up when he called them at the end of GoF. That's another way in which he and Harry are similar.

You almost feel sorry for the poor devil... ;D

[Da da da da da86]

I've got somethign to say about the Mother weakness thing. If Voldemort had a soft spot for mothers, why did he kill her when she was a mother in the strongest sense of the word (ie, willing to sacrifice her life for her son)?

[Thayet]

Exactly, and why did he kill his own mother?

He didn't care when his death eaters didn't all turn up, he wasjustangry -->:devil:

[Ghost]

Didn't she just die shortly after he was born? It says something to that effect somewhere in the books, but I can't remember which part it was in. poke:

[cbjedi]

I don't think that Harry and Voldemort are related. Didn't JKR say in a web chat that they aren't related? Didn't she say that would be a little too much like star wars or something like that?

[Thayet]

Perhaps not. Remember Voldemort killed his parents? In the start of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire it says.

[Anne]

Yes, Voldemort killed his remaining family, but his mother had been long dead.

I agree with Manyasha and Tarawyn. I do not believe that any of the Riddles loved any of the Potters or Evanses, and vice versa.

To answer the originaly question, I have no earthly idea what Harry will learn about Lily and James. If I knew that, there wouldn't be any point to reading the rest of the books. :p But seriously, I couldn't even begin to imagine. JKR has a far better capability for coming up with stories that I do, and I have nothing like her imagination. So I'll just have to wait until she can tell us. :)

[JenBluffheid]

James

If James was Gryffindor's descendant.
How Harry's got all that money.
His job.


Lily

Her job.
Why she was associated with Voldemort.
Her friends during Hogwarts.

~Jen.

[Thayet]

James Potter inherited lots of money, so he didn't need a well-paying profession.

[Katze]

Originally posted by Thayet
Yes. Some wacky part of my brain just flashed.

What if Voldemort was Lillys father? Perhaps she wasn't muggle-born, an idea I saw in a different thread. She was only Petunia's half-sister.

I think they both have the same parents, but I think Petunia was a squib.

Now that I think about it, their father could very well be a wizard or from a wizarding family (squib), and raised his daughters as muggles. This would fall inline with Lily being part of a wizard family. Remember the Weasley's have an accountant in the family who they don't talk about much.

Originally posted by Thayet That could explain why Voldemort hates muggles: perhaps he dated one, had a child - Lilly - by her, then she cheated or something. That would explain his hatred for muggles. Its a very wacky idea but is anything really impossible? Lilly may never of known, and with voldemort back, dark times, things could be discovered.

What do you think? [/B]


Voldemort hates Muggles because of his father. While his mom was pregnant with him, she revealed that she was a witch to V's father, and he abandoned her. She then gave birth to him and died shortly after. This is how he ended up in an orphanage.

Originally posted by Thayet
Perhaps not. Remember Voldemort killed his parents? In the start of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire it says.

V killed his father and his parternal grandparents at the start of GoF.

[Emma]

I think that we'll find out about Lilly and James' time at Hogworts. What circles they were in and such. That way we'll find out more about the old crowd.

[ImpieGirl]

Actually, Lily can't be Voldie's son, because if DD was telling the truth when he said that Voldie is the last remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin, then Voldie can't have had any kids that are still alive, or kids that had kids that are still alive, etc. - Hey, there's a theory! A kid of Voldie's had a kid, but then immediately put the child in someone else's care to ensure its safety, so it is unknown even by DD and Voldie that she's an heir, and Voldie didn't care to kill her because he knew she wasn't an heir of Gryffindor - if the Potters are at all.

Sorry, I got kinda off topic :angel: (you see how the halo flickers?)

[Lady V]

I don't think that Voldermort is related to Lily because it would be too much like Star Wars. I do think we will find out more about Harry's parents in the next book. And I do have a theory about why Voldermort hesitated to kill Lily :scared: Okay here it goes. What if Lily was a deatheater?

Maybe I'm just being a pessimistic but I am sure that one of the characters that we think is on the good side will turn out to be a deatheater. What proof do I have it's Lily? None. It is just something to think about. There is only one person who knows why Voldermort hesitated to kill Lily and I'm sure she will let us know soon enough.

So do any of you think Lily could have been a deatheater?

[Tarawyn]

Lady V, as Lily was suggested to be a Muggle-born by Riddle himself, and we all know how much Voldemort loves Muggle-borns, I highly doubt this. Also, Hagrid's comment in PS/SS: "Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before...probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' to do with the Dark Side." However, there is something very odd about why he didn't kill her immediately. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that he would have wanted Lily to suffer by making her watch her child die in the few minutes before killing her, but killed her first because she did not cooperate according to plan.

[lilhpwitch]

I think that james may be like voldmorts son because in the cos in ch "the very secret diary" when harry goes back in tom riddles memory it said that toms harry was jet black like harrys. Jk rowling is great at descising her information like that and it would explain why we never here about james family! I also belive that lily posibly may be a death eater or some how was on the dark lords side at one time.

[Cho Chang]

I seriously don't think Voldemort is related Harry. But it is very CURIOUS why Tom Riddle, James and Harry .. all have jet black hair?

Ms. Rowling would probably tell us about ...

1) James' job .. maybe he was an auror ... (since I believe he's part of the order of the pheonix)
2) Who did James' forture inherit from? (maybe like other posts' stated .. maybe James was the heir of Gryffindor .. since they lived in GODRIC'S HOLLOW!!!!!)
3) Why Lily didn't need to die?? (maybe Lily had strong powers and Voldemort tried to presuade her to join him???)
4) Probably tell us some events happened while they were at hogwarts
5) Porbably meet Lily and James friends
6) Maybe how they fell in love? :p

[Thayet]

2) Who did James' forture inherit from? (maybe like other posts' stated .. maybe James was the heir of Gryffindor .. since they lived in GODRIC'S HOLLOW!!!!!)

Thats an interesting point...maybe :)


5) Porbably meet Lily and James friends

Who were Remus, Sirius and Peter? James's friends.

Maybe we'll meet Llilys too :D

6) Maybe how they fell in love? :p

I hope so, that'd be cute :love:

[Tinkie]

first of all we will learn why Voldemort was after James.
He will also discover
1 how James came to such a fortune
2. why Lily didnt have to die
3. how his parents decided to get married and settle down. maybe even how they met
4. why Lily's sister hated her so much?

[Ruv]

I think I need to stop reading rumors before bed :p
I have this wacky idea. It involves the Lily/slytherin/voldemort connection. :evil: :evil:
I think that the slytherin connection will come through James.
I know what some of you are going to say: But Dumbledore said that volde's the last true slytherin!
But I think there is something to that. True Slytherin means direct descedent of Slytherin. So, James doesnt have to to be a direct descedent to have Slytherin blood in him, does he?
And, anyway, look at what other information Harry hasn't been told. Dumbledore knew, of course, about Sirius as HPs godfather, right? But Dumbledore didn't tell HP that, Sirius did. So, why can't James be a Slytherin blood? I think its possible, however slight.
Anyway, go ahead and berate me, say I'm wrong, but please, in between rants, guide me to some :coffee: eh?

[Katze]

Originally posted by Ruv

I know what some of you are going to say: But Dumbledore said that volde's the last true slytherin! But I think there is something to that. True Slytherin means direct descedent of Slytherin. So, James doesnt have to to be a direct descedent to have Slytherin blood in him, does he?
To be a decendant of someone means that you have a blood tie to that person. So anyone who is your offspring or an offspring of an offspring, etc., is a decendant.

And, anyway, look at what other information Harry hasn't been told. Dumbledore knew, of course, about Sirius as HPs godfather, right? But Dumbledore didn't tell HP that, Sirius did. So, why can't James be a Slytherin blood?

James could certainly have Slytherin blood, and still be put into a different house (he was a chaser for Gryffindor, as stated by Rowling in this interview (http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/author/transcript2.htm)). But if he did have Slytherin blood in him, then that would make James the last decendant, not Riddle. This could come into play though - Riddle not being aware of anyone else - especially if someone in James family were an orphan like Riddle. Hrrmmm...now you've got me thinking.

[Ruv]

Finally someone somewhat understands what I'm saying! I think this is a real possiblity! :clappy: Now I'm all excited. He he!:p

[Fuchsia]

All this talk of an achilles heel makes me think of the Woody Allen line "Achilles just had an achilles heel. I have an entire achilles body!"
Hehe.

Voldie just gets off on making moms save themselves by letting their own kids get killed. It would give him pleasure.
And Lily isn't a Potter. He wanted to kill Potters methinks.
Next up Joey Potter on Dawson's Creek. I WISH. She is so whiney.
Nevermind....

Their jobs have to be something really cool. Harry might guess
they were auror's. It's an attractive job to him and he already knows what it is.
Kids who lose their parents *always* fantasize about some romantic job they had. My dad is a spy working for the government or he'd be here with me right now something like that.
I can't believe Harry didn't do that. At least when he was with the Dursley's. They wouldn't allow him to ask questions but he had to wonder.

I'm so sicked out by the idea of Voldie wanting Lily. EWWW.
Christ he's her father people that is incest!
I'm kidding I don't think he is her father either.

[DocHollidaywe]

Originally posted by Thayet
Yes. Some wacky part of my brain just flashed.

What if Voldemort was Lillys father? Perhaps she wasn't muggle-born, an idea I saw in a different thread. She was only Petunia's half-sister. That could explain why Voldemort hates muggles: perhaps he dated one, had a child - Lilly - by her, then she cheated or something. That would explain his hatred for muggles. Its a very wacky idea but is anything really impossible? Lilly may never of known, and with voldemort back, dark times, things could be discovered.

What do you think?

I find this very unlikely, remember it says that after Hogwarts Tom Riddle disappered, sunk into the dark arts and resurfaced many years later returned as Voldermort. However, it is possible, maybe he didnt start to sink into Dark Arts untill His heart was broken by a Muggle ... But remember His hatred for Muggles comes from his blood of Slytherin. Remember Petunia said "We had a witch in the family, they were so proud." Maybe because they feared all there kids would be Squibs???????!

[Severely Snapped]

Originally posted by Cho Chang
I seriously don't think Voldemort is related Harry. But it is very CURIOUS why Tom Riddle, James and Harry .. all have jet black hair?

Well, Sirius and Snape both have black hair, too. They can't ALL be related, can they? :??:

[Slytherin_Chick]

:wow: i just had an insne thought!!! what if James was a Death Eater but then turned on Voldy and THAT's y he wanted to kill him!
kinda doughtful..but u never know!!!!:devil: :shrug::youwhat:

[Firebolt]

Hey, what if Lily was adopted (And aunt Petunia don't know), and she is the daughter of Voldermort and Voldemort didn't know he had her. You know like he met a girl one night and gone and she oops! didn't want a kid and put for adoption.
That will make Harry the heir of Gryffindor/Slytherin. (If James is the heir of Gryffindor)

Ha! Just a wild thought. :)

[Peter Pettigrew]

This whole big deal about Lily suggests that she was a spy of some sort; but i wont try to speculate on what kind of spy.

[i wish i knew]

I've always thought that HArry is the heir of Gryffondor through Lily. Most ppl think its through James though. Lily could be adopted and really not muggleborn.
1 Her real family has green eyes and Petunia doesnt (Mirror of Erised shows this)
2 Petunnias real parents would pay their adopted child attention to make her feal she belongs (in case she ever finds out bout being adopted)

Also I think that Lily was a seeer of some sort. Ppl always say how Harry has his mother's eyes. This may be more than the color.
Its important that Lily was good at charms though.....maybe she had a job that had to do with that?
James was not a quidditch player because that pays to much, I imagine an auror would pay alot.......... maybe their jobs were not too exciting.

[daredevildiver13]

I was looking in a baby name website for Harry Potter names when I stumbled upon the name Evans. As we know, this is Lily's maiden name. This is whats interesting

Evan means good (should have thought with evangelical). I think with this knowledge, we can conclude that Lily was NOT a death eater. I really don't buy that rumor.

[i wish i knew]

i think she was adopted anyway

[daredevildiver13]

I think either:

A. She was adopted
B. Petunia was adopted
C. Petunia is a squib
D. All of the above....no just kidding

[1MelissaPotter]

No it was Lily who was adopted if anyone.

[daredevildiver13]

Or no one was adopted and Petunia is not a squib. There is no evidence eityher way. The point I was trying to make was that Lily cannot be a death eater with a last name that means good.

[familiar]

I agree, Lily is a witch born to muggle parents with a muggle sister. No adoption, no death eater.

[Melian the Maia]

I doubt that Lily was adopted.Personally,the main reason that Petunia disliked her sister was probably because Petunia couldn't match with Lily's achievements.Petunia said that her parents were proud to have a witch in the family...

[daredevildiver13]

Wouldn't it be a big coincidence of adopting a child with a flower name when you already have a child with a flower name?

[HbAznKyootie]

or, maybe they adopted lily, and named her a flower name.

[Spitf1re]

Lily was just born with magical talent. Just like Hermione.

[Padfoot127]

lily could have been a death eater even tho her last name means good. she could have been tempted and gave in because maybe something to do with snape, but then turned over, her last name meaning she shows strength for the good side and will never go over to the dark side again

[ERut]

Well, we know that James wasn't a Death Eater, so why would he marry one?Also, she would have considered Voldemort more improtant than Harry, and therefore wouldn't have tried to save Harry.

[GilyAnn]

Here is another definiton of Evans

EVAN m Welsh, English
Pronounced: EV-an
Anglicized form of Iefan, a Welsh form of JOHN. It can also be used as a short form of EVANGELOS.

EVANGELOS m Greek
Means "good messenger", derived from Greek eu "good" and angelos "messenger".

Somehow I think Lily Potter wasn't 'normal' Maybe this is why Voldemort didn't want it to kill her. Some extra divine power.

Something else that's spooky is the name of Arabella.

For started she was the wife of King James III

and here what we have on her name:

ARABELLA f English, Italian
Perhaps derived from Latin orabilis meaning "yielding to pray".

Makes you think doesn't it?
:eyebrows:

[Cobra245063]

I don't think Lily was a Death Eater based on the fact that she wouldn't have tried to save Harry. Hagrid said, "once a wizard goes over to the dark side nothing matters to 'em anymore" That may not be the exact quote but it's close enough. Basically what I'm trying to say here is I don't think that Lily was a Death Eater.

Also, I can't believe I didn't cathch that Lily and Petunia are both flowers.

Oh and one last thing, my last names Evans.

[HPviolinist85]

I remember reading that everyone was like " Lily and James Potter, how could he!!!!" probaby meaning that both of them were good people and NEVER went on the dark side.
at least, I hope

[flibbertigibbet]

A big theme in the books is that you are the choices you make, not the blood you were born with. I know JK pays a lot of attention to names, but wouldn't that mean that Lily is good just because her last name means good? That doesn't seem to fit into the story.

I'm not saying Lily wasn't good. I don't think she was a death eater or anything, I just don't think the argument would be enough to convince me if I thought otherwise.

[Katze]

Hey Folks -

before posting new threads, please do a search to see if there is an existing thread you can use to post your questions/comments.

Here's a thread (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?s=&threadid=239&perpage=30&pagenumber=1) about Lily that is already in progress :)

[hermiones mum]

Harry will discover why his father inherited so much money and how the Potter family came into possession of an invisibility cloak.

The emphasis on Lily is the word OLD magic and good at charms.

Go back about seven generations and we may find a wizard married to a muggle, (a love of muggles that remains with him for the rest of time). A squib is born into the family who decides to live in the muggle world, a few generations down the line, a witch is born into this muggle family.
She finds a talent at charms and looks up old magic with the help of her headmaster, a skill that even a potions teacher might look on favourably a skill that could possible be sought by Voldemort in his quest for immortality.

[venus1818]

Exactly, and why did he kill his own mother?

He didn't. His mother died giving birth to him. He killed his father and his grandparents (his father's parents).

In another thread someone suggested that Tom Riddle was at Hogwarts with Harry's grandparents (James's parents). Is it possible that something happened back then that made him hate the Potters so much?

I don't think that Lily and Voldemort were related at all, or that she was a deatheater. But I can't think of a reasonable explanation for why she didn't have to die. Wharever the reason is, it's something really big. He didn't just pity her, we know that he has no problem in killing innocent people.

[daredevildiver13]

Well most of the names have to do with the characters.

[BabyMars]

Nahhh, I think Petunia is a squib. Maybe that;s why she hated Lily so much, because she was jealous that she couldn't do magic. Petunia did say that her parents were really happy to have a witch in the family. I would be jealous if I were Petunia too. I'll feel sorry for her if she ends up being a squib!

Cheers :smooch:

[daredevildiver13]

If Lily was a death eater, I would think that Voldemort would tell Harry because it would greatly disturb the perceptions that Harry has of his mother.

[ilovelifex1000]

Although I don't believe Lily is a death eater (no evidence), I don't believe that ones last name dictates ones personality/choices. Petunia isn't bad but she isn't very nice and her maiden name is Evans too.

[SnowWhite]

I think that Lily wasn't adopted, and that Petuna (sp?) simply doesn't like Lily because her mother and father were so proud to have a witch... Petuna just couldn't seem to compare, and began to resent everything Lily was. Which is why she dislikes anything magical because it reminds her of her own short comings. So, that's probably why she married her husband because he hated magic just as much as she did, and she might have added fuel to the fire. And that's why they probably treated Harry so badly.
By the way, I'm new. This is my first post! Woo-hoo! :clappy:

[Filia Tenebrarum]

I don't understand all this stuff which is circulated about Lily's family. I see _no_evidence_what_so_ever_ that what we have been told about Lily -- that she is a full witch born into a muggle family -- is false. Muggle born witches and wizards occur. There doesn't need to have been any magic in there family for generations back. Lily's parents were probably impressed that their daughter had special talents, as any parent would be. Petunia got jealous and started to hate magic in much the same way Filch hates the Hogwarts students. She went off and married Mr Dursley because he helped her to forget about her sister.
It is genetically possible for two black mice to produce a white mouse. Each mouse has two colour genes. Black always takes presidence over white so if a mouse has black+white genes they're black, but if they have white+white genes then they're white. So if a mouse with white+black genes and another mouse with black+white genes mate then they may produce two offspring, one with white+white genes, the other with black+black genes. It's probably the same with Mr and Mrs Evans. The muggle gene takes precedence (I spelt that word differently last time, I think. Oh, well, the more different spellings, the more chance one of them wil be right) which explains why there are always fewer wizards than muggles. The same thing works for squibs, in reverse.
OK, sorry for biology lecture but I was getting sick of all this "Lily is a witch therefore her parents were witch and wizard too" stuff being taken forgranted.

[SnowWhite]

Ok, umm.. You just repeated what I said originally and added biology... But, um.. this is fiction. It doesn't have to be logical. It's actually less fun it is.

[Dedalus]

I don't think that necessarily means something. Evans could have just been used as a popular name, or because she liked it - as with Potter. It also has other meanings or origins. Plus, loads of characters are, technically, good. She wouldn't be the only one so why would she be specifically named after it?

I don't believe she was a Death Eater or in any way supported Voldemort either, but I don't think her name is the answer to "why not?"

The "Petunia is a squib" thing ... why? Wouldn't that go against everything J.K. Rowling has said about the purity of someone's blood not mattering, if Lily turns out to be pure blooded after all? What would be the point in that? And why would so many characters say that she was muggle born, if she wasn't? You'd think they'd know ...

[daredevildiver13]

I wasn't saying the last name dictated anything......just the fact that there are meanings behind the names of pretty much every character and I wanted to know what anyone thought of the significance of the name.

For example- Sirius Black is a dog star. If we had known that before reading the end of Azkaban, then we could have made a guess at the ending. Malfoy means bad faith....clearly Malfoy is not a "good" character. Remus Lupin- that name is loaded with werewolfisms. There are websites with the meanings behind the names that prove this. So basically, what I was saying, is that there might be something about the name "Evans"-a name which means good, that can foretell something in the series.

[Aramis Diggle]

White and Black genes turning Green to what? That was just a waste of a post....

[SnowWhite]

I hear something... It sounds like Angels.. They are singing "Amen" (see Aramis Diggle's post).
Sorry, I hate biology! I don't hate the postee, but the post it's self.

[Zahri Seb Melitor]

Harry Potter IS logical, you just have to find the logic that JK allows the story to operate under. Wizarding logic would naturally be different to muggle logic, as they have different backgrounds of knowledge to work from.

[Moonlight]

And all bad wizards were Slytherins...
Except maybe Pettigrew who was just plain wierd:stuckin:

[Dedalus]

Originally posted by Lavender*Quill (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=187380#post187380))
And all bad wizards were Slytherins...

Not necessarily true. "Evil" isn't one of the requirements to be in Slytherin. A lot of them were, but that's just because being highly ambitious can go a bad route. Hagrid was just being Hagrid when he said that ;)


Anyway, I looked up Evans and I can't find that it means "good" any where. Are you sure your source is correct? Most seem to think it originally meant "of Evan" (Irish). Some say it means "of John" (I guess that's the name equivalent of Evan) and one or two say it means "brave". But either way, I don't believe her name has anything to do with it - a lot of them do ... but a lot of them don't, and are just used because their common names or because they suited the character or she just happened to like the name.

[Sorting Hat's Songwriter]

I like the 'messenger' idea. a lot of the names, as said MANY times on this thread, are related to powers or characteristics. Lily a true Divination expert? Maybe thats why voldie wanted her alive, he could use her ability to stop him ever coming under threat. Thats why i believe he wanted to kill harry, as prof T's first true prediction could have fortold his downfall because of harry, but im goin off on one here, this is for another thread...

[luzd3laluna]

Hello I'm new to this forum but this is another farfetched theory I came up with last night with my friend (we were very bored):
Do you remember how Mrs. Weasely has a family relation whose an accountant (but they dont talk about him) as Ron said one time to Harry. Well, we dont really know a lot about the family aside from the obvious one on either of the families side. This could lead to the connection between the Weasely's and Harry Potter because it could be possible that Lily Potter is distantly related to the Weasely's. They have the same color hair(redish ginger colored kind of thing), and if Lily's parents used to be part of the Wizarding world that could perhaps lead to Petunia's obvious dislike for her sister since she would be another squib while Lily went and became a witch. Of course this is a farfetched theory but one I figured deserves some attention (i.e. commentary).

[luzd3laluna]

Another thing I wanted to say was that Voldemort's only aim was to kill Harry or only the male descendants of the Potters. Therefore, that could be why he didnt care whether or not he killed Lily Potter. You cant necessarily say he didnt want to kill Lily Potter because in the end he did kill her because she stood in his way. Thus, he displayed that he truly didnt have many qualms killing her if she was going to prevent him from achieving his ultimate aim

[Zahri Seb Melitor]

Yes, but he was willing to let her live if she wasn't being so 'silly', as he termed it.

About the Weasley cousin thing, I really don't believe it. I hold true to the Lily Potter was muggleborn theory. If Lily and Hermione weren't, it would ruin some of the underlying themes in the books (ie. the importance of the purity of blood)

[Filia Tenebrarum]

Look at it this way, SnowWhite, if all I did was repeat what you said then I'm agreeing with you! And backing up what you said with biology!
I have reservations about the "Weasleys and Evanses are related" theory: if Harry were related to the Weasleys then why couldn't Dumbledore invoke the ancient magic which protects Harry as long as he is in the care of his relations at the Burrow, instead of Privet Drive? Harry would be infinitely happier with the Weasleys.
However, I also have a point which could be used to support luzd3laluna's (must be going for the 2003 Award in Unspellable Screennames... :-)) theory: both Lily's and Ron's wands are made of willow and unicorn hair. This might indicate a similarity in their personalities, and tell us more about Lily's character.

[Phoenix_Fawkes]

I searched for a thread like this came up with nothing.



Didnt JKR say that james had a lot of money handed down to him from someone. Well if he did im sure he still had a job. Was he an Auror, MOM worker, Professor, or was he a lazy bum? lol Im just wondering.

Book 5 gettin closer. I need more powre scotty!

[Sirius83]

Probably an Auror. A researcher would have paid too much for the clues we have on him. Also, if he was an Auror, it would explain why Voldie was after him - James probably found a way to stop him. Judging from Moody, the job of an Auror isn't exactly top paying. He seemed to be living a pretty much 'just getting by' kind of life in my eyes.

[aragog]

I think I remember hearing that James had alot of money, so he was comfortable enough financially to take a job that he enjoyed rather than for the money. Now all we need is to find out just what that job was!

[FizzingWhizbee]

I think James as an Auror is a great theory. That would answer a lot of questions. I cant wait to find out!

[H_B]

The Idea of james job seems to fit his profial. I have alway thought he worked as a professor.

[1MelissaPotter]

James inherited the money, but he'd still need a job.
I think that him and Lily were Aurors, that seems like the most practical thing to do, I don't think they were MOM workers.

[bubblesofdeath88]

I have always thought the same thing!! I believed that they were both aurors just like neville's parents. Remember when Lucius said that they were meddlesome fools, well that might be the reason why.

[Phoenix_Fawkes]

yea thats cool they are aurors probably harry would make a good one moody did say that well not moody but coauch!(sp) sorry

[mol93hermione]

I'm betting he was an auror, just because he was so powerful at school, but then again, he could have been doing nothing signifigant at all.

[Aoife Diggle]

We know that James did not have a highly paid job because he inherited a lot of money (thats pretty much exactly what JKR said about it) I am still trying to work out if an auror is a highly paid job or not!

I think that could be a bit of an obvious profession for James to have, but then again it does help to explain why Vodemort was after him.

[Scotlandking85]

Originally posted by 1MelissaPotter5 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=216547#post216547))
James inherited the money, but he'd still need a job.
I think that him and Lily were Aurors, that seems like the most practical thing to do, I don't think they were MOM workers.


Don't Aurors work for the MOM. Also, in book three, didn't Petunia tell Marge that James didn't work. Though we can't take a character's word for it.

[aragog]

Petunia probably told Aunt Marge that just to further convince her of what a bum James Potter was... Besides, they probably couldn't think of a lowly enough job and didn't want to give away that he was a Wizard.

I'm not sure how I feel about James being an Auror... It could work, but it seems a little bit too obvious to me. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.. maybe that's part of what Dumbledore is going to tell Harry in OotP

[Rowayda]

I too think that James was an Auror, when Petunia told Marge that James was unemployed she was definetly lying, i mean she hates the Potters and she wants to give Marge something to gloat about.

[rettopyrrah]

I think that James being an Auror is too easy. What if he was one of those "Unspeakables" that worked for the Ministry, that would be cool! Also, we will maybe learn more about what that department does. It would be awfully interesting!

[Phoenix_Fawkes]

I think rettopyraah has a point it is a little "obvious" the thing is i would think an auror would make good money for risking his life to save others. Lots of aurors died during voldys rein so wouldnt they need some other modivation then just capturing the bad guy. I dont know i was just thinkin out loud!

[AmazingGlowBoy]

Maybe James was a part of the Department of Mysteries (I think that was what it was called) that was discussed in GoF. I'm sure this has been brought up before, but hey, I'm new.

[Scotlandking85]

I am sure that DD is going to tell Harry why Voldemort was after his parents and was/is after him.

[rotsiepots]

I'm going to merge this thread with a similar topic entitled What will Harry discover about Lily and James Potter? (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?s=&threadid=239)

If another admin/mod thinks these threads should remain separate, please re-split the thread. :)

[Alohamora]

i think that lily potter has some connestion with Voltermort...sorry if da spelling is wrong. i dont know what but maybe some of you do???:'(

[Auri DeMeer]

I'm sorry but, the only reason I can think of, why Voldemort wanted to spare Lily's life is because she was a very useful servant for him, that is, a DE.

(Of course her mothers instict was stronger and she really wanted to protect her son.

And she succeeded: this is because she knew very well Voldemort and that a Love Charm would be the only thing to stop him).

Maybe the reason why Petunia didn't like her is because Petunia was AFRAID of her. She saw her do things Lily hid from her parents. That is, the parents were proud but Petunia "saw her for what she was": a little bit EVIL...:devil:

[lodlom]

This is to most of the people who have posted reply's to this thread....Everyone talks about how voldemort wanted to kill the potter men, but we dont actually know he wanted to kill james...we know for a fact he didnt want to kill lilly...he told her to step aside...James told lilly to take harry...he stayed to fight, we dont know what went on between james and voldemort. Jk never lets on why Voldemort was there and there is nothing from her quotes or from the books that will lead you to infer voldemort was there to kill anyone but harry. All we know for a fact is, is that he was there to kill harry.

[Aldawen]

Hmmm... I still think Volde. was after the Potter side of the family, not Lily. I think he killed her because she was in his way. He never says he didn't want to kill Lily. He says, "I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight...but your mother needn't have died...she was trying to protect you..."

As for the job issue, I've always thought of James and Lily working for the MoM, as Unspeakables, or something of that nature. Because they were too young when they died to really make names for themselves in the business world, I think they were heavily involved in the resistance against Voldemort (the Order of the Phoenix perhaps?)

[spellman1216]

I think that Harry will find out exactly why Voldemort wanted to kill the Potters. I mean, he killed people for fun, but if you think about it, why would he go to the trouble of trying to kill them if it was only for fun? Maybe James Potter was an Auror or something like that. Or maybe he had valuable information. I think they were killed for a reason and not just for fun.

spellman1216 :D

[delemtri]

I always figured he was after James and Harry because they were the Heirs of Gryffindor. But I guess not everybody goes by that theory. :)

[Ava]

Voldemort kills everyone who gets in his way, so maybe that's one of the reasons why he killed Harry's parents -- because the Potters stood against evil.

[Barbara Kennedy]

I'm beginning to think that the Potters were killed because they had discovered something, not sure what, but something that Voldemort did not want discovered. So Voldemort was determined to kill them to protect the secret.

But why kill Harry, or say that Lilly need not die?????????????????
Boy, I already see flaws in this theory....

[Auri DeMeer]

James was not an Auror. Aurors are very well paid and James' job was not that well paid. But, they were "nosey"...

"You'll meet the same sticky end as your parents one of these days, Harry Potter," he [Lucius Malfoy] said softly. "They were meddlesome fools, too".

Scary, huh? But enlightening.
I think Lily was a Voldemort spy who finally turned "double agent" for the good side. And James... something nice and cool.:)

[Weatherby]

Perhaps Lily didn't do anything that exciting?
Voldemort didn't want to kill her (or so he says). If she was a spy he'd know she turned against him because he needed Peter as a spy.
Then again even if he was lying about not wanting to kill her he could've been lying to her by pretending to show forgiveness.
I'm confusing myself now. :)

I'm intrigued by Harry's parents. I'm sure Dumbledore will finally tell Harry what they did in OotP.

The most powerful dark wizard put out all the stops for them.
James could not be an ordinary banker at Gringotts or a desk clerk filing reports on cauldron bottomn thickness.

[Eternal]

Originally posted by Thayet (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=5252#post5252))
Yes. Some wacky part of my brain just flashed.

What if Voldemort was Lillys father? Perhaps she wasn't muggle-born, an idea I saw in a different thread. She was only Petunia's half-sister. That could explain why Voldemort hates muggles: perhaps he dated one, had a child - Lilly - by her, then she cheated or something. That would explain his hatred for muggles. Its a very wacky idea but is anything really impossible? Lilly may never of known, and with voldemort back, dark times, things could be discovered.

What do you think?


I don't know if anyone has replied to this yet (I haven't read the whole thread) but I found it rather obvious after book 4 that the reason Voldemort hates muggles is because his father abandoned his mother before he was born, after finding out that she was a witch. He then killed his father and his grandparents.

[Hpmons]

Lily wasnt a spy becuase she was a muggle-born; and she wasnt related to Vol becuase
A) Harry would have seen Vol in the Mirror of Erised
B) Can you imagine Voldermort going through that process that you need to go through to getting a baby?
C) That would mean Harry is also a descendant of Slytherin; and Vol said that he was the only living descendant.

I believe that the reason Vol only needed to kill Harry and James is becuase they were descendants of Gryffindor; Im sure you have heard the Prof. Trawlany prediction on these message boards already...

Im sure Petunia also has a secret that she isnt sharing with Harry. JKR did say in a chat that the Dursleys did have a secret; this could be something to do with Lily's childhood maybe? But we get the impression that when Petunia found out that Lily was a witch she didnt like her; and I dont think it has anything to do with when Lily was an adult. Jealousy is the most likely reason, and she just hides behind the idea that being magical is abnormal.

[Aldawen]

I really doubt that Lily was a Volde. supporter. It seems very far-fetched to me.

[Bluemoon]

I believe that Lily will turn out to have been in Slytherin house. My reasoning for this is that we know from the first film that James was in Gryffindor and from what I know of the Public school system in Britain the Head Boy and the Head Girl can’t be from the same house. Although there is nothing that I have read that makes the point that they where in the same year at school so it is possible they could be both Gryffindors.
However I think it more likely that she was one of the crowd of Slytherins that Black refers to in GOF as having all gone over to the dark lord. The three things that I think are most notable about this part of the story line: 1 Lily’s green eyes. 2 Voldemort’s apparent reluctance to kill her. 3 Lily’s inclination with charms. Rowling often refers to Harry having Lily’s green eyes (he color of Slytherin), as said more the once in the series Harry has a lot of the qualities admired within Slytherin house, are they all a result of his meeting with Voldemort as a baby? Why was Voldemort reluctant to kill her? For one thing I think his target that night was Harry rather than James or Lily. That by itself explains nothing thru the whole series of books he never showed any compassion for ether friend or foe, I’m not going as far as to say she’s Voldemort’s daughter but she had some kind of hold on him in some kind of way. I further more think that we will find out that Mrs. Dursley is actually squib, so maybe Dudley will end up at Hogwarts as a Slytherin!

[Auri DeMeer]

Originally posted by Bluemoon (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=265993#post265993))
I believe that Lily will turn out to have been in Slytherin house.

It's a good theory but:
Which house was Lily Potter in, and what is her maiden name?
Her maiden name was Evans, and she was in Gryffindor (naturally).

(from an interview with JR)

[She's Crafty]

What has always interested me is the fact that James and Lily knew Voldemort was after them. If they indeed stumbled across something, it must have been something *BIG*

I'm too tired to formulate any theories on what it might be though. :yawn:

[PotterIdentity]

Originally posted by Delemtri:
I always figured he was after James and Harry because they were the Heirs of Gryffindor. But I guess not everybody goes by that theory.

I completely agree with you!!! Actually, this idea just came to me in the shower this morning and at first I just thought I was tired and insane, but the more I think about it, the more this theory makes sense. I also thought it was interesting that Lily and James resided at Godric's Hollow. I think this theory could also help explain why the Potter's had so much money. I think it is possible that some of the money was inherited (or all?), but I sense that James was rewarded for doing really great things in the wizarding world and perhaps decided to save all his earnings for Harry. If this theory is true in any form, then I guess it would be easy to assume that these "great things" were much against Voldemort and his supporters. I have always been led to believe that Dumbledore had a very special connection with James, almost like a father-to-son relationship, and because of this, I think that both James and Lily were very loyal and courageous people. As I have said in other posts, once Dumbledore trusts someone, I feel I can trust them. If James was the heir of Gryffindor and did many great things, I can't see him marrying someone who was the opposite. I know there's much more to Lily, but I do not think that she was a deatheater or some evil person. That just doesn't make sense. However, I am curious to why Voldie just didn't kill Lily right away? It almost seemed to me as if he didn't even have the intention of killing her even though she was muggle-born and would have been and easy casuality. If this was the case where James was the heir, then it would seem as if Voldemort probably assumed Harry would live up to his father's name and be just as big of a threat to him as James was? I wouldn't be surprised if this is what Dumbledore will tell Harry in Book 5 as well.

I also believe that Harry's destiny extends far beyond his father just being the heir of Gryffindor and that could be precisely why the Avada curse reversed that night and gave Harry the scar. Obviously, Voldie wouldn't have attempted to kill Harry if he knew the curse was going to backfire. My theory regarding Harry's destiny is way too long to post here...I'll write it out some time if anyone's is interested, I just don't want to keep rambling. :-) Perhaps more ideas will come to me in the shower tomorrow! :D

[Barbara Kennedy]

I believe that IF Lilly was NOT in Griffindor House, she is more likely to have come from Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw than having her come from Slytherin.

[Barbara Kennedy]

Sorry for 2xposting again, but I thought this would go with the "Where are James' and Lilly's Graves?" thread.

[Auri DeMeer]

Originally posted by Barbara Kennedy (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=268921#post268921))
I believe that IF Lilly was NOT in Griffindor House, she is more likely to have come from Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw than having her come from Slytherin.

Why? We know nothing about her yet! If she was not in Gryffindor (we know she was) she could have been in Slytherin. Maybe she was very ambitious.

[Barbara Kennedy]

It is based more on what we can surmise about the relationship between her and James and not so much on what we have read. Much like many of our theories.

[Aldawen]

It really is tough for us to surmise anything about Lily especially because all the information we have about her is from the interviews with J.K.R. and not from the actual text. As I have said before, I really , really don't think Lily was involved with Voldemort, Death Eaters, Slytherins, etc. at all. It wouldn't fit with the story or J.K.'s writing style. I think the fifth book will talk about their jobs, friends, and lifestyles.

[Nys]

Originally posted by Barbara Kennedy (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=268921#post268921))
I believe that IF Lilly was NOT in Griffindor House, she is more likely to have come from Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw than having her come from Slytherin.

Why discuss this at all?? J.K has said that she deffinately was in Gryffindor!
Maybe Lilly and James were really really powerful wizzards. This would explain why Voldermort would go there instead of sending one of his cronies. Voldermort seems like he'd of been very arogent and wouldn't of been too concerned with a mere woman like Lilly (which explains why she didn't have to die), but if everyone in James family (maybe even the Gryffindors) were really powerful wizzards it'd make sense why he'd want to kill them. I think this is what Harry will find out.

[jordmundt6]

Not only has JK stated that fact in interviews, she put it in Book 1. I think Voldemort was looking for a male heir to Gryffindor. Lily's death was unnecessary because he didn't see her as a threat.

[Auri DeMeer]

Originally posted by jordmundt6 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=273131#post273131))
I think Voldemort was looking for a male heir to Gryffindor.
I don't think making distinctions between male/female powers are in the spirit of the books. Both sexes should have the same "powers".

[zoeydsngwrtr]

I thought JKR already said Lily was in Gryffindor???

[Auri DeMeer]

Yes but we like to speculate about facts and "what ifs" too :)

[Barbara Kennedy]

Thank you Auri, I made that point earlier in another thread too.

[jordmundt6]

Even the impossible ones.

Look. I know that JK has shown repeatedly the folllies of sexism and racism in her books and that this is no exception, but I'm trying to follow Voldemort's thought process (scary thing). The fact that he didn't consider Lily a threat came back to haunt him almost immediately, but he was probably looking for the Hier of Gryffindor, who he would think would be male.

[lunchbox-hobbit]

Harry will discover many things about his parents in the next book. I think that he will find out how they got so much money, and why voldie wanted to destroy the potter line of the family, but not lily because she is not a blood relation to any of the potters. Voldie said that she didnt have to die, and this is why i think voldie only wanted the "potter blood line" destroyed. maybe the potters are the heirs of Gryffindor?

[jordmundt6]

That's a very popular theory, but I think there's a difference between descendants of Gryffindor and Hiers. Heirs have the full flower of the Founder's power while descendants do not. The Potters may well be descendants though.

[Hpmons]

I think that Harry will find out quite a lot from DD, there is a lot that he could find out anyway. He will probably find out that he is a descendant of Gryffindor.

JKR has said that James inherited a lot of money, and the Invisibility cloak from his father. Which makes me think that we will also find out a lot about James father. And we will also find out why Voldermort didnt want to kill Lily (I believe the Trelawny prediction theory myself...).

JKR also said that the Lilys eyes are important, but I dont understand that at all...Does she mean the fct that she has green eyes? Or the fact that harry and Lily share the same coloured eyes? Or the fact that that is the only thing Harry has inherited from Lily?

[Aldawen]

I think it is possible that the Potters are from Gryffindor's bloodline, but I don't think that is the reason Voldemort wanted them dead, at least not Harry. If that were the case, James would have lived too, and all the other Potters Volde. killed. Grr, I really want to read OotP so I can find out!

[Girl]

i think there is something in James past that made Voldermort want to kill him and that thing could have been passed to Harry. That's way Voldermort wanted to kill both Harry and James and also why Lilly did not need to die.

[Fuchsia]

I disagree that Lily didn't need to die. He wanted her to watch her son die and then would have killed her.

[Girl]

in CoS voldermort said 'your mother need not have died'
(or something like that)
that's why i think the main reason for wanting the potters dead was because of james and harry

[Fuchsia]

That was to tell Harry that there is a way out of dying if you just obey him.

[Weatherby]

I agree with Fuchsia.
Voldemort would enjoy causing the ultimate fear in people. Having them cast their families aside for him and then have them be enslaved in fear and guilt.

[Fuchsia]

Nothing could hurt a mother more than letting her son be killed.

[sammy]

(sorry if this has been posted before)

I think that Voldie wanted to kill James because he was a very powerfull wizard. He had to kill Harry becasue he was a Potter, and didn't have to kill Lily because she was an Evans.

Didn't Volide say that he wanted to find immortalilty? Maybe he didn't kill when he could help it.....I doubt it.....but it is possible.

I don't believe that stuff about Lily being a Death Eater...even though it DOES fit in well. The way I see it...if us fans can figure out a piece of important information like that....it's not true. Not that we're not smart...but I mean come on.

[Nys]

Originally posted by Girl (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=278330#post278330))
in CoS voldermort said 'your mother need not have died'
(or something like that)
that's why i think the main reason for wanting the potters dead was because of james and harry

Maybe that was one of Voldie's ways of gaining more fear of him and thereby more power. If there was no one left to tell the story of how powerful he was he wouldn't be as feared.
I also do agree that that Voldie did just seem to want to kill James and Harry, but more specifically mainly Harry. James went to fight and defend his family, if James was specifically the target maybe he wouldn't of done this. I don't know. I just had a thought, that if all wizzards male and female were equal than why does James still have the need to defend his family?? i know that its the right thing to do, the males always defend the nest ect ect but that's when the females are weaker.

[Barbara Kennedy]

I think we will find out
1. who James inherited all his money from
2. if he inherited the invisibility cloak from the same person
3. whether there are more relatives somewhere and, if so, why Harry couldn't be left with them
4. what James and Lilly's jobs were
5. more information than we thought to ask for........

[Magpie]

I think we will find out more about Lily's family, maybe even from Petunia herself. I mean, Petunia knows all this stuff about Lily and her family. She has to divulge to Harry SOMETIME. I mean, it's unreasonable for her not to tell Harry. But then again, it is Petunia Dursley. However, JKR did say there was stuff coming with the Dursleys that we wouldn't expect. I don't know, I'm confusing myself!

[Stallion1]

Yeah if she is a squib maybe J. K. Rowling will explain that in the next book.

[Barbara Kennedy]

I don't think that Petunia is a squib or a witch either. I do believe we will find out something rather interesting about the Dursley's that we would not have thought of ourselves.
[I wouldn't really mind being wrong either.]

[zent]

Erm, stupid question. If Lily and James were DEs, wouldn't they have known about Pettigrew? Sirius talks about all the DEs in Azkaban and in the outside world hating Pettigrew, so to DE's, Pettigrew's loyalty to Voldemort would have been common knowledge.

Besides, I really think James was something along the lines of an Auror, or some Dark Side fighting occupation (which may be the OotP), which definitely explains why Voldemort hates him so much.

[Capella]

Originally posted by zent (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=315793#post315793))
Erm, stupid question. If Lily and James were DEs, wouldn't they have known about Pettigrew?


I don't think that's stupid at all, zent.
If Lily was a DE then it's possible that Voldemort wouldn't even need Peter - he'd assume he could get information from his trusted servant Lily. He might even order her to kill James and Harry herself. I think in this sort of situation she'd know about Pettigrew.

But if Voldemort didn't trust her and thought she might betray him by trying to protect her family, then we're back at square one. If he had suspicions about her, surely he'd make sure she was kept out of the loop? And so she wouldn't know about Peter.
I think you could look at it either way.

But, I reckon Lily was not a DE. Neither was James. I really have no good ideas on what the big revelation about Lily is, which is fine by me - I'm quite happy to be shocked and amazed when I read it.

[Auri DeMeer]

Originally posted by zent (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=315793#post315793))
Erm, stupid question. If Lily and James were DEs, wouldn't they have known about Pettigrew?

Not necessarily. According to my theory - about which I'm not very convinced myself :) - Lily was a DE but a short time and turned to the good side well before Harry was born.

Peter was only a DE for 1 year, so Lily was not confided that secret. Anyway, Peter was a spy and I don't think many knew about him, not even Snape, who was a DE at the time. Only Voldemort would have known about him.

[Barbara Kennedy]

Well now, Harry finding out that Lilly and James went undercover as Death Eaters wouldn't surprise me too much, but the thought that they were seriously Death Eaters goes against everything I've heard and believed about them.

[zent]

Peter was only a DE for 1 year, so Lily was not confided that secret. Anyway, Peter was a spy and I don't think many knew about him, not even Snape, who was a DE at the time. Only Voldemort would have known about him.

The DE's seem to know-Sirius says as much about the ones in Azkaban and outside. We don't know how long Snape was on the good side, so he may not know- he probably did, but hated Sirius.

[Crookshanks1974]

You know, I find it amusing that everyone seems to automatically assume that Voldemort was after Harry because of something dealing with James & the Potter family. Though I do think Harry could be the heir of Gryffindore (sp.?), I DON'T think that's why Voldemort was after Harry.

How's this for a theory: LILY was an "Unspeakable," working undercover as a DE when she was discovered by Voldemort. Voldemort then went after Harry (& James, too?) out of revenge; he didn't want to kill Lily because he wanted her to suffer for her "crime" against him. And she would not necessarily have known about Peter; after all, it is said in GoF that ONLY VOLDEMORT knew who all of the DEs were.

There is something else I've been thinking about: Trewlany's 1st prediction. I do think this could have been the fall of Voldemort by Harry Potter, but cannot figure out how to fit it in with the rest of my theory. My theory's probably wrong, but it's a thought worth considering, I think.

[Barbara Kennedy]

I would be very disapointed if we found out that the Potters died just because Voldemort needed to kill a child as part of a ceremony or something in his search for immortality, and he just chose the Potters randomly.
Very unsatisfactory!
There has to be a better reason he chose to kill the Potters.

[Schlubalybub]

there will be. JKR will NOT disappoint us with something like that. It'll be something about Harry's powers, or his descendents. Maybe Lily and James Potter both had descendents that were important to voldemort in the sense that he hated them, and Harry has both of there blood in them. but that doesnt make sense because i think he didnt need to kill Lily. I dont know, Im just rambling!

[Prof.Aze]

Hi Guys...

Maybe Harry would discover that Lily and James were aurors. One of the best perhaps. Voldie killed them because they were a threat to him.
He tried to killed Harry because Voldie sees a potential of Harry becoming an auror someday and the best auror of their time. :o

[Barbara Kennedy]

Originally posted by Schlubalybub (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=319487#post319487))
there will be. JKR will NOT disappoint us with something like that. It'll be something about Harry's powers, or his descendents. Maybe Lily and James Potter both had descendents that were important to voldemort in the sense that he hated them, and Harry has both of there blood in them. but that doesnt make sense because i think he didnt need to kill Lily. I dont know, Im just rambling!


I think you mean ancestors. They come before you. Your descendants come after you. [I used to work in a law office, I know.]

[Auri DeMeer]

Originally posted by Barbara Kennedy (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=316689#post316689))
Well now, Harry finding out that Lilly and James went undercover as Death Eaters wouldn't surprise me too much, but the thought that they were seriously Death Eaters goes against everything I've heard and believed about them.

I do agree. But Dumbledore said the truth was terrible and Harry wasn't prepared for it. And isn't it a terrible thing, to discover that your mother was evil - even if for a short period of time?

[Nys]

Did Dumbledore say that the truth was terrible or just too much for Harry to understand? At that stage Harry didn't know that much about anything really. I still think that he'll find out how truelly powerful his parents were or how powerful Harry is because of them. Maybe he's the key to it all. There's probably some connection with that Trawnley (not sure how to spell it the predictions teacher) other prediction. I think James and Lilly were protecting Harry cause he was special. It wouldn't be nice to find out that your parents died for you.

[zent]

There may be some things that Dumbledore wanted to wait for Harry to mature to divulge. There may have been some things Dumbledore wanted to be sure Harry could handle, as well.

He also might have wanted to judge Harry's traits--was he really that powerful, etc?

I think Dumbledore also wanted Harry to find out things on his own-he's not the type to force feed answers. And there are some things that I think he may have wanted to wait on until Harry didn't have the distractions on his mind. But now, with Voldemort back, there are probably some things Harry must know.

[Mini'Grid]

Nice work Crookshanks1974.
I like yuor theory about Trelawneys prediction. It could have run something like this "a potter boy will be the downfall of the darklord."
So Voldemort tried to kill all the male Potters.

[Barbara Kennedy]

Since Harry was already a year old, I hope we don't find out that Lilly was expecting a little brother or sister for Harry too.

[Fuchsia]

That he lost another family member wouldn't be that big of a secret would it? I can't see JK Rowling writing that. It'd be, well, useless.

[Barbara Kennedy]

You are right, I guess I just got to thinking about the worst we could hear about.

[Fuchsia]

Hmm the worst? That his parents weren't so perfect. He does seem to idealize them doesn't he?

[Capella]

Originally posted by Crookshanks1974 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=317354#post317354))

There is something else I've been thinking about: Trewlany's 1st prediction. I do think this could have been the fall of Voldemort by Harry Potter, but cannot figure out how to fit it in with the rest of my theory. My theory's probably wrong, but it's a thought worth considering, I think.


I agree that Trelawney's First Prediction must have something to do with it all, but I really don't like the idea that Voldemort only went after the Potters because of a prediction. I think there has to be another reason.

Trelawney's second prediction was made only hours before the event actually occured - why should her first prediction be any different? I think we may find that the future is always in motion (to quote Yoda the Great ;) ) and that accurate predictions by true seers are only made close to the time of the event.

So, I reckon Harry will be told, probably by Dumbledore in his 'time to tell you everything' speech, that Trelawney made a prediction that Voldemort would fall, defeated by the last Potter, on the same day that Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow, but that it was already too late for Dumbledore to do anything to prevent it - all he could do was send Hagrid. This could at least explain why Dumbledore seemed to know about the events that night before anyone else did.

[Barbara Kennedy]

And it could explain that the prediction is yet to come true. That is why Voldemort is so desperate to destroy Harry.

[Weatherby]

Perhaps Voldemort heard of this prediction and wanted to kill all the Potters?

[whizbang121]

battleground

We agree with the Petunia is a squib theory. (Their parents were so delighted when Lily got her letter. Does that mean they were disappointed when Petunia wasn't invited to Hogwarts? And like a known squib, Filch, she certainly has a fetish for cleanliness in the extreme.) Wouldn't it be a riot if it was Dudley who discovered his powers late in life. Well, later than 11 anyway.

My daughter thinks Lily and Petunia are Voldemort's daughters, Petunia a squib and Lily a "freak" and a "perfect sister". So Volde struck out on both offspring. One a squib, perhaps something he blamed on his muggle father, and one a Gryffindor, something only Petunia saw coming.

In PoA when Harry hears V murdering his mother, it's obvious he's not after Lily, but Harry. And he refers to her as "silly girl". Why would he address a full grown woman as "silly girl"? Why would he not just kill her without a second thought? Unless ..... (I'm detecting a bias toward males in matters of inheritance.)

Following this line of thought, it seems possible to us that Volde may have promised to protect Petunia and members of her household as the daughter who, though a squib, didn't turn against him. When Harry became a member of Petunia's household, V was forced to extend that protection to Harry as well. Powerful magic to protect from V, but not from the wrath of the Dursleys. Is this why Dumbledore insists that Harry return there every summer and remain under their "guardianship"? He is safer at the Dursleys than he is at Hogwarts.

All this would make Dudley another heir of Slytherin. And, if Dudley isn't the muggle equivalent of a Slytherin, I don't know what is. His mother is certainly proud of him. If he is the big V's grandson and he finds his powers, his parents wouldl be devastated. But how would Voldemort take it? If Prof Trelawney's first prediction is that V will be killed by his heir, (and we don't know this for sure) and Harry has only managed to slow him down, could Dudley be the heir V must fear?

So, if Harry is the heir of Gryffindor on his father's side and the heir of Slytherin on his mother's side, then Harry isn't just fighting in this battle of good against evil. Harry is the very battleground it is fought on. His mother's choices tipped the balance. Harry's choices will determine the outcome.

[Crookshanks1974]

[quote][i]Originally posted by whizbang121

My daughter thinks Lily and Petunia are Voldemort's daughters, Petunia a squib and Lily a "freak" and a "perfect sister". So Volde struck out on both offspring. One a squib, perhaps something he blamed on his muggle father, and one a Gryffindor, something only Petunia saw coming. . . .

All this would make Dudley another heir of Slytherin. And, if Dudley isn't the muggle equivalent of a Slytherin, I don't know what is. His mother is certainly proud of him. If he is the big V's grandson and he finds his powers, his parents wouldl be devastated. But how would Voldemort take it? If Prof Trelawney's first prediction is that V will be killed by his heir, (and we don't know this for sure) and Harry has only managed to slow him down, could Dudley be the heir V must fear?

All of this had occurred to me briefly . . . until I remembered one small (yet MAJOR) fact: At the end of CoS, when Harry shares his concerns with Dumbledor about how students had thought him the heir or Slytherin, Dumbledor tells Harry that Slytherin's descendents end with Voldemort. VOLDEMORT IS THE LAST LIVING HEIR OF SLYTHERIN.

Great post, though! If it weren't for the fact I keep remembering that, I would probably be with you.

[Ilovefredandgeorge]

I seriously think that the main reason lily wasn't important to kill was becaus well... she isn't a potter by blood. I really think Voldemort is after potters because they have some signifcant power...

[Nys]

I think the reason that Voldie didn't want to kill Lilly is that she's a woman. I get the feeling that he's that sort of arogant type that thinks that women aren't as powerful as men. Though the fact that she's not a Potter also stands to reason if there's something special about the Potters. I still think that Harry's going to find out more about his family and it'll turn out that they are all very very powerful wizzards/witches. This would count for why Malfoy wanted to be his friend. He's from a powerful family that were actually all wizzards/witches (I agree that Petunia is a squib).

[Prof.Aze]

It doesn't make sense that Voldemort won't kill Lily because he is a woman. Voldemort is a Dark Lord and doesn't care of killing someone. He didn't care of killing Harry which is very much less powerful than Lily.

I agree with everybody that Petunia is a squib. :)

[zent]

I just don't buy this theory of Voldemort being Lily's father. He would have told Harry by now-he's told Harry everything from his own past to the suffering of his family. Wouldn't he want to woo Harry to his side by telling him of his bloodline?

[Heva24]

I think that the male side of the Potters are related to Godric Gryffindor and i think Dumbledore knows and that might be what he tellls Harry in OoTP. JKR as given us a few clues along the way that i think leads to the truth of theire family history. Like when Harry is in McGonagalls office at the end of BK2 and Dumbledore says - only a true Gryffindor could have pulled the sword out of the hat. And The potters were staying at Godrics Hollow while hiding from Voldemort. i think we will find out why they were hiding from Voldemort in OoTP.

[Auri DeMeer]

Originally posted by Prof.Aze (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=323711#post323711))
I agree with everybody that Petunia is a squib. :)
Hey! Not everybody... I think the Squib was Mr Evans!

:)

[Crookshanks1974]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Auri DeMeer

Hey! Not everybody... I think the Squib was Mr Evans!

Why not BOTH of Lily's parents?:evil: It would CERTAINLY explain why they were so thrilled to have a witch in the family. . . . They both felt they had failed their families.

[whizbang121]

Maybe James was a famous Quddich player. Do they make lots of money when they play professionally?

[zent]

I don't think so-why would Voldemort want a Quidditch player dead so badly? I would be very dissapointed, honestly. I picture James as being more important than that.

[whizbang121]

Yeah, it was a silly idea. But still, I think the big V wants James because he's the heir of Gryffindor more than anything else. And I still think Lily is V's daughter. I think Harry is the heir of Gryffindor on his father's side, as hinted at by DD when he tells Harry only a "true" Gryffindor could have used Godric's sword. He's the heir of Slytherin on his mother's side, suggested by the part of the legend that says only the heir of Slytherin can open the chamber of secrets. Many powerful witches and wizards over the centuries failed after all. That's why Harry is so unique. That's why Voldemort is so threatened by him. That's why the Big V wants him dead.

[Auri DeMeer]

Originally posted by Crookshanks1974 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=324041#post324041))
Why not BOTH of Lily's parents?:evil: It would CERTAINLY explain why they were so thrilled to have a witch in the family. . . . They both felt they had failed their families.
It sounds good. I think it's said in the books that Squibs are very "rare". So, the odds for two of them to fall in love with each other seemed to me rather low. That's why I think only one of them was and the other was a plain Muggle. An open-minded one, by the way...:)
But if both of them are, it also makes sense.

[Crookshanks1974]

You know, I was really just being a bit of a smart a** with that comment, Auri DeMeer. I was half joking more than anything . . . although, I guess it really could be possible.

[quote][i]Originally posted by whizbang121
He's the heir of Slytherin on his mother's side, suggested by the part of the legend that says only the heir of Slytherin can open the chamber of secrets. Many powerful witches and wizards over the centuries failed after all.

Actually whizbang, I think Harry could open the chamber because he speaks Parseltongue. Yes, legend says only the heir of Slytherin would be able to open the chamber, but I think that is so because the heir would have to also be a Parselmouth--which is a very rare gift, one that Slytherin himself possessed. I doubt legend was expecting anyone who was not Slytherin's heir to be able to speak Parseltongue AND find the chamber. The reason these other wizards could not find it is because they were not Parselmouths. (I think the book said somewhere--though I could be crazy--that Harry was only the second known wizard of the century able to speak the language, Voldemort being the first. AND Harry speaks Parseltongue because VOLDEMORT speaks Parseltongue, as some of his powers were transferred into Harry the night he attacked the Potter family.

[Puffskein]

Was the legend that only the heir could open the chamber, or that only the heir could control the basilisk?

[whizbang121]

Originally posted by Puffskein (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=325326#post325326))
Was the legend that only the heir could open the chamber, or that only the heir could control the basilisk?


It's stated both ways in CoS. Only the heir can open the chamber of secrets, (in Prof Bins class) and only heir can control the monster within, (maybe on the same page.) And the legend never says only a parselmouth can open the chamber. It says "the heir". I think somewhere there is even a reference to "only the heir of slytherin can find the CoS", but I really gotta hunt for that one. Most of this is in Prof Binns' class. In the movie, this scene is in Prof McGonagal's class.

I wonder if that's what jk means when she says the CoS is the "key"?

[whizbang121]

Originally posted by Puffskein (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=325326#post325326))
Was the legend that only the heir could open the chamber, or that only the heir could control the basilisk?


It's stated both ways in CoS. Only the heir can open the chamber of secrets, (in Prof Bins class) and only heir can control the monster within, (maybe on the same page.) And the legend never says only a parselmouth can open the chamber. It says "the heir". I think somewhere there is even a reference to "only the heir of slytherin can find the CoS", but I really gotta hunt for that one. Most of this is in Prof Binns' class. In the movie, this scene is in Prof McGonagal's class.

I wonder if that's what jk means when she says the CoS is the "key"?

[Crookshanks1974]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Puffskein
Was the legend that only the heir could open the chamber, or that only the heir could control the basilisk?

Good question. . . . So, looking in CoS, CHAPTER 9, Professor Binns states: "The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic." [p. 151 in the U.S. version, hardback for those who want to know] Oh, and also, in the film--though I could not find it anywhere in the book--Tom Riddle tells Harry something along these lines as he releases the basilisk: "Parseltongue won't save you now. He only answers to me."

I think--and this is STRICTLY my take on it--that Harry was able to open the chamber simply because he could speak Parseltongue, but would not be able to control the basilisk because he is NOT the heir of Slytherin.

[zent]

Logically, it would look something like this (I know I'm obsessing)

Say, x is opening the chamber, y is controlling the basilisk, and z is using it to kill. What Professor Binns states is:

x^y^z, where if any of those if false, the whole statement is false, meaning Harry is not the Heir of Slytherin.

[whizbang121]

First biology, now algebra. Remember, you decided arbitrarily that if any were false, the whole statement would be false. Binns didn't say it. He insisted the whole thing was a silly legend. So .....

Y and Z are not seperate. He who controls the basilisk may, if he chooses, use it to kill. So, there is no Z. The line about parselmouth not "saving Harry" now is in the movie, not in the book, so I'm not sure of its level of importance. And, it may be construed that actually killing the basilisk is, in a sense, controling it. Harry stopped it.

So, if X is opening the chamber and Y is controling the monster ... Harry could still be the heir of slytherin. I'm open to being talked out of this. But I'm not convinced that it's wrong, yet.

[zent]

No, not arbitrarily, in logic, an "and" statement is represented by ^. In an "and" statment, (which Binns used, X, Y, and Z) if any of them are false, the whole statement is false. Since he used three separate terms, they are

X^Y^Z. Not X^Y.

You are arbitrarily combining two separate expressions.

Binns said quite clearly
"The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets (X), unleash the horror within (Y), and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic (Z)"

[Barbara Kennedy]

Originally posted by Crookshanks1974 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=325524#post325524))
[quote][i]Originally posted by Puffskein
Was the legend that only the heir could open the chamber, or that only the heir could control the basilisk?

Good question. . . . So, looking in CoS, CHAPTER 9, Professor Binns states: "The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic." [p. 151 in the U.S. version, hardback for those who want to know] Oh, and also, in the film--though I could not find it anywhere in the book--Tom Riddle tells Harry something along these lines as he releases the basilisk: "Parseltongue won't save you now. He only answers to me."

I think--and this is STRICTLY my take on it--that Harry was able to open the chamber simply because he could speak Parseltongue, but would not be able to control the basilisk because he is NOT the heir of Slytherin.


Also, the chamber had already been unsealed and the horror unleashed, so Harry only opened it again after he found it using Parseltongue.

[whizbang121]

Originally posted by zent (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=325583#post325583))
No, not arbitrarily, in logic, an "and" statement is represented by ^. In an "and" statment, (which Binns used, X, Y, and Z) if any of them are false, the whole statement is false. Since he used three separate terms, they are

X^Y^Z. Not X^Y.

You are arbitrarily combining two separate expressions.

Binns said quite clearly
"The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets (X), unleash the horror within (Y), and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic (Z)"



Well, that's now how you stated it the first time although this is how it looks in the book. But this is literature, not logic. I think it's a foregone conclusion that jk will throw us curves we can't possibly imagine. Her knowledge of myth and ability to weave in clues and symbols is genius. It's fun trying to guess what's going on in her mind, but I don't expect to actually succeed. <smiles>

[whizbang121]

Barbara,
Good points. But in the fifty years since Tom opened it, no one else had been able to even find the chamber until Harry did with some help from his friends. (Okay, Hermione even though she was petrified at the time.) Of course, even if they had found it, they wouldn't have been able to open it unless someone spoke parseltongue, and I'm clueless on that point. But they didn't even know where it was. Binns was still in denial, trying to pass it off nonsense. As for releasing the horror within, Tom had already done that, and sending it out to kill all those unfit to study magic. Again, I'm defending dust in the wind. My starting premise is that Harry is the heir of both Gryffindor and Slytherin. That's the key I see in chamber of secrets. I expect that jk will have something much more interesting and symbolic for us in ootp and I'm just here for fun.

[Barbara Kennedy]

We're all here for fun, whizbang121.....LOL.
It is fun debating from either side. I see your points but it is fun to come up with counterpoints as well. It keeps the debate lively.

[whizbang121]

Yay! Gotta do something to stay sane til June 21.

[harp230]

Sometimes I come up with counterpoints just to stir up a debate. I may not think I am even right. Just seeking a deeper understanding.
Using Binns comments that is very strong support that Harry is some sort of relation to slytherin. I just think that it could be overkill, but... He wouldn't really have to be related to Voldie to do so. As long Slytherin lived the families could have branched off fairly early. They could be like 30th cousins 10 times removed and technically not related(an exaggeration). I am not ready to completely dismiss the idea but Bins could be misinformed/ not aware of the logistics of the Chamber. Keep in mind that this is a legend and over time different retelling will slightly alter the story. We can't always trust the characters to be completely accurate. Binns probally is in denial of the chamber opening at this point or covering something up. Maybe his phrasing is due to the fact that he believes that the heir could not be around(possibly he knows who really opened it? I know thats a stretch). So he says that all of those things need to happen and he "knows" that is not possible. Or he is giving us the legend which is not an accurate account of the facts. Maybe it is possible for anyone to open the chamber(or even control the basilisk) if they can speak parceltounge. Its not like, as of the time of Binns talk, that anyone has tried.

I hope my ramblings make sence....

[whizbang121]

Good point. I tend to take jkr very literally, and that may not be the best approach. Not that she often contradicts herself in the books. Sometimes, it almost happens between the books and the movies.

But what will Harry learn about James and Lily? JKR said that Harry would never see his parents alive. Could the door at the end of the corridor open to a room where he can meet with their ghosts, or shadows, or whatever wizards who have been killed by the death curse become? What will they tell him?

[harp230]

I tend to take things too literally, but |I try to keep in mind that we are hering someones thoughts, opinions etc and maybe they are not telling us the truth. I'm Just looking at the the story form the outside at many angles.

That is a good point. Someone in another forum suggested that possibly we are seeing the cover from the perspective of the mirror of erised. Harry seeing his parents would be something he desires. Maybe the area represents some repressed memory of a place he has been before. Something connected to his parents. The hallway to their home in Godric's Hallow? Maybe he is visiting there (as its past or even present state)?

[whizbang121]

Originally posted by Crookshanks1974 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=322511#post322511))
[quote][i]Originally posted by whizbang121

[
All of this had occurred to me briefly . . . until I remembered one small (yet MAJOR) fact: At the end of CoS, when Harry shares his concerns with Dumbledor about how students had thought him the heir or Slytherin, Dumbledor tells Harry that Slytherin's descendents end with Voldemort. VOLDEMORT IS THE LAST LIVING HEIR OF SLYTHERIN.

Great post, though! If it weren't for the fact I keep remembering that, I would probably be with you.

*************************

You know something really weird? I just checked CoS for that reference and in the American ppbk edition on pages 332 - 333 is this quote from DD.

"You can speak Parseltongue, Harry," said Dumbledore calmly, "because Lord Voldemorte - who is the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin - can speak Parseltongue....."

Is this a misprint?! Did she say Voldy is Slytherin's ancestor?!
Barbara just explained the difference between ancestor and descendent a few posts back. Do I have a freak copy or has this just escaped my notice all this time.

sigh
(wandering back toward drawing board)

[FawkesBox]

I find that quote, while important, troubling for two reasons.
1. At this point (end of CoS) can anyone really call Voldemort truly alive or dead? (I'd say no...)
2. Voldemort is the heir of Slytherin- so what? If Harry is the heir of Gryffindor and Slytherin (a topic of much debate ;)), then clearly Voldemort is the only living heir of only Slytherin.