James Potter
- This article is about Harry Potter's father. For Harry's son, see James Sirius Potter.
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | James Potter |
| Occupation: | wizard, Order member |
| Relationships: | Lily Evans Potter (wife) Harry Potter (son) Ginny Weasley (daughter-in-law) James Sirius Potter (grandson) Albus Severus Potter (grandson) Lily Luna Potter (granddaughter) |
| Fandom: | Harry Potter |
| Other: | born 27 March 1960, died 31 October 1981[1] |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
James Potter was the father of Harry Potter in the Harry Potter series.
Canon
During James's time at Hogwarts, he and his friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were known as the Marauders. Together, they caused a lot of mischief, made the Marauder's Map, and turned into Animagi (James was a stag) to support their werewolf friend Remus during full moons. James and Severus Snape were rivals
After graduation, James married Lily Evans and joined the Order of the Phoenix. James and Lily had a son, Harry Potter, and went into hiding for his and their own protection. On October 31, 1981, Lord Voldemort came to their house to kill Harry. James and Lily were killed while Harry survived.
Fandom
Most of the fanfiction involving James takes place during his Hogwarts years and focuses on his activities with the other "Marauders," friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Much is focused on his canonical relationship with Lily Evans (James/Lily), but it is also common to see fic where he is paired with Sirius (James/Sirius), his best friend with whom he is described as "inseparable," or Severus Snape (James/Severus), with whom he was enemies.
In fanworks dealing with Time Travel, he's also been paired up with other characters such as Hermione Granger (James/Hermione).
Fan Opinions
Fan opinion of James is divisive; he is either hated or adored.
James Potter was the kind of school bully that abuses children “just because they exist”, until they kill themselves. Seeing people praise James makes me sick.
And that’s what James Potter symbolised for me. He had the good looks, the popularity, was good at sports, was rich, had friends who supported him, and he was the spitting image of my tormentor. And to top it all off, he’s given a pass by the fandom for treating Snape the way he did.
James died really young and he’s barely in the series apart from “flashbacks” and biased stories about him (mostly from people who liked him), so is it actually canon that James grew out of being a bully? Like, did Jo specifically say/write that somewhere? Or is it just an assumption made by the fandom because, as much as I love him, Sirius definitely did not grow out of it.
James Potter was not all bad, he was not all arrogant and charm and constant bullying. James Potter cared about his friends more than anyone ever had. He had gotten more bloody noses than anyone in their life by the time he was thirteen because of the fights he got into whenever someone said something bad about his friends. He didn’t care what they said about him. [...]
james potter was a bully. he was a shitty person. keyword being was. he grew up. he became a better man. and that is why people, such as myself, adore him. not for what he was, but rather his character development.
Example Fanworks
Fanfiction
- the family potter by dirgewithoutmusic
- Pioneers by inveracities
- Song Like a Painting by orphan_account
- Priori Incatatem by fellytone
- Flirting With the Enemy by Sierra Sitruc
Fanart
- HP_Lily and James by mary-dreams
- James Potter by Michelle-Winer
- James and Baby Harry by julvett
- sketch james potter by woshibbdou
- James Potter Lion by emilyjayowens - A version of James as a lion in the style of The Lion King.
Doujinshi
- Kono Shirushi ni Yotte (2007)
Archives and Communities
- A Shade of Gray by inkpuddle on idol_reflections
- Stag Night, a James slash and gen archive
- James Potter works on Ao3
- James Potter works on ff.net
Resources
References
- ^ Harry Potter Lexicon. HPL: James Potter. (Accessed 23 February 2011.)