Philip Potter

## Philip Damocles Potter

**Philip**: "*All you had to do today was not have a drink, you bastard! What's the matter with you, anyway? I wanted a drink, too — oh, you don't think I wanted a bloody drink today? All day I wanted a bloody drink. Everyone gets to drink. You get to drink. My family gets to drink. I get stuck cleaning up after your vomit and carting you backwards and forwards. I want a bloody drink so bloody badly I'm scared my head might fucking implode!*"
**Guthrie Hipworth**: "*I appreciate all you've done. What you've sacrificed. But I didn't ask for it. I never asked you for a thing. I chose drink. A long time ago. So if you don't like what you see, then don't look. You'll have to make that choice soon, too.*"
— Philip's struggles with addiction

**Philip Damocles Potter** (b. 3 December) is a British-American half-blood wizard of the Potter family, the youngest child born to the late Nicodemus Potter and his former partner Lydia Brennan (née Newman). He is also the younger brother of Persia, the stepson of George Brennan and the stepbrother of Harrison and Toby. His godfather was the late Jedidiah Leander. Considered to be one of the most intemperate Potters, Philip's rash exploits and popularity among his wider generation whilst growing up have ultimately led to his regard as a figure of teenage disillusionment and social gaeity.

Upon attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Philip was Sorted into Hufflepuff House on account of his exultant and fun-loving personality. He quickly became a close friend and confidante to his first cousin Mallory Potter. Throughout his school years, Philip cultivated a reputation as a hedonist and avid partygoer, infamous for his drunken antics and foolhardy approach to magic. His enthusiasm and benevolent nature have also had him marked as one of the most altruistic members of his family. Despite his desire to do his parents proud, Philip performed poorly in his studies, demonstrating more of a creative virtuosity that manifested itself through pastimes such as music. He was a member of Dumbledore's Army and briefly Slug Club, as well as Orchestra and the student-founded band Hi-Jinx.

Philip's path throughout adolescence was marked mainly by the his excessive self-indulgence and his turbulent relationship with Urya Quint. Having been deeply impacted by a life spent in the public eye, he came to soothe his personal inadequacies with a mixture of alcohol and immoderation. This self-destructive behaviour acted as the catalyst for many incidents, including frequent health issues, the Hufflepuff Basement fire, the accident at 59 Diagon Alley, and a number of other legal affairs that consequently diminished his stance in the eyes of the media.

Following Hogwarts, Philip married Urya, with whom he had their son Elliot. Gambling habits left the family in a state of penury and Philip was soon forced into the role of a single father in the wake of Urya's abandonment, streaming through a range of careers whilst fuelling his alcohol dependency. After Elliot's grapple with his mental health, Philip was compelled to finally achieve sobriety, thus leading him to live a lengthy life in which he saw his family expand to accommodate three grandchildren. Alongside his sales career at Leander Broomsticks, his advocacy of life skills training in order to aid addiction prevention drastically helped in combating stigma against substance abuse within the wizarding world.

## Biography

### Later life

"*Magic is everywhere. You remember that. There's not a single place you can go in the world where there isn't a wizard or a witch. We were some of the first on this planet. But that doesn't shape you. So at some point, you have to decide for yourself who you're going to be. You don't let anyone else make that decision for you.*"
— Philip offering his son erudite advice regarding identity

## Physical description

**Lydia Brennan**: "*...and the piercings, too, Philip, they're so loud — what do your professors say?*"
**Philip**: "*None of the professors give one about how I look as long as I shut up in class.*"
**Lydia Brennan**: "*And your hair's just all over the place, honey, I wish you'd let me cut it just a little...*"
— Discussion regarding Philip's appearance at dinner

## Personality and traits

"*Fuck it! I'm inadequate. What can you do?*"
— Philip's opinion of himself

## Possessions

* **English oak wand**: Philip's wand was manufactured by Orland Ollivander and purchased from his shop in Diagon Alley prior to beginning his magical education. It was ten and a quarter inches long, brittle and made of English oak wood with a unicorn tail hair core. English oak wands are considered incredibly loyal and demanding of partners who represent strength, courage and fidelity. Less well-known is the propensity for owners of English oak wands to have powerful intuition, and an affinity with magic of the natural world, with the creatures and plants that are necessary to wizardkind for both magic and pleasure.

## Etymology

**Philip** is a Greek baby name, meaning *"lover of horses"*. Famous Philips include King Philip of Macedon, who was the father of Alexander the Great, and Philip, one of Christ's apostles in the Bible.

**Damocles** is the Latinised form of the Greek name Δαμοκλης (Damokles), which was derived from δαμος (damos) *"the people"*, a Doric Greek variant of δημος (demos), and κλεος (kleos) *"glory"*. In Greek legend Damocles was a member of the court of Dionysius the Elder, the king of Syracuse.

**Potter** is a very common surname of English origin. It traditionally refers to the occupation of making pottery. Beatrix Potter was a well-known English children's author. Potter's Field is the name for a burial ground for the unknown or unclaimed dead, particularly soldiers and orphans; the Potter family had many members that fit that description. The Potter Box is a model for making ethical decisions developed at Harvard University.