| “ | Harry, you are so loved, so loved. Harry, Mama loves you. Dada loves you. Harry, be safe. Be strong. | „ |
| ~ Lily to her infant Harry before her death. |
Lily J. Potter née Evans (30 January 1960 - 31 October 1981, aged 21) was a Muggle-born witch from the Harry Potter series. She was the younger sister of Petunia Dursley, the wife of James Potter, the mother of Harry Potter, the maternal aunt of Dudley Dursley, mother-in-law of Ginny Potter (née Weasley) and grandmother to their children James, Albus and Lily.
In the films, she was portrayed by Geraldine Somerville as an adult, Susie Shinner as a teenager, and Ellie Darcey-Alden as her younger.
History
Young Lily
Lily was born on January 30, 1960 in the English town of Cokeworth to Muggles Mr. and Mrs. Evans. She was the younger sister of Petunia. As a young child, she discovered that she had magic powers, which caused her sister to see her as a freak whilst her parents expressed joy. Lily didn't have any friends and became lonely, until she met a boy named Severus, who was the son of her neighbors. He told her that the reason she had magical powers was because that she was a witch and that he was a wizard. The two quickly bonded and were able to come to understand each other and their special powers. Severus even fell in love with Lily. In 1971, an eleven-year-old Lily recieved a telegram from the Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry saying that she had been accepted into the school, much to her parents' happiness and her sister's jealousy.
Lily in school
At Hogwarts, Lily was sorted into the Gryffindor House while Severus was put into the Slytherin House. During the school years, Lily defended Severus against fellow Gryffindor named James Potter and his bully friends Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew who picked on and hexed Severus and other students. James started to develop romantic feelings for Lily and wanted to be with her, but Lily refused. Severus then joined the Death Eaters much to Lily's horror and ended her friendship with him after he accidentally called her a Mudblood (a offensive term for Muggle-Born witches and wizards). As the years went by, James started to better himself and stopped hexing the students which caused Lily to accept him and the two began a relationship.
Lily and James
After graduation in 1978, Lily and James were married and they had a son together on 31 July 1980 whom they named him Harry James Potter.
One year later on Halloween night, Lord Voldemort (who believed by a prophecy that Harry would destroy him) came to the Potter home which Peter,
Death in the hands of Voldemort
(who was serving as the family's secret keeper to keep their location secret to Voldemort) betrayed the Potters to Voldemort (whom Peter was secretly in league with). With her husband dead, Lily did what she could to protect her infant son and sacrificed herself by getting hit with the Killing Curse which killed her instantly. Before her death, she told her son that she and his father loved him very much. Because of Lily's sacrifice, Voldemort was unable to kill Harry as Lily's love protected him.
Legacy
Protecting Harry
Lily was described as a very powerful witch. She was so brave that she gave up her entire life to protect her son and was not afraid to die for his sake. The love for her son was so powerful that after she died and Voldemort attempted to kill Harry, the Killing Curse backfired and destroyed Voldemort's body and caused Harry to receive a scar in a shape of a lightning bolt and survived. Because of the scar, Harry gained a strong bond with Voldemort and even gained some of his dark powers (giving him the ability to talk to snakes and see into Voldemort's mind). Lily was known to have the most beautiful green eyes, and since Harry had inherited his mother's eyes, Lily's past teachers, friends, and even Severus mentioned that Harry's eyes show that a part of Lily is still alive in Harry.
Gallery
Trivia
- In the books, Lily along with James, was 21 when she was killed by Lord Voldemort. However in the films, she appears to be older.
- Just as Harry being the foil to Voldemort, Lily is the opposite to the mother of her son's nemesis, Merope Gaunt: Whereas Lily's love with James being a mutual one and more than willing to do anything for her son's sake, Merope's love for Tom Riddle Snr., the father of Lord Voldemort, proved one-sided and she chose to die rather than staying alive for young Voldemort's sake when she lost control of Riddle Snr. (as Dumbledore pointed out however, Merope had a terrible upbringing and also too consumed by despair from her husband's departure).
