Order of the Phoenix: Pureblood Status and the Potters

First Draft - March 26, 2006

This is all, of course, more opinion and speculation then anything else.

The Potters are a very old wizarding family. According to official standards they are considered purebloods. Pureblood fanatics, while categorizing the family as purebloods, would (and do) consider the Potters to be blood traitors not only in that they consider muggles worthy of life, but they also consider muggleborns worthy of studying magic and of association. This is seen in that James Potter, a pureblood wizard, married Lily Evans, a muggleborn witch.

Out of all the pureblood families, the Potter are probably one of the most despised by those who hold the so called purity of blood to be important. It would not be considered odd for the Potters to be called muggle-lovers and blood traitors when referred to in conversations by the other purebloods, that is, when they are mentioned at all.

The Potters status as purebloods was retained, despite their love of muggles and muggleborns, in that they have never actually married muggles, and very few muggleborns (it works itself out after a few generations, in my opinion). Their marital connection with muggles have always been very distant. Their love of muggles more abstract and on principle than out of experience. They have done this not out of arrogance or snobbery, but simply because they don’t get out of the magical community enough to fall in love with any muggles. They have mainly met their future spouses at Hogwarts, which as anyone knows, only teaches those who have magical abilities. So, they have remained purebloods more out of lack of opportunity than any desire to do so.