Iola[3] Hitchens (née Black) was a pure-blood witch and the youngest sister of Sirius, Phineas Nigellus, and Elladora Black. She married a Muggle man named Bob Hitchens, and was struck off the Black Family Tapestry and disowned as a result. Her dates are unknown, but she was born after Elladora (1850).[2]
Behind the scenes[]
- Several sources mistakenly list this character's name as "Isla Black". This seems to stem from an incorrect transcription of J.K. Rowling's handdrawn family tree by the Harry Potter Lexicon, based on observation of the original during its auction, on 20 February 2006 (and which was, for a time, the only available source online on the matter). A scan of the original document has since surfaced, having been included in the book Harry Potter Film Wizardry, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Harry Potter films. The scan clarified that Iola's name had been incorrectly transcribed by the Lexicon (indeed, by that point, the name "Iola" had already appeared on the tapestry featured in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix).
- Based on a statement by Horace Slughorn, Iola may have been a member of the Slytherin House. However, she attended Hogwarts in the 1860s, at a time when Slughorn was not even born yet.
- However, if she was in Slytherin then she would be an example of a "Good Slytherin" due to her non-biased views on blood purity and subsequent marriage to a Muggle.
Etymology[]
Iola is probably a female variant of the Ancient Greek name Iole, meaning "violet". In Greek mythology Iole was a beautiful young princess who was claimed by Heracles for a bride, but her father, King Eurytus of Oechalia, refused her hand in marriage,[4] which seems to suit Iola Black's story of a morganatic marriage and subsequent disowning.
Io is the name of a moon that oribts Jupiter. It is possible that the name Iola is derivative of this moon, based on the Black family tradition of naming children after celestial bodies.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (First mentioned) (Appears on Black Family Tapestry)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Her probable father, Cygnus Black I, died in 1851. His elder daughter, Elladora, was born in 1850, meaning that the same year is the earliest Iola could be born. Depending on when Cygnus died in 1851, Iola was born in 1851 or 1852; if her father died at any point between January and February 1851, then she would have an 1851 birth, but if he died any later than February 1851 then she would have an 1852 birthdate, assuming the pregnancy was full term.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Black family tree
- ↑ J. K. Rowling's handdrawn Black family tree, retrieved from Harry Potter Film Wizardry (see this image)
- ↑ "Iola" at Behind the Name
