“Until the Very End”

James – Means “supplanter.” To “supplant” is” to take the place of, or substitute, especially through intrigue or underhanded tactics.” James was also an apostle of Jesus.

Potter – A name J.K. Rowling has always been fond of since childhood. “Potter’s Field” is often the name given to a cemetery where a city or town buries those who have gone unclaimed or unwanted (a community’s orphans). “Potter’s Field” is also considered a cursed land because Judas hung himself in one.

Prongs – A slender pointed or projecting part; a point of an antler. Clearly referring to the stag that represents Harry Potter’s Patronus and James Potter’s Animagus form.

“It was as though he was looking at himself but with deliberate mistakes. James’s eyes were hazel, his nose was longer than Harry’s, and there was no scar on his forehead, but they had the same thin face, same mouth, same eyebrows. James’s hair stuck up at the back exactly as Harry’s did, his hands could have been Harry’s and Harry could tell that when James stood up they would be within an inch of each other’s heights.”

Ever since the great reveal that Snape isn’t the bad guy he pretends to be, people dislike James Potter more and more for his treatment of Snape when they were younger. I couldn’t disagree more. James was a teenager, not that it’s a very good excuse, but who didn’t do dumb things as a teenager? Plus, I believe that a lot of the stuff he did was because he was jealous of Snape’s relationship with Lily. This picture describes it perfectly to me.

James was sometimes arrogant and cocky, but deep down, he was a loyal friend who died trying to save his family. When Voldemort’s memory of the night he murdered James and Lily, it shows James’ true character. Lily is upstairs putting Harry to bed and James is relaxing on the couch. Voldemort enters the house, and James automatically tries to fight. He doesn’t even have his wand, meaning he is powerless. He wouldn’t go down without trying to protect his family. Though Voldemort just breezes past James without a second thought, James’ love for Harry is just as important as Lily’s. I think that’s something that is overlooked a lot in this series. Motherly love is important and a common theme in the books, but what about James? He didn’t even have a chance against Voldemort, even if he had had his wand, he would have died anyway. He didn’t just give up and try and persuade Voldemort to save him. He jumped up and tried to save them. It honestly bothers me that people dislike James because he was a bully at Hogwarts. But only to one kid. Snape, on the other hand, was rude to everyone and bullied his students when he became a teacher. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Snape, but James needs to stop being looked down on. This picture is a little more degrading to Snape than I would like, but I think it really shows why James is such a brilliant character.

The fact that Harry looks so much like James is important to me. First of all, it’s a way for Harry to hold onto his father. Another thing is James and Snape hated each other and it gives Snape yet another reason to dislike Harry. Harry may look like his father, but I think they are rather different. James broke the rules for fun; Harry broke them to do good, usually. Also, though Harry never really knew his father, his father is very important to the development of his character. Harry’s Patronus after all, is a stag, his father’s Animagus form.

I’m not trying to say that James is better than Snape, because I love them both. Nor am I trying to say that James is flawless, because obviously he’s not. But for a character that isn’t in the books much, he really does have an important role, and I think we should stop overlooking that. After all, James’ demise was because he trusted someone he shouldn’t have, not because he was a bully.

Some quotes from and about James:

“’Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!’ Like my dad…”

“Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off!”

“You are nearly there. Very close. We are…so proud of you.”

Harry: “You’ll stay with me?” James: “Until the very end.”

JK Rowling: “James always suspected Snape harbored deeper feelings for Lily, which was a factor in James’ behavior to Snape.”

more info on James here!