Lily (Evans) Potter

[moonymaniac]

I think it is highly unlikely that Lily was adopted, unless she was adopted by blood relatives or Petunia was adopted as well. Lily and Petunia have to be blood relatives in order for the magic that Dumbledore invoked in the charm he placed on Harry to work. Dumbledore says this to Harry at the end of OotP:

"I put my trust, therefore, in your mother's blood. I delivered you to her sister, her only remaining relative."

Then he says this about Petunia:

"She may have taken you grudgingly, furiously, unwillingly, bitterly, yet still she took you, and in doing so, she sealed the charm I placed upon you. Your mother's sacrifice made the bond of blood the strongest shield I could give you."

But again, she and Petunia could have both been adopted, if you simply need her to have biological parents out there somewhere that Dumbledore may have been unaware of, but I think that is also unlikely.

[kask]

Thank you! I completely forgot about the blood thing. I must have spaced. You're right, it would be a bit unlikely. I guess I was just thinking about how Lily and Petunia don't look alike or seem to be very alike and it led me to wondering whether they really were sisters. It seems that they must be. Thanks again!

[Lily of the US]

Hmmm. I see Lily as being quite smart, a bit of a bookworm (though not nearly as much as Hermione) and having a circle of friends that she trusts and keeps close. I can't picture her being overly popular, or spunky and perky. I do see her as having a bit of a temper (must be the red hair ) and getting very easily annoyed with James and the Marauders, but maybe a bit amused by them in the later years. Hope this helped! ~megan~

[pandora's box]

i think its always better to air on the side of flaw-ridden characters than lean the other way, which seems to happen far too much with Lily. You see far too many Lily-sues scampering around the web these days.

Lily is seen with a large group of girls at the lake, but there is no evidence that she is their leader. She seems more the type to just know everybody. When she stands up for Snape it shows she's willing to put herself out there for anyone, which I think is why she is well-liked. Not because she hangs with a popular crowd, but because she hangs with everybody.

on the other hand, when she does put herself forward and gets burned for it, such as with Snape at the lake scene, she can turn out very nasty indeed. So I'm guessing whatever put Lily and James on the wrong side of each other, James probably started it.

Although its very possible their quarrel was only temporary. "Hating each for ages" seems implausible for two otherwise goodhearted people who are around each other constantly (same house same year for 7 years). The whole idea that James has been constantly rejected by Lily for a long time also seems unlikely. Its important not to take the lake scene as a microcosm of their whole 5+ years at Hogwarts together.

Think of the time in 4th year where Ron and Harry weren't speaking to each other for over a month. A pensieve observer might assume they disliked each other and were enemies during their years at Hogwarts based on a scene from that time period, when in reality nothing could be further from the truth. Or another pensieve could see up through 4th year Ginny pining for harry and assume that relationship was entirely one-sided (when we all know it grow into something else). For all we know James and Lily could have been friends at one point.

[Fizzing_Wizbee022]

I have a question for a fic I'm working on. Do you think that its possible that Lily and James were friendly during their time at school prior to seventh year? I'd always kind of pictured them running in the same circles given that they were in the same house and everything. James would obviously be a lot more flamboyant and well known, but I can see them enjoying the same kind of people.

Sorry for the rambling...this whole thing made more sense in my head than on paper... Any thoughts on this would be wonderful!

Oh! and, just playing devil's advocate here, but i seem to remember Hagrid telling Harry that his parents had a pretty firey relationship until the end of sixth year, when they started to get along a bit more. I think this was in either OotP or possibly earlier, but I can't remember...Does this passage exist, or did I make it up in my delusional plotting?

[tc015]

Do you think that its possible that Lily and James were friendly during their time at school prior to seventh year? I'd always kind of pictured them running in the same circles given that they were in the same house and everything. James would obviously be a lot more flamboyant and well known, but I can see them enjoying the same kind of people.

I don't imagine that they would be great friends. In Snape's Memory from OotP, I got the impression that they didn't get along much. James was always trying to show off in front of Lily, and Lily was annoyed by James's pranks. They might been in classes together, and been civil to each other. Maybe as James matured, they became closer. Towards the end of their sixth year, I can them warming up to each other a bit. Before their sixth year, I don't see them as very close from what we see in Snape's Memory.

Hope this helps you!

~ Teresa

[hpluver365]

Do you think that its possible that Lily and James were friendly during their time at school prior to seventh year? I'd always kind of pictured them running in the same circles given that they were in the same house and everything. James would obviously be a lot more flamboyant and well known, but I can see them enjoying the same kind of people.

For the most part, I agree with Teresa. From what we've seen and heard in the books, I think we can assume that they were not friends. I got the idea that they were not even civil to each other, even though they were both Gryff's. James was always trying to impress Lily, and Lily was flat out sick of it. She wanted nothing to do with him and disagreed with/countered everything he did. If he tried to talk to her, she ignored him. James had his friends (Peter, Lupin, Sirius) and Lily had her own (most likely a group of girls, we know Alice Longbottom was one, right?). Yes, James was more well known, and Lily knew about him, but wanted noting to do with him. I honestly do not think they were friendly at all. I think Lily finally got so sick of him she decided to give him a chance, but I do not think they were friends.

Oh! and, just playing devil's advocate here, but i seem to remember Hagrid telling Harry that his parents had a pretty firey relationship until the end of sixth year, when they started to get along a bit more. I think this was in either OotP or possibly earlier, but I can't remember...Does this passage exist, or did I make it up in my delusional plotting?

I'm not going to pretend I know the answer to this, because I don't have the books with me, but I do vaguely remember this. I'm not sure if it was something Hagrid told Harry, something we saw in memories, or just an idea that was implied, but I think you are right in saying this.

[cmwinters]

I know Sirius and Lupin mention it.

From Order of the Phoenix, when Harry goes to question Sirius about James' behaviour:

'And,' said Harry doggedly, determined to say everything that was on his mind now he was here, 'he kept looking over at the girls by the lake, hoping they were watching him!'
'Oh, well, he always made a fool of himself whenever Lily was around,' said Sirius, shrugging, 'he couldn't stop himself showing off whenever he got near her.'
'How come she married him?' Harry asked miserably. 'She hated him!'
'Nah, she didn't,' said Sirius.
'She started going out with him in seventh year,' said Lupin.
'Once James had deflated his head a bit,' said Sirius.
'And stopped hexing people just for the fun of it,' said Lupin.
'Even Snape?' said Harry.
'Well,' said Lupin slowly, 'Snape was a special case. I mean, he never lost an opportunity to curse James so you couldn't really expect James to take that lying down, could you?'
'And my mum was OK with that?'
'She didn't know too much about it, to tell you the truth,' said Sirius. 'I mean, James didn't take Snape on dates with her and jinx him in front of her, did he?'
Sirius frowned at Harry, who was still looking unconvinced.

[Whylorinda]

I was just pondering this yesterday: It seems to me that Lily would have to be more special than just having red hair for James to fall in love with her. Is there anyone here who thinks it wouldn't be possible for her to be an exceptionally talented visual artist?

[cmwinters]

I was just pondering this yesterday: It seems to me that Lily would have to be more special than just having red hair for James to fall in love with her. Is there anyone here who thinks it wouldn't be possible for her to be an exceptionally talented visual artist?

Er, it's possible, but bear in mind, Lily's already approaching Mary Sue status.

We know that she was:

• Exceptionally gifted with Charms
• Exceptionally gifted at Potions
• Exceptionally bright - in fact, probably the brightest witch of her age
• Exceptionally popular
• Had exceptional physical beauty
• Lupin in the movie says she was exceptionally kind and compassionate

So, while it's possible, adding too many more attributes for her is, in my not so humble opinion, overdoing it.