Creevey Brothers and Evans Sisters
by Susan W.
Like many MuggleNet visitors, I have been trying to figure out who the half-blood prince could be. However, this editorial isn’t about my theories surrounding this notion, but it does have something to do with the “blood-ties” which are interwoven through these stories.
I will look at the similarities between the Creevey brothers (Dennis and Colin) and the Evans sisters (Lily and Petunia). You can draw your own conclusions based on the similarities
First off, remember JKR saying that there was a Hidden clue to the end of the series in Chamber of Secrets, and that this clue was both in the movie version and the book? Could that clue be the introduction of Colin Creevey’s character?
Let’s look at Colin. In the movie, he was a real nuisance to Harry (much like a sibling) – always taking his picture. Then we don’t see him again until he is petrified. He pops up again in PoA after telling Harry that his little brother Dennis made it into Gryffindor. He’s pretty quiet through GoF (as I think he just goes and tells Harry about some photo op for the Triwizard Tournament), and then he is one of the first people to support Harry in OotP.
Why would “The Important Clue” be the introduction of Colin’s Character? Let’s think about this for a moment. We know from CoS that he is Muggleborn (Aha!). It doesn’t seem that important at first since Hermione is a Muggleborn too, but then look how he – from the first day – is at Harry’s side taking pictures and being a little “shadow” – if you will – to Harry (much like a sibling).
Fast forward to PoA: in the movie, when Aunt Marge starts talking about Lily’s “bad blood” Petunia becomes a bit agitated and quiet real quick – and when we assume Harry blows Marge up, where is Petunia? Standing in front of the kitchen island looking right at Marge while Harry, we assume, is causing her to blow up – who is standing just behind the Island and Petunia looking right at Marge. They both face her during the process of her inflation.
We know that when spells are combined, their effects are immediately enhanced (see last chapter of GoF and OotP – when Harry and his friends, without words, combine their spells and send Malfoy and his minions on their heels), and spells without wands are uncontrollable – could this be one of the visual clues JKR said that Cuaron, unknowingly, put into the movie? Could Harry and Petunia have simultaneously sent two different spells her way and they crossed paths and that’s why so much damage was done?
Then we are introduced to Dennis Creevey – Colin’s little brother – another Muggleborn. That’s TWO Muggleborns from the same family! That is a RARITY! Two Muggleborn wizards from the same set of Muggle parents. Having one is rare, but two from a Muggleborn family? That’s got to be extremely rare! And it could have happened before – and it might have…
Now what if, what if… this was a secret clue to something in the later books that is very important? Think about it. JKR said that someone will find out that they possess magical ability later in life – could that be Petunia? Think about Dennis Creevey. He never really showed any signs of magical ability and then his letter arrived…
Petunia: JKR has said that she knows more than she lets on. She may be Muggleborn, but in JKR’s words, “she can’t be from a wizarding family as she is muggle born, but there is more to Petunia than meets the eye”. And we know from OotP that she seems as though she knows a lot more about “The Dark Lord” and what it means that he has been resurrected and what impact that will have on things after Dudley and Harry were “Demented”. What if, like Dennis Creevey, she possesses magical ability that has gone unnoticed? Perhaps this could be the reason she despises that Lily was chosen to attend Hogwarts and she wasn’t. They both possessed magical ability, and only one was chosen. A bit unfair really – that’s why she treats Harry like she does.
Lily: We don’t know too much about Lily, but she is Petunia’s sister, Harry’s mother and she is a Muggleborn witch – (possibly one of the best of all time). Nor do we know much about the Evans family- but what *do* we know?
THEY BOTH WERE BORN MUGGLES!
As I mentioned before, this editorial emphasizes similarities between the Creevey brothers and the Evans sisters. All four were Muggleborn. The Creevey brothers, while Muggleborn, are both wizards; the Evans sisters, while Muggleborn, one is a witch, and one could possibly be (look at surgically clean kitchen references, and the blowing up of Aunt Marge in PoA, and her reaction to the resurrection of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the Dementor attack on Dudley and Harry)
What if, Petunia – like Dennis – was Lily’s shadow (or vice versa) and was passed by to attend Hogwarts? What if she helped Lily practice over holidays? (As JKR on her website said, Lily was not above testing the limits of underage sorcery during holidays) That could be how Lily knew that Petunia would do anything she asked her to – why she had a “magical” study buddy at home – Lily could have felt sorry for Petunia because she knew that Petunia was just as good of a witch as she (Lily) was, and Petunia never received a letter (or received them and never took them to heart – and learned to cast spells from her days growing up with Lily). This also could lead to why she took Harry in – Lily tried to give her a chance, so she should try to give her nephew a chance.
What if the “charm” that she placed on Harry goes back to the days when she and Petunia were practicing charms? They could have put a charm on each other? (Much like the “blood brother” deals that brothers make to keep promises to each other [usually consists of cutting each other with something and shaking hands while the blood is coming from the wound so that the blood combines and seals the deal], except they are “blood sisters.”) From what we know, Petunia never attended Hogwarts, but on JKR’s website, she states there is a difference between “Letters sent [from Dumbledore] to Petunia by herself and the Dursleys as a couple” in response to Dumbledore’s Howler at the beginning of OotP.
What if Petunia got letters but never acted upon them for whatever reason. What if Lily talked to Dumbledore and he went out of his way to help Petunia (since she was passed over – notice that Dennis is much smaller and easily passed over more often then Colin) get educated in magical abilities -sort of like independent study courses? And through him, Petunia was able to use what ability she possessed (provided the ability was there). Why would Dumbledore send things directly to her – even before Harry arrived – if there wasn’t something there? How did Dumbledore know that Petunia would be willing to “seal” the charm?
It was a “blood sister” promise she made with Lily. And anyone who knows how very important “blood brothers/sisters” promises are can tell you – once the promise is sealed in blood, it’s forever. Ask any five year old – no matter what, the promise is always sealed because the blood was combined and it’s a forever bond, and it’s a VERY ANCENT MUGGLE CHARM RITUAL – NOT EVEN IN WIZARDING BOOKS – and one has to research it to understand it’s implications (or you could ask any Muggle parent with 5-10 year olds. Dumbledore himself said that he had to research it to understand it completely because it is so rare [could he be a Muggleborn? A 150 year old Muggleborn? He’d have to remember 140 years of his own history]). Hurray for Hermione’s Muggle Studies!
Much like the Creevey brothers, their family genetic secrets are permanently sealed in blood; therefore, any secrets or promises they have made to each other could be sealed in their own blood!
Once the blood brother/sister promise is made it can never be broken; however, if one of the parties breaks the seal, there are dire consequences -including bad luck for x-number of years or an early death (well, anything tragic you can think of). These will befall the one who broke the seal (and since Lily was a witch, she could have been like Hermione and put an extra zing on the promise (what happened to the snitch in OotP when she squealed about the DA) in which Petunia can never escape or risk embarrassing exposure. The most embarrassing thing to her would be that Vernon (or potentially her friends in school) would find out that she’s a witch – which would make her, in her words, “a freak…” Petunia wants to be accepted – like Dennis- she doesn’t want to be an outsider (Colin is the oldest, therefore Dennis ‘fits in’ since his brother is a wizard). This was why Dumbledore said that Harry could stay with no other – we learn that the charm is “blood-based” – It was the “only way” for Harry to be cared for. He had to be accepted by Petunia because the charm was sealed “in his mother’s blood” -that sounds like a “blood sister promise” to me. Once that seal is made, it is impenetrable and lasts forever.
To share your thoughts and comments on this editorial, feel free to email me.
