Marriage

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls..."

- Ceremony official

Marriage is a legally binding contract that says two people stay together until their death. Many people have a celebration at the start of their marriage known as a wedding. The end of a marriage is known as divorce. Two people planning to be married in the near future are known as engaged.

Often the female takes on the surname of the male during marriage, however this is not always the case (such as when Minerva McGonagall married Elphinstone Urquart in the 1980s).

In the wizarding world, many couples have been married, such as Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett and James Potter and Lily Evans.

Molly Weasley claimed that during the First Wizarding War many people were "rushing into" marriage in the worry that they may not be able to do it in the near future lest they were killed.

Magical Marriages
The marriage between a wizard and a witch
 * James Potter and Lily Evans
 * Arthur Weasley and Molly Prewett
 * Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks
 * Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley
 * Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger
 * Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott
 * Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass
 * Elphinstone Urquart and Minerva McGonagall
 * Rolf Scamander and Luna Lovegood
 * George Weasley and Angelina Johnson
 * Mr. Potter and a woman
 * Percy Weasley and Audrey
 * William "Bill" Weasley and Fleur Delacour
 * Mr. Prewett and a woman
 * Septimus Weasley and Cedrella Black
 * Orion Black and Walburga Black
 * Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix Black
 * Reginald Cattermole and Mary
 * Percival Dumbledore and Kendra
 * Cornelius Fudge and a woman
 * Bartemius Crouch Sr. and a woman

Muggle Marriages
The marriages between two Muggles.
 * Vernon Dursley and Petunia Evans
 * Dudley Dursley and a woman
 * Mr. Granger and Mrs. Granger

Mixed Marriages
The marriage between a wizard or a witch and a Muggle.
 * Cho Chang and a Muggle
 * Robert McGonagall Sr. and Isobel Ross
 * Tobias Snape and Eileen Prince
 * Tom Riddle Sr. and Merope Gaunt

Marriage laws in the wizarding world
There is no note of any divorce in the wizarding world, so its legal status is unknown. J. K. Rowling stated that homosexual relationships do not suffer as much discrimination in the wizarding world as in the Muggle world, so it is possible that same-sex marriage is legal, however this has not been confirmed.

Respectable Marriages and Marriages of Low Status
Even though theres is no discrimination for homosexuals in the wizarding world, there has existed notorious discrimination toward "morganatic" marriages. Many Pure-blood families have disowned their own relatives for their marriage to Half-bloods, Muggle-borns and Blood traitors and are seen as "second-hand" wizards and witches just as: Andromeda Tonks, Cedrella Black, James Potter, Merope Gaunt and Eileen Prince.

Nonetheless, some wizards and witches have made their families proud for making "respectable pure-blood marriages" like Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, Orion Black, and Irma Crabbe. Apparently, in some cases the contractors are not in love, but still married for maintaining purity within their families, making it sort of an "arranged marriage". For example, Bellatrix Lestrange never showed care for her husband and it is believed that she was in fact in love with Lord Voldemort.

Many marriages would have been looked down upon such as James Potter's marriage to Muggle-born Lily Evans, or Ron Weasley's marriage to Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Harry Potter's marriage to Ginny Weasley would have been looked down upon as Harry was a half-blood and, although a pure-blood, Ginny was a blood traitor.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
 * Pottermore