Lily Potter is among the most essential characters inHarry Potter, but some of the most intriguing aspects of her story are often ignored. HBO’s upcoming TV remake of the series has a chance to fix this. The show has been advertised as a book-faithful adaptation, and with several hours of content possible for each season, this should be relatively easy to achieve. There will even be time for theHarry PotterTV series to dive further into canon details, expanding character backstories to create a stronger foundation for Harry’s adventures. In the case of Lily Potter, this is rather exciting.
While Harry is the maincharacter ofHarry Potter, everything ultimately comes down to his mother. Lily Potter, born Lily Evans, sacrificed her life to save her son, and this allowed Harry to become the one person who could take Lord Voldemort down. Additionally, Lily’s influence on Severus Snape was pivotal to Harry’s success since it was for her that the man became a double agent. Despite all this,the details of Lily’s character, aside from being a mother, were largely ignoredin theHarry Pottermovies. Even in the books, Harry gave little thought to Lily’s talents.
Lily’s Skill At Potions Is A Major Part Of Her Story
Lily’s Greatest Talent Is Often Overlooked
Harry spent years learning about James Potter’s talents at Quidditch, but it wasn’t untilHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Princethat he began to learn more about his mother. Up to that point, people referred to Lily as kind and loving, but there was so much more to her than this. When Professor Slughorn came to teach at Hogwarts,he mentioned countless times what a prodigy Lily was at Potions. When Harry was using the Half-Blood Prince’s book to craft impressive brews, Slughorn would say that he must have inherited this skill from his mother. She had been one of the professor’s favorites.
Harry didn’t take as much pride in Slughorn’s compliments as when people said he was like James. This is likely because he knew he wasn’t being entirely honest with Slughorn—Harry hadn’t inherited Lily’s potion-making talent and was really following the Half-Blood Prince’s tips. Still, Slughorn’s repeated comments about Lily’s talent were meant to communicate something important to audiences about her character.Lily being a potions prodigy was a hint about the most significant twist in her story, but even theHarry Potterbooksdidn’t focus nearly enough on this.
Slughorn’s Comments About Lily’s Potions Making Hinted At Her Friendship With Snape
Half-Blood Prince Created A Subtle Connection
Slughorn comparing Harry’s potion-making toLily inHalf-Blood Princewas a major red herring. The concoctions Harry created using the Half-Blood Prince’s potions book reminded Slughorn of Lily, and Hermione frequently mentioned that the textbook’s previous owner could have been a girl. There was a time that Harry wondered if his father was secretly the Half-Blood Prince, but despite Slughorn’s frequent comparisons, he never once considered that it could have been Lily. Of course, it wasn’t—but this theory would have been close.
Some of the ideas Snape jotted down in his Advanced Potions Making textbook might have come from Lily herself.
The true Half-Blood Prince is Severus Snape, who had been Lily’s best friend through most of their time at Hogwarts.Half-Blood Princesubtly revealed that both Snape and Lily were potions prodigies, and this was a significant hint to the reveal inHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsthat they had been friends. Some of the ideas Snape jotted down in hisAdvanced Potions Makingtextbook might have come from Lily herself. Slytherin and Gryffindor always had potions lessons together inHarry Potter, soSnape and Lily would have taken this class and experimented and grown together.
How HBO’s Harry Potter Remake Can Meaningfully Expand On Lily’s Greatest Talent
The TV Remake Can Take A Closer Look At Lily & Snape’s Friendship
Potion-making would have been a significant part of Lily and Snape’s friendship, butthere is never a time in theHarry Potterbooks or movies that the pair are shown brewing concoctions together. Of course, there was a lot to fit into Harry’s trip to the Pensieve inDeathly Hallows, so there must not have been time. Still, it’s a shame that there isn’t more time spent focused on Lily’s immense talent. Aside from Slughorn’s praise, theHarry Potterbooks contain no further evidence of her skill. This is something thatHBO’sHarry Potterremakecan hopefully change.
Snape and Lily stopped being friends at the end of their 5th year at Hogwarts before either took Advanced Potions Making in their 6th year. Still, Snape surely would have discovered some of his best Potions tricks in years prior with Lily by his side.
Snape’s memories take up a whole chapter in theHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsbooks, and it could feasibly fill an entire episode (or even two) in the upcoming TV series. This would give audiences a chance to understand Snape better, but even more than this, Lily can be given the attention her character deserves. TheHarry Potterremake can expand on her talents, revealing precisely how many of her ideas made it into Snape’s potion book. Thiswould make Harry learning so much from the Half-Blood Prince more meaningful. It wasn’t just Snape he learned from—it was Lily, too.
Harry Potter
Cast
Harry Potter is HBO’s remake of the iconic Wizarding World film series that consisted of eight films between 2001 and 2011. Each season adapts a book from JK Rowling’s popular series and provides more book-accurate details than the movies did.
