Is Harry a pureblood? according to whom?

[erisedstraeh2002]

No: HPFGUIDX 44167

Ali wrote:

> I apologise for the lack of link but JKR also called Harry a "Half-
> Blood" in one of her interviews. Given that she has defined the WW, 
> and the prejudices which accompany it, IMO we are meant to see 
> Harry as a Half-Blood.

Now me:

Resident HPfGU researcher to the rescue!

Here's the snip from the interview:

Q: Book Four explores several themes - some we've seen before like 
prejudice in Chamber of Secrets. We see more of that with foreign 
students and people with different parentage. Is that something 
you've been wanting to explore?

JKR: From the beginning of Philosopher's Stone, prejudice is a very 
strong theme. It is plausible that Harry enters the world wide-eyed: 
everything will be wonderful and it's the sort of place where 
injustices don't happen. Then he finds out that it does happen and 
it's a shock to him. He finds out that he is a half-blood: to a 
wizard like Lucius Malfoy, he will never be a true wizard, because 
his mother was of Muggle parentage. It's a very important theme. 

And the link:

http://www.geocities.com/aberforths_goat/Fall_2000_BBC_Newsround.htm

So I think that in the technical sense, Harry's a pure-blood because 
both of his parents were wizards.  There are references to Harry 
being a pure-blood in the text - two which come to mind are when he 
first meets Draco Malfoy in Madam Malkin's in PS/SS,  Draco asks 
about Harry's parents "But they were *our* kind, weren't they?" and 
Harry responds "They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you 
mean" (PS, Ch. 5, UK ed. pgs. 60-61).  And in CoS, Harry asks 
Dobby "But I'm not Muggle-born - how can I be in danger from the 
Chamber?" (Ch. 10, UK ed. p. 134).

But then, as you say, Riddle calls both he and Harry "half-bloods" at 
the end of CoS.  So I think the definition depends on who's defining 
it.  To Riddle/Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy, who are filled with 
prejudice, a wizard is only a pure-blood if there are no Muggles from 
which they are descended.  But to more enlightened individuals, Harry 
is a pure-blood because both of his parents were wizards.

~Phyllis