Callidora Longbottom (née Black) (b. 1915) was a pure-blood witch and a member of the noble House of Black. She was the eldest daughter of Arcturus Black (II) and Lysandra Yaxley and the oldest sister of Cedrella and Charis. She married Harfang Longbottom, and the couple had two children, a son and a daughter.[1] She was related to the Crouch and Weasley families through her sisters, and was related to the Longbottoms through marriage. She is likely to have been related to Mr Longbottom and his son and grandson.
Etymology[]
- Callidora means "gift of beauty" in Greek.[5] It is also the name of a species of sedge moths.
Behind the scenes[]
- Callidora's sister Cedrella was disowned by their family for marrying Septimus Weasley, a "blood traitor". Given that Callidora was not burned off the Black family tree tapestry for her marriage, this suggests that the Longbottoms were considered to be a more "respectable" pure-blood family than Weasleys, although interestingly enough they could also be seen as "blood traitors" because they opposed Voldemort's reign and the notion of blood purity.
- Since Callidora and her cousin Cassiopeia were born in the same year, it is most likely that they were classmates at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
- Callidora's and Elladora's pictures on the family tree in the film are the same. This may be a mistake, or this may mean that Elladora and Callidora looked very similar.
- Callidora was not featured on the Longbottom family tree shown on Pottermore. The reason for this is unknown.
- As Callidora and her sisters Cedrella and Charis were born between 1915 and 1919, they would have been three of the many first ever Slytherins Horace Slughorn taught when he became Potions teacher in 1931.
- It has been speculated that her son was Mr Longbottom, the father and grandfather of Frank and Neville Longbottom, respectively. However, if so, it is unknown how Algie Longbottom, Mr Longbottom's brother, would fit into such a scenario, as it is known that Callidora only had one son and one daughter, so it is more likely that Callidora would still be related to Mr Longbottom, but not as his mother.
- Another possibility, however, is that Algie was a half-brother of Mr Longbottom, which would explain his absence from the Black family tree, which lists only the children Harfang Longbottom would have had with Callidora, their only son probably being Mr Longbottom, leaving Algie more as the product of another relationship of Harfang Longbottom. Assuming this is true, then Bellatrix Lestrange would be third cousins with her own victim of the Cruciatus Curse torture incident.
- It is worth noting that the Black family tree does not record a specific date of death for Callidora, which could indicate that she is still alive today, making her the longest living member of the Black family. However, according to Sirius, by the end of 1995 there were no more Blacks alive than he was, so it is likely that Callidora was already dead at that time and the absence of her death date on the tree is simply an error.
- However, he could have been referring to those who still had the Black family name like him. Especially since by 1995, Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa were still alive and they too were born Blacks. Therefore, he might have just been talking about those who still carried the family name rather than those who married into other families, like Callidora would have by becoming part of the Longbottom family.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (Appears on Black family tapestry)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game) (Seen on Black family tree tapestry)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game) (Seen on Black family tree tapestry)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Black family tree
- ↑ Sirius stated that he was the last of the Blacks by the late 1995, so it is possible that Callidora died at some point before or during that year, however it is possible that he only meant he was the last with the surname Black, as Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black), Andromeda Tonks (née Black), and Narcissa Malfoy (née Black) were still alive at the time he said that, and Callidora's married name is Longbottom, so she could potentially have still been alive as well.
- ↑ "World Exclusive Interview with J K Rowling," South West News Service, 8 July 2000 - "Hogwarts just serves Britain and Ireland."
- ↑ In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 4, Horace Slughorn states: "The whole Black family had been in my house, but Sirius ended up in Gryffindor!" This implies that all Blacks except Sirius were sorted into Slytherin while Slughorn was teaching at Hogwarts. As revealed in Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies, Chapter 3 (Horace Slughorn), Slughorn had "completed half a century of service" at the time of his retirement in 1981, meaning he started teaching there circa 1931. Callidora, born in 1915, presumably attended Hogwarts from 1926 to 1933, and thus would have been a student of Slughorn for at least part of her time at Hogwarts.
- ↑ Behind the Name: Callidora