Barny Weasley

Barny Weasley was a wizard featured on a Ministry of Magic propaganda poster during the height of the Second Wizarding War. The poster, part of the anti-Muggle-born campaign enforced by the regime of Lord Voldemort, used him as a cautionary tale for wizards considering marriage to those of non-magical descent. The name was also briefly and unsuccessfully used as an alias by Harry Potter.

In September 1997, a poster featuring Barny Weasley was displayed in the Ministry of Magic courtroom where the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, headed by Dolores Umbridge, conducted its prejudiced trials. Harry Potter, disguised as Albert Runcorn, observed the poster during the interrogation of Mary Cattermole. The poster depicted a smiling wizard dressed in purple robes who was pointing his wand directly at the viewer. The caption beneath the image read: Barny Weasley? Why you should not let a Muggle-born marry into your family. This message strongly implies that Barny Weasley was a pure-blood or half-blood wizard who married a Muggle-born witch, an act framed as a grave mistake by the new Ministry of Magic leadership. The poster served to reinforce the regime's ideology that such unions diluted magical bloodlines and were detrimental to the wizarding world.

The only known physical description of Barny Weasley comes from the propaganda poster, which showed him as a “smiling, purple-robed wizard.” His actual appearance and personality are unknown, as he may have been a real individual misrepresented by the Ministry or a completely fictional character created for propaganda purposes.

Unknown. He was depicted holding a wand, indicating he was a wizard, but no information about his magical proficiency exists.

• Wand: Barny is shown holding a wand on the Ministry propaganda poster.
• Robes: He was pictured wearing purple robes.

The propaganda poster suggests that Barny Weasley had a wife who was a Muggle-born. His connection to the main Weasley family is unconfirmed. When Harry Potter used the name, an onlooker in the courtroom immediately commented that “Barny” was not a known Weasley family name. This suggests that if he was a real person, he was likely from a distant, unknown branch of the family, or that the name was chosen specifically by the Ministry to tarnish the reputation of the Weasley family, who were well-known blood traitors.

• Barny: A diminutive of the names Barnaby or Bernard. The name is relatively common and unremarkable, which may have been a deliberate choice to make the character relatable to the average wizard being targeted by the propaganda.
• Weasley: The use of the Weasley surname was almost certainly a deliberate political attack. The Weasley family were prominent supporters of Albus Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix and were considered “blood traitors” by pure-blood supremacists for their association with Muggles and Muggle-borns. Attaching their name to a cautionary tale was a way for the Voldemort-controlled Ministry to publicly shame and discredit them.

While infiltrating the Ministry of Magic, Harry Potter used the name “Barny” when questioned by Dolores Umbridge. Looking for an alias, his eyes fell on the propaganda poster. He gave his name as “Barny… Barny Weasley.” After a bystander questioned the name's authenticity, Harry quickly corrected himself, changing his alias to “Weatherby”, the name by which Ludo Bagman had once mistakenly addressed Percy Weasley.