Blood status

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> "*You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognise that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!*"
> ― Albus Dumbledore's stance on blood status[source]
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**Blood status**, also called **purity of blood**, is a concept in the wizarding world that distinguishes between family trees that have different levels of magically-endowed members. It often results in prejudice towards those who have a large number of Muggles in their families. As Sirius Black informed Harry Potter, almost all wizards of their time have Muggles in their family trees, though some claim not to. The concept played a key role in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars. Families that claim to be pure, to whatever extent they ever really were, are dwindling in number.

## Levels of blood purity

### Muggle-borns

*Main article: Muggle-born*

> "*Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who is Muggle-born — you know, non-magic parents. There are some wizards — like Malfoy's family — who think they're better than everyone else because they're what people call pure-blood… I mean, the rest of us know it doesn't make any difference at all.*"
> ― Ronald Weasley explaining blood prejudice[source]
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A child born with magic to two Muggle parents is considered a Muggle-born. In wizarding Britain, they are allowed to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, although some other schools, such as Durmstrang Institute, do not admit Muggle-borns. Salazar Slytherin fell out of favour with the other Founders of Hogwarts because he wanted to limit attendance only to those from all-magic families.

Those with prejudice against Muggles and their families often refer to such wizards as "Mudbloods," a highly offensive term implying that the individual has dirty and inferior blood. Those who discriminate against Muggle-borns believe that they do not deserve magic and should be excluded from the wizarding world, in spite of the fact that Muggle-borns are just as magically talented as those of other blood statuses.

When the Ministry of Magic fell under the indirect control of Lord Voldemort during the Second Wizarding War, it began distributing propaganda against "Mudbloods" under the authorship of Dolores Umbridge. Muggle-borns were also forced to register with the Ministry's Muggle-Born Registration Commission, which accused Muggle-borns of having stolen their wands and sentenced them to Azkaban. This ended once Voldemort was defeated and the Ministry was reformed.

### Half-bloods

*Main article: Half-blood*

> "*Most wizards these days are half-blood anyway. If we hadn't married Muggles we'd've died out.*"
> ― The wizarding population's blood status[source]
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 File:Potter family2.png
Wizards with parents or grandparents split between Muggles and wizards are referred to as half-bloods. Due to the dominance of the magic gene, children born to at least one magical parent will usually be magical themselves. This means that a non-magical child born to a Muggle and a wizard is considered a Squib, not a Muggle.

The term 'half-blood' is misleading in that it does not necessarily imply a half-and-half split in wizarding/Muggle ancestry, but rather a witch or wizard with muggle or muggle-born parents or grandparents. By the 1990s, most of the magical population were half-bloods.

The ancestry of a half-blood can be:

The children of Harry and Ginny Potter are considered half-bloods because although Ginny is pure-blood, Harry's mother is Muggle-born.

The term was used as an insult from members of fanatical pure-blood families. Walburga Black, for instance, was a fervent believer in pure-blood supremacy and her portrait at 12 Grimmauld Place often screamed "filthy half-breeds" and other insults at passers-by somewhat indiscriminately, which points to the mania surrounding blood purity. Bellatrix Lestrange was also known to have insulted Harry Potter and Severus Snape on the basis of their half-blood heritage.

Some half-bloods also express prejudice against those with Muggle ancestry, despite having it themselves, often clinging to what wizarding heritage they do have. Lord Voldemort, the son of a pure-blood witch, Merope Gaunt and a Muggle Tom Riddle Snr, epitomised this. He hated Muggles and Muggle-borns and held his status as the Heir of Slytherin in great esteem.

### Pure-bloods

*Main article: Pure-blood*

> "*There are some wizards — like Malfoy’s family — who think they’re better than everyone else because they’re what people call pure-blood. I mean, the rest of us know it doesn’t make any difference at all. Look at Neville Longbottom — he’s pure-blood and he can hardly stand a cauldron the right way up.*"
> ― Ronald Weasley regarding pure-bloods[source]
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Pure-blood families are wizards and witches without known Muggles or Muggle-borns on their family tree. Some have achieved this simply by removing any Muggles or squibs from their family trees and pretending they never existed.

Many pure-bloods consider themselves to be akin to royalty in the wizarding world, or at the very least the elite. They often disdain those of different blood status and Muggles, some even arguing that Muggle-borns should not be admitted into the wizarding world. The Death Eater organisation took this philosophy to an extreme, striving to eliminate Muggle-borns altogether.

To be pure-blood is an uncommon trait and their numbers continue to decline over time. To maintain their "pure-blood pedigree", families such as the House of Black and the House of Gaunt have practised inbreeding, accounting for the mental instability of certain family members. Those same families tend to disown members who accept Muggles or Muggle-born wizards into their lives. These family members would be deemed "blood traitors". For instance, the Blacks commonly blasted these relatives off the family tree tapestry.

#### Mental Disorders

> "*The pure-blood families are all interrelated. If you’re only going to let your sons and daughters marry pure-bloods your choice is very limited; there are hardly any of us left.*"
> ― All pure-blood families are in someway related[source]
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Inbreeding amongst pure-blood families such as the Gaunts, Blacks, and Lestranges has been known to cause a tendency towards instability, violence, and enfeeblement. Members of these families are known for their psychopathic tendencies and inability to feel compassion towards others whom they regard as inferior such as Muggle-born wizards and the Muggle population in general.

A large number of Death Eaters partake in the torture of other fellow wizards and witches, to the point of persecution and outright extermination, simply based upon their blood-status. Deterioration of their minds was overlooked as they had kept the proper pedigree praised by Salazar Slytherin and all those who followed his standards of what made a good or worthy Wizard/Witch.

### Squibs

*Main article: Squib*

> "*Squibs were usually shipped off to Muggle schools and encouraged to integrate into the Muggle community... much kinder than trying to find them a place in the wizarding world, where they must always be second class....*"
> ― Muriel talking to Harry Potter about squibs[source]
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 File:Filchcloseup.jpg
Squibs are individuals from wizarding families but have no magic themselves. One example is Argus Filch, who is so embarrassed by this that he hides it from students and studies magic fruitlessly in his spare time. Another example is Arabella Figg, who does not seem to particularly care that she has no skill in magic. Squibs appear to keep in contact with wizarding society if they choose, whereas Muggles have little to no contact, as they don't know it even exists.

Squibs are generally looked upon with disdain by most wizards and witches. Even families like the Weasleys, who do not look down on Muggles or Muggle-borns, are rather embarrassed to have a Squib, who works as an accountant, in their family. Neville Longbottom's family was also upset at the prospect that he might be a Squib and repeatedly tried to scare accidental magic out of him when he was a child.

Squibs are able to use magical devices, such as Dark Detectors, or other items whose magical capabilities are inherent, but not devices such as wands, which require magical abilities in the user.

Muggle-borns are possibly descended from Squibs who married into Muggle families as in historic times went by the affectionate name of 'Magbobs' as the magic 'bobbed up' out of nowhere

It is possible that a child or later descendant of Hector Dagworth-Granger, a famous potioneer, was a Squib, because Horace Slughorn stated to Hermione Granger that the two could have been related. This could be possible if magic in a family dies out.

### Half-breeds

*Main article: Half-breed*

> "*Filthy half-breeds! Beasts! Uncontrolled animals!*"
> ― Dolores Umbridge to a group of centaurs[source]
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Half-breeds are humans with at least one non-human parent, although witches and wizards with non-human ancestry further back would also be considered half-breeds. They are very rare and have traits of both species, such as the ability to use magic and spell resistance in half-giants. Prejudice against half-breeds appears to be relatively common in the wizarding world, which is intolerant toward non-human peoples in general.

"Half-breed" may be an insulting, rather than proper, term. It is known to be highly offensive to centaurs, though this may only be because it is in fact, incorrect: centaurs are their own non-human breed, rather than a mix of species.