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Iola[3] Hitchens (née Black) was a pure-blood witch and the sister of Sirius, Phineas Nigellus, and Elladora Black. She married a Muggle man named Bob Hitchens, and was struck off the Black Family Tapestry and disowned as a result. Her dates are unknown, but she was born after Elladora (1850).[2]

Behind the scenes[]

Etymology[]

Iola is probably a female variant of the Ancient Greek name Iole, meaning "violet". In Greek mythology Iole was a beautiful young princess who was claimed by Heracles for a bride, but her father, King Eurytus of Oechalia, refused her hand in marriage,[4] which seems to suit Iola Black's story of a morganatic marriage and subsequent disowning.

Io is the name of a moon that oribts Jupiter. It is possible that the name Iola is derivative of this moon, based on the Black family tradition of naming children after celestial bodies.

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Her probable father, Cygnus Black I, died in 1851. His elder daughter, Elladora, was born in 1850, meaning that the same year is the earliest Iola could be born. Depending on when Cygnus died in 1851, Iola was born in 1851 or 1852; if her father died at any point between January and February 1851, then she would have an 1851 birth, but if he died any later than February 1851 then she would have an 1852 birthdate, assuming the pregnancy was full term.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Black family tree
  3. J. K. Rowling's handdrawn Black family tree, retrieved from Harry Potter Film Wizardry (see this image)
  4. "Iola" at Behind the Name
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