Secrets (Long) OLD POST REPOST

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 186523

Toni wrote:
> > Hi, look I'm getting really confused about the whole thing, Why is Harry called a Half-Blood when both parents are magic and Vol is Half-Blood, which is only natural as it was only his mother was a witch. Could some one explain this please!!!
> 
Magpie responded:
<snip> 
> Basically, in Harry's case since his mother was Muggle-born (and so has Muggle blood) he's considered a half-blood by some. <snip>
> 
> Snape, for instance, has a parent who was an actual Muggle, but blood-wise Lily and Tobias Snape were both born of Muggle parents.
> 
> Does that make sense? Harry's ancestry is known to be Pureblood on his father's side and pure muggle on his mother's side. 
> 
> -m
>
Carol adds:
Right (except that I'm unaware of any character who *doesn't* consider Harry a Half-Blood). 

A Muggle-born like Lily Potter has two Muggle parents and therefore, no magical "blood," which is why some Wizards (like Voldemort when he refers to Lily as "your Muggle mother") make no distinction between nonmagical Muggles and their magical offspring and use the absence of magical blood as an excuse for discrimination against Muggle-borns. (The absence of magical "blood" is the basis for the baseless claim in DH that Muggle-borns have somehow "stolen" magic from Wizards and Witches with magical "blood.") Even Wizards like Dumbledore who aren't prejudiced don't distinguish between a Muggle and a Muggle-born parent in determining the status of the child. Consequently, Harry, like Snape and Voldemort, is a Half-Blood because his mother had no Wizard "blood."

As I mentioned in my response to Sartoris22, it may make more sense if look at the grandparents rather than the parents. Ron has no Muggle grandparents and is therefore a Pure-Blood. Hermione has four Muggle grandparents and is therefore a Muggle-born. Harry, like Snape and Voldemort, has two Muggle grandparents and is therefore a Half-Blood. 

Carol, not sure how Harry's children will be classified since we never hear of three-quarter bloods