Thank you and another question - Pureblood vs. Halfblood

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 191430



--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Alanna <lilandriss at ...> wrote:
>
> Hey all! Thanks for the responses to my questions on wolfsbane and portkeys.  They were very helpful.  I have another question now.  I'm having trouble understanding Pureblood vs Halfblood.  I get the Halfblood when one parent is magical and the other isn't as in the case of Voldie and Snape, but why is Harry considered a Halfblood? Both his parents are magical despite his mother being muggleborn.  If he's considered Halfblood because of that, then what would you call the child of two muggleborns?
>  
>  
> Thanks again!
>  
> Alanna :)      
>


Steve:

The problem with the terms "Pureblood" and "Halfblood" is that they are not absolute. That is, there is not one absolute definition for them. 

The term "Pureblood" is pretty obvious, you have an unbroken chain of ancestors (ancestors, not descendants) that are all magical persons. But, and this is a big but, there is a difference between calling yourself "pure" and actually being "pure". Many cling to the idea of being 'pure' but few live up to the ideal. Somehow somewhere there is a bit of direct or indirect muggle even in the purest of families. 

Now "Halfblood" is even more confusing. Harry is the descendant of a magical mother and a magical father. Magic+Magic=Pure, or so it would seem. But since Lily is a first generation magical being, she does not have an unbroken line of magical ancestry, which means that some, not all but some, will call her a muggle. Others will call her and Harry pure, in the sense that they are both magical persons. 

I think the proper term for Harry might be "fullblood" rather than "pureblood". He has two magical parents, making him a fully magical being. A true halfblood would have one muggle and one magical parent. 

But, what about Hermione who has two muggle parents, but is none the less a fully magical being herself? So, what do we call her? She is fully magical even if she doesn't have 'full' ancestry or parentage. 

Personally, I think you are either magical or you are not. Designations beyond that are pure prejudice, a means by which inferior people try to make themselves seem superior. Look at Marvolo Gaunt, his blood is as pure as they come, yet he is the most inferior person imaginable. Since he is basically scum, the best he can do is cling to the knowledge that his miserable ornery blood is pure. 

So, how these terms are applied very much hinges on the prejudices of the speaker. But, of course, even those claiming 'pure blood' are very unlikely to have it. Love, or lust, are more powerful than magic, and even the seeming purest blood is likely to have a muggle in the closet here or there. 

I think both in the world of Nazis vs Jew, and in the world of magical beings, if you were three generations removed from any muggle blood, you were accepted. So, if the last muggle in your family was in the generation of your great grandfather or before, your blood would be considered acceptably pure. 

Again, what words literally mean, in fiction or real life, is not necessarily how they are used. Many alleged, though not likely, purebloods, merely use "mudblood" or "halfblood" as in insult. 

Just a few rambling thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn