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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]
Harry Potter and his children are half-bloods 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, emphasising 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
Muggle parent
Muggle-born parent
Half-blood parents
| Wizard(s) | Parents |
|---|---|
| Edward Remus Lupin | Remus John Lupin |
| Nymphadora Tonks |
Muggle ancestry
| Wizard(s) | Pure-blood parent | Half-blood parent |
|---|---|---|
| Albus Severus Potter | Ginevra Molly Potter | Harry James Potter |
| James Sirius Potter | ||
| Lily Luna Potter | ||
| Delphini | Bellatrix Lestrange | Tom Marvolo Riddle/Lord Voldemort |
Unknown parental status
| Wizard(s) | Ancestor |
|---|---|
| Hannah Abbott | At least one known Muggle ancestor |
| Susan Bones | At least one known Muggle ancestor |
| Millicent Bulstrode | At least one known Muggle ancestor |
| Mundungus Fletcher | |
| Master Ollivander | Half-blood Garrick Ollivander, maternal ancestry unknown[12] |
| Miss Ollivander | |
| Quirinus Quirrell | At least one known Muggle ancestor[13] |
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:[14]
- 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.[15]
- On the draft class list, Hannah Abbott was listed as a Muggle-born,[14] 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.[16]
- 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
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book
- LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
- LEGO Harry Potter: Characters of the Magical World
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- LEGO Creator: Harry Potter
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Motorbike Escape
- J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life
- LEGO Harry Potter
- Pottermore
- Harry Potter Trading Card Game
- Harry Potter: The Character Vault
- Harry Potter: The Creature Vault (mentioned only)
See also
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
- ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Gilderoy Lockhart" at Pottermore
- ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Remus Lupin" at Pottermore
- ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Professor McGonagall" at Pottermore
- ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" at Pottermore
- ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Celestina Warbeck" at Pottermore
- ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Dolores Umbridge" at Pottermore
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Mr Ollivander" at Pottermore (archived copy of old version here)
- ↑ Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Professor Quirrell" at Pottermore
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 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