Sacred Twenty-Eight

The **Sacred Twenty-Eight** were, according to the author of the *Pure-Blood Directory* (widely believed to have been Cantankerus Nott), the twenty-eight British families that were still "truly pure-blood" by the 1930s.

The Sacred Twenty-Eight comprised the families of:

* Avery
* Black
* Carrow
* Comet
* Greengrass
* Lestrange
* Longbottom
* Nott
* Parkinson
* Pikeman
* Potter
* Prewett
* Prince-Slytherin
* Ravenclaw
* Rosier
* Wildfire
* Weasley
* Yaxley

## Notes about the Sacred Twenty-Eight

Interestingly, the Ollivander family is considered one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, despite Garrick Ollivander's mother being Muggle-born prior to the book's publication. It is possible, however, that the Directory's author was unaware of or overlooked this for other reasons.

The Potter family was excluded from the list because it was also a common Muggle surname, and that Henry Potter also took an outspoken pro-Muggle view during his time in the Wizengamot. This was despite Dorea Black marrying Charlus Potter, and not being disowned, which would almost certainly indicate that the family had no known Muggle ancestors or relatives. Also, James Potter was a pure-blood. One possible theory indicates that the author of the Directory considered the Potters and other "pure-blood" families (such as the Princes, the Crabbes, or the Goyles) to have some amount of Muggle ancestry.

Some families (most famously the Weasley family) spoke out against the list in spite of their inclusion, declaring that they certainly had muggle ancestry and were not ashamed of it. The families who were proud of being included or who wished they had been labelled them "blood traitors" in retaliation.

Although the Malfoys were noted as respectable members as one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight (a title they are proud of), they did not take the pure-blood supremacy to the point of inbreeding: they were willing to marry half-bloods, many of whom are shown in their family tree. As they had no Muggles or Muggle-borns in their family tree, they were still a pure-blood family, just not as fanatic as the Blacks, Gaunts, and Lestranges, whose members do not marry half-bloods, Muggles, or Muggle-borns.

### Current status of the Sacred Twenty-Eight

The Crouch and the Gaunt families are extinct, the first definitively, the latter in direct line. Bartemius Crouch Jnr killed his own father and was later Kissed by a Dementor; according to Albus Dumbledore, he was the last member of the family. Adalbert Gaunt, son of Salazara Gaunt and grandson of Castor and Kailani Gaunt, the latter was murdered when Adalbert was four years old; Gaunt had an illegitimate daughter, Ascella, who was adopted by her aunt, Amber Lupin, née Starling. So is the House of Black. Andromeda Tonks, née Black, however, married a Muggle-born wizard, Edward Tonks, so they did not match up the policy of the *Directory* anymore. In any case, the House continues through several indirect lines, namely Corona and Yvonne Malfoy (granddaughters of Narcissa Malfoy, née Black), and Maya Goldfinch, granddaughter of Andromeda Tonks. And the House of Gaunt continues through Ascella Gaunt, illegitimate daughter of Emberly Comet, née Starling.

The Malfoy family continues in Corona and Yvonne Malfoy, the daughters of Draco Malfoy and Everest Wildfire, which means that both families have been secured of an heir, although, in Wildefires' case, indirect. Corona and Yvonne Malfoy also indirectly continue the House of Black, their maternal grandmother being Narcissa Malfoy.

The Weasleys continue their tradition of being singularly prolific: with the only exception of Charlie, all the children of Arthur and Molly Weasley got married and had children of their own. They however broke the rules of the *Pure-blood Directory* when Ronald Weasley married Hermione Granger, a Muggle-born.

Neville Longbottom married Aurora Pikeman, another member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, as of 2014, they had two children; a son and a daughter, securing an heir for both Longbottom and Pikeman families.