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MYTHTERY: Was Crookshanks Originally Lily Potter’s Cat?

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Mythtery

Crookshanks once belonged to Lily Potter.

 

Evidence

While taking shelter at Grimmauld Place in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry finds a letter his mother, Lily, wrote to Sirius. In the letter, Lily thanks Sirius for the toy broomstick he sent for Harry’s first Christmas. She mentions Harry nearly killed their pet cat while zooming around on the toy. Harry is left wondering what became of the cat his mother mentioned in her letter. Did the kitty die at Godric’s Hollow or run away when there was no one left to feed it?

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione adopts her fluffy, ginger cat Crookshanks from the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley. The shop keeper tells Hermione that the cat had been at the shop for ages since no one was interested in buying him. Fans speculate that the Potter’s cat may have found his way to the Magical Menagerie from Godric’s Hollow after Lily and James died.

While it’s nice to think Hermione’s beloved cat had first belonged to Lily Potter, proceed with caution. Be wary of Wrackspurts.

Support for this theory states that because Crookshanks lived with the Potters, he immediately recognized the Potters’ former friend Peter Pettigrew masquerading as Ron’s pet rat, Scabbers. Actually, Crookshanks recognized Peter because Crookshanks is part Kneazle, a cat-like magical creature known for recognizing untrustworthy people. Therefore, there’s no proof that Crookshanks ever belonged to the Potters.

That being said, J.K. Rowling has neither denied nor confirmed this theory.

– Myth Managed

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Chelsea Korynta

In third grade, my teacher told me Harry Potter was from the devil, so naturally, I have been obsessed with the books ever since. I'm a Gryffindor, a Leo (like J.K. Rowling), and I work at a boarding school (like Hogwarts). I write hot takes on the wizarding world from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.