Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/James Potter

Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Character
James Potter
Gender	Male
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Hazel
Related Family	Lily Potter, Harry Potter
Loyalty	Lily Potter, Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew

Overview

James Potter is the father of Harry Potter, the hero of the series. James' death at the hands of Lord Voldemort offstage, just before the opening chapter of the first book, sets up the conflict in the entire series. James was born 27 March 1960 and died 31 October, 1981. He was 20 when his son was born and was 21 when he died.

Role in the Books

Philosopher's Stone

Though introduced as Harry's dead father, James Potter plays no direct role in this book. His image appears in the Mirror of Erised when Harry finds it the first time at Christmas, and a large number of pictures of him are in the photo album given to Harry by Rubeus Hagrid just before Harry leaves the school for the summer. Hagrid has mentioned also that James Potter was head boy in his seventh year at Hogwarts. James apparently owned an Invisibility Cloak that was given to Harry at Christmas, and then mysteriously returned to him in May when he had misplaced it. This Cloak becomes an important tool for Harry, Ron, and Hermione in exploring the school.

Prisoner of Azkaban

The Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year is Remus Lupin, who was one of James' best friends; at a number of points in the story, there is discussion between Harry and Professor Lupin about James. Additionally, the scenes in the Shrieking Shack involve Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, all James' close friends, and include a number of details about their mutual school days. One major revelation is that James was an unregistered Animagus.

When Harry, Hermione, and Sirius Black are being attacked by the Dementors, someone casts a Patronus charm; Harry initially believes it to be James.

It was also revealed at the end of this book that the form James took as an Animagus was that of a stag. This had earlier caused some disquiet to Lupin; Harry's Patronus charm took the shape of a stag, and Lupin seems to have recognized it.

Goblet of Fire

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, while Harry is battling Lord Voldemort in the graveyard, the Priori Incantatem effect causes shadows of Voldemort's victims to appear, including Harry's father and mother who speak with him. The shades gather around Voldemort, hindering his attack on Harry when he breaks the connection between the two wands, just long enough for Harry to escape.

In the book's earlier editions, there was the famous mistake of the wand order. The shadows appear from Voldemort's wand starting with the most recent and proceeding towards the oldest, but the earlier editions had James appearing before Lily, implying that he died after her. This was corrected by the author in later editions.

Harry also decides that he will die fighting Voldemort, just like James, if he must die.

Order of the Phoenix

Late in the book, Harry, while viewing Professor Snape’s memory in Dumbledore's Pensieve, watches James Potter during his school days with his best friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

“It was as though he was looking at himself but with deliberate mistakes. James’s eyes were hazel, his nose was longer than Harry’s, and there was no scar on his forehead, but they had the same thin face, same mouth, same eyebrows. James’s hair stuck up at the back exactly as Harry’s did, his hands could have been Harry’s and Harry could tell that when James stood up they would be within an inch of each other’s heights.” (Rowling, OotP, 641 USA)

In that memory, Harry sees his father, apparently unprovoked, tormenting Snape. The current-day Snape catches him and hauls him bodily out of that memory. Harry is deeply disturbed by what he saw, his perception of his father radically changed. He remembers Snape's earlier statement that James had almost managed to get him killed, and wonders where the truth lies; he himself would never have behaved as his father did, and yet everyone tells him James was such a good person.

Harry broods for a long time over this revelation, eventually breaking in to Professor Umbridge's office so that he can talk to Sirius Black via the Floo network. There, speaking with Sirius and Lupin, Harry learns that the memory is accurate, but that James matured into a kind and compassionate man. This hardly consoles Harry, though, realizing he is the same age James was in the memory, and that he is not beating up his fellow students.

Half-Blood Prince

Harry mentions, after Dumbledore's funeral, that he has to visit Godric's Hollow, as that is where everything began. He feels, among other things, that he must visit his parents' graves.

Deathly Hallows

Harry learns that Albus Dumbledore once lived in Godric's Hollow, just as Harry's parents had, and also that Bathilda Bagshot still resides there. Bathilda, old as she is, may remember details about the Potters and Dumbledore that she can share with Harry. Though Harry decides to visit Godric's Hollow, circumstances prevent his doing so until Christmas. In the meanwhile, he finds a letter his mother wrote to Sirius in which Lily says that Dumbledore borrowed James' Invisibility Cloak.

Harry and Hermione arrive at Godric's Hollow on Christmas Eve. Crossing the village square, Harry sees that the war memorial, to a Wizard's eye, contains a statue of his parents and himself as a baby. He locates his parents' gravestone; Hermione creates a wreath of roses to lay upon it. Leaving the village, Harry finds the Potters' cottage; it has become a makeshift memorial, with the cottage's wall still bearing the scars from Voldemort's attack.

As they escape Godric's Hollow, Harry sees, through the shared link between his and Voldemort's mind, Voldemort's memories of the night his parents were murdered. James, caught unaware by Voldemort and without his wand, had fallen almost immediately.

When Harry, Hermione, and Ron visit Xenophilius Lovegood, Harry learns that his father's Invisibility Cloak is probably one of the three Deathly Hallows. Because it was such a unique artifact, Dumbledore had borrowed it, wanting to study it. We will learn that Dumbledore, as a young man, was fascinated by the Hallows, and was unable to pass up an opportunity to investigate the Cloak, just as he was with the third Hallow later.

Harry eventually learns that his fate is inextricably entwined with Voldemort's, that he must face, and be killed by, Voldemort in order that Voldemort might die. His fear is too great to allow him to pass the Dementors guarding the Forbidden Forest, so using the Resurrection Stone, Harry summons the shades of his parents, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black to sustain him as he goes to meet his death. Upon reaching the clearing where Voldemort awaits, he deliberately drops the stone, releasing the four shades.

Strengths

James was apparently a very competent wizard, as he was able to master the Animagus transform at fifteen. He also helped make the Marauder's Map with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. From the Prophecy, we understand that he defied Lord Voldemort three times, though we have no details of how that happened.

Weaknesses

According to Remus Lupin, James ultimate downfall was his trust in his friends, as he was betrayed by his close friend, Peter Pettigrew, which led to James's death. It is possible that another weakness was concern for his wife and son, as he sacrificed his own life to give Lily time to get baby Harry to safety.

Relationships with Other Characters

James is married to Lily Potter (Evans).

During his time as a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, James (with active assistance from Sirius Black, and acquiescence from Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew) often tormented Severus Snape, resulting in Severus developing a permanent and unreasoning hatred for James.

James was seen to have cherished and loved his son, Harry, to the ends of the earth. As seen in a letter Harry found at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, James would play with Harry in the living room.

Analysis

We are shown James in two quite different lights. In Severus Snape's memories, from his first encounter with James in their mutual first year up until "Snape's Worst Memory" in their fifth year, James was arrogant and a bully. Remus Lupin admits that this was how James had behaved, but that he had, after that point, chosen to mend his behaviour, becoming a self-sacrificing, caring and intelligent man who was extremely loyal to his family and friends. James was also mischievous and had a good sense of humour.

James tried throughout his teenage years to get the attention of Lily Evans, but she refused to take any notice because of his bullying nature. Apparently, though, in his final two years of school, out of his love for her, he matured and showed his sensitive side. We are not shown any of this, but James could not have remained the bully we initially see, and yet been the compassionate man Remus and Sirius describe to us, and certainly Lily would have remained aloof. However, we learn that James and Lily married shortly after they graduated Hogwarts, and together they joined the Order of the Phoenix, and had a son, Harry Potter. It was for his son's sake that he died, trying to give Lily time to get away with Harry.

Throughout Harry's life, he was told that he was, at least in appearance, very like his father. Harry had built up something of an idealized image of his father based on what people had told him about James' later life. But when Harry learned that James bullied people at fifteen, the disillusionment proved difficult for him to deal with, though he still loved his father. Harry later accepted that his father must have grown out of his earlier behaviour, in order to have married his mother.

Greater Picture

When Harry brought James back through the Resurrection Stone, James told his son that he was extremely proud of him and that he loved him and would still with him until the end of his life.