Brown family

**Brown** is the surname of an old English wizarding family that lived in Upminster, Havering, Middlesex, England. Some of its members have also lived in Central London. Members of this family are typically pure-blood or half-blood and sorted into Gryffindor House. Recent members that have attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry include Nigel, Arthur, Lavender, and Ophelia.

The family motto was "*floreat majestas",* which translates to "Let Majesty Flourish." They were related to the Prewett family, as well as the Longbottom family in more recent times. The Browns were not part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, indicating that, by the 1930s (as judged by the author of the *Pure-Blood Directory*), they were either not sufficiently pure-blooded enough to count, or excluded due to their egalitarian stance on blood purity.

## History

### Early history

The wizarding Brown family established their estate in what is now the village of Upminster, located in Havering, during the early 16th century. Before that, they had a long and lengthy history.

The Brown family name is thought to be of Norman origins. It came from an early member of the family who was a person who had brown hair or brown eyes, or dressed habitually in brown.

#### Middle Ages

The surname was first recorded in Scotland when Sir David Le Brun, in 1128, witnessed the foundation charter of Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh. Between 1194 and 1214 Patric Brun witnessed resignation of land at Warmanbie in Annandale. Several Brun's of Edinburgh and Berwick are recorded as signing the Ragman Roll of 1296 when the Scottish nobility were forced to swear allegiance to King Edward I. Soon enough, a member of that family, Robert le Brun, was born with magic, attended Hogwarts, then ventured out into the unknown.

Robert le Brun purchased a plot of land in the south of England that would later become the Brown family cottage, most of the family having sold off parts of it over the years to build the village of Upminster.

### Recent history

#### 18th century

Members of the Brown family were well-off and many of them attended Hogwarts to learn magic, including Benedict Brown, who married Angelica Travers, daughter of Solomon Travers, 4th Baron of Yarmouth. His marriage to Angelica in 1735 strengthened the Brown family's prominence during this time. Benedict and Angelica had two children, one of which was Hardwin, who died young. His younger brother, Solomon Brown, later married Dorinda Tormatson.

Solomon and Dorinda had a son together, Hardwin II, named after Solomon's deceased brother. Hardwin married Lucia Smethwyck in 1790 and had a son with her.

Hardwin II and Lucia had a son together, Cenhelm, who in his adulthood, had a reputation for gambling. Cenhelm gambled away most of the family lands, leaving the Browns with only the cottage in Upminster.

#### 19th century

Cenhelm married Flora Bagshot in 1822. Their son, Wendellin, later married Ottoline Fleamont of Hogsmeade, Scotland, in 1846. They had a son and a daughter together. Their son, Phineas, married Zelia Parkinson, of the House of Parkinson, in 1871.

Phineas and Zelia had one child together, who they named Nigellus, in 1872. Nigellus attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1883 to 1890. He married Octavia Bonham in 1898.

#### Early 20th century

Nigellus and Octavia had a son, Wendellin Brown II, in 1900. Wendellin was named for Nigellus's grandfather. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1911 to 1918. He married a witch called Violet Neville in 1932.

Wendellin Brown II and Violet Brown (née Neville) had one son and one daughter together. Their son, Octavius, was born in 1934, and their daugther, Augusta, was born in 1937. Augusta Brown later became the wife of Eugene Longbottom, the mother of Frank Longbottom, and the grandmother of Neville Longbottom.

Octavius Brown however, married a witch called Fiona Whitlock in 1957. They had two sons together, Nigel and Arthur Brown.

#### First Wizarding War (1970-1981)

The Brown family opposed Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War. Arthur Brown, aged eighteen, joined an Auror recruitment programme just after leaving school. However, he was brutally murdered in Hadleigh, Suffolk, not even four months later, while defending a muggle family from Death Eaters, in 1980.

Nigel Brown became an employee of the Ministry of Magic in 1978. During the First Wizarding War he had a desk job of duplicating pre-produced pamphlets that instructed witches and wizards on how to stay safe during such a dangerous time. He met Dorothea O'Flaherty, an Irish witch, in 1978, who worked at an opposite desk. He married her in 1979, and the couple had two daughters, Lavender and Ophelia, in 1980 and 1981, and the family lived together in a small flat in Central London.

#### Between the wars (1981-1994)

Nigel Brown became an employee of the Department of Magical Transportation in late 1981. He was given a promotion in 1982 that allowed him to move the family into a larger flat in London.

In 1989, the family moved back into the family cottage in Upminster, Havering.

Lavender Brown began attending Hogwarts on 1 September, 1991. Ophelia Brown began attending Hogwarts on 1 September, 1992. Sometime in 1992, Dorothea Brown began breeding rabbits. Her daughter Lavender kept a baby one named Binky, but he was mauled to death by a fox in 1993.

#### Second Wizarding War (1994-1998)

In Lavender and Ophelia's fifth and fourth year of school, when Harry Potter announced the return of Lord Voldemort, the Brown sisters, like many others, initially believed the Ministry of Magic propaganda that Harry was lying. On the second day of the school year, Ernie Macmillan's public of support of Harry and his claims seemed to force Lavender to begin to question her own beliefs. Similarly, Ophelia Brown's friends, Ginny and Aquila, forced Ophelia into believing the truth.

The Brown sisters both joined Dumbledore's Army, and learned many different defensive and offensive charms from Harry.

Lavender achieved a high grade on her O.W.L. exams for: Divination, Charms, and Transfiguration, as she attended N.E.W.T.-level classes. However, she did not achieve a high enough O.W.L. score to continue on with Potions. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were the only Gryffindors able to attend N.E.W.T.-level class for that subject. It is unknown if she achieved an O.W.L. in Defence Against the Dark Arts, but it is possible.

Ophelia Brown received an Outstanding in Transfiguration.

In the Brown sisters' sixth and seventh year of school, Ophelia and Lavender joined the reconstituted D.A. to oppose Death Eater control of Hogwarts and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, which they both survived.

## Known Members

* **Robert le Brun** (fl. 1334) purchased a plot of land in the south of England that would later become the Brown family cottage, most of the family having sold off parts of it over the years to build the village of Upminster.
* **Unknown Generations**

* **Benedict Brown** (6 March, 1716 - 17 June, 1774) attended Hogwarts from 1727 to 1734. He married Angelica Travers (1717 - 1800) in 1735.
* **Angelica Brown** (née **Travers**) (13 November, 1717 - 9 June, 1800) attended Hogwarts from 1729 to 1736. She married Benedict Brown (1716 - 1774) in 1735.
	+ **Hardwin Brown I** (18 November, 1738 - 7 December, 1743) died young.
	+ **Solomon Brown** (11 March, 1740 - 14 July, 1792) attended Hogwarts from 1751 to 1758. He married Dorinda Tormatson (1740 - 1798) in 1761.
		- **Hardwin Brown II** (16 April, 1763 - 1 June, 1836) attended Hogwarts from 1774 to 1781. He married Lucia Smethwyck in 1790.
			* **Cenhelm Brown** (15 November, 1797 - 19 March, 1864) attended Hogwarts from 1809 to 1816. He became infamous for gambling the family lands away and married Flora Bagshot in 1822.
				+ **Wendellin Brown I** (11 October, 1823 - 16 April, 1897) attended Hogwarts from 1835 to 1842. He married Ottoline Fleamont (1824 - 1903) in 1846.
					- **Phineas Brown** (17 March, 1847 - 13 September, 1925) attended Hogwarts from 1858 to 1865. He married Zelia Parkinson (1854 - 1895) in 1871.
						* **Nigellus Brown** (24 April, 1872 - 14 January, 1949) attended Hogwarts from 1883 to 1890. He married Octavia Bonham in 1898.
							+ **Wendellin Brown II** (10 March, 1900 - 17 December, 1988) attended Hogwarts from 1911 to 1918. He married Violet Neville in 1932.
								- **Octavius Brown** (15 April, 1934 - 19 December, 1975) attended Hogwarts from 1945 to 1952. He married Fiona Whitlock in 1957.
									* **Nigel Brown** (born 13 September, 1958) attended Hogwarts from 1970 to 1977. He married Dorothea O'Flaherty in 1979.
										+ **Lavender Brown** (born 12 May, 1980) attended Hogwarts from 1991 to 1998.
										+ **Ophelia Brown** (born 14 March, 1981) attended Hogwarts from 1992 to 1999.
									* **Arthur Brown** (11 March, 1962 - 11 November, 1980) attended Hogwarts from 1973 to 1980. He was killed in a skirmish at Hadleigh, Suffolk, during the First Wizarding War.
						* **Molly Ruth Prewett** (née **Brown**) (3 May, 1850 - 12 April, 1912) attended Hogwarts from 1851 to 1858. She was the second child of Wendellin Brown I and Ottoline Brown (née Fleamont). She married Bertram Prewett in 1875.

## Known Descendants

* **Ottoline Greengrass** (née **Prewett**) (15 March, 1876 - 6 November, 1955) was the daughter of Bertram Prewett and Molly Ruth Prewett (née Brown). She attended Hogwarts from 1887 to 1894. She married Ivor Greengrass I (1875 - 1943) and had three children with him.
	+ **Muriel Greengrass** (11 April, 1898 - 12 August, 1954) attended Hogwarts from 1909 to 1916.
	+ **Rowina Vassilyev** (née **Greengrass**) (24 April, 1900 - 12 December, 1939) attended Hogwarts from 1911 to 1918. She married Sigmund Vassilyev in 1919 and had two children with him, Adolph and Olga. She was murdered in Moscow, Russia, during the Global Wizarding War.
		- **Adolph Vassilyev** (4 May, 1921 - 12 December, 1939) attended Hogwarts from 1932 to 1939. He was murdered at eighteen with his mother in Moscow, Russia, during the Global Wizarding War.
		- **Olga Vassilyev** (born 12 April, 1923) attended Hogwarts from 1934 to 1941.
	+ **Ivor Greengrass II** (19 June, 1902 - 13 October, 1975) attended Hogwarts from 1913 to 1920. He married Petronia Stebbins in 1927.
		- **Ignatius Greengrass I** (26 October, 1928 - 19 February, 1987) attended Hogwarts from 1940 to 1947. He married Odella Burke in 1950.
			* **Ignatius Greengrass II** (born 18 April, 1951) attended Hogwarts from 1962 to 1969. He married Evaline Fawley in 1979.
				+ **Daphne Greengrass** (born 27 May, 1980) attended Hogwarts from 1991 to 1998.
				+ **Astoria Greengrass** (1 February, 1982 - 13 December, 1997) attended Hogwarts from 1992 until her death in 1997.
			* **Cyril Greengrass** (born 21 May, 1952) attended Hogwarts from 1963 to 1970. He married Winnifred Marchbanks in 1972.
				+ **Clotilda Greengrass** (born 17 June, 1974) attended Hogwarts from 1985 to 1992.
				+ **Lisette Greengrass** (born 12 July, 1976) attended Hogwarts from 1987 to 1994.
				+ **Ambrose Greengrass II** (born 6 May, 1981) attended Hogwarts from 1992 to 1999.
			* **Rosalind Greengrass** (14 July, 1955 - 10 October, 1968) attended Hogwarts from 1966 until her untimely death in 1968.
			* **Ambrose Greengrass I** (16 December, 1960 - 18 July, 1981) attended Hogwarts from 1972 to 1979. He was a casualty of the First Wizarding War.
* **Clarence Prewett** (13 June, 1878 - 18 July, 1930) was the son of Bertram Prewett and Molly Ruth Prewett (née Brown). He attended Hogwarts from 1889 to 1896. He married Alodia McKinnon in 1912.
	+ **Alfred Prewett** (9 May, 1913 - 18 July, 1969) attended Hogwarts from 1924 to 1931. He married Mary Ann Macmillan in 1944.
		- **Fabian Prewett** (31 March, 1945 - 10 February, 1981) attended Hogwarts from 1956 to 1963. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and a casualty of the First Wizarding War.
		- **Gideon Prewett** (31 March, 1945 - 10 February, 1981) attended Hogwarts from 1956 to 1963. He, along with his brother, was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and a casualty of the First Wizarding War. He married Dahlia Fowler in 1972.
			* **Maud Prewett** (born 17 April, 1973) attended Hogwarts from 1984 to 1990. During the Second Wizarding War, she was a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
		- **Molly Weasley** (née **Prewett**) (born 30 October, 1949) attended Hogwarts from 1961 to 1968. She married Arthur Weasley in 1969. During the Second Wizarding War, she was a member of the Order of the Phoenix.
			* **William Weasley** (born 29 November, 1970) attended Hogwarts from 1982 to 1989. He worked as a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts. He was also a member of the Order of the Phoenix during the Second Wizarding War.
			* **Charles Weasley** (born 12 December, 1972) attended Hogwarts from 1984 to 1990. He worked in a Dragon Sanctuary in Romania. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix during the Second Wizarding War.
			* **Percival Weasley** (born 22 August, 1976) attended Hogwarts from 1987 to 1994. He worked for the Ministry of Magic during the Second Wizarding War and stayed when it became corrupt, though he later fought with the Order during the Battle of Hogwarts.
			* **Frederick Weasley** (1 April, 1978 - 2 May, 1998) attended Hogwarts from 1989 to 1996. He along with his twin brother, George, owned and operated a joke shop in Diagon Alley. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix and died fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts.
			* **George Weasley** (born 1 April, 1978) attended Hogwarts from 1989 to 1996. He along with his twin brother, Fred, owned and operated a joke shop in Diagon Alley. He was a member of the Order of the Phoenix during the Second Wizarding War and fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.
			* **Ronald Weasley** (born 1 March, 1980) attended Hogwarts from 1991 to 1996. He dropped out of school during the Second Wizarding War to go on a quest with his best friend, Harry Potter, to defeat Voldemort. He fought in the Battle of Hogwarts.
			* **Ginny Weasley** (born 11 August, 1981) attended Hogwarts from 1992 to 1999. She fought during the Battle of Hogwarts despite being underage at the time.

## Etymology

Brown is an English, Irish, and Scottish surname derived from a nickname for people with brown hair or a brownish complexion, from Middle English *broun*, from Old English/Old French *brun.*