Wizarding Relations, or, Who Left the Sna pes Out?

[jsmithqwert]

No: HPFGUIDX 66513

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, jennifer.r.junker at w... wrote:
> I don't think that Voldemort is related to either Sirius or Harry.  
> For that matter, we know from CoS that he is the last remaining 
> descendent of Salazar Slytherine and, therefore, cannot be related 
to 
> any other extent person.  If he truly is the _last_, than no one 
else 
> who is related to him can be alive because they too, would be 
> descendents of Salazar.  I think it quite unusual that after over 
> 1000 years, Slytherine's descendents are so few.  Something very 
> unusual must be going on that prevents the normal outward radiation 
> of descendency.  In the muggle world, for example, virtually 
everyone 
> who has any European ancestry is a descendent of Charlamange.  What 
> could be going on in the WW, that prevents descendents of 
Slytherine 
> from being more numerous?
> 
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**
> 
> Well, yes he could be related- if Salazar had siblings (or other 
relatives),
> and they had descendants- those descendants would be related to 
Voldemort
> although not be descendents of Slytherine himself.  As far as your 
question
> about why is Slytherine's line dying out- that's a good question- 
and one
> not only applicable to the Slytherine line.  Perhaps the inbreeding 
is
> catching up to them by causing them not to produce viable 
descendants.
> 
> Jennifer

Well, I certainly agree that Salazar could have had siblings or other 
relatives, but the division between those people and Salazar would 
have had to remain distinct for 1000 years in order for V to be his 
last remaining descendent.  Even if there are people who have 
descended from Salazar's family, the relation would be back so many 
years that it would be irrelevent (even for the House of Black, 
which, if I remember correctly, traces itself back to the 1500's).  
The similarity between V and a descendent of one of these other 
people would be like the similarity between Harry and Voldemort or 
between Hagrid and Voldemort.  For that matter, Hermeione and 
Voldemort would probably be more closely related (we know that 
Salazar's descendents bred with muggles because of V's mother).

jsmithqwert