Hey everyone, happy new year and welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
In today’s video, we’re going to be discussing the complete history of The Sacred Twenty-Eight.
Let’s start with the most obvious question: What is The Sacred Twenty-Eight? Well, as
you may already know, it’s actually more a question of WHO, rather than WHAT. Alright,
so WHO exactly are they and how did they come to be?
Well, The Sacred Twenty-Eight is a “Pure-Blood Directory” of the wizarding world’s supposed
most pure-blooded magical families – which is to say, the witches and wizards whose ancestors
had not “muddied” their blood lines with Muggle integration. This extremely prejudiced
list was released in the first half of the Twentieth Century, sometime in the early ‘30s.
Although the author of the publication remained anonymous, it was widely rumoured to have
been penned by Cantankerus Nott (with the Nott family, of course, making the list).
However, whoever the author may have been, there is little doubt that the idea behind
this despicable “directory” began with the intolerant ideologies of Salazar Slytherin,
one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You see, Salazar
was extremely open about his anti-Muggle sentiments, and, not only did The Sacred Twenty-Eight
encourage the discrimination of Muggles, it also outlined the same wizarding families
who Salazar himself had believed to be of pure magical blood.
The assertion that some wizarding families were more “pure” than others was met with
mixed review by the wizarding community. Some openly rejected their inclusion in the directory,
as they rightly knew that their relatives had married Muggles in the past, and they
did not feel that this fact made them less than other magical families. However, sadly,
many more wizarding families were upset at NOT being on the list.
So, who were these families that came to be known as The Sacred Twenty-Eight? Let me take
you through each one, from A to Z.
ABBOTT: Listed first in the directory was the Abbott clan. However, it’s believed
that this particular family only remained a pure-blooded one until around the 1930s.
Soon after, members of the family married either Muggles, Muggle-born witches and wizards,
or half-bloods. We know this for certain, as Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff student who
attended Hogwarts at the same time as Harry Potter, was a half-blood. Hannah’s mother
was tragically killed by Death Eaters, which further suggests they did not align themselves
with those who believed in blood purity. Later Hannah fought in the Battle of Hogwarts, and
after school, she married Neville Longbottom. Other Abbotts of note include the Hogwarts’
portrait of a Giffard Abbott, and Theophilus Abbot, an American wizard and possible relation
to the British clan.
AVERY: Not much is known about this particular family within the Harry Potter universe. What
we do know is that the Avery bloodline is a pure one, and in more recent history, many
members of the family became Death Eaters.
BLACK: This is, of course, the last name of Harry’s godfather and James Potter’s best
friend, Sirius Black. The Black family had a prestigious yet dark reputation, with members
of the family including loyal Voldemort followers like Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy.
Every member of the Black family, with the exception of Sirius, was sorted into Slytherin
while at Hogwarts, and the majority of the family adamantly believed in keeping bloodlines
pure. Often referred to as the House of Black, this dynasty was one of the biggest and longest
standing pure-blooded wizarding families Britain had ever seen. In fact, its origins went all
the way back to the Middle Ages, as depicted in the intricate mural of the Black’s family
tree, which hung in the ancestral home of 12 Grimmauld Place in London.
BULSTRODE: This wizarding family was mostly pure-blood, however, similar to the Abbott
family line, some members must have married Muggle, half-blood, or Muggle-born spouses
after the creation of The Sacred Twenty-Eight. We know this to be true, as Millicent Bulstrode,
another contemporary of Harry’s, was a half-blood witch. You may remember Millicent as the Slytherin
student who Hermione tried to impersonate using Polyjuice Potion in The Chamber of Secrets.
Unfortunately for Hermione, it was Millicent’s cat’s hair that she used in the potion,
transforming her partially into a cat…but I digress…
BURKE: If this name sounds familiar to you, that’s likely due to Caractacus Burke being
one of the co-founders of Borgin and Burkes, the shop in Knockturn Alley that specialized
in dealing with Dark Magic items and rare mystical artefacts. Borgin and Burkes was,
of course, the shop that housed one of the two Vanishing Cabinets that Draco Malfoy used
as a passageway into Hogwarts in The Half-Blood Prince. Caractacus Burke also held possession
of Salazar Slytherin’s locket, which he procured from Voldemort’s mother when she
was desperate for money. Throughout the series, there is also mention of an Elizabeth Burke,
a witch featured in one of Hogwarts’ portraits that hung in the Slytherin Dungeons. Elizabeth’s
likeness was heard encouraging Slytherin students to be “nasty to Mudbloods.”
CARROW: The Carrows were a pure-blood family with a dark history indeed. A member of the
Carrow family was a known acolyte of Gellert Grindelwald in the 1920s – and who could
forget the vicious Carrow siblings, Alecto and Amycus. These two “taught” at Hogwarts
during Voldemort’s uprising in the 1990s, as the professor of Muggle Studies and professor
of Defence Against the Dark Arts, respectively. They were quite proudly Death Eaters and would
use the Cruciatus Curse to torture students in the name of discipline and “education,”
while Snape served as Headmaster after Dumbledore’s death.
CROUCH: The Crouch family was one of the oldest pure-blood wizarding families in Britain,
with supposed relations to the families of Black, Yaxley, Longbottom, and Weasley. Bartemius
Crouch was a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Magic – Head of the Department
of Magical Law Enforcement, to be exact, making it rather awkward when it was discovered that
his son, Barty Crouch Junior was a Death Eater. Unfortunately, due to some rather poor judgement
on Bartemius’ behalf, Barty Crouch Junior was able to escape from Azkaban, an event
which led to a series of rather terrible events, including the murder of Bartemius, Barty’s
impersonation of Mad-Eye Moody as a Hogwarts professor, and his manipulation of the Goblet
of Fire, which forced Harry Potter to participate in the extremely dangerous Triwizard Tournament,
and ultimately led to Harry facing off with Voldemort. Barty Junior was later killed by
the Dementor’s Kiss, a sentence for murdering his father, which led to the extinction of
the Crouch family line.
FAWLEY: The Fawley’s were a pure-blood wizarding family, whose members were often sorted into
Hufflepuff House. Hector Fawley was mentioned as the Minister for Magic in the 1920s and
1930s, but not much else is known about this lot.
FLINT: The surname of Flint was mentioned here and there throughout the Harry Potter
series, so you may have a vague recollection of hearing it on occasion. For example, Sirius
Black’s mother, Ursula was a Flint before she married Phineas Nigellus Black. You may
also remember the name from a certain captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, Marcus Flint,
who Harry played opposite during his younger years at Hogwarts. Another Flint of note includes
Josephina Flint, who was the Minister for Magic in the early 1800s.
GAUNT: With a long, dark history, known details of the Gaunt family can be traced back as
far as the 1600s. A witch intent on preserving the family’s pure-blooded lineage named
Gormlaith Gaunt was responsible for the murder of multiple members of her family. Throughout
the centuries, the House of Gaunt was also largely involved in keeping the Chamber of
Secrets protected from discovery within the walls of Hogwarts. One Corvinus Gaunt was
indeed given credit for keeping the chamber concealed in the 1700s when a new plumbing
system was installed in the castle. The Gaunts were so intent on keeping their bloodline
pure that they often married their own cousins. As descendants of Salazar Slytherin and Cadmus
Peverell – facts that they were enormously proud of – they also encouraged inbreeding
so as to preserve their ability to speak Parseltonge – the rare talent of communicating with
serpents. The family primarily resided in northern England, just outside of Little Hangleton
in what became an incredibly run-down shack. This was, of course, the home that Albus Dumbledore
found himself in when hunting Voldemort’s Horcruxes, as Merope Gaunt, daughter of Marvolo
Gaunt, was Voldemort’s mother. At one point in time, the Gaunt family had much gold, but
as they enjoyed living quite extravagantly, they were eventually left penniless – leaving
the last of their lineage, Morfin Gaunt, to live – and die – in destitution.
GREENGRASS: The Greengrass line was a pure-blood wizarding family whose views grew much more
tolerant with subsequent generations. In fact, it was the future wife of Draco Malfoy, Astoria
Greengrass, who was known to have openly shirked her family’s anti-Muggle views.
LESTRANGE: Without a doubt, one of the best known Lestranges was actually not a Lestrange
at all. Bellatrix Lestrange, born Bellatrix Black, married into the family after wedding
Rodolphus Lestrange. It is rumoured that she only did so to uphold the expectation that
she would marry a respectable wizard from another pure-blood family. That said, the
Lestranges were not unfamiliar with the concept of marrying their cousins to keep bloodlines
pure, similar to the House of Gaunt. They were quite wealthy and well-known for their
interest in the Dark Arts, so it’s not too surprising that Bellatrix and Rodolphus were
two of Voldemort’s most loyal Death Eaters. Other Lestranges of mention include Radolphus
Lestrange, who was Minister for Magic in the 1800s, and Leta Lestrange, friend of Newton
Scamander who was responsible for Newt’s expulsion from Hogwarts when the two were
pupils there.
LONGBOTTOM: Neville Longbottom is surely the most well-known of this family line – at
least by fans of the Harry Potter series. He was, of course, the somewhat incompetent
mate of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Eventually, however, Neville overcame his shortcomings
and really came into his own, as he was responsible for killing Voldemort’s pet snake and seventh
Horcrux, Nagini, among other acts of bravery. Neville was raised by his grandmother, Augusta,
as his parents, Frank and Alice, were tragically tortured to insanity by Death Eaters when
Neville was just a baby. Despite having built impressive careers as renowned Aurors before
this event, the two never recovered from the dreadful attack and stayed at St. Mungo’s
Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for the remainder of their lives. The Longbottoms
never seemed to be overly concerned about blood purity, however, they did not hold the
same reputation for being “blood traitors” as, say, the Weasleys.
MACMILLAN: Similar to the Longbottoms, the Macmillan family seemed to be neither prejudice
nor in favour of Muggle integration. For generations, they were a pure-blood family with little
to remark on, however, Ernie Macmillan, a fellow Hufflepuff student in Harry Potter’s
year at Hogwarts, made it clear that the family supported Dumbledore during Voldemort’s
rise to power in the 90s, finally revealing a little of their ideological views.
MALFOY: The Malfoys were a pure-blood family who resided in Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire,
England. Members of this family who attended Hogwarts were traditionally sorted into Slytherin
House and many went on to be involved in the Dark Arts. They have a long-standing history
of being in the presence of power, including royal courts of Muggle kings and queens, and
the Ministry of Magic. However, they were never at the centre of these sources of power,
preferring to operate in the shadows through others. It is said that they are one of the
few fanatical pure-blood families that avoided inbreeding, as they were quite aware of the
mental instability that could arise. Of course, you will recognize Malfoy as the surname of
one of the first antagonists in the series: Draco. Draco was the only son of Lucius and
Narcissa Malfoy. These three were followers of Lord Voldemort until they switched sides
during the Battle of Hogwarts.
NOTT: Not much is known about the Nott family, other than that they were pure-bloods who
were frequently sorted into Slytherin at Hogwarts. Cantankerus Nott has long been suspected to
be the author of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, and Theodore Nott was a student at Hogwarts
at the same time as Harry. Theodore’s father was a known Death Eater who allied himself
with Voldemort quite early in his rise to power.
OLLIVANDER: Since 382 BC, the Ollivanders have been providing the English wizarding
community with quality wands, and they are believed to be one of the oldest wizarding
families in existence. Garrick Ollivander has been noted as the earliest member of the
family line within England, and it is said that he came to Britain with the Romans. But
it was not until Geraint Ollivander that the family went into the wand-making business.
Of course, it was another, later Garrick Ollivander who made both Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort’s
wands.
PARKINSON: There’s not too much to note here. The Parkinsons were a pure-blood family
whose members included mean-spirited Pansy Parkinson, a fellow student of Harry Potter’s
who had romantic interests in Draco Malfoy, and Perseus Parkinson, a Minister for Magic
in the 1700s.
PREWETT: The Prewett family had pure-blood status but didn’t seem to care too much
for the ideologies of blood purity. In fact, Molly Weasley was formerly a Prewett, and
we obviously know she did not support anti-Muggle and “blood traitor” sentiments. Her brothers
were Gideon and Fabian, who were both tragically killed in the First Wizarding War by Death
Eaters. It is said that many members of the Prewett family line had red hair and large
noses.
ROSIER: A pure-blood family who likely originated in France, the Rosiers appeared to place great
emphasis on blood status. This seems to be clear due to one Rosier being affiliated with
Gridelwald as one of his acolytes, and an Evan Rosier being named as one of Lord Voldemort’s
Death Eaters.
ROWLE: The Rowle family has a varied history with one Damocles Rowle being a Minister for
Magic in the 1700s, while a Thorfinn Rowle had the reputation as a known Death Eater.
Euphemia Rowle is said to have been the legal guardian of Delphini, the rumoured biological
daughter of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange.
SELWYN: A high status pure-blood family, the Selwyns had at least one Death Eater in the
family, who took part in the kidnapping of Luna Lovegood. Dolores Umbridge, the despicable
witch who tortured students in the name of detention after the Ministry appointed her
as a professor at Hogwarts, claimed to be from the Selwyn family – although this has
never been proven.
SHACKLEBOLT: The Shacklebolt family was, by all accounts, of pure-blooded ancestry, however,
it is highly unlikely that they were fanatical about blood purity and the ideologies behind
The Sacred Twenty-Eight. Supporting this theory is the existence of Kingsley Shacklebolt,
one of the first Aurors and a loyal member of the Order of the Phoenix. During the Second
Wizarding War, Kingsley protected the Muggle Prime Minister and, at one point in the late
1990s, he was temporarily named Minister for Magic.
SHAFIQ: There is not much information on the Shafiq family, other than that they were a
pure-blooded wizarding lineage that existed until at least the 1930s when the Pure-Blood
Directory was published.
SLUGHORN: Known to be quite wealthy, the Slughorn clan was tolerant of Muggles and wizarding
folk who were not pure-bloods. Formerly the Head of Slytherin in the 1940s, Horace Slughorn
returned to teach at Hogwarts as the Potions professor while Harry Potter was in his sixth
year of school. He had an odd reputation for seeking out intelligent students, inviting
them to dine with him at his “Slug Club.” Throughout the years, members of the Slug
Club included Lily Evans, Harry Potter’s mother, and Tom Riddle, who, of course, went
on to become Lord Voldemort. Horace’s father was a high-ranking Ministry official within
the Department of International Magical Co-operation.
TRAVERS: There is little to say about the pure-blooded Travers family, aside from their
inclusion in The Sacred Twenty-Eight. A Torquil Travers was the Head of the Department of
Magical Law Enforcement in the early 1990s, and one of Voldemort’s Death Eaters was
called by the name Travers and was known for his hand in the murder the McKinnons.
WEASLEY: Without a doubt, even the most casual of Harry Potter fans will know the surname
Weasley, as it is, of course, the last name of Harry’s best mate, Ron. Almost as well
known is Ron’s large, loving family, which included his parents, Molly and Arthur, and
his six siblings – Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and Ginny. The Weasleys had a
long-standing reputation for their tolerant views of Muggles, half-bloods, and “Mudbloods,”
which frequently gave way to other members of The Sacred Twenty-Eight referring to this
lot as blood traitors. But just as they were scorned by those who valued blood purity,
the Weasleys were outspoken about their resentment for being included in such a list as the Pure-Blood
Directory. Weasleys were typically sorted into Gryffindor House while attending Hogwarts,
and many members of the family supported the Order of the Phoenix. When compared to other
wizarding families, you would likely view them as quite poor, but what they lacked in
wealth, they more than made up for in compassion. The Weasley family – at least when Ron was
a boy – lived in The Burrow, a large, multi-level home close to Ottery St. Catchpole in England.
After Voldemort’s final downfall, Ron went on to marry Hermione Granger and have two
children, Rose and Hugo. Ginny Weasley, of course, married Harry Potter, having three
children of their own, James, Albus and Lily.
YAXLEY: At least one Yaxley was a known Death Eater, suggesting that this brood had leanings
towards the support of blood purity and anti-Muggle sentiments. Not much else is documented about
this particular family.
And with that, we have made it to the end of this video! Did you learn anything new
about families included in The Sacred Twenty-Eight? Let me know your thoughts in the comments
below! And, as always, if you enjoyed the video, don’t forget to like and subscribe
to the channel!
Until next time…
“HONESTLY, AM I THE ONLY PERSON WHO’S EVER BOTHERED TO READ HOGWARTS: A HISTORY?”