Lily Evans Potter

Age: Died 31 October, 1981, in her early twenties.

House: Gryffindor

Distinguishing Characteristics: Very pretty, with long auburn hair and green, almond-shaped eyes.

Heritage: Muggle-born

Family: Married James Potter after leaving school, and they had a son, Harry, a year before they were killed. Had one sister, Petunia, who with her husband Vernon Dursley, has looked after Harry since Lily and James' death.

First Mention: Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 1.

General: Like her son Harry years later, Lily found out about the wizarding world only when she got an invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Although her parents were Muggles, they were very proud of Lily and her unusual talents. Lily's first wand, of flexible willow, 10.5 inches long, performed charms well, and she worked her way to the top of her class, becoming Head Girl in her final year. She was also a favourite of the head of Slytherin and Potions Master at the time, Horace Slughorn, with whom she sparred good-naturedly. At the same time, she began dating James Potter, the cleverest and most popular boy at Hogwarts. Soon after their graduation, they married and had their son Harry.

Though this has the makings of a Cinderella story, all was not well in the Potterverse. Lily's assimilation into the wizarding world was not welcomed by all. Her sister Petunia felt from the start that Lily's witchcraft was an abomination, and was unimpressed by the transfiguration tricks she performed while home on vacation. Once they had grown up, the sisters stopped seeing each other, though they probably did correspond somewhat. Lily did not only face opposition at home, but also at school, where some students, particularly one Severus 'Snivellus' Snape, felt that only people from magical families should get the chance to study at Hogwarts. Such fanatics were probably especially enraged by her talent; the nerve of a 'mudblood' showing them up with her ability!

In spite of the prejudices she faced, or perhaps because of them, Lily tried to treat all her classmates civilly, even to the point of standing up for Snape. James Potter, who always tried to impress Lily, had an unattractive habit of hexing Snape, and sometimes other classmates too, for no reason. Lily despised him for this; she understood that prejudice and interest in the Dark Arts were not the only evils in the world, and she reviled conceit as well. She repelled James' advances for seven years, although she appeared somewhat amused by him during that time. Her efforts to help Snape went thoroughly unappreciated on his part, however, and Lily didn't waste much more time in his defense.
Lily and James, once they had overcome their differences and moved from Hogwarts into the adult world, faced more powerful foes than Snape. Voldemort was reaching the height of his power when they came of age, and Lily and James naturally joined the Order of the Phoenix to fight him and his Death Eaters. With their talent and their close ties to Albus Dumbledore, the leader of the Order, the Potters were targeted by Voldemort himself, perhaps for conversion, perhaps for elimination. We know only that the Potters managed to escape him three times. Lily must have had some contact with her sister during her years fighting Voldemort, because Petunia truly appreciated the danger Lily was in, even if she did not sympathise.

After getting away from Voldemort three times, the Potters found themselves in even more danger, as this and the timing of their son's birth made them fit a prophecy that Voldemort had particular interest in. Months before Harry was born, Dumbledore heard a prophecy that a baby boy to be born that July would be the only one with the power to defeat The Dark Lord. Knowing this put the Potter family in danger-and possibly acting on information from other sources as well-Dumbledore urged them to go into hiding using the Fidelius Charm. On Sirius Black's recommendation, the Potters chose Peter Pettigrew, an old friend and fellow Order member, as their Secret Keeper, believing Pettigrew to be low-profile enough so Voldemort wouldn't try to gain information on their whereabouts from him. However, Pettigrew had been secretly in league with Voldemort for a year, and he betrayed Lily, James, and Harry.

When Voldemort arrived at the Potters' doorstep, Lily tried to escape with Harry while James fought him off. But James was killed before she even had time to take the baby from his cot. With Voldemort approaching her now, Lily tried to bargain with Voldemort to save Harry's life. She may have tried various things in her 'attempt to save him,' but ultimately all she could do was die for him. Lily's sacrifice protected Harry from Voldemort by the bond of familial love, and was sealed by Petunia's sacrifice of looking after the 'abnormal' orphaned boy. That Lily chose to die for Harry is what makes it such a powerful sacrifice-but why was she given this choice, the choice to 'stand aside' or not, when Voldemort had already killed so many people?

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