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	sagralisse 2003-08-14 09:04 pm UTC (link)
	Heh. I love it when people end their completely wrong statements with "*rolls eyes* Sometimes I don't know why I bother ..." Also love that she stops putting the ickle heart on her signature when she's mad. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	nekoneko 2003-08-14 09:25 pm UTC (link)
	Also love that she stops putting the ickle heart on her signature when she's mad. It's too bad she isn't cool enough to be like Hakkai and go 'You fucking bastard <3'. The heart works best if they ARE mad, then it gets really, really creepy. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	chaos_priestess 2003-08-14 09:25 pm UTC (link)
	How hard is it to understand "Muggle-born"? I mean, Hermione is Muggle-born. Lily was Muggle-born. Though, I do have to wonder. Yes, both Lily and James had magic. However, Lily was born to Muggles. In the eyes of purebloods, would that be a taint in Harry's blood? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	kimera 2003-08-14 09:28 pm UTC (link)
	Probably. Since Lily would be considered a mudblood, part of that stigma would be carried on to Harry. Especially in the eyes of the high-and-mighty "lineage is everything" purebloods. Is it ever mentioned how far back the *Potter* family line goes? MMmm, geekery. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: chaos_priestess 2003-08-14 09:35 pm UTC (link)
	Geekery tastes good on a day like this. I don't think it was ever mentioned how far back the Potter line goes, though. Mm. So, what would Harry be? A tainted pureblood? *just randomly thinking up stuff* (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

kimera 2003-08-14 10:09 pm UTC (link)

It depends on his father's history, I guess. Because in OotP it was mentioned that most (if not all?) of the pureblood families were related. And the Weasleys were really the only "good" line in the bunch. Now... in Hogwarts, a lot of the kids are from wizarding families. But it's never said that they're "purebloods". So maybe any muggle blood at all, no matter how far back it goes, could disqualify someone from being a pureblood. Respected and well-established families, maybe, but not purebloods in the purest sense of the word. Good grief. Perhaps I should go write some sort of sociology (or would it be anthropology? I dunno...) essay based on the HP books. Wait! Something shiny! *wanders off to look* (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: chaos_priestess 2003-08-14 10:25 pm UTC (link)
	Shiny? Where? (Reply to this)(Parent)

	chaoscheebs 2003-08-15 01:37 am UTC (link)
	Don't forget the Longbottoms! Neville's grandma may be a bit imposing and his Uncle Algie a bit... er... off (those "tests" to see if Neville had magic in 'im, sheesh...), but they don't seem bad at all. Plus, his parents _were_ also aurors. *nods sagely* (Don't mind me, I'm just a fan of Neville. Yay, Neville!) (Reply to this)(Parent)

arien 2003-08-15 04:13 am UTC (link)

In Chamber of Secrets Hagrid says that there are very few true pureblood wizards any more, which makes the mania some wizards have about being pureblood even more ironic. Also, in Order of the Phoenix Sirius says that it's difficult for families who insist on marrying their children off to purebloods to find ones they aren't already related to. Purebloods are fading out and half-bloods and Muggle-borns are taking over. I think that's why Voldemort got such a following -- the purebloods are used to running the wizarding world, and they're scared of the so-called "second class" wizards taking over. Another thing that's also ironic is that Hermione, who's Muggle-born, and Harry, who's a half-blood, are two of the most talented wizards at Hogwarts -- more talented than pretty much all of the purebloods. One of the most interesting things about HP is the time frame that it's set in -- the wizarding world is changing quite rapidly. Attitudes that have been prevalent for centuries about purity of blood, half-breeds, and the roles of house-elves and goblins as servants and slaves to wizards are changing, and not everyone is ready for the change. Voldemort is finding a niche among those wizards who want to preserve their world in the way they've always known it rather than accept the inevitable changes. I think it's actually quite intriguing, myself. :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

whee geekiness cimorene111 2003-08-14 11:17 pm UTC (link)

i don't think he's a pureblood. i think 'pureblood' is reserved for, y'know... pedigreed families: wizarding families all the way. "pure"="free of muggle ancestors." or so i would imagine. although their recorded history has to start somewhere. since you get mudblood wizards AND squibs, it can't be anything so simple as magical ability being a recessive trait. perhaps squibs have the gene, but receive the ability in extremely low concentration, or perhaps another trait conflicts with it somewhere to prevent its being expressed. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-15 04:17 am UTC (link)
	There's another thing. Squibs. What makes a child born of two wizard parents have no magical ability? After all, isn't magic one of the most dominant genes in the HP world? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: whee geekiness cimorene111 2003-08-15 05:19 am UTC (link)

well, i brought that up. i don't know if there's evidence that magic is a dominant gene. if magic were simply dominant, you could get squibs, but you could never get wizards born to muggles. if magic were simply recessive, you could get mudblood wizards, but not squibs. so it's got to be a more complex trait. alas, my knowledge of genetics stops at the end of high school AP biology. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-15 05:31 am UTC (link)

Of course, there's the question of is it a matter of recessive/dominant/co-dominant genes, or genetic malformations? With the malformation theory, which group has the twisted gene? Are the Muggles and Squibs the ones with the malady... or is it the wizards? It could also possibly be sex linked. Do we know which gender is more likely to be wizards? Or which would be Squibs? It appears rather equal at this point, but we haven't see many examples of Squibs. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness cimorene111 2003-08-15 05:36 am UTC (link)
	no, the squibs are much rarer than muggle-born wizards from what we've seen in canon, which supports the theory that that's a simple fluke like a mutation. still doesn't prove anything about wizarding genes, though. it could be a plain recessive gene, a somewhat rare one. are either gender more likely to be wizards? i don't think anything is said about it. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-15 05:39 am UTC (link)

Perhaps magic something like cancer? I do know that if one member of a family has cancer, the other members are more likely to have it. If it's a mutation, then it could be something like that. After all, we don't know from which families the Squibs come from. Are they all pureblood? Or are there some Muggles in there? If there are Muggles, then could that raise the chances of a Squib? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness cimorene111 2003-08-15 07:12 am UTC (link)
	hey, yeah. i didn't even think of that! i do seem to recall something in canon like "even the pureblood wizarding families produce the occasional squib"--but i'm fairly sure there's nothing to indicate if it happens to them as often as to other pairings. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-15 07:18 am UTC (link)
	Wow. We geeked out. I wonder if J.K. Rowling will ever address the genetics of magic? I hope she does. I want to see which of our theories was the closest. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness cimorene111 2003-08-15 07:22 am UTC (link)
	yes we did. dude, i almost went looking for something so i could, like, look it up (what does the pedigree look like for sex-linked traits? etc etc. i remember doing that on a test. and loving it.)! i bet she'll go into somewhat more detail, anyway. her universe is getting more fleshed out. i was very pleasantly surprised by ootp. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-15 07:30 am UTC (link)
	Mm. The question is, how would she fit it in? Most likely a class of sorts... a project? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness cimorene111 2003-08-15 07:22 pm UTC (link)
	or another squib character. filch could have a greater role, or something. and then dumbledore could give harry some tea and sit him down and explain it all. i read a story once where filch was an agent of voldemort. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-15 08:06 pm UTC (link)
	My gods, that would rock. *is really hoping the next book addresses this* (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: whee geekiness kimera 2003-08-15 07:31 am UTC (link)
	*geekery glee* Hmmm... maybe someone needs to create a radically *different* theory on how magic is inherited in the HP-verse. Then we can all gang up and flame them and then wank will have spawned wank. Yeah! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-15 07:35 am UTC (link)
	Oh~ this is the way fandom_wankers geek, fandom_wankers geek, fandom_wankers geek. This is the way fandom_wankers geek, a~ll through the day. And now that the song cue has decided to leave me... (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: whee geekiness cimorene111 2003-08-15 07:24 pm UTC (link)
	that would be AWESOME! we'd need a cutesy nickname for us that everyone would be bound to misunderstand like 'anti-muggles' and everyone would be like 'they hate muggles' and we could say 'NO, honestly, you ignoramus, we DON'T hate muggles, we just have that NAME for ourselves which refers to the theory of magical heritance that we subscribe to. JESUS you people are DUMB.' (Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-15 07:27 am UTC (link)

*slams her fist into her palm* I just thought of something. My mother had me read this romantic novel called "The Wizard of Seattle." My thought was how the author, Kay Hooper, took the approch of Atlantis. It existed, but it was starting to be overrun by wizards, so nature was out of balance, and the island sunk. Well, what if Squibs are nature's way of keeping the amount of people using magic under control? That doesn't explain Muggle-born, though... Hm... well, considering that purebloods probably had some inbreeding... perhaps the Muggle-born wizards are to keep inbreeding down? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness dawnswalker 2003-08-15 12:07 pm UTC (link)
	Well, without Muggle-born wizards, all that the pureblood families would consist of would be hair and teeth. ;) If the whole thing is dependant on genetics and such, does that mean that two Squibs could have a magic-using child? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-15 06:16 pm UTC (link)
	Well, without Muggle-born wizards, all that the pureblood families would consist of would be hair and teeth. ;) *snicker* About the Squibs producing wizard children... it could be possible. At this point, I believe there is no evidence to the contrary. (Reply to this)(Parent)

Re: whee geekiness cimorene111 2003-08-15 07:21 pm UTC (link)

yes, that's excellent with the squibs. although the gene is recessive, it could confer a pretty great evolutionary advantage to the wizards in certain circumstances--but at the same time, the wizards would be effectively handicapped without their magic because of not knowing how to do the things which muggles have always had to do the hard way. well, the squibs could be nature's way blah blah and still be the result of a mutation, while the mudblood wizards are the result of a happy coincidence of genetics. the fact that more wizards come from the inbred families, to my mind, supports the idea that magic is a recessive gene of some kind... . or hey, perhaps there's more than one gene that can confer magical ability. like, say, hemophilia=magic (i know it doesn't, just an example) and sickle cell anemia also=magic. well, the one, which is recessive, breeds almost entirely true because of the inbreeding, but not completely, and the other is produced from the muggle population only occasionally. that way it can keep the gene pool refreshed, though--and that would give HALF blood wizards (harry, voldemort?) extra power IF both of the traits bred true (though it wouldn't be 100% likely, thus some half-breeds would receive only the hemophiliac magic or only the sickle cell). (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-15 08:12 pm UTC (link)

Hmm. Never thought of that theory. Of course, Squib and Muggle-born genetics could always be as simple as meiosis. During meiosis, crossing over between occurs, and sometimes a new genetic pattern that neither parent has is formed. If both parents have magic, and during meiosis the magic genetic pattern is changed to non-magic, then there's the possibility of a Squib or a Muggle-born wizard. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness cimorene111 2003-08-15 08:45 pm UTC (link)
	hey, that's incredible! forgot about the crossing over. neeeeeeeeeeeat. ::geekgasms:: (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-15 11:24 pm UTC (link)
	At this point, meiosis crossing over seems to be the theory that fits the best... (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness ladylisse 2003-08-16 02:05 am UTC (link)
	You do realize this is about a zillion times more interesting than most of the threads on FAP, right? :P (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	Re: whee geekiness chaos_priestess 2003-08-16 05:30 am UTC (link)
	*cackles* (Reply to this)(Parent)

	Re: whee geekiness cimorene111 2003-08-16 03:54 am UTC (link)
	meiosis it is! (Reply to this)(Parent)

iczer6 2003-08-14 10:22 pm UTC (link)

{Though, I do have to wonder. Yes, both Lily and James had magic. However, Lily was born to Muggles. In the eyes of purebloods, would that be a taint in Harry's blood?} Actually that question's been bugging me to. I mean I know Harry's not a pureblood, but he's not technically a mudblood either, both his parents were wizards, even though one was a Muggle born witch. So what is Harry? I mean it's confusing, not a pureblood, not a mudblood, what catchy -blood name can we saddle him with? Icz (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	virago 2003-08-15 12:14 am UTC (link)
	*belts out a la Cher* o/~ Halfbreed o/~ Shoot me. I'm actually surprised that they haven't brought up such a term in canon. Though then, the types that bandy about words like "mudblood" in the first place don't seem to differentiate between, say, 50% muggle ancestry and 100%. Meh, I'm a newb who just reads the books and hasn't gotten to OotP yet; don't mind me. :) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

mariagoner 2003-08-15 08:50 pm UTC (link)

Well... remember when Harry first met Draco? Draco asked him if Harry was really "one of us," and Harry just replied that both his parents were wizards (which was perfectly true.) Draco seemed fine with just that answer. He didn't go on to ask if Harry was pureblooded. So perphaps if both your parents are wizards (even if one of them was a muggleborn), you'd get along fine in the wizarding world. You wouldn't be considered pure, I suppose, but possibly better than a "half-blood." (ETA: What happens to a kid with two muggleborn wizard parents? Is he considered half-blood? Mud-blood?) (Reply to this)(Parent)

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	arabel 2003-08-15 06:29 am UTC (link)
	Yum...canonwhoring! :D (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(Reply from suspended user)

	arabel 2003-08-15 07:09 am UTC (link)
	Kinky canonwhoring...? I think I'm in love... ;P (Reply to this)(Parent)

	cimorene111 2003-08-14 11:18 pm UTC (link)
	you're right. they ARE... cruchy. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	cimorene111 2003-08-14 11:19 pm UTC (link)
	>.< CRUNCHY.* (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	virago 2003-08-15 12:14 am UTC (link)
	...but THAT'S NOT MILK! (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	jumboclone 2003-08-15 02:16 am UTC (link)
	...it's lifemilk. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sorchar 2003-08-15 12:29 am UTC (link)
	I don't know why she bothers, either. (Reply to this)