MOD NOTE 2008: Update from JKR about Lily, James, Sirius and Remus' jobs
-gal-texter


This is quite random, if anything, but I'm planning a MWPP-era fic, and I want it to continue beyond their seventh year.

I'm not entirely sure if this has been brought up before or not, but what do you think Lily and James's jobs were, if they worked at all? (Didn't Rowling say in an interview something about James having a sizable fortune and not needing to work, or something like that?)

Anyone?


--Autumn

Yep, she did.

As far as what their jobs were... I don't think either were Aurors, Quidditch players, or teachers. It just seems like it would have been mentioned if they were. It's possible they worked for the Order full time and lived off James' inheritance, but I think Lily at least might've felt a bit funny about that.

I could see Lily as an expert in old magic, given what she was able to do to save her son, and James as a Healer or Mediwizard specializing in removing curses/hexes. Whatever they did, it would have to be useful to the Order, IMHO.

I thought James was an Auror. Maybe I misread or have picked this up from somewhere else, but I thought that it said in the book (though it may have been something else I read) that James worked as an auror for the order. Well that's what I thought.

I could see Lily at St. Mungos. I just think she would be caring and so that's why I think that. Anyway tell me if I've mis interpreted the James thing though.

Gemma

The Harry Potter Lexicon, which does a pretty good job of assembling the facts about the different characters, does not list any profession for James or Lily but does note that Frank and Alice Longbottom were Aurors. Being an Auror has been a popular profession for James in fanfic though, which is probably where you got the idea. I also did a quick search at Quick-Quotes, and all JK Rowling has said so far is that he didn't need a high-paying job because of his inheritance. Still, she's never said specifically he *wasn't* an Auror, so I'm not going to get too fussed if a fanfic writer uses that.

I could easily see Lily at St. Mungo's too; what I wrote was just the first thing that came to mind for me.

yeh, i would agree with what has been said. James i think could have been an auror or maybe a full-time Order member. Lily could easily have been a healer or possibly a teacher i think, maybe at Hogwarts, though i've no idea what she could have taught, as technically all the positions were filled, but what about potions teacher?

I think I've always pictured James as an Auror (maybe an Auror working for the Order) and Lily as some sort of teacher or nurse of some sort. Maybe its from reading so many stories where that is the case. - I don't really see James as a Quidditch player at all.

I have James down as an Auror (like most people, I believe); it seems like a suitably gung-ho profession for him, and I'm not convinced it would have been exceptionally well paid. As for Lily, I like to imagine she worked in the Department of Experimental Charms. Obviously her wand was good for charm work, and what was the sacrifice spell that saved Harry, if not wildly, wildly experimental? It just seems to fit in my mind.

~ Saiph

I imagine that James could do almost anything since teacher to Auror(it was said that he and Sirius were the brightest students of their years - that meaning that they got very good grades plus were the best students overall like sports and other things).And plus James was from one one the most important wizard family so,a very good inheritance.lily could do,like James,almost anything.One thing for sure,they did it togheter,maybe they fall in love when working togheter...nah...they were in love(or least got feelings for eachother since) when in Hogwarts.....im beggining to not making any kinda of sense even to me now......

No doubt both had brains back at Hogwarts. But they can't have been Aurors or Mediwizards, or anything that requires years of training since they died at a very young age (my estimate: 21 years). I personally think that they were full-time members of the Order and that was how they got to 'defied the Dark Lord thrice.' They were trained through the Order as perhaps unofficial Aurors of the Order to fight Voldemort and his cronies and were not exactly hired to do so. I think by the time they left Hogwarts, LV's outrage was so rampant that Lily and James had no choice but become adults and let the Order do what it asked them to become.

One crazy theory though, but very plausible: James was heir to the millions of galleons of the Potters and inherited the money that came from the Potter's ancestral invention of the Snitch--it was said in one of the books that JKR wrote to benefit a charity (can't remember it's title) that the inventor of Snitch lived in Godric's Hollow and whoever that may have been, he might have been a Potter or in the least a close relative who made so much money off of the the snitch and passed it along from generation to generation, until it reached James and then Harry. It seems crazy but nonetheless seemingly worthy of belief since no one knows yet but JKR what James and Lily were and what kind of family they came from.

Heh... stupid poll makes you put something... just vote!

Ren! Agh! That makes total sense. I think that theory is very plausible and I can agree with it.

Anywho, I can see James as an Auror, and Lily as a nurse, but I can also see them both being Aurors.

Though them being full time Order members can be a possibility too. Guess we'll just have to wait until JKR points us elsewhere! ^__^

As much as Ren thinks this is unlikely, I'll say it anyway because I think the traits somehow rubbed off on Harry. I see both Lily and James Potter as aurors working undercover for the Order of the Phoenix, or for the Ministry alongside the Longbottoms (before they went insane). I could definitely picture where Harry got his "heroic" traits from. Lily, assuming that she was real brainy like Hermione, might've used her knowledge to gain information about Voldemort's whereabouts, his spies, etc. James... well, I'd say that he did the fighting. His invisibility cloak comes in handy at these times. He could go into the shady areas (i.e. Knockturn Alley) and gain information about Voldemort's rising supporters of the time.

Yes, JKR, did say that she was going to give us more peeks in the past during the time of the Marauders. Ooh, I can't wait!

Hello everyone!

I honestly believe that if James or Lily were Auror's we would know about it already. How could someone leave that out- especially with all the action with the Order. Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, Longbottom- someone surely would have said something by now. Even Dumbledore/ Crouch/ or Fudge would have dropped a clue. I could be completely off- but I just think it would be obvious if they were Aurors.

*MAYBE: James was in Auror training? I like to think of him as starting from the bottom and working his way up (although he really wouldn't have gotten very far since...well- he died. ). I'm writing a fic now where he works in the law enforcement department- or something like it.

Is there school after Hogwarts?

*MAYBE: Lily worked in the Ministry where she could have gained information for the Order on the hunt for Voldemort. That's what I think.

I think so he was a Teacher

Mod Note: Merging this with a related thread. This post is refering to James' job.

Poll options were: Hogwarts Teacher, Auror, Ministry of Magic, Shopkeeper. ~ GemmaH121/Gems

Though both probably had the mentality and power to become Aurors, I don't think they were. Like LadyProngs said, it probably would've been mentioned already. People have told Neville that his parents were great Aurors, and I imagine someone would have told Harry if his were as well. I think it's possible that they were in training, though. They were still young, so it's possible that they were training to become Aurors while they fought for the Order.

A Healer is another possibility, but like Auror training, I imagine that takes a few years of training, so they probably wouldn't have been funny qualified by the time they died. I see Lily in this vocation more than James.

I don't think either of them were teachers. One of the professors probably would have told Harry if they were.

A simple Ministry job is possible, but I can't really see them (especially James) there.

In my opinion, they either worked full-time for the Order or were in Auror training, but I could be totally wrong.

~Alex

I don't know what James's profession is, but I heard somewhere, I think it might have been an interview with JKR, that Lily worked for the Ministry in the Department of Experimental Charms.

Since books 5 and 6, Lily has become more of a fiery, independent character in my eyes. I think she could have worked for the Ministry in defense of the underdog, i.e. in the Department of Magical Creatures or at the Wizengamot. *shrugs*

LOL, actually I'd always assumed that they were both Aurors who worked for the Order, since the defied the Dark Lord three times, and all. And it always fit my picture of them.



I agree!

I'd never heard that before...are you sure it's not from a fanfiction?



I don't think either of them worked outside the Order...around the time that the two of them would be coming into the adult world of the wizarding world, the Ministry thought spies were everywhere, so I doubt they would have let many new people into their ranks and with the amount of bigotry that has been shown to have been present at that time, I seriously doubt Lily, as a Muggleborn witch, could have gotten a job anywhere.
They probably acted much like Aurors for the Order even if they weren't officially. They would have gotten all sorts of experience from being in the Order, but I don't think they would have had the time to go through the 4 years of Auror training. They had to go into hiding only a few years after they got out of Hogwarts, so it would have been unrealistic for them to be in such a high-profile job like Auror and just disappear...don't you think?

Julie

I've always liked the idea of Lily being a Healer - it's clichéd, I know, but I think that profession would fit her. For James, I'm not sure - most fics you read he's an auror, so I would go with this.

I hope JKR gives us confirmation either in the seventh book or in an interview.

For some reason - I must have gotten this from fic or from thinking about HP too much - I picture Lily as working in the Department of Mysteries. James I'm not so sure about. I hesitate to say Auror in that it's... too predictable, almost. And besides, that's probably a high-risk job (read: high-paying) job, and since we know that is out of the question...

Lots of people seem to like the idea of Lily being a Healer...I don't really think she would be though. From what we've seen of her, I would imagine she wouldn't settle for that kind of job...i think she would want to be out there with the action.



Don't hold your breath...she's been promising us info on L/J since GoF came out and the only thing we've gotten in the 5-odd years is Snape's Worst Memory, which has now been beaten and prodded to death by fanfic writers...



I think it's a tad predictable too...but what could he have done, maybe a just a paper-pusher job at the Ministry? Hmm, I just can't see him as an Auror.

Julie

In many of the flashback scenes in the book, there's mention of Lily seeing the best in everyone and caring for people. I think that's where the overused healer idea comes from. I also choose to see her as a lady more in the action doing some "secret" order work. She could be in the Department of Magic, but we just don't know what she does there.

I personally think that James and Lily lived off his inheritance and worked full time for the Order. They seem like the kind of people who would rather spend themselves into poverty than sit idly by working a dull job while that kind of war was raging. I think they would have done as much as they could for Order and, perhaps, held odd jobs as decoys or ways to gain information on suspected Death Eaters.

My question about either of them being a teacher is this: all of the professors at Hogwarts appear to be single, unattached, w/o significant others seeing as how they live ten months of the year at Hogwarts, on the grounds. How would it have worked for James to be transfiguration professor and Lily to be a healer at Mungos? They would never see each other. Furthermore, James would either not be able to live in Hogwarts, or Lily would have to live in Hogwarts with him and walk to Hogsmeade (or outside the grounds) in order to apparate donw to London. Does that not seem strange to anyone else?

And this was posted a long time ago...



I don't think this is possible because no one, not even Dumbledore knew Lily's sacrifice would save Harry like it did. Therefore, she, herself, didn't know that she would save her son; she was just brave enough to put her life before her son's on the miniscule chance that Voldemort would look at the little tyke and change his mind about killing him. Voldemort himself underestimates the power of love.

I think Lily was an Unspeakable who worked in the locked room in the Deptment of Mysteries. It was love that saved Harry as a baby and the locked room is supposedly a room of love.
James, I'm not sure, I've never been able to see him doing anything specific.

Everyone loves the jobs of Auror and Healer.
Lily, Ginny and Hermione all seem to be favoured Healers (occasionally aurors) and the blokes are always Aurors (unless your name's Ronald Weasley in which case you are occassionally the keeper for the Chudley Canons).

However, much as I loathe the cliched, what else is there? JK has never given us any great detail on any job what so ever.
From what we know James' job was not highly payed. Both are clever so could have any job. I do doubt, however, Lily knew all about old magic. She loved her son and it was enough to save him. That's mother's instinct not previous knowledge.

I can't see them in banking, or muggle relations.
Maybe they did work for the Order full-time.

Whatever they did could have been something that you couldn't translate into 'muggle language' e.g. Auror - Police, Healer - Doctor. That or Petunia didn't know as she told Aunt Marge James was "unemployed".

I go with Aurors, too. They had fought against Voldemort three times already before Harry was born, that makes it very likely that it was their job IMO.

Jo finally answered this question when she gave the reading at Carnegie Hall. They didn't have regular jobs. They didn't need extra income because James inherited a lot of money from his parents. They both devoted themselves full time to the Order of the Phoenix - along with Sirius and Lupin. Lupin couldn't get a job because he was a werewolf so James and Lily helped him financially.

merged with similar topic - PK mods

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the right place for my question, because it is based on Harry/Hermione fics only. I didn't find a better place for the question.

So, in all Harry/Hermione fics in which Harry was of age, he was very rich, because he didn't only inheritate Sirius fortune, but James und Lilys as well. It's likely that Sirius left him more than Grimmaulds Place, but I wonder why everbody assumes that James and Lily were as wealthy or even more wealthy than the Blacks. James an d Lily died very young. They were only 21. They didn't have much time to earn money. Lilys family doesn't seem to be rich and we don't know anything about James family. Anyway, all authors assume that James and Lily left Harry way more than just the money in his vault.

Did I miss anything in the books? Or did JKR say anything about that topic in an interview?

Well, for what I could understand from HP books, James and Lily left a good account of money for Harry. He is not millionaire, but rich enough to maintain himself during a certain period of life. We don't know what was James and Lily's job (at least I don't know), but I think they lived with James' money (probably inheritance from his parents who I supposed wasn't alive by the time of the young couple deaths). I think Sirius was totally dedicated of OOTP and didn't work too. So he probably have inherited something too.

JKR said in interviews that James had inherited plenty of money.

In 2000:
Q: What did James and Lily Potter do when they were alive?

JKR: Well, I can't go into too much detail, because you're going to find out in future books. But James inherited plenty of money, so he didn't need a well-paid profession. You'll find out more about both Harry's parents later.


In 2005:

MA: What about Harry's family — his grandparents — were they killed?

JKR: No. This takes us into more mundane territory. As a writer, it was more interesting, plot-wise, if Harry was completely alone. So I rather ruthlessly disposed of his entire family apart from Aunt Petunia. I mean, James and Lily are massively important to the plot, of course, but the grandparents? No. And, because I do like my backstory: Petunia and Lily's parents, normal Muggle death. James's parents were elderly, were getting on a little when he was born, which explains the only child, very pampered, had-him-late-in-life-so-he's-an-extra-treasure, as often happens, I think. They were old in wizarding terms, and they died. They succumbed to a wizarding illness. That's as far as it goes. There's nothing serious or sinister about those deaths. I just needed them out of the way so I killed them.

In 2007:

Information on the original Order members was also revealed during tonight's event. Jo related the fact that Remus Lupin, prior to the third book, was unemployable because he was a werewolf and upon his graduation from Hogwarts along with James and Lily, was supported by James using their own money. In addition to this she shed more light on the early days of the Order, saying James, Sirius, Remus and Lily were full time Order members. "Full Time Fighters," as Jo put it.

Thank you both.