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{{Pottermore}}
[[File:The potters hp.JPG|thumb|250px|right|Half-blood [[Harry Potter]] is the son of a [[pure-blood]] [[James Potter I|wizard]] and a [[Muggle-born]] [[Lily Evans|witch]].]]
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[[File:Potter_family1.gif|thumb|250px|Half-blood [[Harry Potter]] is the son of a [[pure-blood]] [[James Potter I|wizard]] and a [[Muggle-born]] [[Lily Evans|witch]].]]
{{quote|Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn’t married Muggles we’d’ve died out.|[[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] discussing [[blood purity]]|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets}}
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{{Quote|Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn’t married Muggles we’d’ve died out.|[[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] discussing [[blood purity]]|Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets}}
   
 
'''Half-blood''' is the term commonly given to [[wizards|wizards and witches]] who have a Muggle/Muggle-born parent and magical parent. By the [[1990s]], half-bloods were the most common type of magical person, as the wizarding population would have become extinct had they not inter-married with Muggles and [[Muggle-born]]s.<ref name="CS">''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]''</ref>
 
'''Half-blood''' is the term commonly given to [[wizards|wizards and witches]] who have a Muggle/Muggle-born parent and magical parent. By the [[1990s]], half-bloods were the most common type of magical person, as the wizarding population would have become extinct had they not inter-married with Muggles and [[Muggle-born]]s.<ref name="CS">''[[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets]]''</ref>
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==Attitude towards half-bloods==
 
==Attitude towards half-bloods==
{{quote|You dare speak his name? YOU FILTHY HALF-BLOOD!|[[Bellatrix Lestrange]] to [[Harry Potter]] after he uses the name [[Tom Riddle|Voldemort]]|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)}}
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{{Quote|You dare speak his name? YOU FILTHY HALF-BLOOD!|[[Bellatrix Lestrange]] to [[Harry Potter]] after he uses the name [[Tom Riddle|Voldemort]]|Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)}}
[[File:Voldemort&Co.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Lord Voldemort, who denies his half-blood status.]]
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[[File:C0634d41d6_77756546_o2.jpg|thumb|left|140px|Lord Voldemort, who denies his half-blood status]]
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Those who believe in the importance of [[blood purity]] consider half-bloods to be inferior because of their [[Muggle]] heritage, though superior to [[Muggle-born]]s. Occasionally, the term "half-blood" can be used in a derogatory manner, similar to the epithet "[[Mudblood]]"; [[Bellatrix Lestrange]] and the portrait of [[Walburga Black]] did so on multiple occasions.<ref name="OTP">''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]''</ref>
 
Those who believe in the importance of [[blood purity]] consider half-bloods to be inferior because of their [[Muggle]] heritage, though superior to [[Muggle-born]]s. Occasionally, the term "half-blood" can be used in a derogatory manner, similar to the epithet "[[Mudblood]]"; [[Bellatrix Lestrange]] and the portrait of [[Walburga Black]] did so on multiple occasions.<ref name="OTP">''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]''</ref>
   
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==Known half-bloods==
 
==Known half-bloods==
[[File:Snape OOP trailer.png|thumb|200px|right|Severus Snape]]
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[[File:Severus_Snape_Profile.JPG|thumb|130px|Severus Snape]]
   
 
===Pure- or half-blood parent and Muggle parent===
 
===Pure- or half-blood parent and Muggle parent===
 
*[[Seamus Finnigan]] — pure- or half-blood [[Seamus Finnigan's mother|mother]], Muggle [[Seamus Finnigan's father|father]]
 
*[[Seamus Finnigan]] — pure- or half-blood [[Seamus Finnigan's mother|mother]], Muggle [[Seamus Finnigan's father|father]]
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*[[Gilderoy Lockhart]] — pure- or half-blood [[Gilderoy Lockhart's mother|mother]], Muggle [[Gilderoy Lockhart's father|father]]<ref name="lockhart">[[Pottermore]] - [http://www.pottermore.com/en/book2/chapter13/moment2/gilderoy-lockhart New From J. K. Rowling - Gilderoy Lockhart]</ref>
*[[Remus Lupin]] — pure-blood [[Lyall Lupin|father]], Muggle [[Hope Howell|mother]]
 
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*[[Remus Lupin]] — pure- or half-blood [[Lyall Lupin|father]], Muggle [[Hope Howell|mother]]<ref name="lupin">[[Pottermore]] - [http://www.pottermore.com/en/book3/chapter22/moment1/remus-lupin New From J. K. Rowling - Remus Lupin]</ref>
 
*[[Mafalda]] — pure-blood [[Squib]] or [[wizard]] [[Molly Weasley's second cousin|father]], Muggle [[Mafalda's mother|mother]]
 
*[[Mafalda]] — pure-blood [[Squib]] or [[wizard]] [[Molly Weasley's second cousin|father]], Muggle [[Mafalda's mother|mother]]
 
*[[Minerva McGonagall]] — pure- or half-blood [[Isobel McGonagall|mother]], Muggle [[Robert McGonagall|father]]<ref name="pottermore">[[Pottermore]] biography of [[Minerva McGonagall]] (transcription available [http://forums.darklordpotter.net/showpost.php?s=4a2e751bddc00f9618a0b1bb6d9ce6fc&p=481284&postcount=443 here])</ref>
 
*[[Minerva McGonagall]] — pure- or half-blood [[Isobel McGonagall|mother]], Muggle [[Robert McGonagall|father]]<ref name="pottermore">[[Pottermore]] biography of [[Minerva McGonagall]] (transcription available [http://forums.darklordpotter.net/showpost.php?s=4a2e751bddc00f9618a0b1bb6d9ce6fc&p=481284&postcount=443 here])</ref>
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*[[Malcolm McGonagall]] — pure- or half-blood [[Isobel McGonagall|mother]], Muggle [[Robert McGonagall|father]]<ref name="pottermore" />
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*[[Robert McGonagall Jr.]] — pure- or half-blood [[Isobel McGonagall|mother]], Muggle [[Robert McGonagall|father]]<ref name="pottermore" />
 
*[[Tom Riddle|Tom Marvolo Riddle/Lord Voldemort]] — pure-blood [[Merope Gaunt|mother]], Muggle [[Tom Riddle Sr.|father]]
 
*[[Tom Riddle|Tom Marvolo Riddle/Lord Voldemort]] — pure-blood [[Merope Gaunt|mother]], Muggle [[Tom Riddle Sr.|father]]
 
*[[Severus Snape]] — pure-blood [[Eileen Prince|mother]], Muggle [[Tobias Snape|father]]
 
*[[Severus Snape]] — pure-blood [[Eileen Prince|mother]], Muggle [[Tobias Snape|father]]
 
*[[Dean Thomas]] — pure- or half-blood [[Dean Thomas's father|father]], Muggle [[Dean Thomas's mother|mother]]
 
*[[Dean Thomas]] — pure- or half-blood [[Dean Thomas's father|father]], Muggle [[Dean Thomas's mother|mother]]
 
*[[Bowman Wright]] — pure- or half-blood [[Bowman Wright's mother|mother]], Muggle [[Bowman Wright's father|father]]
 
*[[Bowman Wright]] — pure- or half-blood [[Bowman Wright's mother|mother]], Muggle [[Bowman Wright's father|father]]
[[File:Nymphadora Tonks.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Nymphadora Tonks]]
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[[File:1Tonks.jpg|thumb|130px|Nymphadora Tonks]]
   
 
===Pure- or half-blood parent and Muggle-born parent===
 
===Pure- or half-blood parent and Muggle-born parent===
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*[[Hugo Weasley]] — pure-blood father, Muggle-born mother
 
*[[Hugo Weasley]] — pure-blood father, Muggle-born mother
 
*[[Rose Weasley]] — pure-blood [[Ronald Weasley|father]], Muggle-born [[Hermione Granger|mother]]
 
*[[Rose Weasley]] — pure-blood [[Ronald Weasley|father]], Muggle-born [[Hermione Granger|mother]]
[[File:Seamus FinnigansG.PNG|thumb|150px|Seamus Finnigan]]
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[[File:Seamus_FinnigansG.PNG|thumb|130px|Seamus Finnigan.]]
   
 
===Two half-blood parents===
 
===Two half-blood parents===

Revision as of 03:27, 16 July 2014

Potter family1

Half-blood Harry Potter is the son of a pure-blood wizard and a Muggle-born witch.

"Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn’t married Muggles we’d’ve died out."
Ron Weasley discussing blood purity[src]

Half-blood is the term commonly given to wizards and witches who have a Muggle/Muggle-born parent and magical parent. By the 1990s, half-bloods were the most common type of magical person, as the wizarding population would have become extinct had they not inter-married with Muggles and Muggle-borns.[1]

Due to the dominance of the magic gene, children born to at least one magical parent will almost always be magical themselves. A non-magical child born to a Muggle and a wizard is considered a Squib (not a Muggle).[2]

Attitude towards half-bloods

"You dare speak his name? YOU FILTHY HALF-BLOOD!"
Bellatrix Lestrange to Harry Potter after he uses the name Voldemort[src]
File:C0634d41d6 77756546 o2.jpg

Lord Voldemort, who denies his half-blood status

Those who believe in the importance of blood purity consider half-bloods to be inferior because of their Muggle heritage, though superior to Muggle-borns. Occasionally, the term "half-blood" can be used in a derogatory manner, similar to the epithet "Mudblood"; Bellatrix Lestrange and the portrait of Walburga Black did so on multiple occasions.[3]

Some half-bloods expressed prejudice towards those with Muggle heritage, despite having some themselves, and clung to what wizarding heritage they had. Notably, Lord Voldemort hated Muggles and Muggle-borns, despite having a Muggle father, and denied his half-Muggle heritage, leaving hints that he was a pure-blood instead, emphasizing his heritage to the famous pure-blood ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, to make himself more believable.[1] Severus Snape may be another example; his self-entitled nickname was "Half-Blood Prince" because his mother, Eileen Prince, was a pure-blood witch and his father, Tobias Snape, was a Muggle. However, Remus Lupin reported that he never used the nickname openly. This, as well as Snape's membership in the Death Eaters, suggests he may have been ashamed of his Muggle heritage, at least in his early life.[4] In fact, these people, along with some other Death Eaters, pretend to be pure-bloods, hiding their Muggle heritage from anyone else; most of them are half-bloods due to centuries of dilution and decline of what may be called as a true "pure-blood". Ironically (or perhaps because of), regarding the Prophecy concerning his defeat, Voldemort chose to go after a half-blood Harry Potter instead of the pure-blood Neville Longbottom.

When the Ministry of Magic fell under Voldemort's control in 1997, Muggle-borns were openly persecuted and pure-bloods were favoured above all else. Half-bloods were still accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but were not treated as well as the pure-blood students.[5]

Known half-bloods

File:Severus Snape Profile.JPG

Severus Snape

Pure- or half-blood parent and Muggle parent

1Tonks

Nymphadora Tonks

Pure- or half-blood parent and Muggle-born parent

Seamus FinnigansG

Seamus Finnigan.

Two half-blood parents

Two magical parents, known Muggle ancestry

Unknown combination of parental status

Behind the scenes

  • On J. K. Rowling's draft list of students in Harry Potter's class, which is not considered canon due to several contradictions with the novels, the following students were mentioned as half-bloods:[11]

Appearances

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  2. "Squibs" at J.K. Rowling's Official Site
  3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  6. Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Gilderoy Lockhart
  7. Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Remus Lupin
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Pottermore biography of Minerva McGonagall (transcription available here)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Pottermore background information on Ollivander (transcription available here)
  10. Pottermore background information for Quirinus Quirrell (screenshot available here)
  11. 11.0 11.1 Harry Potter and Me
  12. This individual refers to his father, a wizard, but later refers to films. This indicates that while having magical ancestry, he had some contact with the Muggle world. Thus, he was most likely a half-blood.
  13. PotterCast 130 transcript