Blood purity (Harry Potter)
From Free net encyclopedia
Blood purity is a central notion in the fictional Harry Potter cycle. It is used to to quantify the number of magically-abled ancestors a given character has. Though occasionally a neutral observation of fact, the idea of "purity" is most frequently raised by characters who display personality traits akin to racism. Such characters consider as inferior others with anything less than fully magical ancestry. To date, the series has not yet shown any consistent relationship between the number of magic users in a person's family tree and their magical abilities. Because of this lack of evidence — and the fact that that the series largely concerns itself with Harry Potter's quest for answers about his own family — the notion is more thematic device than scientific concept.
Contents |
Importance to theme and plot
J. K. Rowling has been questioned on the importance of blood purity in the Harry Potter books. In an interview in 2000 [1],
she said:
From the beginning of Philosopher's Stone, prejudice is a very strong theme. It is plausible that Harry enters the world wide-eyed: everything will be wonderful and it's the sort of place where injustices don't happen. Then he finds out that it does happen and it's a shock to him. He finds out that he is a half-blood: to a wizard like Lucius Malfoy, he will never be a true wizard, because his mother was of muggle parentage. It's a very important theme.
This claim is supported by evidence that the Rowling worked out the blood purities of the various students in the very earliest planning stages of the series, before the publication of the first book.
Moreover, blood purity is the primary motivation for the Lord Voldemort, the principle villain of the series. His campaign has had two major phases.
The initial operation — sometimes described as a war — was an unabashed effort at ethnic cleansing. Their intent was to rid the wizarding world, through force, of those with Muggle blood. It was an ironic campaign in the Voldemort himself, as well as some of his allies, known as Death Eaters, were not themselves pure-bloods. Their efforts eventually had to be aborted when James and Lily Potter, along with their infant, Harry, seemed to vanquish them. At the cost of James and Lily's lives, Voldemort's corporeal form was destroyed, taking with it the organization the Death Eaters needed to continue their war.
The second phase — also eventually considered a war by its participants — is the one detailed by the seven-book cycle. It gradually reveals Valdemort's attempts at returning to some kind of stable existence so that he can remove the obstacle of Harry Potter, and continue prosecuting his goal of ethnic cleansing. As in the initial phase, he is aided by Death Eaters, who, at least in the films deriving from the books, were shown with pointed hats, resembling the hoods of the Ku Klux Klan. However, in this phase, the loyalty of Death Eaters from the first war comes into greater question, from both sides. Some who were Death Eaters during the first war, have now renounced their earlier views. Some have not. A secondary theme of redemption thus comes into play: do we, Rowling asks, forgive those (like Severus Snape) who once held these notions of blood purity?
While it can be easily inferred, as six of the seven novels have been released, that Voldemort is simply evil and will be ultimately vanquished for his beliefs, Rowling's writing style has often proven full of misdirection. The final resolution of this theme will come only when the plot is wrapped up in the seventh book. The precise way in which Voldemort's second campaign ends will provide final definition for the cycle's theme. To date, though, Rowling has typically cast as villains those who believe that pure-bloods are definitionally superior to others. The ethnically rich Hogwarts Student body, combined with the wildly varying blood purities of the the central trio of heroes, makes at least a simple reading of the theme possible, regardless of what happens in book seven: diversity is better than purity.
A brief history
Though the Harry Potter cycle mostly concerns itself with those current events most relevant to Harry, some clues have been given as to the historical origins of the prejudice based on blood purity. In Salazar Slytherin's time wizards were actively persecuted by Muggles. This is one reason why he considered students from Muggle families to be untrustworthy. It may also explain why present-day wizard society would choose to be largely secreted away from the Muggle world. The Hogwart's House that bears Slytherin's name is thus unsurprisingly shown to have produced a number of wizards interested in upholding the notion of blood purity — though it has never been established that these sentiments are exclusive to Slytherin House.
Wizards throughout the Harry Potter world are generally obliged to keep their powers secret from the Muggle (non-magical) society. The bulk of magically-abled people live on a separate, but connected, plane of existence from the Muggle population. The wizarding population commonly regards Muggles as disadvantaged due to their lack of ability to perform magic. When taken to extremes, this becomes the belief that Muggles are inferior and that marriage between wizards and Muggles taints magic users.
Through the years, the ability to maintain "pure" bloodlines has decreased. Hagrid suggests in Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets that pure blood families are at best 50% pure. Sirius Black mentions in Order of the Phoenix that no family is really pure, for the same genetic reasons that royal blood is often dilluted over time[2].
Nevertheless there remain throughout the series a number of families who, however inaccurately, retain a claim on "pure blood" status, if only by focusing on the two generations of the nuclear family and the grandparents of that family.
Categories by blood
Template:Disputeabout The wizarding world is divisible into three main classes by purity: pure-blood, half-blood, and Muggle-born. Muggleborns arise in nonmagic families due to mutation. In some cases (such as Colin and Dennis Creevey) a Muggleborn wizard's sibling will also be a Muggleborn wizard, in other cases (such as Lily and Petunia Evans) they will not be. The children of two wizards or of a wizard and a Muggle almost always inherit the ability to perform magic, the rare exceptions being Squibs - in which the opposite of the Muggleborn mutation occurs.
Pure-blood
Pure-blood wizards have no Muggles whatsoever in their genealogical pedigree, or at least have assured themselves that this is the case over the generations. In response to fan questions, J. K. Rowling has said that to be considered pure-blood, one's grandparents must have all been wizards. She also mentioned that some of the more severe schools of thought may require several more generations of wizards to be considered pure-blood. She has also said that true pure-blood wizards do not exist, and that they merely delete the Squibs and Muggles from the family trees. [3]
Notable pure-blood families mentioned in the books include the Black family, the Malfoy family, the Crouch family and the Weasley family. The few remaining families are all interconnected. Over the course of the series, some prominent families have died out, thus limiting the pure-blood gene pool even further. The Crouch, Gaunt, and Black lines have become extinct during the course of the series, and there are very few known lines left.
Some of the strongest proponents of blood purity are surprisingly not pure-blood themselves. (A notable example is Lord Voldemort, a half-blood whose mother was a pure-blood witch of the Gaunt family and whose father was a Muggle of a squire's family.)
By no means is pure-blood status a guarantee of a person's attitude. The Weasleys are an old pure-blood family, but have no qualms about mixed marriages or associating with Muggles (though they have shared the common view of Giants and werewolves as murderous monsters). Attitudes do tend to run in families as children are brought up to support their parents' views, but even families that consider Muggle marriage disgraceful and immoral have their black sheep. The Black family seems to have produced one or two black sheep every generation.
It is strongly implied in Order of the Phoenix that pure-blood families inbred with each other, somewhat like old European Nobility. It is confirmed that the Blacks and the Gaunts inbred into their own families by marrying their cousins, and it can be assumed that other fanatically pureblood families, such as the Malfoys and Lestranges, did the same. It is notable that, especially in the Gaunt and Black families, that individual members have a certain amount of mental instability and emotional problems. This may be due to their upbringing as well as their inbred gene pool. However, while the Blacks are intelligent although many have disturbed and twisted minds, the Gaunts have experienced actual mental retardation - most notably in Voldemort's mother Merope Gaunt. This implies that while there has been only moderate inbreeding among the Blacks, there has been considerably more inbreeding in the Gaunt family.
Blood traitor
A blood traitor is a derogatory term for a pure-blood who fails to maintain the proper prejudices. This label has been applied to the Weasley family, Sirius Black, Andromeda Black and Merope Gaunt.
Half-blood
Half-bloods are wizards that are not Muggle-born, but whose heritage includes one or more Muggle ancestor(s). Today, half-bloods are the most common kind of wizard; magical folk would have dwindled to extinction without marrying Muggles. Blood purity fanatics regard half-bloods as an inferior kind of wizard, though they think of them as superior to Muggle-born wizards. Many of the most important characters in the books, including Harry Potter himself, Lord Voldemort, and Severus Snape, are half-bloods.
Mixed-species
Some half-bloods are products of unions between human wizards and intelligent magical creatures ("beings" in Wizard parlance). Known beings with the capacity to interbreed with humans include goblins, Veela and Giants. Rubeus Hagrid and Olympe Maxime are both half-giants, Professor Flitwick is at least part goblin, and Fleur Delacour is at least one quarter veela. Pure-bloods often use the insulting term "half-breed" to describe someone of mixed-species parentage; a term that can be extended to people such as werewolves and to half-human creatures like centaurs.
Muggle-born
Muggle-borns are the occasional witches and wizards born to Muggle parents. The source of their magical ability is unknown, likely due to the intentional obscurity of magic's technical details. Their magical abilities do not seem to be significantly affected by their parentage, in fact, many have been among the most powerful witches and wizards of their time. Blood purity fanatics despise them above all other groups, even Muggles themselves, as they see them as insults to everything wizards stand for, or as Muggles seeking to rise above their station. Pure-blood fanatics use the foul term "Mudblood" to refer to Muggle-born wizards, which is analogous to equally foul real-world slurs. The proportion of the wizarding population that is Muggleborn seems to be on the rise as the pure-blood families shrink in size and number, and the number of wizard births among Muggles could conceivably be increasing. Notable Muggle-born characters include Hermione Granger and Harry's mother, Lily Potter nee Evans, both of whom are exceptional witches despite coming from all-Muggle families.
Between both worlds
Some characters are stuck between both the magical and the muggle worlds. These are people who have knowledge of but very little or no ability in magic.
Squibs
A Squib is a person of wizarding heritage that lacks or has very little magical ability; as Ron Weasley explains, they are, in essence, the opposite of Muggle-born wizards. A Squib is a very rare anomaly; the only known Squibs so far introduced in the series are the Hogwarts caretaker, Argus Filch, and Arabella Figg, a neighbour of the Dursleys; the Black Family Tree also features Sirius's great-uncle Marius. Squibs share much in common with Muggles; unlike Muggles, however, they notice and comprehend the wizard world. Things that are hidden from Muggles with spells (rather than by the very nature of the hidden thing), however, seem to be visible to Squibs, as evidenced by Argus Filch being able to work at Hogwarts, which appears as dangerous old ruins to Muggles. This allows them the choice to inhabit the wizarding world or the Muggle world. Many live an unfortunate life, however, as they are never truly able to find acceptance in the world that reared them, but cannot find contentment in the world they are more suited to inhabit. Some (like Arabella Figg) prefer to function on the border of the magical and non-magical worlds. The Ministry of Magic does not keep records of Squib births, a sign of wizard society's general disregard for them.
"Squib" may be derived from "damp squib", ie, a wet firework or, more generally, something with a lot of potential and high expectations that never takes off.
Muggles who know about magic
Another group that lives on the border between the magic and non-magic worlds are Muggles who are aware of wizards and may take some advantage of magic cast by others in their lives. These include Muggles who marry wizards (like Seamus Finnigan’s father) and Muggles with a relative who is a wizard (like Hermione’s parents and the Dursley family and the Evans family which Lily Potter was born into). Another notable Muggle who is notified of the existence of the wizarding world because of his leadership role is the British Prime Minister (it can be assumed that all world leaders are notified by their country's Minister of Magic). Blood-purity fanatics have a total disdain for Muggles. During Voldemort's rise to power, his followers frequently murdered Muggles simply for pleasure. The Death Eaters that attacked after the Quidditch World Cup levitated a Muggle groundskeeper and his family and twirled them around in the air for their own twisted amusement.
Pure-blooded families
The "Noble and Most Ancient House of Black"
Status: Extinct
Most of the members of the Black family were devoted blood purists. They also had no problem with using the Dark Arts. The Black family home at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London contains many artifacts of dubious origin and/or dangerous abilities, as well as a Black family tree woven into a large decorative tapestry. It is incomplete, because whenever the family produced anyone of whom Walburga Black disapproved, she disowned the rejected person and his or her name was burned off the tapestry. This happened to her son Sirius Black, and also to her niece Andromeda Black, who married Muggle-born wizard Ted Tonks. The Blacks have intermarried with several other pure-blood families, including the families of known Dark wizards, or at least malicious folk (Flint, Bulstrode, Malfoy, Crabbe, Rosier, Yaxley, Burke, Lestrange) and also non-Dark families (Potter, Crouch, Longbottom, MacMillan, Prewett). That these families intermarried with such a sinister clan suggests either that the Blacks' Dark leanings were not necessarily common knowledge, or that this factor was outweighed by the prestige that the House of Black apparently had. That Mrs. Black did not burn people off the tapestry during the first war for their families' opposition to the Death Eaters indicates that Walburga's concerns were more to do with her own ideas of blood purity than with support or otherwise for Voldemort. The last several generations of Blacks all trace their ancestry back to Phineas Nigellus Black and Ursula Black nee Flint. Family motto Toujours Pur.
The Blacks thought that Voldemort had the right idea about "purifying the wizarding race", but many, such as Sirius' parents, refrained from supporting him once they saw what he was willing to do for power. Regulus Black was a Death Eater, but was murdered when he tried to back out of it. Narcissa Black-Malfoy is married to a Death Eater but does not herself take an active role, and is less than happy about what the perils of serving Voldemort have done to her family. Her sister Bellatrix Black-Lestrange, on the other hand, is the Dark Lord's most fanatical follower.
Note that Walburga Black was a member of the family by birth as well as by marriage, suggesting inbreeding within the Black clan, though Sirius' parents are the only clear case of inbreeding on the tree and are only second-cousins. It is reported however, that all the 'pure blood' wizarding families are closely related to each other.
Seven members of the family are known to have been disowned, one or two in each of the last five generations:
- Isla Hitchens nee Black, who married Muggle or Muggleborn wizard Bob Hitchens (he is listed as a Muggle, but his status is unclear owing to the fact that Ted Tonks, a Muggleborn wizard, is also called a Muggle on the same list)
- Isla's nephew Phineas Black, who supported Muggle rights
- Phineas' nephew Marius Black, who was a Squib
- Phineas' niece Cedrella Weasley nee Black, who married 'blood traitor' Septimus Weasley
- Marius' nephew Alphard Black, who left his fortunes to his own wayward nephew
- Alphard's afforementioned nephew Sirius Black, who ran away from home
- Alphard's niece Andromeda Tonks nee Black, who married Muggleborn Ted Tonks.
Other notable Blacks include:
- Sirius' Great-great-great-aunt Elladora Black, who started the family tradition of beheading their house-elves when they became too old to carry tea-trays. Sister of Phineas Nigellus Black and Isla Black.
- Araminta Melliflua, a cousin of Walburga Black, who tried to force through a Ministry bill that would make Muggle-hunting legal. As she does not appear on J.K. Rowling's Black Family Tree, she may be a cousin on the Crabbe side of Walburga's ancestry. It is unclear whether 'Melliflua' is a surname or middle name. 'Melliflua' comes from 'mellifluous', to have a pleasant voice (she tried to sweet talk the Ministry into allowing Muggle hunting).
- Phineas Nigellus Black, the least popular headmaster in Hogwarts history, who has a portrait in the Headmaster's office as well as at 12 Grimmauld Place. He was in Slytherin House, and despised teaching as much as the students despised him.
Although there are several living family members, including Bellatrix Lestrange (maiden name Black) (escaped supporter of Lord Voldemort and Sirius' cousin), Narcissa Malfoy (maiden name Black) (mother of Draco, wife of Lucius and sister of Bellatrix), and half-blood Nymphadora Tonks (Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix), all are female or a female-line distaff Black descendant and, as such, none of them bear the name of Black. Sirius' brother Regulus Black is dead, very likely murdered on Voldemort's orders when he got cold feet, his death confirmed by Rowling herself [4]. The last known surviving bearer of the family name, Sirius Black, was murdered by his cousin Bellatrix, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and thus the Black family line has ended. Template:Selfref
The Malfoy family
Status: Extant
According to Hagrid, there is not one decent member of the Malfoy family. The Malfoys identified in the series so far are Lucius Malfoy, his wife Narcissa (by birth a Black), their son Draco, and Lucius' father Abraxas HBP.
Draco Malfoy is in the same year at Hogwarts as Harry Potter but is in Slytherin House. In Goblet of Fire, it is revealed that Draco's father wished to send him instead to Durmstrang, but relented when Draco's mother objected, saying the school was too far away.
Lucius Malfoy is known to be a Death Eater. In Half-Blood Prince, Harry suspects that Draco has been branded with the Dark Mark and thus would be a Death Eater like his father. This is presumed to have been confirmed by the events surrounding Dumbledore's death at the end of Half-Blood Prince.
Other information about the Malfoys:
- Abraxas Malfoy died of dragon pox.
- Dobby is their former house-elf, having been freed by Harry Potter at the end of Chamber of Secrets.
About their names:
- "Draco" is Latin for dragon.
- "Lucius" is a name of Latin origin meaning 'light' very close to "Lucifer", the Devil (in Latin, 'the bright one' 'the one that shines').
- "Narcissa" is the feminine form of Narcissus, a character in Greek mythology who drowned after falling in love with his own reflection (Narcissa Malfoy is said to be quite beautiful).
- "Abraxas" is the name of a demon in the occult, often equated with the Devil.
- "Malfoy", in Old French, means "bad faith" ("mal" generally means "bad" in Latin; c.f. "malice" or "malevolant"); it is therefore a very appropriate name for people who pretend to be righteous but are secretly in the service of Voldemort.
The Weasley family
Status: Extant
The Weasleys are a pure-blood family, but are considered by some others to be blood traitors as they do not demonstrate "proper respect" and pride in their purity. They fraternize happily and openly with wizards of diverse heritages as well as Muggles. Arthur Weasley is fascinated by Muggles and enjoys opportunities to speak with Hermione Granger's parents. Ron and Ginny have developed strong friendships with half-blood and Muggle-born students such as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Some of the Weasley children are romantically involved with persons not of pure wizard blood: Ginny with Harry (whose mother was Muggle-born), Bill with Fleur Delacour (whose grandmother was a Veela, and who is therefore not fully human although perhaps fully magical) and Ron with Hermione (a Muggle-born).
They were also one of the poorest wizarding families in the series, though this has changed since Arthur Weasley got a promotion and all of their children except Ron and Ginny (who are still in school) have well-paying jobs and are able to support themselves financially. For many generations, the Weasleys were all males (except the women who married into the family). Ginny Weasley is the first girl to be born into the Weasley clan in many generations. The only other known girl to be born into the family is a far distant cousin named Mafalda. (Though Mafalda's character is quite developed, she never made it into the books. Her canonicity is questionable.)
- See Weasley family for more information.
The Longbottom family
Status: Extant
The Longbottom family includes Neville Longbottom and his parents Frank and Alice Longbottom who are both mentally incapacitated from being tortured by Death Eaters. Neville's parents are kept in a special ward at St. Mungo's for permanent patients. They have lost their memories and most mental faculties.
Due to his parents' condition, Neville was raised by his formidable grandmother, whose name is revealed to be Augusta Longbottom in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Mrs. Longbottom is a forceful, strong woman who wears long robes (her favorite color is green), a fox-fur scarf, a distinctive hat topped with a stuffed vulture, and carries a large red handbag. Neville loves her, but he is a bit scared of her as well. She is Frank Longbottom's mother and she treats both Neville and his parents very unsentimentally, yet is fiercely proud of her son and daughter-in-law's sacrifice. In an episode from The Order of the Phoenix, as Neville leaves his parents ward his mother Alice gives him a bubblegum wrapper. Mrs. Longbottom dismisses it and tells Neville to throw it away, as Alice gives him bubblegum wrappers every time he visits. Neville, however, quietly slips it into his pocket.
The Longbottoms are very similar to the Weasleys, in that they are not prejudiced against mixed heritage wizards and do not have fanatical beliefs in blood purity. Mrs. Longbottom is proud that her grandson is a friend of Harry Potter's, although she and everyone else know Harry is a half-blood. Mrs. Longbottom also admires Hermione Granger (Neville tells his grandmother how clever Hermione is) and does not seem to care in the least that Hermione is Muggle-born.
Other possible Longbottom family members are known only through mention. These are:
- Neville's grandfather, who is deceased. Neville saw him die, though a cause of death has never been given and nothing else about him has been revealed. This grandfather is the reason he can see the thestrals.
- Neville's Uncle Algie, who is mentioned many times and gives Neville his toad and Mimbulus mimbletonia. However, as of Half-Blood Prince, he has not appeared in person.
- Neville's Aunt Enid, married to Uncle Algie.
- One Harfang Longbottom is known to have married into the blood-purity-conscious House of Black. He married Callidora Black (a granddaughter of Phineas Nigellus Black) and fathered a son and a daughter. It is unknown if this son and daughter bear any close relation to the other Longbottoms mentioned in the series.
The Crouch family
Status: Extinct
The Crouch family figures prominently in the plot of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. They are a perfect example of a once great and respectable family of wizards completely destroyed because of Voldemort. Bartemius Crouch was the head of the family, a powerful figure in the Ministry of Magic. His son was named after him. Winky the house-elf served the family until she was sacked.
Immediately following Voldemort's downfall, four Death Eaters tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom, and Barty Crouch Jr. was one of those Death Eaters. He was tried by the full Wizengamot in a Ministry court, a trial conducted by his furious father. Mr. Crouch sentenced his son and accomplices to Azkaban, devastating his wife. She was ill and dying at the time and she convinced her husband to allow her to trade places with her son in the wizard prison. Mrs. Crouch and Barty Jr. drank Polyjuice Potion to take each other's appearance. She died shortly thereafter in Azkaban and was buried by the dementors outside the walls under her son's appearance and name.
Years later, Barty Crouch Jr. murdered his father on Voldemort's orders, in part of the complex plot of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
When Barty Crouch Jr., impersonating the famous Auror Alastor Moody, attempted to kill Harry Potter, Hogwarts Headmaster Dumbledore and two other professors forced him to reveal himself and tell his true story. Later when the Minister of Magic went to interrogate Crouch, he feared for his safety and took a Dementor into the room with him. When Barty Crouch Jr. was kissed by the Dementor, the Crouch bloodline ended forever. Although Barty Jr. is still technically alive, he will never be able to have children.
One Caspar Crouch is known to have married into the House of Black (whose members prided themselves on preserving their "blood purity"). He married Charis Black (a granddaughter of Phineas Nigellus), which union produced a son and two daughters. Given the fact that the family became extinct after the destruction of Barty Crouch, Jr., implying that there was only a single extant line of the family, it is entirely possible that the son of Caspar and Charis was Bartemius Crouch, Sr.
The House of Gaunt
Status: Extinct
The last pure-blood descendants of Salazar Slytherin, their obsession with blood purity has caused them to often marry their own cousins through the generations, resulting in cases of retardation. The last members of the Gaunt clan were Marvolo and his children Morfin and Merope, Marvolo's wife was presumably a first cousin, or at least the last of her own line of the family.
Merope Gaunt is the witch who died shortly after giving birth to Tom Marvolo Riddle, who later styled himself Lord Voldemort. She could not have been more than twenty years old when she died.
Marvolo died of old age and Morfin was sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban after being framed by Voldemort for the murder of Voldemort's father and paternal grandparents. Morfin Gaunt is buried in a grim graveyard beside the prison, where other inmates who died within the fortress are buried. As Voldemort is a female-line descendant of this family, Slytherin still has one living decendant; however, he does not carry the Gaunt name, which ended with his uncle Morfin's death, and he is a half-blood because his father was a Muggle. However, Voldemort has rejected the name Riddle and is known today among the majority of the wizarding world simply as Lord Voldemort - although that name is never mentioned. It is also known that he is the last surviving descendant of Slytherin and that he is proud of his magical heritage. As Voldemort is presently immortal, the Slytherin line may survive through him forever. If, however, Voldemort is killed through the destruction of his Horcruxes, the family will vanish forever. It is highly unlikely that Voldemort will sire offspring.
- See The House of Gaunt for more information.
The Lestrange family
Status: Extant
The Lestrange family consists of Rodolphus, his wife Bellatrix (maiden name Black) and his brother Rabastan. There is no mention in the Harry Potter series regarding Rodolphus and Bellatrix having any children, either schooling at Hogwarts, or elsewhere. However, in a scene from The Half Blood Prince, Bellatrix tells her sister Narcissa Malfoy that if she, Bellatrix, had sons she would gladly give them up in service of the Dark Lord (Voldemort), thus indicating that she has no sons - it could also mean that she has no daughters. When Bellatrix says "sons" it must be taken in context - in the scene her sister Narcissa weeps that her son Draco Malfoy has been given a terrible task by Voldemort. Bellatrix would make no distinction between a son or daughter, and would press them both into Lord Voldemort's service.
Along with Barty Crouch Jr., the Lestranges tortured Neville Longbottom's parents. They were tried, convicted, and imprisoned at Azkaban for this crime until they escaped, along with the other Death Eaters imprisoned there.
Other known pure-blood families
Statuses: Varying
There are very few surviving pure-blood families left in Britain, although whether the ones listed below are truly extant is uncertain, but inferred from hints and/or solid evidence in the books. The following families are those pure-blood lines known to be living in England and Scotland, and although several Irish characters appear in the books none of them are known to be pure-bloods.
- The Bulstrode Family
- The Crabbe Family
- The Macmillan Family
- The Goyle Family
- The Avery Family
- The Nott Family
- The Prince Family
- The Borgin Family
- The Burke Family
- The Flint Family
- The Rosier Family
- The Zabini Family
- The Parkinson Family
- The Wilkes Family
- The Prewett Family
The Potters were a very wealthy pure-blood family, and the last pure-blood scion of that house was James Potter. Although the Potter line survives through James' son Harry, Harry is a half-blood as his mother was a Muggle-born, so his family as a pure-blood line may be considered extinct. However, if Harry were to marry a pureblood witch (such as his girlfriend Ginny Weasley) their children would technically be pureblood as they would have four wizard grandparents. (This is similar to Harry's friend and dormmate at school, Dean Thomas, whose family was all pure-blood until his father married his Muggle mother)
The Prewetts were another pure-blood family that did not support Voldemort and his Death Eaters - Arthur Weasley's wife is a Prewett, and all of her brothers died heroic deaths while fighting Voldemort's supporters. However as all of the sons of that house are dead, and as it is unclear whether Molly has any male Prewett cousins, that family may be extinct.
The Yaxley and Gamp families are also pure-blood, however it is unknown whether any members of those families bearing the family name still exist. It is known that one of Voldemort's Death Eaters was a Yaxley - however this particular Death Eater believed Voldemort to be gone forever and it is unclear if he has returned in the Second War, or if he's even alive. The Prince family (mentioned above) may still be extant. Severus Snape is a distaff line half-blood descendant (through his mother Eileen Prince); however, it is never said that he is the last member of that family.
Notable individuals
Notable pure-bloods
Along with the members of notable pure-blood families, the following individuals are also known to be pure-blood (or are notable enough in their own right to be listed separately here):
- Sirius Black
- Albus Dumbledore
- Merope Gaunt
- Neville Longbottom
- Draco Malfoy
- James Potter
- Ginevra Weasley
- Ron Weasley
Notable half-bloods and mixed-species
- Half-bloods
- Harry Potter: James Potter was pure-blood, Lily Evans was Muggle-born.
- Lord Voldemort (Tom Riddle): Father, Tom Riddle Sr., was a Muggle; mother, Merope Gaunt, pure-blood.
- Severus Snape: Mother was a pure-blood witch, Eileen Prince; father was Tobias Snape, a Muggle.
- Remus Lupin: A half-blood per J. K. Rowling's interview (World Book Day Chat).
- Nymphadora Tonks: Father, Ted Tonks, was Muggle-born; mother, Andromeda Black, pure-blood.
- Seamus Finnigan: Muggle father, pure-blood mother.
- Dean Thomas: Muggle mother, father a pure-blood wizard killed by the Death Eaters.
- Mixed-species
- Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour: Quarter-veela through a grandmother, part-witch
- Rubeus Hagrid: Hagrid's father was a wizard, while his mother was a giantess.
- Olympe Maxime: Part-giant, part-witch
- Filius Flitwick: Believed to be part-goblin, part-wizard (goblin ancestry is minimal) or may be fairly short.
Notable Muggle-borns
- Hermione Granger
- Lily Potter
- Penelope Clearwater
- Colin Creevey
- Dennis Creevey
- Dirk Cresswell
- Justin Finch-Fletchley
- Ted Tonks
Notable squibs
Reference
BBC Newsround interview with J.K. Rowling, Fall 2000, transcript on QQQ