J.K. Rowling Reveals Details You Probably Didn’t Know About Harry Potter

Harry Potter turns 20 this year; not the character, but the books. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (called “the Sorcerer’s Stone” in the U.S.), debuted in the UK on June 26, 1997. The last of the seven books, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was published in 2007. The cinematic retelling of the series ran from 2001 to 2011 over eight films.

Rowling’s ongoing storytelling is very helpful. If you’ve read or watched any of the installments of Harry Potter’s coming of age stories, you can probably recognize his parents’ names, James and Lily, and maybe even remember their patronuses, a stag and doe, respectively. You will probably also remember that Harry was born in a village called Godric’s Hollow, but how much do we really know about where Harry came from?

We’ll try and avoid any spoilers as we walk you through Rowling’s latest revelations about the Potter family tree. But if you haven’t finished the series, have a friend on-call to erase your memory of this article once you’ve read the details of Harry Potter’s predecessors.

Ancient History

The author also tells us that Linfred was the secretive inventor of Skele-gro, which helped him earn wealth to pass on to his progeny.

From there, Rowling explains how the Potter family made their way to Godric’s Hollow and came into possession of the invisibility cloak.

“Linfred’s eldest son, Hardwin, married a beautiful young witch by the name of Iolanthe Peverell”—do you recognize that name?—”who came from the village of Godric’s Hollow. She was the granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell. In the absence of male heirs, she, the eldest of her generation, had inherited her grandfather’s invisibility cloak.”

This cloak was passed down to the eldest Potter child for centuries until it made its way to Harry.

Family of Leaders

From Linfred, Rowling fast forwards half a millennia to the early seventeenth century, introducing Pottermore readers to Ralston Potter, who served on the wizard-governing body, the Wizengamot, and who advocated for the “Statute of Secrecy” as opposed to declaring war on the Muggles, as more militant members wished to do. This policy is still practiced in the modern wizarding world.

Here we learn there was another Harry Potter who served on the Wizengamot from 1913 to 1921.

Rowling revealed that “Henry Potter (Harry to his intimates)… caused a minor stir when he publicly condemned then Minister for Magic, Archer Evermonde, who had forbidden the magical community to help Muggles waging the First World War.”

Henry (Harry) Potter is Harry’s great grandfather. Henry fathered Fleamont Potter — Harry can be grateful he didn’t have that name passed down! — who was James Potter’s father. James’ parents, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter, died of dragon pox shortly after he and Lily got married, but before Harry James Potter was born, Rowling writes.

Thanks to this special twentieth-anniversary submission by J.K. Rowling, we now know the whole history of how Harry Potter got his name!