Harry Potter: 10 Things The Movies Leave Out About the Sacred 28 (2023)

By Webb Yeager

While it doesn't loom large in the movies, the Sacred 28 is an integral part of the back story, the brilliant Potter lore put in place by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter: 10 Things The Movies Leave Out About the Sacred 28 (1)

While it doesn't loom large in the movies, the Sacred 28 is an integral part of the back story, the brilliant Potter lore put in place by J.K. Rowling. The story goes something like this: In the 1930s a compendium,The Sacred 28,appeared. It was claimed that it lists the 28 pureblood magical families.

RELATED: Harry Potter: 10 Things The Movies Leave Out About The Noble House Of Black

From Abbott and Black through Yaxley and Weasley, the Sacred 28 was embraced by Voldemort, who, as we all know was keen on magical blood remaining pure. The Malfoys, of course, fully embrace all the pureblood hokum. Here are 10 things about the Sacred 28 that the movies left out.

The Potters Were Not On The List

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The Potters were certainly purebloods. So why didn't they make the Sacred 28? Well, there's a bit of a mystery about that. Best we can figure out "Potter" is a common muggle name. Some speculate that the compiler merely assumed with a name like Potter, their bloodline was tainted.

It's true that, in the beginning, Draco Malfoy views Harry as on a par with his pureblood self. Harry tells him what he can do with his opinions. It was pretty much open warfare between the two after that.

The Weasleys Aren't Buying It

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In spite of being pureblood, the Weasleys simply don't buy into the whole "purebloods can't marry outside purebloods" rule. Apart from anything else, magical families would have almost certainly died out if the rule had been strictly adhered to.

After all, Ron marries Hermione, a woman Malfoy called a "Mud Blood". That's wizard speak for tainted blood. Don't forget Arthur Weasley's fascination with Muggles. In the films, he doesn't come right out and say it, but he and his family believe marrying outside pureblood lines is a positively good thing.

The Thing About Kingsley Shacklebolt

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Kingsley Shacklebolt was an outstanding Auror. He was part of the groups of Order of the Phoenix members who rescued Harry from 4 Privet Drive at the beginning of the movie of the same name. The movie really skips over the fact he is totally pureblood. Plus, he was charged with protecting the muggle Prime Minister when the Second Wizarding War broke out.

RELATED: 10 Best Members Of The Order Of The Phoenix

Shacklebolt's standing in the magical world is really glossed over in the movies. He is more or less there in the background. He and his family loom much larger in the books.

The Malfoys Chose Family Over Voldemort

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DuringHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II, the Malfoys can be seen abandoning Voldemort, walking away with Draco in tow. The reason? As a member of the Sacred 28, they were determined to make certain that their bloodline continued. If Draco died, they could have kissed bye-bye to the chance of having grandchildren.

We see Draco Malfoy at the station at the end ofDeathly Hallows, Part II,seeing his son on to the Hogwarts Express. What is not mentioned is that Draco married Astoria Greengrass, from another of the Sacred 28 families, producing a son Scorpius. Also, the books make it clear that Astoria is more tolerant of muggles than her in-laws would have liked.

How Voldemort Got So Messed Up

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Voldemort's grandfather was Marvolo Gaunt. He was so rabid about preserving his family's pureblood status as the only living descendants of Salazar Slytherin that he turned on Voldemort's mother Merope Gaunt, who had fallen in love with a Muggle. Voldemort, a half-blood himself, was the result.

RELATED: 10 Things About Voldemort That Make No Sense

What the movies leave out is that Marvolo Gaunt taunted and criticized Merope, leaving her isolated and afraid. In turn, she passed this sense of anger and distrust on to her son, the young Tom Riddle. Voldemort belongs nowhere, leaving him to create a vicious and perverted worldview.

Hermione's Running Battle With Millicent Bulstrode

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InHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,we get a brief glimpse of haughty pureblood Millicent Bulstrode. Her family was a well-established member of the Sacred 28. In the books, you get more of a sense of the disdain pureblood Millicent has for Hermione, a Mud Blood. There were a number of "encounters' between the two. In the books, the Bulstrodes were more like the Malfoys and the Blacks than the laid back Weasleys.

The movie did show when Hermione managed to turn herself into a cat with a Polyjuice Potion because she inadvertently used a hair from Millicent's cat, instead of Millicent herself. It's the kind of scene that movies love.

Ollivander Pedigree

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Much is made in the movies of Ollivanders Wand Shop in Diagon Alley and its proprietor Garrick Ollivander. The scene in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in which Harry gets up close and personal with wands for the first time is endearing.

RELATED: 10 Hidden Details Most People Don't Know About Wands

But the movies did not give us much if anything about Ollivander's back story. He was a half-blood because his mother was a Muggle-born witch. And Ollivander became one of the finest wandmakers in the world. His family ("makers of fine wands since 382 B.C.") was clearly one of the oldest of the wizarding families.

The Burkes

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We only know about the pureblood Burkes from the dark and menacing wizarding shop Borgin and Burkes in the movies. What the movies leave out is that Caractacus Burke was one of its founders. He was also the person Harry saw in the Pensieve purchasing Salazar Slyerhin's locket from Voldemort's mother. She was alone, destitute and pregnant at the time.

And we all know how central that locket became in the search for Horcruxes. In the books, the Burkes are seen as unscrupulous and manipulative. And Caractacus was probably worse than most members of his family.

The Strange Lestranges

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We see an awful lot of Bellatrix Lestrange in the movies. But where on earth was her husband? Rodolphus Lestrange seems nowhere to be found. In the books, he participated in the torture of Alice and Frank Longbottom. He ended up in Azkaban, escaping some fourteen years later.

He loomed large in the books during the Second Wizarding War, fighting in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the Battle of the Seven Potters. After Voldemort was defeated, it was back to Azkaban for Rodolphus. Oh, one other thing: In the books, Voldemort and Bellatrix have an illegitimate daughter named Delphini.

Molly Weasley

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We get nothing of Molly Weasley's back story in the movies. She was a pureblood Prewett, whose brothers fought against Voldemort in the First Wizarding War. They were killed during that War. So fierce were they that it is said that it took five Death Eaters to finish them off.

Molly, the mother of Ron and the rest of the ginger-haired crew, certainly displayed a certain level of fierceness, especially when she finishes off Bellatrix Lestrange during the Battle of Hogwarts.

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FAQs

Why were the Potters removed from the Sacred 28? ›

Why didn't the Potters make the Sacred Twenty-Eight? Potter is a common Muggle surname. Harry's family didn't make the list, according to J.K. Rowling, because 'the anonymous compiler of that supposedly definitive list of pure-bloods suspected that they had sprung from what he considered to be tainted blood'.

What was left out of the Harry Potter movies that was in the books? ›

'Harry Potter': 10 Book Subplots That Were Cut From the Movies
  • A Visit to St Mungo's. St. ...
  • The Other Minister. ...
  • The Marauders' Backstory. ...
  • Neville Could Have Been the Chosen One. ...
  • Voldemort's Backstory. ...
  • Harry Becomes the Master of Death. ...
  • Harry's Sacrifice Casts a Protective Charm Over Everyone. ...
  • Ariana Dumbledore's Backstory.
May 5, 2022

What is the sacred 28? ›

The Sacred 28, or Sacred Twenty-Eight, was an anonymous document published in the 1930s, which contained a list of 28 families still considered to be "truly" Pure-blood.

Who are the 28 in Harry Potter? ›

The Sacred Twenty-Eight were, according to the author of the Pure-Blood Directory (widely believed to have been Cantankerus Nott), the twenty-eight British families that were still "truly pure-blood" by the 1930s.

Did Parvati Patil died in the Battle of Hogwarts? ›

Later Life (1998-2008) Parvati survived the Battle of Hogwarts and marries Dean Thomas and had two children a daughter Hadley and a son Jahnu Thomas. Parvati attended and watched the final of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup with her twin sister Padma. her husband and children.

Which of the 7 Potters died? ›

After a bit of a wait, Ron and Tonks arrived much to the relief of Hermione and Remus, and Kingsley was forced to go back to his job guarding the Muggle Prime Minister. At last, Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour arrived, bringing the sad news of Moody's death.

Why is Charlie Weasley not in the movies? ›

To save time to explore the most important storylines, Charlie's character was unfortunately cut.

What was left out of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone? ›

Two of the challenges in "Sorcerer's Stone" were missing.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione encounter Hagrid's three-headed dog named Fluffy, get stuck in Professor Sprout's Devil's Snare, chase after Professor Flitwick's enchanted keys, and play Professor McGonagall's game of Wizard's Chess.

What was left out of the prisoner of Azkaban? ›

The Quidditch Final

Lovers of magical games and sports were left unsatisfied by Cuarón's film. Although the movie does feature a brief scene with a match, Harry and company's dramatic Quidditch final against Slytherin is cut from the book entirely.

Is Neville a pure-blood? ›

' Neville comes from a long-line of pure-blood wizards, although we don't know as much about the individuals as we do with some other wizarding families. What we do know is that both of Neville's parents were pure-blood, as was his gran, Augusta.

What is the purest blood in Harry Potter? ›

"Pure-blood" is the term applied to wizards and witches who have no Muggle blood, Muggle-borns, or half-bloods at all in their family trees. They are the rarest of the three blood statuses, with J.K. Rowling stating that ten per cent of the wizarding community is made up of pure-bloods.

Why is Dumbledore not in the sacred 28? ›

The Potter Family is not included in the Sacred 28 because the author of the list judged from their common Muggle name that they came from "tainted blood" (Pm).

Is Weasley sacred 28? ›

This rule is in fact fulfilled, at least in the case of the Black family, which is related to at least twelve of the twenty-eight listed families: the Flints, the Bulstrodes, the Burkes, the Yaxleys, the Macmillans, the Longbottoms, the Weasleys, the Crouches, the Prewetts, the Rosiers, the Lestranges and the Malfoys.

Is Ginny a Hufflepuff? ›

Ginny is a pureblood witch born 11 August 1981, the seventh child and only daughter of Arthur and Molly Weasley. She attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and is sorted into Gryffindor house, along with the rest of her family.

Is Harry a half-blood? ›

Harry James Potter holds half-blood status in Rowling's imagined wizarding world because his mother is Muggle-born and his father is pure-blood. There are three main blood statuses; pure-blood, half-blood, and Muggle-born, which are all methods of determining a witch or wizard's magical lineage.

Who are the fallen 50 in Harry Potter? ›

Location. The Fallen Fifty (d. 2 May, 1998) were the people who were killed fighting Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters in the Battle of Hogwarts, the final conflict of the Second Wizarding War. They did not die in vain as their cause had been won after their deaths.

Who was among the fallen fifty? ›

Severus Snape, Fred Weasley, Vincent Crabbe, Colin Creevey, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks,Lavender Brown were the only known members of the fallen fifty.

Who died in the Battle of Hogwarts 50? ›

Besides Severus Snape, Fred Weasley, Vincent Crabbe, Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, all the other casualties were unidentified individuals, although Gregory Goyle died in place of Crabbe in the final film as well.

What is the saddest death in Harry Potter? ›

The 10 Most Tragic Deaths In Harry Potter, Ranked Least to Most Traumatizing
  • 8 Remus Lupin & Nymphadora Tonks.
  • 7 Hedwig.
  • 6 Cedric Diggory.
  • 5 Severus Snape.
  • 4 Fred Weasley.
  • 3 Sirius Black.
  • 2 Albus Dumbledore.
  • 1 Dobby.
Feb 11, 2023

Who killed Hedwig? ›

The bond between Harry and Hedwig was so strong that she even accompanied him during the Battle of the Seven Potters, and died when struck by the killing curse – in the book, she was in her cage, while in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, she flew directly at the face of a Death Eater to protect Harry and ...

Who killed Lupin? ›

Both Lupin and Tonks die in combat, killed by Dolohov and Bellatrix Lestrange, respectively, leaving Teddy an orphan with Harry Potter as his godfather and Andromeda Tonks as his guardian. JK Rowling has since stated that she originally intended for both Lupin and Tonks to survive.

How much older is Bill than Fleur? ›

Fleur Delacour is at most 21 when she marries Bill Weasley, who is a bit older, at 26.

Is Bill Weasley a werewolf? ›

Bill is viciously mauled by the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback. Fortunately, as Fenrir was not transformed at the time, Bill did not become a werewolf, though Madam Pomfrey is unable to completely heal his face, and he remains permanently scarred.

Are all Weasleys in Gryffindor? ›

All of the Weasleys have been sorted into Gryffindor House at Hogwarts. All of the Weasley children, except Bill and Percy who both were Head Boy, are known to have played on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, with Charlie being the captain of the team for at least one of his school years.

What did Dumbledore leave for Hermione? ›

The Tales of Beedle the Bard first appeared as a fictional book in J. K. Rowling's 2007 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final novel of the Harry Potter series. The book is bequeathed to Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore, former headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

What was left out of Goblet of Fire? ›

Though Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter is seen several times during Goblet of Fire, the film leaves out the book's end to her story. Her ability to gain access to private stories is aided by being an unregistered Animagus – an illegal act in the wizarding world.

Why can't Hermione save Dobby? ›

She wasnt madam Pomfrey. Meaning, while she had a general knowledge of various spells, she did not have the expertise in healing specific spells to be able to heal a death wound on a house elf. Their physiology is very different from wizards.

What movie did Bellatrix escape Azkaban? ›

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Fourteen years after Voldemort's fall, Bellatrix was one of the many Death Eaters who escaped Azkaban and rejoined him.

Who escaped Azkaban first? ›

Sirius might have been the first person to escape Azkaban without any help, but Bartemius Crouch Jr. was the first person to ever do it. The more amazing part was that he did it without alarming the whole Wizarding World. Turns out, his mother and father helped him.

Who else escaped Azkaban? ›

Sirius Black ended up being the only wizard ever to escape Azkaban without help.

Who is pure-blood Slytherin? ›

He's a pure-blood wizard, proud Slytherin and Harry Potter's arch rival at Hogwarts. Happy birthday, Draco Malfoy!

Who killed Voldemort Harry or Neville? ›

In the end, both were essential to Voldemort's downfall, fulfilling the possibility that both Harry and Neville were, in fact, the Chosen One. While Harry delivered the final blow to destroy Voldemort, Neville destroyed the final Horcrux which allowed Harry to end Voldemort.

Why did Bellatrix call Harry a half-blood? ›

Because to a pureblood fanatic like Bellatrix, Harry is a Mudblood because one of his parents (Lily Evans) was a Muggleborn. Anyone with Muggle ancestry is one, including Snape since his father was a Muggle (Tobias).

Is Draco Malfoy a pure-blood? ›

Lord Draco Lucius Malfoy (born 5 June 1980) is a pure-blood wizard; the second son and third child overall of Lucius Malfoy II and Narcissa Malfoy (née Black).

Is Astoria Malfoy a pure-blood? ›

Astoria Malfoy (née Greengrass) (c. 1982 - 2019) was a pureblood witch. She also was a member of the Greengrass family, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Astoria began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1993, two years below the famous Draco Malfoy, her future husband, and her elder sister.

Is Luna Lovegood a pure-blood? ›

Luna Lovegood is a Pureblood witch, who was sorted into Gryffindor House during Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry.

How is Harry so rich? ›

Fleamont Potter died of dragon pox and his fortune was left to his son, James Potter. From there, the family fortune was bequeathed to Harry, after James and Lily Potter were killed.

Are pure-blood wizards more powerful? ›

An interesting fact of note is that despite the ideals that pure-bloods are inherently more powerful wizards, some of the most powerful or particularly adept wizards and witches in the series are in fact either half-blood (such as Lord Voldemort, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape and Harry Potter) or ...

Was Ginny a Gryffindor? ›

In Harry Potter canon, Ginny is Sorted into Gryffindor, while Prince of Slytherin's Ginny is Sorted into Slytherin. At the beginning of her first year, POS-Ginny is gifted a non-cursed journal by Harry, negating her desire to write in Tom Riddle's diary.

Why did the Weasleys hate Fleur? ›

Weasley hates Fleur because she's "too pretty, too flighty, not as smart as Tonks". Fleur's arc is proving that she is as smart and strong as any other female character. It's not her fault she's so pretty when she couldn't control how she looked. She's not flighty or as rude as Hermione, Ginny and Molly think she is.

Does Molly Weasley curse? ›

This curse (incantation unknown) was used by Order of the Phoenix member Molly Weasley in the Skirmish at the Great Hall which was part of the Battle of Hogwarts. The exact effects of this spell are unknown, but when used with enough force, it is capable of killing the target.

Is Lily Luna Potter in Slytherin? ›

Lily Luna Potter (September 1, 2008-Present) is a Half-blood Witch born to Harry and Ginny Potter (née Weasley). From 2019 to 2026 she attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where she was sorted into Ravenclaw.
...
Lily Luna Potter
Biographical information
HouseRavenclaw
LoyaltyHogwarts
18 more rows

Why was Ginny so powerful? ›

SHE'S A PROFICIENT AND POWERFUL WITCH

J.K. Rowling has stated one of the reasons Ginny is gifted is due to the fact she was a seventh child and the first female Weasley born in generations, which ties into the superstition of the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter.

Is Ginny a powerful witch? ›

From a young age, Ginny Weasley is pretty much renowned for her magic. Fred and George make the comment that her bat-bogey hex is both powerful and terrifying. It's often said as a joke but as the series moves on and Ginny grows, it becomes pretty obvious that she does have extremely powerful magic.

What did Draco call Hermione? ›

Just like his father, Draco loved to hate on Muggles. He took particular pleasure in taunting Hermione Granger, who just happened to have Muggle parents. Malfoy called her 'Mudblood', a very grave insult referring to a wizard or witch born to non-magic parents.

Is Voldemort pure-blood? ›

It is perhaps interesting that Voldemort himself is not a pureblood; while his mother, Merope Gaunt, was a member of one of the oldest Wizarding familes in existence, his hated father was a “Mudblood”. In spite of this, he is still considered the heir of Salazar Slytherin.

Is Lily Potter a witch? ›

Lily Potter (née Evans) was a Muggle-born witch and Harry's mother. She was born 30 January 1960 and died on 31 October 1981 at age 21. She was quite young, 19 years old, when she became pregnant with Harry, giving birth to him at 20.

What happened to all the Potters? ›

The Potters continued to marry their neighbours, occasionally Muggles, and to live in the West of England, for several generations, each one adding to the family coffers by their hard work and, it must be said, by the quiet brand of ingenuity that had characterised their forebear, Linfred.

Was Dorea Potter disowned? ›

Her first cousin Cedrella Black married the "blood traitor" Septimus Weasley and was disowned, but Dorea Black married Charlus Potter but was not disowned thus implying that the Potter family was a "respectable" pure-blood family.

Why was mundungus with the 7 potters? ›

Since it was his idea, they could bring him along and not have to risk the plan by including someone else. The fake Potters had to fit a number of requirements - Mrs. Weasley doesn't seem like she'd be too happy on a broom or thestral, and Ginny was underage - so Mundungus was a reasonable choice in that sense.

Who were the Potters betrayed by? ›

When Lord Voldemort first started gaining power, Peter immediately defected from the Order of the Phoenix and joined the Death Eaters out of fear for his own life. Peter betrayed James and Lily Potter, who entrusted him to be their Secret-Keeper when they cast the Fidelius Charm.

How old were Potters when they died? ›

Both Lily and James Potter were killed by Voldemort aged 21 at Godric's Hollow on 31 October 1981, when Harry was just 1 year old, And the rest of the story, you no doubt know.

Why did Harry name his kid after Snape? ›

Harry Potter named his son after the character Professor Severus Snape in tribute to him dying for “for Harry out of love for Lily [Potter],”JK Rowling revealed on Friday.

Would Narcissa disown Draco? ›

This leads Narcissa to effectively disown Draco, stating "she can always have more sons". She later sends Mogli to derail the Hogwarts Express in one last attempt on Harry's life, as well as kill Draco.

Who is Hermione the heir of Slytherin? ›

Her real parents were Daneel and Dean Novak, Pureblooded wizards. Turns out Daneel was Tom Riddles younger sister, Daneel Riddle. Of course, the Riddles were related to Salzar Slytherin himself, and this made Hermione the living heir of Slytherin.

Who is Sirius Black's love interest? ›

The story of Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon first began in their sixth year at Hogwarts. She was new and he was more than happy to make her feel welcome.

Is Umbridge A Death Eater? ›

Harry describes Umbridge to Sirius Black, saying that she's vile enough to be a Death Eater, despite not being one. Umbridge is also depicted to be a prejudiced person, despising half-breeds and Muggle-born witches and wizards to the point of firing Hagrid due to his half-giant birth status.

Who betrayed Harry in Deathly Hallows? ›

Xenophilius Lovegood betrays Harry in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The Death Eaters have Xenophilius' daughter, Luna.

Who killed Mad Eye Moody? ›

When Moody was killed by Lord Voldemort during the Battle of the Seven Potters, Harry was devastated by his death, as were the other Order of the Phoenix members.

Who kills Peter Pettigrew? ›

It is interesting also to note that Harry does not actually kill Pettigrew, but that Voldemort's gift kills him despite Harry's efforts to save him. Pettigrew's death is a reaction to his own attempt to kill, or at least, disable Harry, coupled with Voldemort's distrust of his own lieutenant.

Who killed Remus Lupin? ›

Lupin, played in the films by David Thewlis, was murdered in the battle by Death Eater Antonin Dolohov, while Tonks was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, leaving their son, Teddy, an orphan. Lupin's death is a sore spot for many fans, who fell in love with the werewolf, nicknamed Moony.

Who is the biggest traitor in Harry Potter? ›

Harry Potter's Biggest Betrayal Makes No Sense. Peter Pettigrew was a member of the Marauders before he betrayed his friends in Harry Potter, but that choice makes no sense. Even more so than the magical elements, the Harry Potter franchise can be defined by its relationships.

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