Mark Evans!

[Elektra]

[i]Originally posted by Ellen

And the Weasleys aren't the kind of wizards to be embarrassed by having a squib in the family. In fact, I can see Mr. Weasley going to see him all the time to ask about plugs and so on. So, why would they have a cousin who's an accountant who's existance Ron isn't even sure of except as someone not to talk about?

1) The accountant is not a cousin of the Weasley family, he is a cousin of Molly's natural family. We know that Molly's family is pureblood; she is first cousins with Sirius by marriage, which suggests that her family might not be as accepting of non-magic folk as Arthur and Molly are now. I imagine Molly is one of those few "good eggs" from a family of Slytherin-esque wizards, like Sirius himself. This might also explain why she holds the ideals of Gryffindor in such high esteem and encourages them among the children, and why Percy's betrayal of the family in favor of Fudge's pureblood philosophy is such a bitter disappointment to her. She realizes from her own experience that following these ideals is a choice the children must make, and she wants them to choose it just as she and Arthur did. Not to mention judging from the housecleaning scenes Molly has an above-average understanding of the Dark Arts. Like Sirius, this could come from her upbringing around pureblood wizards. She is also a lot less accepting of Muggle technology than Mr. Weasley; remember the incident with the stitches? This could indicate that although she believes Muggleborns should be accepted into wizarding society, and that Muggles should not be preyed upon by wizards, due to her upbringing she still isn't as excited about Muggles as Mr. Weasley is.

2) This is also assuming the break came from Molly's side of the family, which isn't necessarily the case. The cousin, being a squib, and finding a life as an accountant among Muggles more to their liking, might have disowned his family and severed all ties with the magical world, especially if Molly's family were of the sort I theorized above. Think of it like Percy, except the animosity goes both ways; the squib decides to live as a Muggle, his family already dislikes him for his lack of magical ability and disowns him, and he in turn severs all ties with the magical world. If such a situation did occur, it would explain why the Weasleys, who would otherwise be accepting of a squib, do not speak of this person, and why they don't have anything to do with him. Molly is only his cousin (and judging from her relationship with her cousin Sirius, this doesn't always imply a close relationship), so she might not have known him very well in the first place, and if the cousin doesn't want anything to do with the magical world, and felt all his wizarding relations didn't want anything to do with him, I doubt he would be amenable to contact from the Weasleys, and the Weasleys probably wouldn't try to bother him. The fact that Ron has heard at least part of this story suggests the Weasleys might have mentioned the cousin at some point, perhaps in discussing whether Mr. Weasley could go speak with him, but Molly vetoed the idea and Ron sensed the family tension around the person.

Elektra

[Spana]

I have read so many posts about Mark Evans and I am just becoming more and more counfused by each thread I read. I can't believe I may have to wait years to find out who exactly is Mark Evans and if he plays any significance. I just people won't be disapointed if Mark Evans turns out be a trick that JKR placed in the book to confuse us Potter fans and keep forums such as this filled with threads and theorys about Mark Evans.

[SnapesHouseElf]

Originally Posted by Auri DeMeer

I think SnapeHouseElf is referring to the fact that Snape wears the "dark mark" in his arm.

Yes I was referring to that

Originally Posted by Auri DeMeer

As I understand it, the Dark Mark is the worst thing that Snape may have done and what he most regrets having done. So, to wipe this dark meaning off his life, he names his son Mark as well:

That is, the son may be the best thing for Snape in his life (like every son for every father), so the son Mark wipes off the dark meaning of the other "mark" in his life.

How very sweet and romantic!

[Sirius Padfoot]

I really don't think Mark is Snapes son. I do think he will be important to the story. Maybe not the the part of the story where Harry has to defeat Voldemort. But that Harry will find a member of his family (very distant, yet a member of his family) who does not hate him. I think Mark will be very important to Harry and vice versa. Just my thoughts.

[aphelion]

That is WAY to much to put into Snape's character in the last two books. I seriously doubt that it is going to happen.

[Elektra]

Originally Posted by Spana

I have read so many posts about Mark Evans and I am just becoming more and more counfused by each thread I read. I can't believe I may have to wait years to find out who exactly is Mark Evans and if he plays any significance. I just people won't be disapointed if Mark Evans turns out be a trick that JKR placed in the book to confuse us Potter fans and keep forums such as this filled with threads and theorys about Mark Evans.

To be fair, I don't think Rowling intentionally misleads her readers. Indeed, in the Albert Hall interview she indicated that she left a lot of hints for us in Book 5 so we would not be blindsided by events in 6 and 7. She might surprise us sometimes, but I think we can attribute that to our own failure to correctly interpret the hints she gives us, moreso than her desire to throw us "red herrings." Most of us have our pet theories, and when they turn out to be contrary to the story, we like to think all that evidence we had piled up in our favor is really just an attempt of Rowling to mislead us. Helps us feel less silly and all that.

Keeping this in mind, then, we have two possibilities that I can think of regarding Mark Evans,

1) He's just a random kid Rowling put into the story to illustrate Dudley's habit of beating up the neighborhood kids. This is possible, since as someone already pointed out, the name "Evans" in England is a lot like being named "Smith" in the US. Giving the name to some faceless character you're throwing in just to make a point would be a reasonable choice on Rowling's part.

2) Mark Evans is actually a relation of Harry's mother, and might even be a wizard entering Hogwarts next year. I find the second possibility far more likely, for two reasons. First, Rowling has never repeated a name in the story without good reason, and it would be odd for her to repeat the name Evans, especially surrounding the Dursleys, in the same book where she reveals Lily's maiden name and much of the story of Harry's family, without leaving it there as an aforementioned clue for us. There is also the way it was put in. It reminds me of the first mention of Mrs. Figg in Book 1; kind of an aside, not really important to the story, but prominent enough to make you say, "Easter Egg!" Second, Harry singles this boy out among all of Dudley's victims. He obviously feels some sort of kinship with him; I suspect he identifies with him since he himself was Dudley's punching bag at that age. I think the parallel this draws is intentional on Rowling's part; she didn't have to put it in, but she did, and this leads me to believe, especially after the Albert Hall interview, that it's a clue. There is also the issue of Mark's first name. Of course Harry has always been special because of the mark on his forehead, but in this book we learned exactly what it means when Voldemort "marked" Harry. Perhaps the Evans kid will be a positive Mark (again from his mother's blood) to counter the weight of Harry's negative mark from Voldemort?

Elektra

[whizbang121]

Honestly, I don't think JKR is misleading in the books, but she does seem to try to put us off the scent in her interviews.

And there is definitely something we will learn from or about Mark Evans. Whether Mark will play a part in the story, or be a connection to the past is yet to be revealed, and there will no doubt be hundreds of pages in this thread before the next book is released.

[kiten_magic]

I dunno Dudleys not stupid enough to forget he saw the Evans kid at Christmas... although what if the Evans are Wizards??? That would explain why dudleys parents didnt tell him that they were related...

[Sirius Padfoot]

Question, when did Dudley see the Evans kid at Christmas? I thought the only time Mark was brought up was that one time in Ootp

[whizbang121]

Again, i think Petunia is afraid of Dark Lords and Death Eaters. We don't know what happened to her parents or what terrors she grew up with. She probably wouldn't tell the boys about their Evans relations because it might reveal things she doesn't want them or Vernon to know. Denial seems the safest route.
And it seems a safe guess that Harry didn't know his mother's maiden name. In the pensieve scene, he didn't react to the initials LE that his father was doodling.

Question, when did Dudley see the Evans kid at Christmas?

I think was a reference to the suggestion that Mark would be the boys second cousin, not 4th or 5th and thus closely enough related for them all to be aware of the family relationship.

[wally576]

try this one for size...

Petunia can not be a squib, because her parents were muggles... notice all the times its mentioned that lily was muggle born. However, that does not mean that there is no magic in the family.

In the SS, Ron says that his mom has got a cousin whose an accountant or something.... someone who is non-magic. They never mention his name, but his last name could be Evans. (Notice the red-hair coincidence) Some poor squib who grew up in a magic family, and had to go out on his own and start a family.

A little down the line two girls are born... lily and petunia. Petunia is jealous because lily has magic, but she knows too much about it, because the evans still keep in touch with their wizard relatives.

Mark could be a cousin of sorts that starts at Hogwarts, because he's not from little whinging, just the town over, and dudley and his gang are out late, so that means they could have driven over there and beat him up... even if dudley knows about him... he always beat up on his other cousin. Now DD may say that there are no other relatives of harrys to keep him from going away from number 4 looking for them... keeping him safe. Its not like DD has kept things from him before.

Also.... the reason he stays with the dursleys is the P is L's sister and therefore the blood line is much closer. The protection could just be better there...


what do you think

[Elektra]

Originally Posted by wally576

what do you think

I think there's an echo in here...

Elektra

[whizbang121]

Originally Posted by Elektra

I think there's an echo in here...

Elektra

Get used to it. The echoes in this cavern are sometimes scary. But occasionally one hears the echo of something new. And it was a really good summary.

[Rosie B.]

I really think Snape is Harry's Uncle and that he would be safe with Snape in the summers but then that would blow Snape's cover.

Could you imagine the look on Harry's face after being told he had to go live with Snape for the summer? I think he'd choose the Dursleys.

I really don't think that Snape changed his name. In the 5th book the Mauraders called him Snivillus. That is a variation of Severus. So what does the anagram mean? I have no idea. But I doubt he is a blood relitive of Harry's.

I do believe that Mark is one. I think he will be coming to Hogwarts next year.

[Sirius Padfoot]

I definitly agree Mark is on his way to Hogwarts.

[whizbang121]

I don't know. I think Mr. Evans was Lily's stepfather and so while Mark is related to Petunia, he's not related to Harry or Lily.
Is he going to Hogwarts? Maybe. Sometimes I'm convinced that Petunia is a closet witch, too. Maybe she went to Durmstrang.

[Fairydust]

maybe petunia had magical ability but she didn't want to pursue it. she doesn't like magic.

[whizbang121]

But why? What is she afraid of?

[Fairydust]

she is probably afraid of being labelled a freak or what not. you notice the way she cares about what her neighbours think. she probably didn't want the kids she did know to think she was some weirdo.

[whizbang121]

maybe. Have to wait until book 6, I guess.