Marriage

Marriage
Event information
Location	Various
Date(s)	Various
Participant(s)	Various
Description	Two consenting adults pledging to spend the rest of their lives together

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls..."

— Ceremony official

Marriage is a legally binding contract that says two people stay together until their death. Many people have a celebration at the start of their marriage known as a wedding. The end of a marriage is known as divorce. Two people planning to be married in the near future are known as engaged.

According to Molly Weasley, many people were "rushing into" marriage during the First Wizarding War in the worry that they might not be able to do it in the near future lest they were killed.

The exact legal nature of marriage in the wizarding world is unknown, although it is known that Celestina Warbeck married three times, and divorced two times.

Types of marriage

Respectable

Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black were a respectable Pure-blood marriage

Nonetheless, some wizards and witches had made their families proud by making "respectable pure-blood marriages" like Narcissa Black, Bellatrix Black, Orion Black, and Irma Crabbe. Apparently, in some cases the contractors were not in love, but still married to maintain purity within their families, making it sort of an "arranged marriage". For example, Bellatrix's true love was Lord Voldemort rather than her husband Rodolphus. The House of Gaunt had a tendency of marrying their own cousins to remain pure, which led to severe genetic problems in the later generations.

However, in other cases the contractors did have a deep affection for each other. For example, Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black were a respectable Pure-blood marriage and they loved each other. In fact, Narcissa loved her husband and son dearly, and was willing to do anything to protect them.

Low status

"Andromeda's sisters are still here because they made lovely, respectable pure-blood marriages, but Andromeda married a Muggle-born, Ted Tonks, so —"

— Sirius Black informing Harry Potter of the House of Black's attitude to marriage

Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks's marriage was low status, as Tonks was a half-blood and Lupin was a werewolf

There existed some notorious discrimination toward "morganatic" marriages. Many Pure-blood families disowned their own relatives for their marriage to Muggles, half-bloods, Muggle-borns, and blood traitors, and such outcasts were seen as "second-class" wizards and witches, e.g. Andromeda Black, Cedrella Black, James Potter, Eileen Prince, and Merope Gaunt.

Andromeda married Muggle-born Ted Tonks. Cedrella married Septimus Weasley. The Weasley family had been considered blood traitors ever since they protested their inclusion in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, thus Cedrella was disowned and burned off the Black family tree tapestry. Eileen Prince and Merope Gaunt married Muggles, Muggle/wizard marriages were seen as lesser unions.

Many marriages would have likely been looked down upon, such as James Potter's marriage to Muggle-born Lily Evans, or Ron Weasley's marriage to Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Harry Potter's marriage to Ginny Weasley may have been looked down upon as Harry was a half-blood and, although a pure-blood, Ginny was considered a blood traitor. Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks's marriage was also looked down upon, because of Lupin's werewolf status.

Known marriages

Magical marriages

The marriage between a witch and a wizard or a witch/wizard and a non-human, in rough chronological order.

Bride and groom	Wedding date	Notes
Fleamont Potter	Unknown date	This wedding took place presumedly after the two graduated Hogwarts.
Euphemia Potter
Jacob Kowalski	Presumably in or after 1932	Jacob Kowalski and Queenie Goldstein married inside Kowalski Quality Baked Goods, 443 Rivington Street New York, after Queenie had left Gellert Grindelwald's side and been separated from him for so long.
Queenie Goldstein
Arthur Weasley	Summer 1968-November 1970	The Weasleys settled on a large Tudor pigpen located on the outskirts of Ottery St Catchpole, in Devon. As the family grew over the birth of their children, the couple started building upward with add-on bits of architectural salvage they picked up wherever they could find, thus building The Burrow.
Molly Prewett
Elphinstone Urquart	Early 1980s	The marriage was a very happy one, and a period of great fulfilment for Minerva, although she did keep her maiden name, as she had always been something of a feminist. The marriage was cut short in 1985 after Elphinstone's accidental death from a Venomous Tentacula bite.
Minerva McGonagall
James Potter	Summer 1978-Autumn 1979	Lily and her sister Petunia were not on good terms, so neither Petunia nor her husband Vernon Dursley attended the ceremony. The best man was Sirius Black.
Lily Evans
Remus Lupin	July, 1997	The ceremony was quiet and hurried, as it took place during the height of the Second Wizarding War and because the Ministry of Magic had just passed legislation that was not favourable to werewolves. The couple had one child, Teddy Lupin who was in born in March shortly before both of his parents' deaths.
Nymphadora Tonks
William Weasley	1 August, 1997	The bride and groom's younger sisters, Gabrielle Delacour and Ginny Weasley, served as bridesmaids, and Bill's younger brother Charlie Weasley served as the best man. The reception was interrupted by the news that Lord Voldemort had taken over the Ministry of Magic, and guests fled as Death Eaters arrived to try and capture Harry Potter. The couple went to live at Shell Cottage, a house that belonged to an aunt of Bill's, in the outskirts of Tinworth, Cornwall, which was presumably also where they raised their children: Victoire, Dominique, and Louis.
Fleur Delacour
Harry Potter	2000s	Harry and Ginny get married sometime after the Second Wizarding War, presumably before their first child is born in 2004. The couple goes on to have three children: James Sirius, Albus Severus, and Lily Luna Potter. It is very likely that they married soon after Ginny completed Hogwarts, due to their friends marrying at a young age. Placing the marriage in either late 1999 or early 2000.
Ginevra Weasley
Ronald Weasley	Late 1990s/early 2000s	Ron and Hermione get married sometime after the Second Wizarding War, presumably before their first child is born in 2006. Hermione decided to keep her maiden name. The couple goes on to have two children Rose and Hugo Granger-Weasley. It is founded that they married at a extremely young age and therefore it probably took place in either 1999 or even 2000.
Hermione Granger
Draco Malfoy		The couple lived in the ancient Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire, and had a single child: Scorpius Malfoy. Draco and Astoria presumably married before their child was born in 2006.
Astoria Greengrass
Neville Longbottom	Late 1990s-2010s	As Hannah became the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron, the couple lived above the pub, a fact that Neville's students at Hogwarts considered to be "cool".
Hannah Abbott
George Weasley		The couple went on to have two children: Fred Weasley (II) and Roxanne Weasley.
Angelina Johnson
Rolf Scamander	Late 2000s/early 2010s	The wedding took place "rather later" than her friends' marriages. The famous Magizoologists had two twin children: Lorcan and Lysander.
Luna Lovegood

Percy Weasley and Audrey Mr Prewett and a woman Septimus Weasley and Cedrella Black Orion Black and Walburga Black Rodolphus Lestrange and Bellatrix Black Ted Tonks and Andromeda Black Phineas Nigellus Black and Ursula Flint Licorus Black and Magenta Tripe Jimbo Blishwick and Misapinoa Black Sirius Black (I) and Hesper Gamp Cygnus Black (I) and Ella Max Cygnus Black (II) and Violetta Bulstrode Cygnus Black (III) and Druella Rosier Herbert Burke and Belvina Black Arcturus Black (II) and Lysandra Yaxley Arcturus Black (III) and Melania Macmillan

Pollux Black and Irma Crabbe Charlus Potter and Dorea Black Harfang Longbottom and Callidora Black Caspar Crouch and Charis Black Ignatius Prewett and Lucretia Black Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black Reginald Cattermole and Mary Percival Dumbledore and Kendra Cornelius Fudge and a woman Bartemius Crouch Snr and a woman Hagrid Snr and Fridwulfa Monsieur Delacour and Apolline Tilden Toots and Daisy Hookum Xenophilius Lovegood and Pandora Celestina Warbeck and a man

Muggle marriages

The marriages between two Muggles.

Bride and groom	Wedding date	Notes
Mr Evans	Pre 1959	They settled at Cokeworth, and lived in walking distance from Spinner's End, where the Snapes lived. The couple had two daughters: Petunia (born in or before 1959) and Lily (born 30 January, 1960).
Mrs Evans
Vernon Dursley	Late 1977	Fearing that she would be overshadowed, Petunia refused to have her sister Lily as a bridesmaid, which upset Lily. At the reception, Vernon would not talk to James Potter, but described him as "some magician" within his earshot. Petunia had little contact with her sister thereafter. Vernon and Petunia settled at 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, shortly after their wedding. They had a son, Dudley, on 21 June, 1980.
Petunia Evans
Mr Granger	Pre 1979	The couple had one child, Hermione, a witch. She was raised in the Grangers' house on Heathgate.
Mrs Granger
Dean Thomas's mother	1980/1991 (presumably)	Dean Thomas's biological father was a wizard who abandoned his Muggle wife and infant son in a courageous effort to protect them from the Death Eaters. He was soon after killed by the Death Eaters when he refused to join their cause. He never told his wife that we was a wizard and, shortly after his death, his wife married Dean's stepfather, a Muggle, who raised Dean as his son.
Dean Thomas's stepfather

Mixed marriages

The marriage between a wizard or a witch and a Muggle.

Bride and groom	Wedding date	Notes
Mr Wright	c. Middle Ages	Mrs Wright married Muggle Mr Wright and the two had a son named Bowman.
Mrs Wright
Bob Hitchens	c. 1800s	Pure-blood Iola married MuggleBob Hitchens, as a result she was burned off the Black family tree and disowned.
Iola Black
Tom Riddle Snr	1925	Merope used magic to attract the Muggle Tom Riddle, likely with either a love potion or the Imperius Curse. The two eloped in a forced marriage, as she was controlling him through magical means. Merope presumably stopped bewitching him and Tom left her pregnant and alone. He never bothered to find out what happened to their only child, Tom (Voldemort).
Merope Gaunt
Jacob Kowalski	c. 1932	Queenie and Muggle Jacob Kowalski fell madly in love on 6 December, 1926 when they first struck eye contact at the Goldstein sisters' apartment. After knowing each other for six years they secretly got married at Jacob's Kowalski Quality Baked Goods because of the Rappaport's Law making them not eligible to get married during this time.
Queenie Goldstein
Tobias Snape	c. 1950s	Eileen married Muggle Tobias Snape, the two had a troubled relationship and grew detached from their only child, Severus.
Eileen Prince
Lyall Lupin	1959	Lyall Lupin married Muggle Hope, they had a good relationship and joyful wedding. Hope accepted Lyall's proposal enthusiastically and committed herself to planning their nuptials. Their wedding included a cake featuring a Boggart-shaped topper. The couple's union resulted in one son, Remus.
Hope Howell
Mr Lockhart	c. 1960s	Mrs Lockhart married Muggle Mr Lockhart, the couple had three children: Gilderoy and two daughters. Gilderoy was the only magical child the two conceived, as the two daughters were Squibs.
Mrs Lockhart
Mr Finnigan	c. 1970s	Mrs Finnigan was a witch that married Muggle Mr Finnigan, he did not find out until later that she was a witch. The two had one son, Seamus.
Mrs Finnigan
Mr Thomas	Before 1980	Dean Thomas's father married Muggle Mrs Thomas. Mr Thomas was murdered by Death Eaters after he refused to join them, his son never knew him.
Mrs Thomas
Cho Chang	c. 2000s	Cho married a Muggle after the Second Wizarding War.
Muggle

Behind the scenes

• J. K. Rowling has stated that homosexual relationships do not suffer as much discrimination in the wizarding world as in the Muggle world, so it is possible that same-sex marriage is legal in the wizarding world; however, this has not been confirmed.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World
• Wonderbook: Book of Spells (Mentioned only)
• Wonderbook: Book of Potions (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)