James Sirius Potter (or James Potter II), Harry and Ginny Potter’s firstborn son, boarded the Hogwarts Express at King’s Cross station today. This makes James two years older than his younger brother, Albus Severus Potter, who we know from the Deathly Hallows epilogue, “Nineteen Years Later”, will board the Express to Hogwarts in 2017.
We know this, because JKR said so on her Twitter account:
I’m in Edinburgh, so could somebody at King’s Cross wish James S Potter good luck for me? He’s starting at Hogwarts today. #BackToHogwarts
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 1, 2015
James Potter made it safely to Hogsmeade Station (and didn’t need to resort to a flying car to get there), and presumably followed Hagrid in a boat across Hogwarts lake to the castle with new friends that he made on the train. Once inside the Great Hall, the Sorting Hat announced—to no one’s surprise—that he belonged in Gryffindor.
This tidbit was also confirmed by JKR on Twitter:
Have just heard that James S Potter has been Sorted (to nobody’s surprise) into Gryffindor. Teddy Lupin (Head Boy, Hufflepuff) disappointed.
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 1, 2015
These tweets mark the first time that J.K. Rowling has confirmed the houses of both minor characters, or that Teddy went on to become Head Boy. I am particularly excited to know that Teddy, like his mother Tonks, made it into Hufflepuff!
All this raises the question: two years from now, will JKR tweet Albus Severus’s house? We can only assume that she will. That’s the one that I’m most curious to learn. We closed the final chapter of the final book knowing that ASP was anxious that he wouldn’t be sorted into Gryffindor like his parents (or his brother—as we know now), and Harry tells him that if he is sorted into Slytherin instead, like his namesake Severus Snape, even then, he would be loved just the same.
Talk about your unconditional love! I don’t know. If I had a Slytherin son… I might just disown… Kidding. I like to think that I would probably feel the same way Harry does here. I mean, I do have Slytherin friends who I love dearly.
But to be honest, Albus doesn’t seem like the type of kid who’d be sorted into Slytherin. He’s clearly unsure of himself in this scene with his dad. I picture Slytherins (as Rowling portrays them in the books—not necessarily my friends who identify as Slytherin) as having an excess of confidence—bordering on arrogance. But you never know, perhaps he does have that “thirst to prove himself” deep down that Salazar Slytherin so prized. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
What do you think? Which house will add ASP to its ranks come 2017? Discuss in the comments!
