He collected stares from the school prefects and the teachers and staff who didn't know what the news of Voldemort's disappearance was doing to him. - (Harry Potter and the Man of Unknown, chapter 1)
Professor Thomas Patrick Erwin was the half-brother of James Potter. He was also the Professor of Transfiguration at Sharadine School (HPMU) during the 1980s and 1990s.
Early life[]
Erwin was the elder of the Potter brothers by a year, being born to a different mother than James. Erwin attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he was sorted into Gryffindor and his relationship to James was not widely known. Even Severus Snape, who was a rival to both of them at school, did not learn of the connection between the two until 1994. Erwin was Head Boy during his final year at Hogwarts.
Sharadine years[]
By 1981, Erwin had become the Transfiguration teacher at Sharadine School. When Lord Voldemort lost his powers to Erwin's one-year-old nephew Harry Potter, Albus Dumbledore decided to give Harry to the Dursley family. Dumbledore's stated reason for not leaving Harry with Erwin was that he thought Erwin "would be too distraught". Not only was Erwin given no say in this, but he only learned of it two days after Harry had been put in the Dursleys' care. From that moment on, Erwin changed.[1] He became a bitter shell of a man who bullied his students and forbid the name "Harry Potter" from being spoken in his presence. The school's headmistress, Madam Juane Tatooli (HPMU), and the other teachers tried to help Erwin, but he refused to speak of the issue. The only student who dared to ask him why he apparently hated Harry Potter was Anna Winterbourne (HPMU), who was in her first year at the time. She got no reply, but the question upset Erwin enough that he wouldn't leave his chambers for days.
In 1994, Erwin began receiving owls from Dumbledore. Unwilling to bury the hatchet, he refused to open any of them for some time. When he did finally open the first letter, he found a timeline detailing Harry's life. This prompted Erwin to fly to Hogwarts and visit Harry. Snape and Minerva McGonagall tried to stop him from entering until Dumbledore could return, but he jinxed them both. Shortly thereafter, the teachers of Hogwarts met in the staff room where Dumbledore revealed Erwin's heritage. Erwin argued with them, particularly Dumbledore, and they respond by pointing out how antagonistic he was. Dumbledore eventually decided that he would simply have to tell Harry about Erwin, but by this point Erwin had been convinced that Harry could never love the hostile man he had become. Therefore, he threatened to kill Dumbledore if he said a word to Harry about him. Back at Sharadine, Erwin told Anna, a fourth year by this time, the truth and she was sympathetic. However, the next day Cornelius Fudge came to Sharadine and tried to arrest Erwin for threatening to murder Dumbledore. Erwin escaped by Disapparating to the edge of the school grounds and flying away on his broomstick.
Last days and death[]
Erwin went into hiding, living by himself in a faraway forest where he died in 1999. It was only on 31 July 2005 that Anna delivered Harry Potter a letter which told him about Erwin.
In the revised version of Harry Potter and the Man of Unknown, Erwin spent these years writing a journal documenting his life. He owled it to Anna during her seventh year, telling her that she and Harry Potter were the only people he wished to read it. However, this journal and his other writings were approved for publication by an unknown relative after his body was found. Due to this, Erwin's funeral was attended by thousands, including Harry Potter. Harry wondered if Erwin would come back as a ghost, but Anna told him that writing the journal had given Erwin enough closure to cross over.
Personality and traits[]
Thomas was an intelligent and talented wizard, so much so that he was called one of the most powerful wizards of his time at just 22 years old. He does not seem to have shared the mischievous nature of his half-brother James during their school days. He had a mutual dislike for Severus Snape but it is not known that he suffered any punishment. For the first period of teaching at the Sharadine School he seems to have been a good teacher, attentive to his students. However, the death of James and Lily upset him to the point of making him cold and brusque with everyone.[2]
He presents symptoms of Unresolved grief and a reckless attitude during stressful situations.[3] He lives a constant battle within himself, between the apparent hatred for his nephew Harry and the sense of shame for having pushed him away. Only at the end of the story does he seem to want to seek a bond with him, but by then it is too late. For years there have been worrying rumors that Thomas is a servant of Voldemort who only wants to kill Harry. He has never bothered to deny these rumors, too busy with his own suffering.
With no one to trust him anymore, he finds himself on the run from Aurors and the Ministry of Magic who want to arrest him. He even goes as far as threatening Dumbledore during an emotional breakdown. Thomas has a very complex personality that deserves to be explored in more depth.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Man of Unknown
- The Love That Shattered a Man (cameo)
- The Story of the Prince (cameo)