Harry Potter Fans Have An Interesting Theory About Harry's Grandparents

Referring to Harry Potter as "The Boy Who Lived" is reverent in theory, but in practice, it's more like everyone on TikTok telling Robert Irwin that he's making his father proud (via Daily Mail). Yes, it's probably intended with respect, but all it does is remind the survivor that there are dead people to contend with emotionally. In Harry's case — which is fictional as the similarities to Robert Irwin's real life ended with the last sentence — the moniker is almost a prophecy. With every subsequent chapter, he survives while those he loves fall prey to a series of deeply traumatizing circumstances. 

All this, of course, is old news to the fantasy community, which has spent nearly two decades parsing through mixed feelings toward J.K. Rowling's prolific series of novels. 

Despite a social shift, in which both Rowling herself and her further entries into the series ("Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" as well as the "Fantastic Beasts" movies) have come under fire for several controversies, there are still fans who are patching together the puzzle pieces left behind by a massive magical world. In this way, some believe that Harry Potter's list of lost ones is more extensive than even he knows. 

In a subreddit dedicated to fan theories, u/PopsicleIncorporated suggested their idea as to why young Harry ended up with the Dursleys and not his maternal grandparents. "James's parents were already dead by the time Harry was orphaned, but I don't think there was ever any definitive fate given to Mr. and Mrs. Evans ... [they] would've probably accepted him with open arms. So why didn't they? Only reason I can think of is that they were dead ... I know James' parents were older when they had him, but presuming Lily's parents were average-aged, they'd be in their early 50s at most by the time of their daughter's death. Why would they both be dead? Well, my theory is that [the] Death Eaters came for Lily and Petunia's parents and probably killed them looking for information on Lily's whereabouts."

In short, the Redditor suggests that Harry's maternal grandparents would've happily homed him if Death Eaters hadn't reached them first. It makes sense, given that the series takes great pains to remind the reader how intensely Voldemort wanted Lily and James Potter dead. Why wouldn't he seek out their only living relatives for information? Moreover, even Harry believes Voldemort would use muggle relatives against their magical ones — that's why the Dursleys had to go into hiding at the start of the seventh book. The only hole connected to this theory is one in Rowling's own writing because it seems an odd oversight never to mention the fate of Mr. and Mrs. Evans. She wrote over a million (via Word Counter) published words and never once explained their current status.