Marlene McKinnon

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Marlene McKinnon
Biographical information
Died	July 1981
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Hair colour	Red
Eye colour	Orange
Skin colour	Light
Relationship information
Family members	Angus McKinnon Elspeth McKinnon McKinnon family
Affiliation
Loyalty	McKinnon family Order of the Phoenix

"Marlene McKinnon, she was killed two weeks after this was taken. They got her whole family."

— Sirius Black to Harry Potter

Marlene McKinnon (d. July 1981) was a witch and member of the original Order of the Phoenix. She fought in the First Wizarding War and was murdered by Death Eaters, along with her family. The McKinnons were later described as being one of the families Voldemort and his followers completely wiped out.

Biography

"No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts —"

— Rubeus Hagrid telling Harry Potter about Voldemort's murder of the McKinnon family

Marlene was a member of the wizarding McKinnon family, which, according to Hagrid, consisted of some of the best witches and wizards of their age, implying that Marlene too was a very accomplished witch.

Marlene in a picture of the original Order of the Phoenix, two weeks before her death

During the First Wizarding War, Marlene McKinnon became a member of the Order of the Phoenix, an organisation led and founded by Albus Dumbledore, in order to oppose Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. She fought in several battles of the First Wizarding War. The McKinnons were said to be one of the families killed off by Voldemort, as Rubeus Hagrid told Harry in his first year, when pushed to discuss the matter.

Marlene and her whole family were murdered by Death Eaters in July 1981. Igor Karkaroff implicated Travers as one of the people who was involved. "Mad-Eye" Moody pointed Marlene out to Harry Potter in a photo of the Order that was taken two weeks before her death.

Etymology

"Marlene" is a name of Germanic origin, and is a blend of the names "Maria" and "Magdaline", which mean "star of the sea" and "of Magdala" respectively. The name "McKinnon" is Scottish, an Anglicised version of the Gaelic name "Mac Fhionghuin", meaning "fair born" or "fair son". It is also translated as "love".

Behind the scenes

• Although the McKinnon family is mentioned throughout the book series, as well in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Marlene is the only member of the family who has been identified as working for the Order.
• Lily J. Potter says in her letter to Sirius Black that she cried all night when she heard about the McKinnons' deaths, and she attributes Peter Pettigrew's melancholy to the same reason, which might suggest that Lily and the Marauders were close to Marlene and/or her family.
• It is unknown why the McKinnons were all together when they were killed or how they were related to each other. It is possible that they were a nuclear family living in one household and consisting of parents and young children (in which case, Marlene might have been either a mother or an older daughter to the family) or that they were brought to one location by an unidentified family event, known to the Death Eaters who killed them.
• An early manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone depicts Rubeus Hagrid informing a Muggle minister named Fudge about the kidnapping of two characters called "Angus and Elspeth McKinnon" by Lord Voldemort, who wished to turn them to his side. It would seem that this scene was replaced by the first chapter of Half Blood Prince, and that both characters were conflated into Marlene. However, the final text does make references to "the McKinnons", implying a family beyond Marlene, so it is quite unclear if they do exist in canon or not.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Mentioned, not by name)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Appears in photographs)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (Appears in photographs)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
• Pottermore (First appearance)
• Wizarding World (Mentioned only)