My fav Q and A from todays chat w/ JKR

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 92087

-- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Miss Melanie
<ms_melanie1999 at y...wrote:
Maneelyelfh wrote: "My theory here is that Harry and LV are related.
Also Harry is related to Slyterin and Grffindor. Griffindor via james,
and (nice little twist) Slytherin via Lily. Green eyes, Slytherin
house colors green and silver. Also may be the reason why Lv did not
want to kill Lily as they are related and she is related to
Slytherin!! In COS,Harry flet that Tom Riddle was vaguely familiar......"

The surprise would be if they aren't related.  We already heard from
Sirius that most old wizarding familes are related.  We don't know
much about Tom Riddle's mother, except that apparently she wasn't a
good judge of men.

The wizard community is a small one.  It's done a lot of intermarrying
over the centuries; it's been a thousand years since the Hogwarts Four
founded the school. You'd normally expect that darn near everyone in
it is related, many of them in several different ways at once. 
Imagine going to some place like Prince Edward Island or the Outer
Hebrides a hundred years ago.  If Voldemort's mother is from an old
wizard family, there's got to be relatives all over.

Jim Ferer