Muggle-born

**Muggle-borns** are witches and wizards born to a Muggle family descended from a Squib, with the dormant wizarding gene in their bloodline awakening. They appear throughout the *Harry Potter book series*. Muggle-borns face prejudice in the wizarding world because others like half-bloods and pure-bloods consider their own blood status superior or their magic stronger.

## About

Muggle-borns are born to a Muggle family. They develop magical skills while they are growing up. They are the descendant of a Squib born in a wizarding family. The dormant magic gene is inherited until it resurfaces generations later. The branch forgets about the wizarding world over the centuries.

At the age of eleven, they find out about the wizarding world and will be invited to learn magic and be educated at a wizarding school. There are people in the wizarding world who think they are unworthy of learning it or being part of the wizarding world. There are others who favour those of "higher" blood who consider those raised in the wizarding world to be better at magic than Muggle-borns because they start learning later im life. It is insulting to call Muggle-borns a "Mudblood".

It is very rare for the dormant gene to resurface in siblings rather than a single person. Colin and Dennis Creevey were both wizards who attended the same school two years apart. However, with Petunia Dursley and Lily Potter, it only resurfaced in Lily which was upsetting for Petunia.

## History

In the late tenth century, Salazar Slytherin thought Muggle-borns were inferior and unworthy of learning magic. He wanted Hogwarts to refuse teaching them and adopt the same admittance protocol of Durmstrang Institute, but the other co-founders did not agree and he left following an argument with Godric Gryffindor.

Slytherin built and hid the Chamber of Secrets under the school in the hopes an Heir of Slytherin would one day open it and unleash a Basilisk within to purge the school of Muggle-borns. It was first opened in 1942 by Tom Riddle and one Muggle-born, Myrtle Warren was killed. It was reopened half a century later. Although several people were Petrified, nobody was killed. Harry Potter eventually killed the Serpent of Slytherin.

Voldemort started the First Wizarding War to eliminate Muggle-borns in the wizarding world, and dominate and control both the wizarding and non-wizarding world. He was opposed by the Order of the Phoenix which included Muggle-born witches and wizards. When the Death Eaters took over the Ministry of Magic during the Second Wizarding War, every Muggle-born had to sign the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. They created propaganda that the Department of Mysteries had discovered Muggle-born witches and wizards had actually committed theft and took their magic from true witches and wizards. Muggle-borns had to prove they had at least one close family member who was a wizard or they would be punished for theft and sentenced to Azkaban. Those who fought their sentence or lied were given the Dementor's Kiss.

There were several Muggle-borns who avoided signing it. Dirk Cresswell forged the Cresswell family tree and Ted Tonks went on the run. Dirk, Ted and many Muggle-borns were eventually found and murdered by Snatchers. Many Muggle-borns refused to go back to Hogwarts that year after it also fell to the Death Eaters, and those who went back were bullied. Upon the eventual doldemort and the Death Eaters, Muggle-born Hermione Granger eliminated pro pure-blood laws when she worked in the Department of Magic Law Enforcement.

## Notes and sources

1. ↑ J.K. Rowling's Bloomsbury Web Chat
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*, Chapter 6
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 9
4. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 7
5. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 33
6. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 13
7. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 15
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 17
9. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix*, Chapter 25
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 13
11. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 12
12. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 15
13. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 22
14. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 29
15. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 36
16. ↑ J.K. Rowling's Bloomsbury Web Chat
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 6
18. ↑  J.K. Rowling's sketch of the Black family tree
19. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*, Chapter 12
20. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince*, Chapter 4
21. ↑ Chocolate Frog Card
22. ↑ *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows*, Chapter 8