Mark Evans!

[Inkwolf]

In Chapter One, Harry accuses Dudley of beating up Mark Evans.

Evans is Lily's maiden name--coincidence? Distant relative? What do you think?

[Weatherby]

Nice catch!
I'm not sure. It's a possibilty but a connection Dudley is probably unaware of. Does he know his mother's maiden-name?
It's characteristic of Harry not to wonder either.

[Anne]

Bravo, Inkwolf! I didn't notice that...I bet he is related to Lily. Some sort of cousin.

[rotsiepots]

I think Dudley would know if he was beating-up one of his cousins.

Petunia was an Evans too, remember.

[Weatherby]

Dudley is a bit daft though.
I don't think he knows his mum's last name is my point.

[emikkime]

Yeh I got that. Also, did anyone else notice the fact that he was described as a 10 year old? That would mean if he had magical power, he would be strating Hogwarts in Book 6! Coincidence? I doubt it.

[harp230]

I doubt that it is a coincidence. There must be a loophole somewhere though. I think that the only intrepretation of Harry's family tree( at least of who has discussed / mentioned it) would be Dumbledore's intrepretation. Unless I have forgotten some refrence, then he has specifically said that Harry has no family left and that he has only the Dursley's as relatives on his Mom's side. So that indicates that he could have "relatives" on his father's side, or perhaps parents of this Mark Evans have disowned Harry's branch of the family tree and the charm would have not worked because of that (Mrs. Dursley must care about Harry/ etc on some level) or Mark's parents have died an he is an orphanege or something and could not guarentee a permenant home with the two of them together. This could get very interesting....

[Rounded Buddha]

Evans is a VERY common British name but I don't think JK likes coincidences

[Hpmons]

I was trying to think how Mark Evans rang a bell...

As far as I know, NO person in the HP books has had the same surname, unless they have been related. Regardless of whether its a common name or not, I think it has a link.
I dont see why it would though; I mean a distant relation of Lilys would make things complicated...And as other people say, for various reasons it wouldnt make sense.

[ibecarly]

ok i am so glad someone else caught that-- i remember reading it and went back to find it to look at it again and couldn't find it. i was wondering about that too! maybe htat had something to do with something "huge about lily potter"... i dunno.. i dont wanna wait 3592375987 years for the next book.. i want it tomorrow :yawn:

[FatalBeauty]

I was just rereading the first chapter about 15 minutes ago, and when I saw Mark Evans' name (which I hadn't noticed before), and my jaw dropped. I don't think JK would have put that in the book if she didn't intend to bring it up later. JK has also said (I think) that we'll find out more about Harry's relatives in later books. I think it's very likely that emikkime is right and Mark will start at Hogwarts in the next book.

[ibecarly]

omg.. i know.. ok so like there are always owls in the neighborhood and they could be for figg cause shes a squib.. but.. what if theyre for this mark evans family? and he goes to hogwarts next year? could it possibly be a cousin.. of harry's? a... second cousin? some sort of family member? that woudl be cool...

[Silver Phoenix]

alright in the chapter "The Hearing" the following is stated:

"We have no record of any witch or wizard living in Little Whinging other than Harry Potter," said Madam Bones. "That siuation has always been closely monitored, given...given past events."

Then you have McGonagalls quill that records the name of a witch/wizard the moment they are born so they are put on a list for Hogwarts. I would assume that would be as good as being a registered wizard. Obviously a registered wizard doesn't mean they are out of school if Harry is refered to.

So, because of the evidence given I really don't think Mark Evans will pop up at Hogwarts next year. But, as has been said, JKR doesn't drop names for nothing. So i'm sure we will be seeing Mark Evans in the the future, for some reason or another.

[harp230]

But does he have to live in Little Whinging , maybe he is just visiting or family alias, or lives in the next town over. I know it is very complicated for him to be a relative, but I just do not buy it being a coincidence.

[whizbang121]

Wow! You guys are good.
He might be from the next town over. Or perhaps he's a very distant relation. If Petunia had muggle family, wouldn't she acknowledge them? Unless, of course, they thought Lily was cool, too. Hmm..........
There's a 5 year age difference between Mark and Harry and Dudley. Perhaps, if Mark's parents are very young, they would have been underage when Harry needed a guardian?
Really interesting.

[MadMagic]

That was a good catch! It is unlike JK to put something like that in the book without it meaning anything. But I'm pretty ure that DD said that Petunia was Lily's last blood relation, which is why he has to stay with the Dursleys. If Mark Evans was related to Lily, then he would also be a blood relation. I don't know if we will see him again, but it is a very curious coincidence.

[ArchChancellor]

it's very odd that the Dursleys would not have mentioned a cousin by now, and i dont see how the link would be joined by any other route than via the dursleys. As mentioned before, the evidence against Mark being a wizard is quite solid... i see no contingency which would involve their meeting and having something to talk about. Seeing as Mark is only ten years old, he could not have any direct connection with Lily potter. I think this is just a coincidence, perhaps even a deliberate one to throw off all us theorists, eh?

[silveria]

OK, but what if thew reason that they never mentioned relatives of Petunia is that Petunia is a squib? I know it sounds far-fetched, but think about it. We never hear anything about her family except what she chooses to reveal. She has already made it clear that she knows more about the wizarding world than she lets on, and Dumbledore also made it clear that he didn't want Harry growing up famous and spoiled... If her bitterness toward Lily comes from jealousy over not being a witch, it makes sense. Or maybe I just need a hobby.

[lunalovegood03]

I was just rereading and noticed that too. If he is a cousin or something that has powers and goes to hogwarts next year that would be so cool. It could still make since for harry to go to the dursley's even if there is other family b/c w/ the dursley's he was living outside the wizarding world and safer like dumbledore says at the begining of book 1.

I still wanna no why all the potter's and evan's are dead if they are? We haven't actually been told yet.

[Bill]

I like the theory that Mark Evans' parents were either under age when James and Lily died, therefore making them inappropriate guardians, or he too is an orphan.

I can guarentee it is no coincidence. They do not exist in Harry Potter.