With all the background of Harry Potter’s parents and the events that led up to Harry Potter’s story, there are still questions around his grandparents. This is because they would have only been in their sixties or early seventies when Harry Potter became an orphan.
There are many theories as to what happened to Harry Potter’s grandparents. It has been confirmed that the wizardly grandparents (the Potters) died from the magical disease Dragon Pox, but nothing is said about Potter’s muggle grandparents, the Evans, only that they died a muggle death.
We know that they aren’t around to take care of Harry Potter after the passing of his mother, Lily, and his father, James. It is safe to assume that both sets of grandparents were dead, which left Harry with the abusive Dursleys.
Are Harry’s Grandparents Wizards?
The Potters (Euphemia and Fleamont Potter) were a part of the magical world. James’ parents are, in fact, wizards and well-known wizards as well.
Unlike James’ parents, Lily’s parents were Muggles. They had no magical abilities and so most likely didn’t have much of a role in the magical realm of wizardry.
Who Were James Potter’s Parents?
James Potter’s parents were Euphemia and Fleamont Potter. They never met their grandson, Harry, as they died of Dragon Pox before his birth.
Dragon Pox happens to be a contagious and possibly deadly disease that spreads between wizards and witches. It resembles that of the muggle disease, Chicken Pox. And with James’ parents being relatively old, this contagious disease proved to be fatal to them.
There is the theory that they didn’t catch this disease by accident, though. Some readers have proposed that James’ wizard parents were killed because they had refused to join the Death Eaters.
They were of high esteem, so not joining the Death Eaters could have led others to do the same. This may have been a possibility.
Euphemia Potter
Euphemia married Fleamont, who was quite wealthy. She struggled to have a child but was surprised when James came along.
She was a well-established pure-blood witch and took care of Sirius Black like a second son.
Fleamont Potter
Fleamont was a wealthy wizard and was considered a “pure-blood” wizard. He also attended Hogwarts, where James and Harry came to study at.
The Potters were essential during the wars as they were one of few that stood up for what was right.
Who Were Lily Potter’s Parents?
Lily’s parents, the Evans, would have possibly been in their sixties or seventies when Harry Potter lost his parents, but within the series, it is known that they were dead before Harry Potter’s birth.
Other than the fact that they are dead, there isn’t much more information about them other than that they were muggles who lived in Cokeworth, England.
Although there are a lot of theories as to how the Evans died, none of these have been confirmed by J.K. Rowling. The only logical conclusion is that they may have died of old age or another natural cause in the muggle world.
Lily Potter
Lily Potter was Harry Potter’s mother or also known as Lily Evans. She was the younger sister of Petunia Evans, who later became Petunia Dursley and gained custody of Harry Potter. Lily was muggle-born, but she thrived as a muggle-born witch.
She got married to James Potter at 18 and had Harry Potter two years later at 20. And the rest goes down in the history books at which she passes trying to protect her son.
James Potter
James Potter, also known as Prongs, was a pure-blood wizard of two well-established wizards, Euphemia and Fleamont Potter.
He studied at Hogwarts at which he met many of the professors that later on became a part of Harry Potter’s life. He died at the early age of 21 as Voldemort feared the prophecy’s predictions.
J.K. Rowling’s Response to Harry Potter’s Grandparents
J.K. Rowling hasn’t said much on the topic of Harry’s grandparents. This includes both the Evans and the Potters.
To be more specific, she has confirmed that the Potters died of Dragon Pox within days of each other. But she doesn’t delve more into if they received Dragon Pox as a means of murder or if it were accidental.
She has said little on the Evans. Simply put, she suggests that they died a muggle death. This could mean natural causes or an accident or anything your imagination can muster when you think of “muggle death.”
J.K. Rowling has made it a point that she merely wanted to make sure Harry Potter was alone in the world and didn’t have anyone to help him early on. He needed to be an orphan for her to continue the story.
Why Harry Potter’s Grandparents Deaths Are Important
Their deaths are quite important to setting up the plot of Harry Potter and developing the environment that leads him to the wizarding world. Although he could have been a great wizard with his father’s parents, it wouldn’t have set up the journey that has been seen today.
The first chapter reels readers in with the unfortunate events. It allows us to invest to see if this boy will be okay and know his outcome.
The connection deepens when we see how he is treated by the Dursleys and allows us to root for him when he can be free of them by entering Hogwarts.
If we had seen him in a loving home, protected by his high-caliber wizard grandparents, people wouldn’t invest as much in him.
Everyone loves an underdog, and Harry Potter fits the description perfectly early on. This allows more readers to connect with him and want to follow him on his journey to prevailing.
Conclusion
Although it would be nice to understand what happened to the grandparents, sometimes the simple answer that they were dead is all that can be given. Nothing more and nothing less: just that Harry Potter was left with no loving family members.
Remember that your imagination of how they died may be the best explanation than whatever explanation is within J.K. Rowling’s mind. It adds to the book’s mystery, and you know it’s a good story when you start to question things.