What happened to Harry Potter’s grandparents?

It’s a fact that, whether you’re a fan or not, Harry Potter is one of the most iconic characters in pop culture. More than 25 years ago, the first book in the saga of the “boy who lived” was published in Europe, later winning over thousands of fans around the world.

One of the most impactful aspects of Harry’s story is the loss of his parents to Lord Voldemort when he was still a baby. Due to this tragedy, Harry was raised by his aunt and uncle, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, who prevented him from having contact with the wizarding world until he was 11 years old.

The treatment Harry received from his aunt and uncle during his childhood and adolescence was extremely cruel, as they rejected his wizarding heritage and neglected his well-being. This raised some doubts among fans about the whereabouts of the boy’s other relatives, in particular, his grandparents.

The reason behind the absence of his grandparents is explained throughout the first films of the saga, when Professor Dumbledore reveals to Professor Minerva that the Dursleys are the only family Harry has. This is because both of his grandparents died before the boy was born: his paternal grandparents from dragonpox, and his maternal grandparents from typical “Muggle” deaths.

The details were revealed through extended versions of the saga and interviews where the author J.K. Rowling was questioned on the matter. Furthermore, even if Harry wanted to, there would be no other place he could live other than the Dursleys’ house, as revealed by Dumbledore in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”:

As long as you can still call the place where your mother’s blood resides home, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He spilled her blood, but it lives on in you and your sister (Aunt Petunia). Her blood has become your sanctuary. You need only return there once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, there he cannot harm you. Your aunt knows this… She knows that allowing you to have a room here may very well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years.”