Welcome to the Ministry of Magic’s Division of Ancestral Research (DoAR). The DoAR, founded in 1797, focuses on researching the different bloodlines and ancestry of magical humans, and works to reduce stigma against non-purebloods and promote equality in all magical folk.

The DoAR’s funding and efforts have increased significantly since 1998 and the Second Wizarding War, when any status other than pure-blood was persecuted by Voldemort and his followers.

You have found the DoAR’s website, which produces an “Error 404” message if accidentally stumbled upon by a Muggle in order to enforce the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.

There are several types of magical bloodlines – however, contrary to what many witches and wizards believe, one is not better or more superior to the other. Below is some information about each bloodline for educational and informational purposes.

 

Pure-blood

Pure-blood witches and wizards are those who come from families with no Muggles and all have magical abilities. In reality, most pure-blood families do have some Muggle ancestry at some point in their history (Pure-blood, n.d.).

Many pure-blood families maintain prejudice, claiming that their bloodline is “superior”, and will even go so far as marrying their own family members to maintain this perceived “purity” (Pure-blood, n.d.). Family members who marry Muggles or non-pure-bloods are often disowned, and witches and wizards who aren’t pure-blood are seen as inferior.

Overall, many pure-blood witches and wizards have prejudicial attitudes towards those who aren’t of their status.

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Half-blood

Half-blood status refers to witches and wizards who have Muggle or Muggle-born parents or grandparents. Half-bloods are much more common than pure-bloods (Half-blood, n.d.). The term half-blood is a bit misleading, however, it refers to anyone with mixed blood status, not exactly half-and-half. Therefore, with this wide criterion a large majority of witches and wizards fall under this blood status (Half-blood, n.d.).

Despite the prejudicial attitudes some witches and wizards have towards half-bloods, half-bloods are seen as superior to Muggle-borns or Squibs in those who have prejudicial attitudes based on blood status (Half-blood, n.d.).

Some half-bloods, such as Voldemort and Severus Snape, persecuted or were prejudiced against other half-bloods, most likely because they were ashamed of their own half-blood status (Half-blood, n.d.).

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Muggle-born

Muggle-born witches and wizards are those who were born of two Muggle parents. Their Muggle-born status does not in any way make them less talented magically; in fact, many of them are seen as some of the brightest witches and wizards of their time (Muggle-born, n.d.).

The origin of Muggle-born witches and wizards is thought to be that they are descended from Squibs who married a Muggle and the magical ancestry was forgotten about for many generations and resurfaces randomly (Muggle-born, n.d.).

Muggle-borns are sometimes referred to as “Mudblood” because of their (lack of) blood status (Muggle-born, n.d.). This is seen as a derogatory term and is not endorsed in any manner by the Department of Ancestral Research. They are often discriminated against, even though this prejudice is unfounded and is a result of ignorance in many cases.

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Squib

Squibs are people who have magical parents, but no magical abilities themselves. They are quite rare and are often looked down upon by some magical folk, particularly pure-bloods (Squib, n.d.). It is said that if a child does not show any signs of having magical abilities before age seven they might be a Squib (or they might be a late bloomer) (Squib, n.d.).

Squibs are distinguishable from Muggles by having some knowledge about the magical world. They are similar, however, in the fact that they usually lead similar lives; Squibs often marry Muggles and lead a Muggle life as it is painful for them to see magic all around but not be able to perform it themselves (Squib, n.d.).

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Half-breed

Half-breed is a term used to describe magical humans with one non-human parent. Being a half-breed is generally looked down upon, but they are able to use magic just like the rest of us (Half-breed, n.d.). Many witches and wizards are prejudiced against non-human creatures, and thus are against half-breeds as well (Half-breed, n.d.).

Different types of half-breeds include half-giant, half-goblin, half-veela, half-vampire, and possibly other, unknown types (Half-breed, n.d.).

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Stereotyping

It’s important to discriminate between stereotyping and prejudice. Stereotypes are simple misconceptions that a person applies to a whole group, such as all Quidditch players are pompous or that all Muggle-born witches and wizards are less talented magically than Pure-bloods (this has, however, proven to be false). Prejudice is where those stereotypes come into effect in a negative way and can lead to discrimination.

 

Prejudice

The prejudice against witches and wizards other than pure-bloods has deep roots in family tradition and can be passed down from generation to generation. Some Muggle researchers found that initial prejudices against a certain group can lead to severe mistrust (Uhlmann, Korniychuk, & Obloj, 2018). They also found that initial prejudices can last throughout many generations, even though “enlightened” individuals may be in later generations (Uhlmann, Korniychuk, & Obloj, 2018). This could explain the prejudice against non-pure-bloods in our world, where prejudice can last throughout generations and generations even though more forward-thinking witches and wizards are present in the environment.

 

In-Group Favoritism

In-Group Favoritism is the concept that people tend to like or favor members of their own group more, whether that be race, gender, magical ability, or blood status (Greenwald & Pettigrew, 2014). In contrast, outgroup-directed hostility refers to anger and hostility towards people in a group other than one’s own. Muggle American psychologists Greenwald & Pettigrew (2014) found that in-group favoritism tends to be the cause for discrimination more than outgroup-directed hostility. Therefore, pure-bloods who discriminate against those who are not of their status may be motivated by favoritism towards other pure-bloods; it may not have necessarily originated as purposeful hostility but that has certainly developed over the years and generations.

For people that are interested in reducing bias and discrimination against witches and wizards simply due to blood type (which they cannot control), we have generated some tips and tricks to help yourself and others around you promote equality to all.

 

First of all, establishing accountability has been shown to help reduce discrimination (Hirsh & Kmec, 2009). If we, as upstanding witch and wizard citizens, hold those accountable and call them out on their prejudicial attitudes, they are less likely to continue discriminating against others.

 

Secondly, bias moderation has also been proven to improve attitudes and prejudicial views (Hirsh & Kmec, 2009). Sometimes, prejudice can be unconscious, as it is often instilled in early childhood. Simply being aware of our prejudices can help us address how to reduce them and become advocates for equality.

 

Prejudice and discrimination can also be reduced by changing the social norms (Stangor, 2014). Education has been shown to reduce prejudice, therefore we urge anyone and everyone to learn as much as possible about other blood statuses and see them for what they truly are; other witches and wizards, nothing more and nothing less. If all those who believe in equality stand up to prejudiced individuals and change the social norms, it will no longer be “cool” or even considered a good thing to have negative attitudes toward half-bloods or Muggle-borns. By changing what is socially acceptable, we can prevent discrimination and reduce prejudice.

 

Intergroup contact (spending time with other groups of people) has also been shown to reduce prejudice (Stangor, 2014), but only if all parties are open to it (otherwise ingroups will form and discrimination and prejudice can and will continue). If all witches and wizards intermingled instead of pure-bloods separating themselves on grounds of “superiority”, we would all like each other a little more.

You may reach us by owl at:

 

Department of Ancestral Research

Ministry of Magic

Deep Underground

Whitehall, London

United Kingdom

Greenwald, A. G., & Pettigrew, T. F. (2014, October). With malice toward none and charity for some: Ingroup favoritism enables discrimination. American Psychologist, 69(7), 669-684.

Half-blood. (n.d.). Retrieved from Harry Potter Wiki.

Half-breed. (n.d.). Retrieved from Harry Potter Wiki.

Hirsh, E., & Kmec, J. A. (2009, July). Human resource structures: Reducing discrimination or raising rights awareness? Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy & Society, 48(3), 512-532.

Muggle-born. (n.d.). Retrieved from Harry Potter Wiki.

Pure-blood. (n.d.). Retrieved from Harry Potter Wiki.

Squib. (n.d.). Retrieved from Harry Potter Wiki.

Stangor, C. (2014). Reducing Discrimination. In C. Stangor, Principles of Social Psychology – 1st International Edition.

Uhlmann, E. L., Korniychuk, A., & Obloj, T. (2018, April 25). Initial prejudices create cross-generational intergroup mistrust. PLoS ONE, 13(4), 1-14.