questions about HP (Evans?)

[scoutmom21113]

No: HPFGUIDX 82389

A point about the Evans that I have not seen discussed before.  
Dumbledore said, "They're the only family he has left now." (SS/PS, 
p 13 US)  What if he meant "...the only *immediate* family..."?

Think of it this way.  When I was 15 months old, my sisters hadn't 
been born yet.  So my family consisted of my parents and me.  My 
mother has one brother, by father had no siblings.  If something had 
happened to my parents (and if my grandparents were not alive at 
that time), my uncle would have been "the only family I had left."  
I have no 1st cousins. I have a few 2nd cousins, and I have recently 
discovered I have a whole bunch of 3rd, 4th, and 5th cousins.  
However, they would be too distantly related to be considered as 
guardians.  

Presuming that the senior Potters and Evans were no longer living, 
Petunia was the only person close enough to be considered "family."  
Adding in the consideration of the blood protection, Petunia is the 
closest blood relation to Lily, so is the logical choice for 
Dumbledore to consider as Harry's guardian.

Lily's parents were proud to have a witch in the family, which 
indicates to me that they were either squibs, or the children of 
squibs – close enough to know about the WW. (Or at least one of them 
was.)  Lily's ability was evidence that the magic gene was still 
there in the family.   So trace it back up the family tree and down 
another branch, and you get that magic gene in Mark Evans' line.  
Mark's father could have been alive at that time but was not a close-
enough relative to use the blood protection charm.

So it is possible for Mark Evans to be Harry's cousin without 
contradicting Dumbledore's statement.

Ravenclaw Bookworm