James Potter Bio Facts

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 89988

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "justcarol67" 
<justcarol67 at y...> wrote:
 
Carol:
> There's also
> the apparent fact that both James and Sirius hate the Dark Arts
> (associated with Slytherin) and are chiefly characterized by a kind 
of
> reckless courage, a Gryffindor rather than a Slytherin trait. So in
> the absence of other evidence, I'm inclined to trust that image of
> James as a Gryffindor quidditch player. It's the closest thing we 
have
> to solid evidence at the moment. (There's also Lupin's support of
> Gryffindor in quidditch, somewhere in PoA.)

Geoff:
I spotted a little piece of canon just now which caught my attention 
while looking for something else which seemed relevant to this 
discussion.

"Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry.
'I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind 
about punishing you.'
Then she suddenly smiled.
'Your father would have been proud,' she said. 'He was an excellent 
Quidditch player himself.'"

(PS "The Midnight Duel" p.113 UK edition)

The fact that she remembers James as a good player suggests that he 
was in her house because she probably wouldn't necesarily recall him 
if he had been in a different house.

There's also a suggestion that she knew him and Lily sufficiently 
well to use their first names....

"'What they're saying.' she pressed on, 'is that last night Voldemort 
turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumour 
is that lily and James Potter are - are - that they're dead.'
Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.
'Lily and James.... I can't believe it... I didn't want to believe 
it... Oh Albus.'"

(PS "The Boy who lived" p.14 UK edition)

McGonagall is rather old-fashioned and tends to use the pupil's 
surname or first name plus surname. It is not very often that she 
uses merely first names - even on ex-pupils. Perhaps this indicates a 
closeness when they were seniors in her house? It's just a 
speculative thought.