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Physical differences between muggle borns and pure bloods

 
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Realize
Muggle

Joined: Oct 8, 2007
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PostPosted: October 8, 2007 1:52 pm    Post subject: Physical differences between muggle borns and pure bloods Reply with quote

I got into an argument with my sister about this yesterday.

She's on the chapter 'house of gaunts' and she just read about how the father looked at the ministry worker and said something like "I've seen noses like that down in the village".

She claims that there must be physical differences between muggles and pure bloods because of that statement. I really don't think so. She asked some people and they tried to make it out like how witches have been made out to have those huge noses. It got so annoying.

She thinks that the father knew that the ministry worker was muggle born because of the way his nose looked. What do you think about that line about the nose? It's dumb I know.
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GinnyX
Mrs. George Weasley
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PostPosted: October 10, 2007 12:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

No, there is no physical difference between muggle-borns and pure-bloods. That line was purely metephorical, in my opnion.
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cards101
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PostPosted: October 10, 2007 9:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jsut for the record there is a difference of a like um werewolf and human fyi
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GinnyX
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PostPosted: October 10, 2007 11:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

cards101 wrote:
jsut for the record there is a difference of a like um werewolf and human fyi


Most of the time, only during the full moon, and maybe a day or two before and after. The rest of the time the werewolves look human.
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Keb28
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PostPosted: October 13, 2007 3:28 pm    Post subject: Re: Physical differences between muggle borns and pure blood Reply with quote

Realize wrote:
I got into an argument with my sister about this yesterday.

She's on the chapter 'house of gaunts' and she just read about how the father looked at the ministry worker and said something like "I've seen noses like that down in the village".

She claims that there must be physical differences between muggles and pure bloods because of that statement. I really don't think so. She asked some people and they tried to make it out like how witches have been made out to have those huge noses. It got so annoying.

She thinks that the father knew that the ministry worker was muggle born because of the way his nose looked. What do you think about that line about the nose? It's dumb I know.


I don't believe there is a difference, per say, in muggle-borns and pure-bloods, but maybe FAMILIAL-wise. The Malfoy family are all described as blondes, so perhaps they're easily recognizable for their white-blonde hair, and similarities in their features. Harry, as we know, looks just like his father, but with his mother's eyes. To some wizarding families, like the Gaunts, who believed in pure-blood wizarding families, and as mentioned all the inbreeding, they most likely all shared some common physical features. The "nose" comment was most likely just a way of him saying he's seen muggles who are probably related to him in the village or something along those lines. An insult of sorts. It's like neo-nazi's using the term "Jew nose" when describing a Jewish person's features.
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Philior Gordov
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PostPosted: November 14, 2007 6:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have to agree with the previous comments, it's unlikely that there were any statistically significant physical differences, though I think that quite a few prominent wizards seem to have common features (e.g. hooked nose - Snape and a number of other magicians). There are of course stereotypes - some muggles think that batty old ladies or eccentric old men are likely to be witches or wizards.

One thing is difficult for me to understand - discrimination/racism in human history has usually been based on variations in phenotype; purity of blood relates to genotype or phenotypical expression, not to skills, so it's a bit odd that "purity of blood" is valued by some wizards given the lack of physical differences between muggles and magicians and the fact that muggles do not do worse in school than halfbloods or purebloods.
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halfbloodprincess
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PostPosted: November 16, 2007 12:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

when i think of all those purebloods, the habsburgs enter my mind.
perhaps all these purebloods are interrelated, like the habsburgs and many of the old royalties as well.
so maybe theyre all sick in the mind, like dear bellatrix. Twisted Evil
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Clarence Flamel
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PostPosted: November 19, 2007 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kreacher describes "Noble, Ancient blood", that could be hyperbole but maybe Pure bloods were originally a genetically related people?

Basically, a nation, like the Irish, Russians, French etc - which could explain the specific terming, although PBs have virtually no common traits (hair colour, eyes and so), in which case it's unlikely.

As it's stands we have no idea when or why exactly wizards went from being a 100% pure blooded people (they must have been at some point) to a diverse genetic makeup that they have in the books - I find it very interesting, but we're left in the dark about most of it.
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halfbloodprincess
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PostPosted: November 24, 2007 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i believe that there was a batch of purebloods who came from france.

- Le Strange
- Mal Foy
- Toujours Pur
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Clarence Flamel
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PostPosted: November 26, 2007 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

halfbloodprincess wrote:
i believe that there was a batch of purebloods who came from france.

- Le Strange
- Mal Foy
- Toujours Pur


True, though I'd imagine that would come from the fact that the English and the French are much closer related than either of them would like to admit - Normans invaded England in 1066, and had a massive effect on the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants, about a third of English words have a French equivalent, and the spellings can be very similar - Centre is BritEnglish for the word Americans spell Center, and it's the exact same word as the French one, in the same context.

The Malfoys and also Lestrages seem very "Norman" to me, cold and arrogant.
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halfbloodprincess
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PostPosted: November 26, 2007 12:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

in fact, the blacks are also like that. toujours pur.

anyway, yeah. the french and the british have had so much contact that the purebloods in britain may easily have come from there.
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accio_gnar
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PostPosted: December 1, 2007 12:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

it makes sense that it all started with one wizard family that either ended up in france then devided or was from france
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halfbloodprincess
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PostPosted: December 7, 2007 4:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

yeah. the first wizard family... then soon after they multiplied and became different families.
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Bianca St. Claire
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PostPosted: December 7, 2007 10:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
perhaps all these purebloods are interrelated, like the habsburgs and many of the old royalties as well.
so maybe theyre all sick in the mind, like dear bellatrix.


I would tend to agree with that and have thought the same thing myself. Inbreeding depression could definitely lead to some mental anomalies over time.

As to the physical differences - I doubt there are any between muggle borns and purebloods. But what about between muggles and wizards? Maybe just because Dumbledore seemed quite old, I got the feeling that wizards live a bit longer than the average person. So there could be some sort of physical difference, even if it isn't an outwardly visible one.
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halfbloodprincess
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PostPosted: December 9, 2007 12:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yeah age definitely. you couldnt just look at dumbledore and not think that he might be a wizard, even if the idea seems impossible to you
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Professor Lupin
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PostPosted: February 22, 2008 4:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bianca St. Claire wrote:
Quote:
perhaps all these purebloods are interrelated, like the habsburgs and many of the old royalties as well.
so maybe theyre all sick in the mind, like dear bellatrix.


I would tend to agree with that and have thought the same thing myself. Inbreeding depression could definitely lead to some mental anomalies over time.

As to the physical differences - I doubt there are any between muggle borns and purebloods. But what about between muggles and wizards? Maybe just because Dumbledore seemed quite old, I got the feeling that wizards live a bit longer than the average person. So there could be some sort of physical difference, even if it isn't an outwardly visible one.

I agree because look at Malfoy and Ron Very Happy
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GinnyX
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PostPosted: February 22, 2008 4:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Actually, wizards and witches can live longer than the average muggle, JKR has confirmed that. Besides tehir age, though... I don't think there are any major physcial differences. But I do wonder if as that get older their physical growth does slow down. Otherwise when they hit 140, they'd just crumble.
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zengrenouille
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PostPosted: February 22, 2008 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

GinnyX wrote:
Actually, wizards and witches can live longer than the average muggle, JKR has confirmed that. Besides tehir age, though... I don't think there are any major physcial differences. But I do wonder if as that get older their physical growth does slow down. Otherwise when they hit 140, they'd just crumble.


Well, Dumbledore was in his 150s in Harry's time. A mere fifty years prior to that, when he was around 100, he had red hair. Their aging must be slower that muggles.
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halfbloodprincess
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PostPosted: February 23, 2008 5:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

yah coz mcgonagall, a 70 year old woman, still has black hair...

although... when mcG was stunned by the ministry officials, madam pomfrey said something like "at her age..." which makes me think that 70 is not young anymore
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bery26
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PostPosted: February 24, 2008 4:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

of course there are no physicla diferences, tis the point of the books
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amberlynn25
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PostPosted: March 1, 2008 11:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

could if kind of be a racial slur???
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nefertiri
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PostPosted: March 23, 2008 2:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

i think your sister is wrong.he knew that man it was obvious that he knew that he was a muggle born.
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