Changes: Half-blood

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The potters hp — 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]

Voldemort&Co — 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]

Also, despite the fact that many old pure-blood families believe pure-bloods to be more powerful and superior, the three wizards widley believed to be the most powerful were all half-bloods: Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and Tom Riddle (Voldemort)

Known half-bloods

Pure- or half-blood parent and Muggle parent

Seamus Finnigan — pure- or half-blood mother, Muggle father
Gilderoy Lockhart — pure- or half-blood mother, Muggle father^[6]
Remus Lupin — pure- or half-blood father, Muggle mother^[7]
Mafalda — pure-blood Squib or wizard father, Muggle mother
Minerva McGonagall — pure- or half-blood mother, Muggle father^[8]
Malcolm McGonagall — pure- or half-blood mother, Muggle father^[8]
Robert McGonagall Jr. — pure- or half-blood mother, Muggle father^[8]
Tom Marvolo Riddle/Lord Voldemort — pure-blood mother, Muggle father
Severus Snape — pure-blood mother, Muggle father
Dean Thomas — pure- or half-blood father, Muggle mother
Bowman Wright — pure- or half-blood mother, Muggle father

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

Alfred Cattermole — pure- or half-blood father, Muggle-born mother
Ellie Cattermole — pure- or half-blood father, Muggle-born mother
Maisie Cattermole — pure- or half-blood father, Muggle-born mother
Cresswell brothers — pure- or half-blood mother, Muggle-born father
Aberforth Dumbledore — pure- or half-blood father, Muggle-born mother
Albus Dumbledore — pure- or half-blood father, Muggle-born mother
Ariana Dumbledore — pure- or half-blood father, Muggle-born mother
Garrick Ollivander — pure- or half-blood father, Muggle-born mother^[9]
Harry Potter — pure-blood father, Muggle-born mother
Nymphadora Tonks — pure-blood mother, Muggle-born father
Hugo Weasley — pure-blood father, Muggle-born mother
Rose Weasley — pure-blood father, Muggle-born mother

Two half-blood parents

Teddy Lupin — half-blood father, half-blood mother

Two magical parents, known Muggle ancestry

Albus Severus Potter — half-blood father, pure-blood mother
James Sirius Potter — half-blood father, pure-blood mother
Lily Luna Potter — half-blood father, pure-blood mother

Unknown combination of parental status

Hannah Abbott — at least one known Muggle ancestor
Susan Bones — at least one known Muggle grandparent
Millicent Bulstrode — at least one known Muggle ancestor
Mundungus Fletcher — at least one known Muggle ancestor
Master Ollivander — half-blood father, maternal ancestry unknown^[9]
Miss Ollivander — half-blood father, maternal ancestry unknown^[9]
Quirinus Quirrell — at least one known Muggle ancestor^[10]

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]

Susan Bones
Mandy Brocklehurst
Millicent Bulstrode
Michael Corner
Tracey Davis
Anthony Goldstein
Wayne Hopkins
Megan Jones
Sue Li (Possibly a precursor to Cho Chang)

In the GBC version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game), there is a boy in Slytherin who went to Charm school and is listed as being likely half-blood.^[12]
On the draft class list, Hannah Abbott was listed as a Muggle-born,^[11] but in a later interview, Rowling stated that she had always thought of Hannah as a pure-blood. To compromise, she was made a half-blood.^[13]
An interesting fact of note is that despite the ideals that pure-bloods are inherently more powerful wizards, several of the most powerful or particularly adept wizards and witches in the series are in fact half-blood, such as Lord Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, and Harry Potter.
Due to Dean Thomas's father being dead, Dean himself was unable to prove his half-blood heritage during Voldemort's reign. As such, he was regarded as a Muggle-born.
The trio of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley consists of all three types of Wizards. Harry being half-blood, Hermione being Muggle-born, and Ron being Pure-Blood.

Appearances

Notes and references

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
↑ "Squibs" at J.K. Rowling's Official Site
↑ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
↑ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
↑ Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Gilderoy Lockhart
↑ Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Remus Lupin
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 Pottermore biography of Minerva McGonagall (transcription available here)
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 Pottermore background information on Ollivander (transcription available here)
↑ Pottermore background information for Quirinus Quirrell (screenshot available here)
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 Harry Potter and Me
↑ 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.
↑ PotterCast 130 transcript

[CS-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

[2] "Squibs" at J.K. Rowling's Official Site

[OTP-3] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

[HBP-4] Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

[DH-5] Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

[lockhart-6] Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Gilderoy Lockhart

[lupin-7] Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Remus Lupin

[pottermore-8] 8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 Pottermore biography of Minerva McGonagall (transcription available here)

[ollivander-9] 9.0 ^9.1 ^9.2 Pottermore background information on Ollivander (transcription available here)

[quirrell-10] Pottermore background information for Quirinus Quirrell (screenshot available here)

[HPM-11] 11.0 ^11.1 Harry Potter and Me

[bloodstatus-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.

[pottercast-13] PotterCast 130 transcript

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@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 When the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] fell under Voldemort's control in [[1997]], [[Muggle-born]]s were openly persecuted and [[pure-blood]]s 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.<ref name="DH">''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]''</ref>
+Also, despite the fact that many old pure-blood families believe pure-bloods to be more powerful and superior, the three wizards widley believed to be the most powerful were all half-bloods: Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter, and Tom Riddle (Voldemort)
 ==Known half-bloods==