J.K. Rowling Releases Essay Chronicling Harry Potter's Family History

In a move that should delight wizard genealogists around the world, J.K. Rowling has published a new essay on Pottermore that delves into Harry Potter's family history, chronicling his lineage over several generations.

The essay traces the family name back to twelfth-century wizard Linfred of Stinchcombe, who was nicknamed "the Potterer" because he was always "pottering" about in his garden. The moniker was bastardized into "Potter" and stuck through the following generations.

The essay also reveals how the Potter family came to possess the invisibility cloak, later passed down to Harry:

Linfred's eldest son, Hardwin, married a beautiful young witch by the name of Iolanthe Peverell, who came from the village of Godric's Hollow. She was the granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell. In the absence of male heirs, she, the eldest of her generation, had inherited her grandfather's invisibility cloak. It was, Iolanthe explained to Hardwin, a tradition in her family that the possession of this cloak remained a secret, and her new husband respected her wishes. From this time on, the cloak was handed down to the eldest in each new generation.

The essay goes further, chronicling how each generation of Potters contributed to the family fortune through the ingenuity that seemed to be an immutable family trait. Two members even served as part of the Wizengamot, with one criticizing the Minster of Magic over the Minister forbidding wizards from becoming involved in World War I.

Check out the full essay at Pottermore.