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How is Harry Potter a distant cousin of Voldemort?


On the Tom Riddle page of the Harry Potter Wikia, I found that Harry Potter is listed as a distant cousin under the 'Family Members' section.


Is this true? If yes, please provide proper citations from canon.



Answer






And then it came to Harry in one shining piece, the memory that had stirred at the sound of the name "Peverell": a filthy old man brandishing an ugly ring in the face of a Ministry official, and he cried aloud, "Marvolo Gaunt!"
"Sorry?" said Ron and Hermione together.
"Marvolo Gaunt! You-Know-Who's grandfather! In the Pensieve! With Dumbledore! Marvolo Gaunt said he was descended from the Peverells!"
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, chapter 22



This is referring to the scene in chapter 10 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, where Harry and Dumbledore take a stroll down Memory Lane in the Pensieve and observe this scene with Voldemort's grandfather.



His voice shook and he could feel the color in his face, but he did not care.
"My mum told Sirius that Dumbledore borrowed the cloak! This is why! He wanted to examine it, because he thought it was the third Hallow! Ignotus Peverell is buried in Godric's Hollow...." Harry was walking blindly around the tent, feeling as though great new vistas of truth were opening all around him. "He's my ancestor! I'm descended from the third brother! It all makes sense!"

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, chapter 22



This means that they're both descended from the Peverell brothers, making them (very) distantly related.


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