What is the genealogy of Harry Potter?

July 31 2007

OK, Harry Potter is a fictional character, but, if you are a family history addict, everyone’s family history is interesting, if not completely absorbing. The parents of Harry Potter’s father are not really featured in the books of JK Rowling, but there are important clues that every genealogist should recognise. Harry Potter’s father James was an only child, and may have been so because he was born when his parents were fairly old. This may also explain why James was their only son. Both were very wealthy but were old when they died and their son James was relatively young. This is why, when he also died young, Harry inherited a large fortune.

It is possible that Charlus Potter and Dorea Black (relative of Sirius Black), could be the grandpa and grandma of Harry Potter. They could certainly be James Potter’s parents. The books definitely say that they had one son, which fit the facts known about James. 

Harry Potter would therefore be a blood relation to the Black family through the female line. This may help explain the close relationship between Harry and Sirius Black. In the Order of the Phoenix, Sirius remembers that when he ran away from home as a teenager, he was given a place to stay by Harry’s grandparents and they treated him as their own son. 

In the Mirror of Erised, Harry’s grandfather is the one with the knobbly knees. If it is true that James Potter was the natural son of Charlus and Dorea Potter, that would make them Harry’s paternal grandparents. It would also mean that Harry was a second cousin to the Black sisters, Bellatrix Lestrange, Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Malfoy. It would also mean that Draco Malfoy, the hated school contemporary of Harry Potter was a second cousin, once removed. 

It is entirely possible, within the realms of the fictional characters as told by JK Rowling, that Harry Potter would also be a third cousin to his great friend Ron Weasley and his sister Ginny. Further delving into the newest Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, may reveal more of his complex genealogy.