It's been said that we will learn why it is important Harry has his mother's green eyes. Also, we will learn something really big about Lily. Any thoughts on either of these. Personally, I feel that the green eyes thing may be that Lily(and perhaps Harry) could see things other people could not, more specifically other people's emotions(how they are feeling, etc.). I believe someone(Lupin in movie 3 I think) said that Lily had a different way of seeing things. Also, in Snape's flashback(from the pensieve), we see that Lily is really the only person that doesn't think James is cool, and in fact seems him for how he really is. It's not until he changes that they get together. Maybe she's part fairy or something, who knows(this could tie into the revelation as well.). Anyway, how about some other theories.

Just wanted to add something else. I would've edited my post, but I feel this holds particular significance to any discussion. Anyway, in book 1 when Harry looks in the Mirror of Erised, he sees not only his mother and father, but the rest of his family. Here's the quote:
"She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes -- her
eyes are just like mine, Harry thought, edging a little closer to the
glass. Bright green -- exactly the same shape, but then he noticed that
she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time. The tall, thin,
black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. He wore
glasses, and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just as
Harry's did.

Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching
that of his reflection.

"Mom?" he whispered. "Dad?"

They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry looked into the
faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green
eyes like his, other noses like his, even a little old man who looked as
though he had Harry's knobbly knees -- Harry was looking at his family,
for the first time in his life."

Now I know it's long, but the most important part is in the last paragraph: "and saw other pairs of green
eyes like his." This means that Lily potter was not the only other one with green eyes, but probably much of her ancestors as well, meaning that if her eyes contained some sort of power, her family would possess it too. The only problem with this is that Lily came from a muggle family, so perhaps she has no special abilities at all...

Hmm... yes, I've heard about all kinds of revelations that we will supposedly have in "Half-Blood Prince" related to Lily Potter and her eyes. I'm not sure how much of this is rumor, but there is no doubt that we will hear more about Harry's parents before the end of the series. I frankly can't imagine what could be significant about the color of a person's eyes, aside from the fact that it is a connection of sorts that Harry feels with his deceased mother. In my opinion, the factoid about Lily that we should be considering most closely is her wand -- good for charm work, I believe? I won't get onto that here because it does not relate to the topic, but in short, I think that a lot of this "Lily's green eyes means something important" stuff that's going around on the Internet is pure rumor. There are probably more interesting/significant things for us to think about with Lily. Do you have any specific quotes from interviews or anything to back this theory up? At this point, I'm a little skeptical.

JKR said that the color of lily's eyes will important in the book and i believe it will... if it wasn't then JKR wouldn't make other people mention that harry has his dad's features except the eye's (they're lily's eyes) in the POA movie lupin recognized harry by his eyes right away and since JKR helps right the script that's telling us something... but i agree with anthony goldstein.. we will learn a LOT more about harry's parents before the end of the series

I didn't realize that J. K. Rowling has said anything about Lily's eyes, but if she did, I am much less skeptical! She is the master, after all. Of course, this means that I still don't have a clue about how the eyes will be involved in the general plot. I remember reading theories about Harry's eyes having to do with some "green flame torch" at some point or another, but J. K. Rowling stamped that one out. I don't know, up until now I've basically interpreted the fact that Harry has Lily's eyes as a symbol of the bond between the deceased mother and her son, just some sentimental thing that people are always noticing about Harry... Now that I think about it, however, it was probably a little shallow on my part to think that the eyes wouldn't have any significance since they were mentioned over and over and over again. Rule #1 for reading Harry Potter books: if it's repeated, it's important. So does anyone have any theories? Maybe you'll inspire me....

“Green eyes� always the “green eyes� so many times have I heard this and yes there must be something its so peculiar though. So he saw other pairs of green
eyes like his, how do we know that these other green eyes only came from Harry’s mothers side of the family maybe the whole magical connection with the house and how Harry survived is from the pair, Lilly and James, being connected and producing Harry if both sides of the family had these “Green eyes people� wouldn’t that make it a very powerful source? Hahahaha what am I thinking I have no idea but I do feel that Jkr does repeat and tell us over and over about the green eyes and so they must be of some use to Harry in time to come…maybe he gets some kind of x-ray vision or laser lights…who knows… “Jkr knows…� I bet she did it on purpose just so people like us write forms on it and post replays…secretly she’s laughing…�dumb muggles�
This is just a joke…really I love Jkr she’s the best but if she kills Snape in either of the next books I will die…lol jk jk jk jk

“Anthony Goldstein� am I right in thinking you bought those sleuth books too???


Toni--

I don't think it's so much the eyes themselves as the colour...there's so much emphasis on green throughout the books...from emerald eyes in the statues in the CoS to the colour of McGonagall's clothes to Slytherin house....

Maybe JKR is trying to make us see a connection that Harry maybe has to Salazar Slytherin? Through his mother's blood?

But then again, perhaps it is the eyes....she never mentioned the colour of Lupin's eyes...Sirius' were grey, I believe....Snape's are black, Hagrid's are black....

Mmm....I dunno....wish I could find that other flippin' thread.....

whomeisi, yes, I have read the "Order of the Phoenix" sleuth book at least! I own the book for the first four as well, but I haven't gotten around to reading it thoroughly. I'm hoping to get to it soon! The books are quite good...

Back on topic.... you're right, Dana, the color green has definitely come up often. It's possible that the eyes signify a connection with Salazar Slytherin. That would be really weird, if Harry were related to both Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor (well, his relationship with Gryffindor is for a different thread). I thought that J.K. Rowling already said that Harry isn't related to Voldemort, but I don't know if she's ever mentioned Slytherin before (?). It could be the eyes... in "Sorcerer's Stone" she said that both Snape and Hagrid had black eyes, and even made a direct comparison between the two (Snape's eyes look like "dark tunnels" and Hagrid's have a certain "warmth"). J.K. Rowling wrote on her website that Sirius's eyes were gray, but she didn't draw particular attention to them in the books.

To which other thread are you referring, Dana? If you can't find it, I probably can't, but I'll give it a try...

I'm quoting myself from the thread in the PoA movie regarding Lupin's comment on Harry's eyes. (Is that the thread you're talking about Dana?)

Yay!!! I found it!!!! I knew it was around here somewhere....no wonder I couldn't find it - it hasn't been active since the beginning of July.

Somehow, it's not quite the thread I remembered though....was rather nasty for the first page and got horrendously off topic by page 5, but THIS PART was pretty interesting........I'm so disappointed....I could have sworn I read more about this theory somewhere else.

Nah, it wasn't the thread you mentioned, Joe...the one I'm looking for had discussions about what green signified....I dunno....I flicked around between sites such a lot in the summer, I guess I could have read it almost anywhere. And if it wasn't mentioned in the topic title, then I'll never find it....ah...I'm not going to spend anymore time trawling around for it (thanks for the offer though, Anthony!). Never mind....they were probably old ideas anyway and we could use some new theories, so let's hear 'em!!

Good start, Joe....yeah, green is definitely a big thing in the books. I like the way Rita's pen was acid green.....just like the words she writes and the things she says, huh?

It is really interesting to see that the colour green could represent two opposite side at the same time.

Green awakens greater friendliness and peace and yet is the colour of jealousy. Just like how it happens that Harry's eyes are green and at the same time it was the colour of Slytherin.

But I personally like green colour. It sort of smoothing and calming. I remember my teacher told me that I should occasionaly look out of the window at something green (like trees) whenever I sat down to study because it can make my mind relax.

Btw, acid green and what Rita's wrote...hmm...JKR did a very good job at being specific when choosing words....

I've read that section Dana, but they never did prove where it states Godric Gryffindor has green eyes! I have no memory whatsoever of a description. . .But that's a good theory - how Harry has traits from both Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin (if Godric's eyes are proven to be green. )

Then again, sometimes I'm slow on the uptake.

Lol, yup Zyra, I just love that acid green. Such hurtful words that 'horrible Skeeter woman' writes, it sinks like acid into my heart.

Green is good for your eyes! And Harry's eyes happen to be green. (But he has glasses so that doesn't mean he has good eyesight.)

Just another "eyes" mention that I noticed while I was typing up a quote for another thread... In Chapter Two of "Order of the Phoenix" (pg. 38, American hardcover), Harry observes that Aunt Petunia's "large, pale eyes (so unlike her sister's) were not narrowed in dislike or anger: They were wide and fearful." This is the second time, I believe, that J.K. Rowling compares the eyes of two characters (the first time being when she describes Hagrid's black eyes as "warm and friendly" while Snape's more resemble "dark tunnels"). Something about the parenthetic remark in that quote suggests to me that there's something up there... or perhaps I'm only reading into it too much. Do you think there's any significance in this distinction?

I definitely think so. Perhaps Lily was not the first in her family to be a witch(like an aunt was a witch but Lily's mother was not,etc.) and any of the wizards in her family have green eyes. Or perhaps Lily was not related to Petunia at all, perhaps her parents were killed and she was sent to live with Muggles much like Harry. The possibilities are infinite, but I definitely think the direct comparison to Lily serves some purpose, hopefully something more than just showing the differences between them.

Maybe the big thing with Harry and Lily's eyes is that they are the key to defeating Lord Voldemort.
Think about it really the only reason that He lost his power in the first place is because of Lily and the old magic she used to protect Harry from L.V.
So really Lily has helped defeat him once why can't she do it again from the grave.
Plus Lily must be a very powerful witch to outsmart one of the most powerful wizards of her time when noone else could.
And i've always wondered if Lily somehow knew L.V before he started coming after her because when he tries to kill Harry and Lily is in the way he tells her to stand aside and she won't get hurt, L.V is hardly famous for his compassion now is he.
Well maybe Green eyes or the color green is significant somehow to L.V's demise and another thing to add to the whats is green list is the Avada Kedavra curse (killing curse). Harry used to have dreams when he was younger where there were screams and then a flash of green light. Maybe this is significant in someway aswell.
ohwell enough is enough no more prattling from me for now - Jules

Eyes are sometimes described as "windows to the soul". Maybe Lily's and Harry's eyes have something to do with the love that saved Harry. Maybe Lily used a charm that had to do with their eyes. Someone mentioned that Harry's personality was like his father's. I got the impression, especially after OotP, that Harry's heart is more like his mother's. Harry was horrified at how mean-spirited his dad was to Snape (and Harry despises Snape). Harry's strength, at the end, may come from love. I think J.K. Rowling will use love somehow to defeat evil (Voldemort) in the end.

I haven't read through ALL of the topic, so forgive me if someone has already said this...
In PS whern Harry is looking into the mirror of Erised it says (and don't quote me on this) something along the lines that he saw more green eyes staring back at him. Only green eyes? Does it mention otehr colours? Dunno. I am begining to feel this post was pointless.... ah well....

For you guys trying to find a Slytherin/Potter connection, its not there. Dumbledore specifically tells Harry at the end of Chamber that Riddle was the last descendent of Salazar.

I do have one thought on the green eyes though...Perhaps it has something to do the The Curse. Think about it...All Harry could remember, up until he started having the freaky dreams, was a huge green flash. Maybe when he absorbed/received Voldemort's power, it caused the change in his eye color. I have not worked through it yet to figure out how that relates to Lily, except that she was the one that saved him, so any links there would be helpful. But I think that is definitely a possibility.

Well, Lily´s eyes were green, so I think that Harry simply inherited the color of his eyes from his mother´s. IMHO, it has nothing to do with the AK curse.

this is a very confusing topic...for one i am almost 100% sure James Potter had dark brown eyes and i know Lily had green eyes. Brown eyes are the most dominant eye color of all and green is the least. So if you go to the website below and put green eyes for the mother and brown eyes for the father it is not very likely the child would end up with green eyes so maybe it is just one of those weird times when the baby does inherit green eyes from the mother over the dads brown ones. i just think there is something more to his and/or her bright green eyes

http://www.athro.com/evo/gen/genefr2.html

I know dana you asked me to check in at the lounge and tell people about myself but too be totally honest I'm not big on introductions and ever since I was a wee little lad I've disliked it. Plus regardless of what personal information I choose to disclose it's really how I post and interact on the forums that will tell people about me.

Anyway on topic. Some quotes from Mugglenet about things that we'll find out in the next book that I think are relevant to the discussion.

In reply to Emma_isHOTT, it is not unusual for a child to have green eyes if one of the parents has brown eyes. My husband has brown eyes, I have green eyes, and we have a daughter with green eyes, and a son with brown eyes. It would be less likely if both parents had brown eyes.

I do agree, however, that there is more to the green eyes. It seems to be mentioned frequently in the books.

Well, there is a possibility of inheriting physical characteristics from your grandparents or greatgrandparents... In my case, my dad´s eyes are brown, my mom´s blue, my sister´s blue too and mine are green, and only my aunt in my family has green eyes. So, lets just say that genetics is a very flexible branch of science

And also in GOF, when Rita Skeeter is interviewing Harry during the tournament when her pen begens to write it says " and his bright green eyes fills with tears...." when they talk about his parents that might help, im not sure jus puttin it out there

Just making a random connection, but the cover of the US version of HBP is green, and so are Harry's eyes.... hmm, i don't know.. Also I think that Harry's eyes and the fact that they are like his mother's may represent her "seeing" through him and I don't know that could affect Voldemort or something... I'm sorry I'm just thinking aloud to see what you all think...

It's obviously important as JKR took the time to have several characters tell Harry he has his mom's eyes.

Anyway, I think the green eyes has to do with how she saved Harry from LV. I mean, sure, love is a good answer, but then wouldn't a lot of other people have survived? I'm sure Lily's not the only person who managed to sacrifice her life out of love. So, I think that's the "huge" thing we're going to find about her in this book. AND I think (since it seems so important) it has to do with her green eyes somehow. Maybe they posses some kind of powerful magic that no one knew about.

I've heard a theory that Lily was a Seer, or something. (I'm not sure if this is off topic)

Oh, I've just read Jules post ^up there! That's much like my theory! I just wanted to add on, that doesn't it seem funny that LV was resisting to kill her? Why not just Avada Kedavra, *bang*, your dead?Maybe he knew of the "power" that she had, and he didn't want to hurt her or something? Possibly?

Yes I was thinking the same thing... other people must have died for the sake of love... and now since LV now has Harry's blood in him, the only thing differentiating them is their eyes... red vs green

notice how the color green is the color of the 'Avada Kedavra' spell maybe that is of some importance?

i dont think its of that importance,but i think voldy has something to do with the eyes,so we'll just have to wait and see.

well i agree that maybe they can see things that people coudn't maybe they coud see the inner beauty that's why mayb harry chose ron and hermione to be his friends and hated draco from their first meeting.

what does that have to do withthe 7th book though?i know voldy has a big part in the eyes.it wouldve been cool if jk said that when voldy didnt have those red slits,he had green eyes like lily.

I don't think that Harry's eyes changed colour the night Lily and James were killed. HArry would have been born with them.
JK says they are very important, so maybe ermm, somebody can't bear to kill Harry because all they see is Lily's eyes, e.g. Snape.
hmm

JkR does say that harry's eye colour will be important in book seven.. i don't think that Harry got green eyes that night because lily always had green eyes and everyone always says that harry has his mothers eyes..
hmm good point about somebody not being able to kill harry because of his eyes, it would be quite important if he didn't die because of them..

Harry has Lily's green eyes, but what if the color isn't as important for itself as much as simply being the connection between the two characters -- and what really matters is a mysterious something that Lily saw at a crucial moment, and that Harry will come to see himself by the climax of Book 7?

maybe harry's eyes have some strange power that comes to him when he becomes of age. i know its a pretty far fetched theory but you never know..
i also like that theory where harry cant be killed by snape because of his mothers eyes or whatever.

I just realised something, but I don't think it'll hold something really significant. Voldemort's eyes are - when he comes back - red. Harry's eyes are green (glas green? I thought I read that somewhere in PS). The colours are each other's opposites.

Another thing (tough it's kind of offtopic):
Lily Evans had red hair, green eyes. James Potter had black hair, hazel eyes (is it true about James' eyes? I'm not sure).
Ginny Weasley has red hair, hazel eyes, whereas Harry Potter has black hair, green eyes.
--> Makes a chiasme (sp?) with the eye colour (not the hair though).