Forum:Black family

Orion Black married his second cousin Walburga Black. This makes Walburga both Orion's wife and his second cousin and also makes Orion both Walburga's husband and her second cousin. Thus, in their infoboxes under "Family members" it states the relationship as such. However, this is not the only connection.

Orion's relation to Walburga's brothers make them both brothers-in-law and '''second cousins. The women Walburga's brothers marry are both sister-in-laws and second cousin-in-laws '''to Orion, to be entirely accurate. Thus their daughters (Bellatrix Black and her sisters are included) are Orion's second cousins once removed and also neices by marriage. In turn, Orion is Bellatrix's second cousin once removed and also her uncle by marriage.

The similar concept can be applied to Walburga and Orion's closer family. Both Orion and Walburga's fathers-in-law are each their first cousin once removed, and their mothers-in-law are their first cousins-in-law once removed.

Yet, there exist connections that are not just -in-law or by marriage. Take Sirius Black and Regulus Black as prime examples! They are brothers, no? Yes, but they are more than that. They are also third cousins on both their paternal and maternal side, making them double third cousins. That is truly three connections! In fact, Sirius is double third cousin to himself and so is Regulus; however I do not know if we want to call people family members of themselves.

It goes beyond that, though. Sirius and Regulus's grandparents (both paternal and maternal) are also their first cousins(-in-laws) twice removed. Their Black great-grandparents (excluding the McMillans and the Crabbes) become their great-great-uncles and great-great-aunts by marriage. And finally, their Black great-great-great-grandparents (Phineas Nigellus Black and Ursula Black) are in fact their double great-great-great-grandparents because they exist once on both the paternal side and maternal side.

There are other double relationships, too. Some of Phineas Nigellus's children (Phineas, Belvina, and Arcturus) are Sirius and Regulus's double great-great-uncles and double great-great-aunt. Phineas Nigellus's siblings also have a similar relationship (double great-great-uncle/aunt). Spouses of such adopt the "by marriage". Meanwhile the children of a double great-great-uncle or double great-great-aunt become a double first cousins twice removed and children of those relatives would be double second cousins once removed (Sirius and Arthur Weasley sharing this relationship, if we are to trust Sirius's comment). And the pattern countinues.

But it is more than just adding a "double" to the front of a relationship to show that their are two lines connecting them. There are some relationships that are even more complex. Sirius to his "cousin" Bellatrix is actually first cousin, maternally, and third cousin, paternally. Thus making him to Draco first and third cousin once removed, and to Scorpius first and third cousin twice removed.

More unique patterns come up every step of the way when you connect any Black to Orion, Walburga, Sirius, or Regulus. Now, it would be easy to go through just their infoboxes and sort up the mess, but then (to be consistent) we would have to do the same with ALL of the other Black member's with their connection to the four.

So here's the deal: Should we just disregard any nonbiological links (-in-law, by marriage), only display the closest link (brother instead of brother/double third cousin), only display the closest relatives (do we really need an entire list of every relative known to every character?) or should we show all the information (like the big fat nerds we are, face it!) and incorporate this into the infobox of every Black relative (including the Weasleys, Potters, Longbottoms, Malfoys, Lestranges, well you get the picture)? Or (as another thought) should I stop using parenthesis and run-on questions (really, it is getting annoying)?

And, that's a wrap. 24.49.35.99 05:03, July 26, 2010 (UTC)