[HPforGrownups] Who were the Potters?

[GulPlum]

No: HPFGUIDX 45890

At 03:21 29/10/02 +0000, Liz wrote:

<snip>

>I know that because Dumbledore had his own spies, he knew that
>Voldemort was after the Potters - so obviously no one would suspect
>James or Lily for being the spy when it is them that are needing
>protection.  Still, though, in general?  If things were as uneasy at
>that time as they sound, what is the deal with the Potters that no
>one would ever suspect them of anything?  And, of course, the other
>obvious nagging question, why was Voldemort targetting them in the
>first place?  Either Dumbledore and his crew could understand why the
>Potters would be targeted, and we the readers just don't know it yet,
>or it was a mystery, in which case I'd think that Dumbledore would
>wonder why the Potters would be such specific targets.

I subscribe to the popularly-held belief that the reason why Voldemort was 
after the Potters had something to do with Trelawney's First Prediction 
(the substance of the Prediction remains pure speculation, of course). As 
some have recently voiced here, one thing I wonder about is why Dumbledore 
(and presumably Voldemort) considered the First Prediction to be accurate. 
This will probably be explained at the same time as we find out its 
substance (JKR has admitted that the First Prediction is of great 
importance to the story), although I suspect it's got something to do with 
the Centaurs (we know from JKR that Firenze will be re-appearing).

I also believe (AFAIK this is *not* a common belief) that at the time of 
the attacks (and perhaps since Harry's birth if not before), the Potters 
were living a Muggle life in Muggle surroundings (apart from a gut feeling, 
my only support for that is the presence of electricity and the decor of 
their home in TMTSNBN; judging by the details Columbus & Co elicited from 
JKR for the "look" of the Potterverse, I'm sure that their cottage's 
appearance was done with JKR's blessing).

I'm not decided whether the Potters deliberately distanced themselves from 
the magical community when Harry was born, whether they were sent into 
hiding (which was eventually reinforced by the Fidelius) or whether they 
kept themselves at a kind of halfway point, with one foot inside the 
wizarding community and one in the Muggle world.

Either way, they were not directly connected with Voldemort's First Reign 
of Terror, and thus had little reason to be suspected by either side. 
Something changed, and I believe that this consisted of Voldemort going 
after all of James's relatives.

However... A series of not necessarily connected thoughts and questions 
which lead I know not where:

 From the timeline as we understand it, Snape is 35-6 in PoA (as are his 
peers); James & Lily would have been about 22 at the time of Harry's birth; 
we know from Dumbledore & McGonagall's conversation in PS/SS that the 
wizarding community had spent 11 years in fear of Voldemort.

Is it just a coincidence that Voldemort's rise coincided with Lily & James 
starting at Hogwarts? Were James and Lily's adventures at Hogwarts 
connected to Voldemort's first reign, the way Harry's are with his second? 
What did James & Lily get up during the 4 years or so between leaving 
Hogwarts and conceiving Harry? At what point in time did Trelawney make her 
First Prediction? How did Voldemort find out about it?

The scenario I've come up with is that Trelawney's First Prediction was 
made to James during classes - she appears oblivious to the prediction she 
makes to Harry, so there's no reason for her to refer to it when Harry 
joins her class - and James tells Dumbledore about it. Like Harry, James 
also tells his close friends about it, and it's Wormtail who eventually 
tells Voldemort.

How all of this fits into why Voldemort wanted to get Harry, I have no 
idea. These are just idle ramblings which I probably shouldn't be posting 
right now anyway, as it's almost 5am... However, I'll see what happens when 
the rest of you read this...

--
GulPlumn AKA Richard,