Lily Potter is among the most essential characters in Harry Potter, but some of the most intriguing aspects of her story are often ignored. HBO's TV remake of the series has a chance to fix this. The show has been d as a book-faithful adaptation, and with several hours of content possible for each season, this should be relatively easy to achieve. There will even be time for the Harry Potter TV series to dive further into canon details, expanding character backstories to create a stronger foundation for Harry's adventures. In the case of Lily Potter, this is rather exciting.

While Harry is the main Harry Potter movies. Even in the books, Harry gave little thought to Lily's talents.

Lily's Skill At Potions Is A Major Part Of Her Story

Lily's Greatest Talent Is Often Overlooked

Harry spent years learning about James Potter's talents at Quidditch, but it wasn't until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that he began to learn more about his mother. Up to that point, people referred to Lily as kind and loving, but there was so much more to her than this. When Professor Slughorn came to teach at Hogwarts, he mentioned countless times what a prodigy Lily was at Potions. When Harry was using the Half-Blood Prince's book to craft impressive brews, Slughorn would say that he must have inherited this skill from his mother. She had been one of the professor's favorites.

Harry didn't take as much pride in Slughorn's compliments as when people said he was like James. This is likely because he knew he wasn't being entirely honest with Slughorn—Harry hadn't inherited Lily's potion-making talent and was really following the Half-Blood Prince's tips. Still, Slughorn's repeated comments about Lily's talent were meant to communicate something important to audiences about her character. Lily being a potions prodigy was a hint about the most significant twist in her story, but even the Harry Potter books didn't focus nearly enough on this.

Slughorn's Comments About Lily's Potions Making Hinted At Her Friendship With Snape

Half-Blood Prince Created A Subtle Connection

Slughorn comparing Harry's potion-making to Half-Blood Prince was a major red herring. The concoctions Harry created using the Half-Blood Prince's potions book reminded Slughorn of Lily, and Hermione frequently mentioned that the textbook's previous owner could have been a girl. There was a time that Harry wondered if his father was secretly the Half-Blood Prince, but despite Slughorn's frequent comparisons, he never once considered that it could have been Lily. Of course, it wasn't—but this theory would have been close.

Some of the ideas Snape jotted down in his Advanced Potions Making textbook might have come from Lily herself.

The true Half-Blood Prince is Severus Snape, who had been Lily's best friend through most of their time at Hogwarts. Half-Blood Prince subtly revealed that both Snape and Lily were potions prodigies, and this was a significant hint to the reveal in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that they had been friends. Some of the ideas Snape jotted down in his Advanced Potions Making textbook might have come from Lily herself. Slytherin and Gryffindor always had potions lessons together in Harry Potter, so Snape and Lily would have taken this class and experimented and grown together.

How HBO's Harry Potter Remake Can Meaningfully Expand On Lily's Greatest Talent

The TV Remake Can Take A Closer Look At Lily & Snape's Friendship

Potion-making would have been a significant part of Lily and Snape's friendship, but there is never a time in the Harry Potter books or movies that the pair are shown brewing concoctions together. Of course, there was a lot to fit into Harry's trip to the Pensieve in Deathly Hallows, so there must not have been time. Still, it's a shame that there isn't more time spent focused on Lily's immense talent. Aside from Slughorn's praise, the Harry Potter books contain no further evidence of her skill. This is something that HBO's Harry Potter remake can hopefully change.

Snape and Lily stopped being friends at the end of their 5th year at Hogwarts before either took Advanced Potions Making in their 6th year. Still, Snape surely would have discovered some of his best Potions tricks in years prior with Lily by his side.

Snape's memories take up a whole chapter in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows books, and it could feasibly fill an entire episode (or even two) in the TV series. This would give audiences a chance to understand Snape better, but even more than this, Lily can be given the attention her character deserves. The Harry Potter remake can expand on her talents, revealing precisely how many of her ideas made it into Snape's potion book. This would make Harry learning so much from the Half-Blood Prince more meaningful. It wasn't just Snape he learned from—it was Lily, too.