This came up in the UK cover's thread, though I can't for the life of me remember how it did so.

Anyways, mods, I did a search, actually like five, and couldn't find this anywhere, which is surprising, I had thought there would be a thread on this. If this is a duplicate, ground me and point me in the right directiong, will ya?

Moving right along, the argument got started between myself and emma_isHOTT, who said that he thinks the Potter's were Aurors, and that it will be important in HBP. He stated a quote from JK, who does say their profession will play a role in the upcoming books, to back up his point. I never wrote a counter because I had nothing to add to the UK cover, and that would be bad...for me.

I disagree that the Potter's were Aurors, first on the basis that they were too young. The attack on Godrics Hollow took place some three years after they had left Hogwarts. As we know that Auror training takes three years after Hogwarts, and it seems to be very intense and requires a lot of study, I find it hard to believe that the Potter's had time to become Aurors, get married, have a baby, and go into hiding, while still making a living.

Luke had viable reasons against this, but I'll let him post them here if he chooses so.

And even if they were studying to become Aurors, they couldn't have made a large amount of money from it, because they would have just recently/ been about to finish their training.

Then I have in my arsenal another quote from JK from her 2000 AOL Chat, in which the question is posed, "What did Lily and James do?"

She gives another famous ambiguous answer, in which she states that it will come up in the later books, but that they didn't need a high paying job because James had inherited his money.

I think that Aurors are pretty well paid, once they have completed training and begun work. They seem to be something akin to celebrities in the wizarding world, very much respected and admired, and I think this would translate into a high paycheck, especially considering their dangerous line of work and limited number. It's a very specialized job, and not just anyone with a work ethic can make it; you've got to have talent, brains, grades, and the work ethic. These people are elite.

I find it hard to believe that they would have a low paying job, as JK suggests in her quote. Unless, of course, the wizarding world is like our governments, and the Aurors their army. Then their soldiers would be paid minimum wage; but that's a whole other topic.

The one thing I would like to point out is that this quote was made in 2000, right after the release of GoF. So we need to be paying attention in our re-reads of OotP and HBP, to see if we can find it. Though JK makes it sound like it would be a big part, it might have been little, or foreshadowed in OotP.

Anyways, your thoughts?

I agree with you QQS, the Potters in my opinion weren't Aurors. The quote Rowling makes may pertain to the fact the Potters were members of the Order of the Phoenix. I think they were Unspeakables instead. Wouldn't that be ironic?

No, personally, I've never believed they were aurors - I think they did something far more involved than that. How did they defy LV three times for a start? No, I, like Tuitus, think they were most likely Unspeakables or maybe spies, something like that. If Snape and James were both spies, *that* would be an interesting twist wouldn't it? Think of the conflicts for poor old Severus...

It doesn't seem that aurors make anywhere near the kind of money that Lily and James appear to have left Harry, so they must have gotten it some other way. Could have been an inheritance though, you know...family fortune sort of thing, most likely from James side I would imagine. Or perhaps the money has something to do with this big secret about Lily that we're supposed to be finding out about in HBP?

i have a feeling that the potters do work for the ministry of magic...
it's either that or they owned a shop in diagon alley or hogsmeade, but that not likely. i'm even more curious now about what they did for a living...

Well we know that James had a nice skill for transfiguration and as a chaser and Lily was good at Charm work. It may be possible that lily or James may have been cursebreakers for Gringotts, but I don't believe this theory (I heard it somewhere that I can't remember.) for some reason I have a feeling that Lily worked with animals, it seems that she had a caring nature and that may have contributed. Only thats just instinct, not a theory with evidence.

Anothger person to pull into all of this, what was Sirius' job before he got thrown into Azkaban?

Honestly ya'll, I'm starting to think that they didn't have a job, per se. By that I mean that they didn't have paying jobs. Both James and Sirius had very nice inheritances, and knowing Sirius, he's too much of a player to get hisself tied down. It's the plight we deal with, what can I say?

twekes, I think I must have missed something. We know she would have been good, or at least better than other things, at charms because of her wand...but what does a chaser have to do with that? Sorry, I'm a bit confused. And being confused confuses me....

I also read an article on Red Hen Publications that suggested that James invented things for Zonkos, although I can't remember where in the books it says James was trying to make a biting tea cup....?

But that seems to fit; the royalties wouldn't be too high, but it would be a steady income. The only thing is I can't figure out how that would be important to the story.

So Lily's job before Harry was born and they went into hiding might be important. On this, I'm lost. We're conspicuously absent on any information on Lily in the books; everything is James this and James that. Don't get me wrong, I like James just as much as the next guy, but Lily is going to play a big role in the next few books, and we've got nothing on her except she defended the little guys and she had green eyes. Not much to go on....

I meant that James was a good chaser as well as the fact that he was possibly good at transfiguration because of his wand and these might contribute to a job. sorry for confusing people.

I agree, we have soo little on Lily it's almost impossible for us to speculate, however, I think we might have just enough evidence to suggest that the pair were not aurors.

Evidence Against Lily being an Auror

A) If Lily had been an auror would she not have stood up to voldemort herself?
None of the Aurors that Harry met, apart from Moody, ever mentioned Lily or James in detail.

Evidence Against James Being an Auror

A) Before becoming a member of the order the Ministry checks their backgrounds, it would have been uncovered that James were a Animagus and I thoroughly doubt he had gotten through Hogwarts without at least a warning.

Surely if he had been an auror he would of lasted at least a few moments longer against Voldemort, I mean an Auror wouldn't just unwittingly walk up to voldemort and say "bring it" they'd actually use tactics.

However, there is one piece of evidence to support the contrary:
James and Lily are said to have defied Voldemort i.e. survived him 3 times and this gives us something to think about, how could they have survived him without having faught with the Death Eaters and Voldemort.

The following was a post made by Albus-Wan in a thread that's now been closed.

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We've been told we'll find out more information on what James and Lily did for a living and how they got their gold in the next book. We don't have much time to discuss it before the next book comes out, but it seems like it's pretty crucial information.

It seems logical that they would be aurors, but were they? If they were, why wouldn't anyone explain to Harry that if he became an auror he would be following in their footsteps?

It must be pretty important information if we have to wait until the last books to find out about their jobs and where they got their money. What does everyone think?

Tuitus, I think you have something interesting there maybe they were unspeakables I mean that would explain why we dont know anything about them.

Unspeakables possibly, I am not so sure where some are getting there information saying there was not enough time between graduaating Hogwarts finishing additional education so that they could not be Aurors though. I always thought the Longbottoms were close to the Potters in age and they were Aurors. Its just that we kinda dont spend as much time around Neville until book 5 so we dont get as much background info.

1 thing tewkes James wasn't a seeker because in the first book it says there was a trophy in the trophy room for James Potter for his seeking skills plus i remember i don't know where that it says that Harry is a seeker like his father and in snapes worst memory James was playing with snitch showing off his seeking skills.

It all adds up doesn't it.

Oh and i used to think that they were Aurors but not anymore and i don't think they were unspeakables because James never keeps anything from Sirius unless he worked with them which also is a theory. Get me drift.

I think that they were Unspeakables too. Maybe that's why Voldemort killed them in the first place, because they had access to the Hall of Prophecies, and Voldemort tried to use them to get it too, but they wouldn't so he came and killed them, then attempted to kill Harry, which is the reason we are all here, right?

yeah i get your theory but does anyone disagree with me about James being a seeker.

i have been wondering how the potters made so much money to leave to thier son even though they were so younge and i dont think jkr mentoined what they did ever, maybe they inharited the money?

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>i think the Potters from James side were rich poeple i'm not sure how but i just kind of know.</span>

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I believe that the inheritance that JKR mentioned James receiving was substantial, but it seems like James and Lily probably added to that money instead of just relying on it. When Hagrid brings up that James and Lily left money for Hagrid, he implied that they were skilled wizards and therefore had considerable wealth to pass on. Hagrid didn't refer to it as an inheritance passed on by the Potter family (though some of it certainly was).

By the way, people keep mentioning Unspeakables. I know that we met Unspeakables at the MoM in OotP, but I don't remember if it was ever explained what they do. If it was, could someone explain what an Unspeakable is so it would be easier to determine whether or not it makes sense that James and Lily could have been Unspeakables?

Anyways, I think that the magical world is large enough that the career that James and Lily chose to pursue could be one that has not yet been well-defined. We know that Voldemort, more than anything else, is seeking to live forever. Maybe their occupations put them in a role where they could actively thwart that objective, and so they could defy Voldemort three times by preventing him access to something that would help him live forever.

It seems like James and Lily's occupation will have a large impact on the story and that it is not general knowledge, else Harry would have been told about it before now. Maybe they had been instructed by someone like Dumbledore to seek out the horcruxes that Voldemort had been creating. They may not have known at the time that they were horcruxes, but that they were important to Voldemort, so they should search for them and study them.

This idea would move the plot along in the final book, since then, when Harry goes to Godric's Hollow, he will find research that his parents had been doing that will help him identify, locate, and destroy the horcruxes. This might be a good way to get Harry back to Hogwarts--Harry discovers that multiple horcruxes are at Hogwarts, and McGonagall (interested in having Harry close so that she might be able to help or protect him) won't let him return unless he returns as a student.

I believe that they were aurors because they defied lv 3 times. yeah what are unspeakables?

I don't have my books with me right now, so I'm going from memory here, but I think Unspeakables were the people who were working on the secrets in the Department of Mysteries. I think it's mentioned in OotP somewhere - probably when Mr Weasley is explaining about what goes on there before Harry's hearing.

I'd bet book seven that they were working on whatever is hidden behind that 'love' door, you know...

Maybe?

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Lily seems to be someone that everyone likes and is EXTREAMLY careing, for this reason i think that whatever she did, it was probably some kind of philanthropy work. And I don't think that they have to both have the same job either, which seems to be what most people are saying.

Guys, James was totally a seeker, no doubt about it. "You fly just like your father. . ." . . . "except for the fact that your father was a chaser". . . ? no way. Anyway, i'd been wondering about everyone's past lives as well, and this totally boggles me. I'm voting with the Ministry of Magic/Order of the Pheonix jobs though, such important rolls would make sense wouldn't they? But i'm just counting on JKR totally blowing our minds with some twisted concept that makes us go "of course!!" "it's brilliant!!!" and all that.

Wait...James was a Chaser? When? Oh well. I really think that they were aurors. It seems very likely. And if they were, and it seems so, Harry will want to, more than ever to become an auror. Remember when he found out that James was a Seeker? He was so proud? Anyways, I'm still pondering about what they could've possibly done for a living.

According to JK, it's very relevant to the plot. Who knows! They could've been hobos! Just kidding.

I think that they were aurors....It matches the plot well. I thought that "Unspeakables" were the people that work in the Department of Mysteries. Weren't they called that because they coucldn't talk about what was in the Department of Mysteries and can't talk about what they do in there... Wasn't James Potter a seaker?

I really don't think they were Aurors, however if the money is inherited then we can presume that working for the Order was there sole occupation. I presume being so close to Dumbledore they would have known all about the Horcruxes and may have been locating them. If they found the locations of three of the horcruxes but couldn't get it, then they would have met Voldemort(or at least part of him) and if they got away alive they would have defied him. Its possible voldemort came to Godrics Hollow not only to turn it into a Horcrux, And kill Harry, but also to kill Harry parents for knowing the location of three of the Horcruxes.

Why is it that JK never mentions what Harry's parents do. They were obviously pretty rich in order to leave harry all of that money, and James was always so smart and was the head boy. So I think they must have done something important that JK will let us know about later? - TLLandB
We are supposed to find out at some point what Harry's parents did for a living, although the money was supposed to be inherited.

I believe it will be in book 7 as Harry will be looking for answers about his past and will be going to Godric's Hollow. I'm betting they both worked for the Ministry in some capacity, as many in the Order did

This probably won't answer your question properly, but I did read in the HP Lexicon, I believe, that James was independantly wealthy; like he came from a rich wizarding family. They, apparently, just did stuff for the Order. Of course, that may come to be just baloney in the next book, but that's what's been speculated thus far.

passer

I guess it would have to be in book 7 since thats the last book, or JKR would tell us later. Some people speculate that they or one of them was an unspeakable.

There are many things that JKR never mentions in the books. The information on people like Hermione's parents, for instance, is very sketchy, as are the details of what people do during the holidays, the birthdays of friends that are never celebrated, etc.
Jo Rowling has piles of notebooks full of stuff that isn't mentioned in the books. All that stuff is background material that got left out because it is not essential to the plot and it serves no purpose to tell it. She has had to leave things out to trim the size of the books down.

Harry learns more and more about his parents as time goes by. They were members of the Order, Voldemort was searching for them, they went into hiding.
What purpose would it serve to know if they had worked somewhere in a paid job at one time, if that job had nothing whatsoever to do with the plot? So that information is cut out.

She - JKR - has said we'll learn James and Lily's occupations in Book 7. Because James was wealthy, I wonder if it wasn't something with a small salary. It wasn't like they had to worry about money, after all.

Arthur Weasley made a very modest salary in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. That's a possibility.

Or, perhaps they were teachers....at Hogwarts? Professors don't make that much, judging by Snape's humble abode on Spinner's End.

Unspeakables is another possibility, mainly I think because we've been told so little about them. They worked in the Department of Mysteries, where that locked room with the power of love resides. And, of course, it was Lily's love that saved Harry, so....

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On this website, this is what J.K said:

"James Potter inherited lots of money and didn't need a well-paying profession."

He inherited money and he didn't have to work. If they had that much money maybe Lily didn't have to work either.

Well, Petunia DID say that Harry's father "didn't work." And while they were not always honest about his parents with others, she does seem terribly jealous of Lily.

I was always under the impression they worked for the Order, and have always thought that Harry was a descendent of Griffindor.

I've also always wondered about both sets of grandparents.

i think james was an auror i mean it would make sense same for lily too

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i've always wondered about this question myself.. what did the potters do that made them so rich harry was left with an immensely huge amount of inheritance money? ._O;; i've always concluded that maybe james was involved in one of those ... underground-mafia-sort-of-things .. LOL but then again.. those thing don't exist in the wizarding world now, do they? ;p how could james inherit a huge amount of money.. without his own parents being rich? and how could his parents be rich in turn? maybe... *thinks of underground-mafia-sort-of-thing* nah.. LOL =] it could be that james' parents were like lucius malfoy.. who need not a reason to be rich.. (what the heck does lucius do anyway? besides looking pretty and causing trouble.. LOL ;p )

xoxo*darla

I like the Unspeakables theory, and someone already mentioned my thoughts above, about the locked "Room of Love" in the Dept. of Mysteries.

A theory: Since James was independently wealthy, they didn't need high-paying jobs. They elected to do something that benefits mankind (or wizardkind), and that was take up a job as researchers/analysts. I've gotten the impression that "Unspeakables" are basically "magic scientists". Their task was to unlock the secrets of that old magic, love.
This would naturally put them at odds with Voldemort, as love is something he cannot grasp. This would be how they "thrice defied him", using this old magic. And when Voldemort finally caught up with them, Lily was still able to defeat him using love thru Harry.

Now for a prediction based on this theory. In the final book, Harry discovers their profession when returning to Godric's Hollow. Thru their findings, viable only to Lily's eyes ("You have your mother's eyes, Harry"), Harry will find a way to tap into that old magic of love as a way to protect himself and take Voldemort down.

Guess we'll find out in a couple of years!

I bet that they had some kind of shop in Godric's Hollow, where they lived. They also could be some kind of Ministry people, or maybe training to be aurors while the money they had at the time was just inherited. They were, however, too young to be aurors already I think.

ginevra

Good day, dont tickle my dragon!

I think that the Potters were both in training to be aurors, but left to join the Order. Or maybe James and Sirius own a lingerie shop in Hogsmead for Hogwarts students (Slytherin Slutzzzzz-Pansy Parkinson).

OTherwise James Potter was just a rich guy from the beginning and that is why Lily finally got round to him and mysteriously started liking him. (Now I aint sayin' she's no Golddigger.)

from what slughorn said in HBP i could see lily being a potions master, and James being an Auror..but because of the whole aunt petunia saying he didnt work, its hard to see him doing that from home..

according to the books, lily and james were aurors. J.K rowling does say that we will be finding out more about their past in book seven.

wow...peole havent posted here in a LONG time...lol... everybody keeps bringing up the fact that the prphecy stated that they defied LV three times so that MUST mean they escaped death three times....... this is possible but not plausible i think...i mean there r more ways to defy someone than to go up and tap him on the back and say "hey i dont like u...im gonna defy u now..." i mean the definition of defy is "To oppose or resist with boldness and assurance"... to OPPOSE... so they could have just openly stated that they OPPOSE voldy...not literally gone up against him...

I think that both Lily and James worked full time with the order. I mena that gots to make sense from the picture Moody shows him. The pictures show his parents standing with other members of the order. I think that maybey both of them wanted to be Aurors but thought that it was more important to try and stop one of the most evil wizards ever, therefor both dropped of there studies to try to what they taught was the most important. And since James was wealthy from inheriting loads of money the didn't really need an income just to handle life. And maybey people don't talk alot about his parents proffesions because what they did for the order was extremly secret and important.

Well many people think that Lily wokred in the department of Mysteries int he room full oflove because of the unique protection she gave her son. I am almost positve that that was not the first case where a mother died for her child to protect it.... bu ti do think the fact that harry lived in rare so maybe she knew a deep magical charm involving sacrifce adn love to allow her son to live for another day. She would have also heard of the prophecy so she would have wanted to take all precautions

Well indeed many people now are speculating or have been that lily and james potter worked in the department of mysteries. this could be true but then again we don't really know. i see your point dumbledore that she would have taking precautions if she heard the prophecy but what if it was concealed from her all that time. yes i know the question is why would anyone want to try and conceal something of importance but it could have happened for one reason or another. but i am not going to absolutely but all my faith in that they actually did work in the department of mystaeries. we know that they were proud members of the order and whatnot but who's to say they weren't part of some secret society or something. perhpaps something close to what the D.A. was, who knows. we don't know much right now because there is not much information that has been told in the books but i am very eager to hear of what they did for jobs.

jk did say in and interview that james got a lot of money from inheritance and didn't need a well paying job- i think that james was in a joke shop with sirius (like fred and george) and lily was a house wife- and i don't get all of you thinking that the two of them had the same jobs- most spouses have different jobs

Well james could have very well owned a joke shop with one of the marauders as a side job but they must have done something else as a main job. We aren't assuming that they had both the same jobs we are just speculating that one or the other worked there. yes most spuses seem to work different jobs but there is still the possibility though. i also remember that interveiw as well and her syaing that he had gotten a lot of money from inheritance and all but not all of that money may have come from that. i think perhaps lily had a more well paying job even if james didn't...anyway like i said only jk knows for now.

well i think james and lily Potter Were Aurors. because they both were good at Spells, potions, and everything. and them being Aurors might come in handy when Harry goes back to Godrics Hollow he might find some things that could help him in the fight against voldemort and or might help hiim out in life.