Myrtle/genealogy-What is Pureblood?

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston) <catlady@wicca.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51430

Melody wrote:

<< Awww. Poor Myrtle. Normally, I stay fairly quiet about my pity for 
her, since so many tend to hate her so much (and I must say the movie 
did not help that trend), but I just cannot let her be completely 
trampled upon. >>

This is a forbidden "I agree" post... I always feel sorry for her, 
and the only thing outside the movie that bothers me is her stalking 
Olive Hornby. Furthermore, when asked which HP character I most 
resemble, I often say Moaning Myrtle...

The other Hogwarts ghosts seem to be content enough with their 
Hogwarts afterlives, but Myrtle is miserable. I keep hoping that 
there is some way in the Potterverse to "lay" a ghost (isn't that the 
term used for making it stop haunting and go on to "the next great 
adventure"?). As ghosts are "not the happiest people" and in many 
theories they hang around because of "unfinished business", I suppose 
it would involve fixing whatever is making them so unhappy....

THE THREAD OF "What is Pureblood?"

I'm inclined to think it's a wizard/witch all eight of whose great- 
grandparents were wizards and witches, and anyone between that 
and a Muggle-born is called "Half-blood", without the elaborate 
terminology of mulatto, quadroon, octaroon, and so on that USAmerican 
racism once invented to distinguished those who were Half, a Quarter, 
or an Eight Muggle, or the offspring of a wizard and a witch who were 
themselves both Muggle-born.

However, in CoS, Ernie Macmillan says: "I might tell you that you can 
trace my family back through nine generations of witches and warlocks 
and my blood's as pure as anyone's, so -" and some people have taken 
this to mean that NINE GENERATIONS is the definition of Pureblood. 

Ffred wrote:

<< And 300 years is not unreasonable for keeping a genealogical 
trace, if you really need to. Longer and it becomes much more 
problematical >>

It seems to me that nine generations *could* be a measley 180 years, 
if they all go in for youthful childbearing, so a still-living wizard 
could be a 5-times-great grandfather. It's hard to keep count of how 
many "greats" one has already said, when it's over 3, so maybe they 
have more specialized vocabulary for ancestors and descendents than 
us Muggles do, or maybe past great-great they just say "ancestor" and 
"descendent". "I'm going to my ancestors' house for their 150th 
wedding anniversary"?

But with those wizarding long life spans, it would make sense for the 
average generation to be 60 years, and then nine generations would 
need almost 6 centuries. I'd like for nine generations to go back to 
the time of the Founders, but I have trouble believing that witches 
don't hit the change of life before the necessary age approximately 
110. 

Here is a chart of the short generations, with the ages of the people 
at the time the chart was made (which was ten years before 
"Dumbledore is 150")

Age...Person 
180...Dumbledore's gaffer (1) [why isn't it "graffer"?)
160...Dumbledore's dad (2)
140...Dumbledore (3)
120...Dumbledore's daugher (4)
100...Dumbledore's grand daughter (5)
080...Dumbledore's great grand daughter (6)
060...Dumbledore's great great grand daughter (7)
040...Dumbledore's great great great grand daughter (8)
020...Dumbledore's great great great great grand daughter (9)
000 Dumbledore's great great great great great grand daughter (new 
born).

Here is a chart of the long generations, to show how I got "almost 
six centuries"

Age...Person 
540...Dumbledore's gaffer (1)
480...Dumbledore's dad  (2)
420...Dumbledore      (3)
360...Dumbledore's daugher (4)
300...Dumbledore's grand daughter  (5)
240...Dumbledore's great grand daughter (6)
180...Dumbledore's great great grand daughter (7)
120...Dumbledore's great great great grand daughter (8)
060...Dumbledore's great great great great grand daughter (9)
000...Dumbledore's great great great great great grand daughter (new 
born).