J.K. Rowling Confirms That There Are Two Harry Potters

Die-hard Harry Potter fans probably have a very extensive wizarding ancestry chart set up somewhere. Thanks to her regular updates on Pottermore, author J.K. Rowling is giving fans of the Harry Potter series plenty to keep their interest piqued, but her latest announcement shows that Harry Potter himself should have had some Roman numerals after his name.

According to Marie Claire, in her latest Pottermore post, Rowling stated that there was another Harry way up in the branches of the Potter family tree.

Rowling explained that the wizarding Potter family was never a major player in the magic world. That may be because of its commonality in the Muggle world, which could be one of the reasons that the Potter surname didn't get included in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, a list of pureblooded wizarding families compiled by an "anonymous source."

But even though the Harry Potter that fans know and love probably never knew about him, he shares a lot of character traits with Harry Potter 1.0. To make matters more confusing, the first Harry was actually "Henry," but Rowling mentions that his chums called him "Harry."

The character of Henry Potter "served on the Wizengamot from 1913 - 1921" and became infamous for his attitude towards Muggles and his steadfast devotion to what he believed in. Rowling adds that Henry's attitude may have been one reason the Potter family wasn't included in the Sacred Twenty-Eight.

"Henry caused a minor stir when he publicly condemned then Minister for Magic, Archer Evermonde, who had forbidden the magical community to help Muggles waging the First World War," Rowling's Pottermore post reads. "His outspokenness on the behalf of the Muggle community was also a strong contributing factor in the family's exclusion from the 'Sacred Twenty-Eight.'"

Standing up to authority and fighting for the greater good? It looks like Harry Potter 2.0 was just continuing a longstanding family tradition. But the new information probably won't have fans adding "the second" to the boy wizard's name anytime soon. Harry Potter II just doesn't compare to "The Boy Who Lived."