Muriel Prewett

**Muriel Prewett** (born 27 February, 1890) was an English Pure-blood witch and the great aunt of Molly Weasley (née Prewett). Thus, the abrasive, gossip-loving centenarian was the second great-aunt of the Weasley children, including Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny, much to their dismay, as well as Maud Prewett, the daughter of her great-nephew Gideon.

The daughter of Bertram Prewett and his wife Molly Prewett (née Brown), who Muriel's nephew Ignatius named his daughter Molly Weasley for, Muriel was also the younger sister of Ottaline Greengrass (née Prewett) and Clarence Prewett. Although she herself never married, her sister Ottoline did.

Muriel was best known for her extremely rude and judgemental personality.

## Biography

### Early life (1890-1950)

Muriel Prewett was born on 27 February, 1890, in Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, England. Her mother, Molly Ruth Prewett (née Brown), was reportedly good friends with Bathilda Bagshot. Her father was Bertram Prewett, head of the House of Prewett.

She was the youngest of her parent's three children. She had a much older sister, Ottoline Prewett, who would later go on to marry Ivor Greengrass I, Head of the House of Greengrass, as well as an older brother, Clarence Prewett. Muriel would never marry.

At some point during her youth, Muriel eavesdropped on a conversation between her mother and Bathilda Bagshot, listening in secretly from behind a door. She learned that the Dumbledore brothers had an altercation at their sister Ariana's funeral.

As a child at the age of five, Muriel attended the wedding of her sister Ottoline to Ivor Greengrass, then Heir to the Noble and Ancient House of Greengrass. The wedding took place in early 1896 and she was reportedly a bridesmaid.

#### Hogwarts years (1901-1908)

Muriel would have attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, beginning school on 1 September, 1901. She was a member of Gryffindor House and would have left the school in the summer of 1908. Not much is known about her time there.

#### Post-Hogwarts years (1908-1929)

In the year 1910, two years after leaving school, Muriel attended the wedding of her brother Clarence to Alodia McKinnon, which took place somewhere in Oxfordshire. She was already an aunt to her sister's children, Marian, Rowina, and Ivor Greengrass II, and became an aunt again in 1912 when her brother's son, Bilius Prewett was born, and again in 1913 with the birth of Ignatius Prewett.

### Second Wizarding War (1997-1998)

"*...and your hair's much too long, Ronald, for a moment I thought you were Ginevra. Merlin's beard, what is Xenophilius Lovegood wearing? He looks like an omelette... Isn't Harry Potter here? I was hoping to meet him. I thought he was a friend of yours, Ronald, or have you merely been boasting?*"
—Muriel's unpleasant demeanour
Muriel allowed the Order of the Phoenix to use her home as a safe house during the Second Wizarding War. In the Battle of the Seven Potters on 27 July, 1997, this house was the planned destination for Tonks and Ron Weasley. Muriel attended to the pair upon their arrival there.

Muriel owned a goblin-made tiara which she claimed had been in her family for centuries. After being persuaded by her great-niece, Molly Weasley, she lent the tiara to Fleur Delacour, who wore it at her wedding to Molly's son, Bill.

Muriel was invited to the wedding, but was a rather unpleasant presence, drinking copious amounts of champagne and belittling the other guests. At the wedding, she also interrupted a conversation Elphias Doge and Harry Potter (disguised as "Barny Weasley") were having about Albus Dumbledore, which she had overheard as she was walking past. Muriel and Doge proceeded to have a heated argument regarding Dumbledore. Doge, being a childhood friend of Albus, defended him passionately, while Muriel accused Albus based on evidence supplied by Rita Skeeter's new book, *The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore* and what she had heard Bathilda Bagshot tell her mother.

In early 1998, Muriel allowed most of the Weasley family to take refuge in her house, as they had become targets of the Death Eaters. Fred and George Weasley, unable to run their shop in Diagon Alley, began selling their products by owl out of Muriel's back room, much to her chagrin. She also took in Garrick Ollivander, who returned the tiara to her, at Fleur's request. She also owned Shell Cottage before Bill and Fleur.

## Physical Appearance

At age one hundred and seven, Muriel had a beaky nose, red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes, and bony fingers. She wore a feathery pink hat that was described as giving her the appearance of a "bad-tempered flamingo."

## Personality and Traits

**Ron Weasley**: "*Wow. You look great!*"
**Hermione Granger**: "*Your Great-Aunt Muriel doesn't agree. I just met her upstairs while she was giving Fleur the tiara. She said, ‘Oh dear, is this the Muggle-born?' and then, ‘Bad posture and skinny ankles'.*"
**Ron Weasley**: "*Don't take it personally, she's rude to everyone.*"
— Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in 1997
Muriel was a loud, ill-mannered, and extremely rude woman who seemed to find fault with everything and everyone. When she insulted Hermione Granger in 1997, Ron urged her not to take it personally, since Muriel was rude to everybody. Among her other insulting remarks were that Xenophilius Lovegood looked "like an omelette" in his yellow robes, that Ron's long hair made him nearly indistinguishable from his sister, that George's ears were "lopsided" after his right ear had been magically cut off, and that Ginny's dress was "far too low cut." She also seemed slightly disdainful of Hermione's Muggle-born status and of Fleur being French. Muriel liked to use her advanced age as a justification for her impolite actions, in spite of the fact that she seemed quite strong for her age.

Muriel enjoyed gossip and was a fan of Rita Skeeter, stating that she "always" read Rita's work, and that she was eager to pre-order a copy of her book *The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore.*

Despite her rude behaviour, Muriel did have a soft side, as she lent her goblin-forged tiara to Fleur for her wedding with Bill and, more importantly, when the Weasley family was in danger of being arrested by Death Eaters, allowed them to hide in her home.

## Relationships

### Weasley family

"*Another Weasley? You breed like gnomes.*"
—Muriel upon her introduction to "Barny Weasley"
Muriel was not fond of her great-niece's family, the Weasleys, but nonetheless opened her home to them when they were in danger. She came to the Burrow for dinner every Christmas until Fred and George set off a Dungbomb under her chair. She likely wrote them both out of her will for this stunt. According to Molly Weasley, however, Muriel had a soft spot for Bill. It seems she had a distant relationship with Ron and Ginny, as she seemed to insult Ron, and only called Ginny by her given name, rather than her preferred name. She also disapproved of her great-great niece's dress at the wedding, thinking it was inappropriate.

### Ottoline Greengrass

According to many who knew the wife of Ivor Greengrass I, Muriel's relationship with her sister was not very close. Ottoline was much older than Muriel and was already married at aged nineteen when Muriel was just five years old. Muriel liked to talk about her childhood a lot, and although her sister's lavish wedding to the Greengrass heir is a fairly popular story for when talking to strangers (according to her great-nephew, Bill Weasley), it is generally to make others feel insignificant, rather than to reminisce on Muriel's past.

## Ancestry

On her father's side, Muriel Prewett and her two siblings were the grandchildren of Fraser Prewett and Cressida Prewett (née Parkinson). She was the great-granddaughter of Horace Prewett and Marion Prewett (née Roth), as well as Martius Parkinson and Petrina Parkinson (née Rowle). Her second great-grandparents included Marinus Prewett, Rosalind Prewett (née Bones), Quintus Parkinson, Zelia Parkinson (née Travers), Thornicus Rowle, and Eustacia Rowle (née Greengrass).

On her mother's side, Muriel and her two siblings were the grandchildren of Wendellin Brown I and Ottoline Brown (née Fleamont), to who her sister Ottoline was named for. Her great-grandparents on her mothers side included Cenhelm Brown, Flora Brown (née Bagshot), Ormond Fleamont, and Bathsheba Fleamont (née Orpington).

## Etymology

The name "Muriel" is the Medieval English form of a Celtic name which was probably related to the Irish name Muirgel. It was brought to England from Brittany by the Normans. In the modern era, it was popularised by a character from Dinah Craik's novel, *John Halifax, Gentleman* (1856). It is also of Gaelic origin.