Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Characters/Lily Potter
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| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Character | |
| Lily Potter | |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Hair color | Red |
| Eye color | Green |
| Related Family | James Potter, Harry Potter, Petunia Dursley |
| Loyalty | James Potter, Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Lily Potter (nee Evans) is a muggle-born witch and Harry's mother.
[edit] Role in the Books
[edit] Philosopher's Stone
At the start of the book, Albus Dumbledore confirms to Minerva McGonagall that both Harry's parents have been killed.
In the hut on the rock, when Rubeus Hagrid arrives, there is a fair amount of discussion about Lily. Petunia Dursley, her sister, talks about how proud everyone was that they had a witch in the family, and of the way she would come home with pockets full of frog spawn and do magic in the house. Hagrid is shocked that anyone could have believed that James and Lily could have died in a car crash, tells Harry that they were murdered by the evil wizard Voldemort, and mentions that James and Lily were head boy and head girl.
Lily's image appears in the Mirror Erised when Harry finds it the first time at Christmas.
A large number of pictures of Lily and James are in the photo album given to Harry by Hagrid just before Harry leaves the school for the summer.
[edit] Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry, in talking with Professor Lupin about Dementors, mentions that when they approach him, he can hear Voldemort murdering his mother. Lupin is apparently moved by this revelation. This causes some conflict in Harry; he misses his mother greatly, and would do almost anything to hear her voice and see her face, as we have already seen. But if the only way that can happen is for him to suffer attacks from Dementors? And is he going to be able to fight Dementors, if something he wants so dearly would be removed by that fight?
Lupin later comments that Harry looks extraordinarily like his father, except for his eyes. He has his mother's eyes.
In the Shrieking Shack, we hear Sirius Black's side of what happened when he was confronted by Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew had yelled that Sirius had betrayed James and Lily, then blew up the street, changed into his rat shape, and escaped, leaving behind his own cut-off finger and robes. Sirius had then been taken to Azkaban, where he had served time for the murder of Pettigrew.
[edit] Goblet of Fire
In the battle in the graveyard, while Harry is battling Lord Voldemort, shadows of the people Voldemort has killed begin appearing. Harry's father and mother both appear and speak with him.
[edit] Order of the Phoenix
In Professor Dumbledore's Pensieve, Harry sees an episode where his father and the other Marauders are bullying a teenage Severus Snape. Harry also sees his then-teenage mother, who yells at Harry's father to leave Snape alone. She even goes to the lengths of taking out her own wand.
[edit] Half-Blood Prince
When Harry first meets Horace Slughorn, Slughorn mentions that he is biased towards pure-bloods, which is no surprise given that he was head of Slytherin house. However, that doesn't mean that he refuses to see qualities in the Muggle-born; Harry's own mother, for instance, was quite a powerful witch, though of Muggle parentage, and was one of Slughorn's favorites.
In Potions class, Professor Slughorn mentions that Lily had been truly excellent at potions, and attributes Harry's skill to his being Lily's son.
[edit] Deathly Hallows
While browsing Snape's thoughts in the Pensieve, Harry sees Lily as a child at her original Muggle home. Severus Snape, also then a child, informs Lily that she is a witch and that he had been spying on her and seeing her do incredible things. Snape explains the magical world to Lily and they soon develop the bond of friendship, despite the interference of Lily's sister Petunia. Later in the memories, when Lily is at Hogwarts, she explains to Snape that they can't continue their friendship because she has issues with the type of person Snape is becoming and who he associates with. Even though Lily marries James, she is Snape's unrequited love.
Lily's Patronus is also discovered to be a doe.
[edit] Strengths
In book six, it is widely mentioned and thrown that Lily has extraordinary potions skills. Also, from what Professor Horace Slughorn has stated she was one of his brightest and smartest students, like Hermione.
[edit] Weaknesses
[edit] Relationships with Other Characters
Her parents are proud to have such a talented daughter, but her sister Petunia however, despised Lily for her magical abilities, sees her as a freak and considers her as a "dratted sister".
She meets James Potter in Hogwarts and although she leaves the impression that she dislikes him because he behaves like an arrogant bully, they eventually fall in love with each other, get married, and have a son, Harry.
Being a member of the Order of the Phoenix that opposes Lord Voldemort, she and her husband confront him three times, and manage to escape. However, when The Dark Lord learns from Severus Snape about the prophecy, he starts looking for the Potter family. After Pettigrew's betrayal, Voldemort reaches Godric's Hollow, where he kills Lily and James.
