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:

* Abbott
* Avery
* Black
* Bulstrode
* Burke
* Carrow
* Crouch
* Fawley
* Flint
* Gaunt
* Greengrass
* Lestrange
* Longbottom
* Macmillan
* Malfoy
* Nott
* Ollivander
* Parkinson
* Prewett
* Rosier
* Rowle
* Selwyn
* Shacklebolt
* Shafiq
* Slughorn
* Travers
* 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 were 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. Tom Riddle Jnr killed Morfin Gaunt, the last surviving male member of the family, who did not have children; Riddle had ten children who have carried on the line. So is the House of Black, which extinguished in 1996 due to the death of his last male member, Sirius 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 continued through several indirect lines, namely Scorpius Malfoy (grandson of Narcissa Malfoy, née Black), Edward Lupin, grandson of Andromeda Tonks.

The Lestranges were probably extinct in male line, as neither Rabastan nor Rodolphus Lestrange, the last known members, had children.

The Malfoy family continued in Astro, Cosmo, Salazar, Scorpius, Serpens and Ophiuchus Malfoy, the children of Draco Malfoy and Luka McGonagall, which means that both families had been secured of an heir, they also indirectly continued the House of Black, their paternal grandmother being Narcissa Malfoy.

The Weasleys continued their tradition of being singularly prolific. They however broke the rules of the *Pure-blood Directory* when Ronald Weasley married Hermione Granger, a Muggle-born.

Neville Longbottom married Hannah Abbott, another member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, but as of 2014, they did not have children. However, Abbott once stated that she was half-blood, meaning that one of her ancestors married a Muggle and thus the family was excluded from the *Directory*. Therefore, any offspring both Neville and Hannah had would no longer be pure-blood.

The Fawley family continued at least through the male line via Grim Fawley's marriage to Penelope Padgett, which bore two children: Addison and Melody Fawley. However, it has never been clarified if the Fawleys were still pure-blood by Grim's generation.