Changes: Half-blood

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Potters3 — 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 with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half-blood's tongue, you dare... He dared — he dares — he stands there — filthy half-blood — "

— Bellatrix Lestrange's prejudice against Harry Potter's half-blood status^[src]

Potter family1 — Half-blood Harry Potter and his wife pure-blood Ginny Potter have children with known Muggle ancestry

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]

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 John 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
Sybill Trelawney - pure- or half-blood father, Muggle mother
Celestina Warbeck - pure- or half-blood father, Muggle mother^[9]
Dolores Jane Umbridge - pure- or half-blood father, Muggle mother^[10]
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 Percival Wulfric Brian 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^[11]
Harry James 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

Edward Remus 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
Mundungus Fletcher - at least one known Muggle ancestor
Master Ollivander - half-blood father, maternal ancestry unknown^[11]
Miss Ollivander - half-blood father, maternal ancestry unknown^[11]
Quirinus Quirrell - at least one known Muggle ancestor^[12]

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:^[13]
Susan Bones

Mandy Brocklehurst
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.^[14]
On the draft class list, Hannah Abbott was listed as a Muggle-born,^[13] 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.^[15]
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 - New From J. K. Rowling - Minerva McGonagall
↑ Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Celestina Warbeck
↑ Pottermore - New from J.K. Rowling - Dolores Umbridge
↑ ^11.0 ^11.1 ^11.2 Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Mr Ollivander
↑ Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Professor Quirrell
↑ ^13.0 ^13.1 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 - New From J. K. Rowling - Minerva McGonagall

[celestinawarbeck-9] Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Celestina Warbeck

[10] Pottermore - New from J.K. Rowling - Dolores Umbridge

[ollivander-11] 11.0 ^11.1 ^11.2 Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Mr Ollivander

[quirrell-12] Pottermore - New From J. K. Rowling - Professor Quirrell

[HPM-13] 13.0 ^13.1 Harry Potter and Me

[bloodstatus-14] 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-15] PotterCast 130 transcript

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@@ Line 93: / Line 93: @@
 Hannah Abbott .jpg|[[Hannah Abbott]]
 Susan01.png|[[Susan Bones]]
-Millicent in class.jpg|[[Millicent Bulstrode]]
 Quirinus-Quirrel 458.jpg|[[Quirinus Quirrell]]
 </gallery>
 *[[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
 *[[Garrick Ollivander's son|Master Ollivander]] - half-blood [[Garrick Ollivander|father]], maternal ancestry unknown<ref name="ollivander" />
@@ Line 106: / Line 104: @@
 ==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:<ref name="HPM">''[[Harry Potter and Me]]''</ref>
-:* [[Susan Bones]]
+* [[Susan Bones]]
 :* [[Mandy Brocklehurst]]
-:* [[Millicent Bulstrode]]
 :* [[Michael Corner]]
 :* [[Tracey Davis]]