James Potter Character Analysis in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry's father. Voldemort murdered him and his wife, Lily, twelve years ago. He attended Hogwarts and was friends with Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, and he and Sirius were the smartest students in their year. Harry looks just like James and people believe he inherited his Quidditch ability from him, as James was also a skilled Seeker. Though Harry holds an idealized vision of his father in his head, Snape suggests that James wasn't as purely good as Harry would like to think. Snape insists that James was a bully and was selfish, and he believed himself to be above the rules. Harry learns in the Shrieking Shack that some of this is true: James and his friends managed to turn themselves into Animagi in their fifth year so they could keep Lupin company during his monthly transformations into a werewolf, and what they learned about Hogwarts resulted in the Marauder's Map. James transformed into a stag; his nickname was Prongs.

James Potter Quotes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban quotes below are all either spoken by James Potter or refer to James Potter. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

"Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful... it will make everything much easier..."

The taunt about his father rang in Harry's ears as though Black had bellowed it.

Related Characters: Sirius Black (speaker), Harry Potter, James Potter

Page Number and Citation: 339

Explanation and Analysis:

"I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth...

"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

Related Characters: Professor Lupin (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, James Potter

Page Number and Citation: 354

Explanation and Analysis:

"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless--carried away with our own cleverness."

Related Characters: Hermione Granger (speaker), Professor Lupin (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Sirius Black, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, James Potter

Page Number and Citation: 355

Explanation and Analysis:

"Of course," Lupin breathed. "So simple...so brilliant...he cut if off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," said Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself--and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..."

Related Characters: Professor Lupin (speaker), Sirius Black (speaker), Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Professor Lupin, Scabbers/Peter Pettigrew, James Potter, Lily Potter

Page Number and Citation: 363

Explanation and Analysis:

"Did anyone see you?"

"Yes, haven't you been listening? I saw me but I thought I was my dad! It's okay!"

Related Characters: Harry Potter (speaker), Hermione Granger (speaker), Sirius Black, James Potter

Related Symbols: Dementors

Page Number and Citation: 393

Explanation and Analysis:

James Potter Character Timeline in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The timeline below shows where the character James Potter appears in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...got it twelve years ago when the dark lord Voldemort murdered Harry's parents, Lily and James, and failed to murder Harry. The curse rebounded onto Voldemort and he disappeared. Harry fought... (full context)

...and then calls Harry "runty." She insults Harry's parents and when Uncle Vernon says that James Potter was unemployed, Harry loses his temper. He tells her that his parents didn't die... (full context)

...go to the Dark Side. Fudge and McGonagall ask if she remembers Sirius's best friend, James Potter. At this, Harry drops his tankard. (full context)

McGonagall, Flitwick, and Fudge tell Rosmerta that James trusted Sirius—Sirius was his best man and is Harry's godfather. Fudge says that when the... (full context)

...Pettigrew found Sirius before the Ministry did. Rosmerta remembers Pettigrew as an untalented follower of James and Sirius. Pettigrew found Sirius on the street and Sirius blew him and the street... (full context)

...finds the photo album that Hagrid made him. Harry finds a photo of Lily and James's wedding and notices Black as their best man. Harry thinks that Black doesn't have to... (full context)

Responsibility, Morality, and Time Theme Icon

...memory, so Harry thinks of winning the House Cup last year. This time, Harry hears James telling Lily to take Harry and run. When he comes to, Harry is crying. Lupin... (full context)

...keep him safe, Harry doesn't care about consequences. He says that Harry is just like James and that James didn't care about rules either. Harry snaps, tells Snape to shut up,... (full context)

...Harry again and says that Harry is doing a poor job of repaying Lily and James's sacrifice. Harry feels awful. As Harry and Ron reach the corridor for the portrait hole,... (full context)

...and, eyes locked on Harry, says that he knew Harry would come—Harry is just like James, and this will make everything easier. Filled with rage, Harry starts for Black but Ron... (full context)

...their wands and point them at Black. Harry reminds Black that he killed Lily and James. Black doesn't deny it but says Harry doesn't know the whole story. Before Harry can... (full context)

...says that his transformations were awful, but he had three friends—Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and James Potter—all of whom eventually figured out where he went every month. Instead of deserting him,... (full context)

...and Lupin explains that once, Sirius told Snape how to get into the Whomping Willow. James learned what happened and saved Snape, but Snape did see Lupin as a werewolf. Harry... (full context)

...Harry yells that he's pathetic for holding onto a silly grudge. Snape insults Harry and James, then tells Harry to get out of the way. At the same time, Harry, Ron,... (full context)

...that when he cornered Peter on the street, Peter yelled that Black betrayed Lily and James, blew up the street, and ran away with the other rats. Ron won't have it;... (full context)

...and he shouts that Black was going to kill Pettigrew like he killed Lily and James. Black agrees that he wants to kill Pettigrew, but Lupin says that Harry has it... (full context)

Black says that in a way, he did kill Lily and James: he persuaded them to make Peter their Secret Keeper, not knowing Peter was working with... (full context)

...the mainland. He appeals once more to Harry and says he never betrayed Lily and James. Harry nods. (full context)

...however, looks revolted. Pettigrew turns to Hermione and then to Harry, whom he tells that James would've shown mercy. Lupin and Black make Pettigrew confess that he gave Lily and James... (full context)

...someone conjured a real, powerful Patronus. Slowly and hesitantly, Harry says that it looked like James. Hermione looks worried and Harry turns away. About an hour later, Hermione and Harry watch... (full context)

...the dementors swarming himself, Hermione, and Sirius, and decides that he needs to see if James is going to appear. Harry hides behind a bush and watches his feeble Patronus across... (full context)

Lupin asks Harry to tell him about his Patronus and confirms that James's Animagus form was a stag. As he finishes packing, Lupin gives Harry the Invisibility Cloak... (full context)

...is in Harry's debt now, which could come in handy later. He assures Harry that James would've saved Pettigrew. (full context)

Harry admits that he thought James conjured his Patronus across the lake. Dumbledore says that it's an easy mistake given how... (full context)