The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black

The House of Black was one of the largest, oldest, and wealthiest pure-blood wizarding families in Great Britain, and one of the “Sacred Twenty-Eight”. They were an ancient and proud line, deeply influential in the wizarding community and fanatically devoted to the doctrine of pure-blood supremacy. Their family motto, Toujours Pur (French for “Always Pure”), reflects this obsession. The family had a long-standing tradition of its members being sorted into Slytherin House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and a strong historical connection to the Dark Arts. The family's main line became extinct in the male line with the death of Sirius Black in 1996.

The history of the Black family is one of immense pride, dark magic, and eventual decay. For centuries, they intermarried with other pure-blood families, such as the Malfoys, Lestranges, and Crouches, to maintain their blood purity. Any family member who disagreed with the family's ideology, associated with Muggles or Muggle-borns, or was sorted into a Hogwarts House other than Slytherin was typically disowned and blasted off the family tapestry.

The cornerstone of the Black family's identity was their belief in the superiority of pure-blood wizards. This ideology led many members to practice and support the Dark Arts and to hold figures like Lord Voldemort in high esteem. They despised Muggles, Muggle-borns, so-called “Blood traitors,” and creatures they deemed inferior, such as house-elves and werewolves. This prejudice is violently embodied by the portrait of Walburga Black, which shrieks insults at any “scum” or “mudbloods” who enter the family home.

The family's devotion to Lord Voldemort and the Dark Arts ultimately led to its downfall. Several members, including Bellatrix Lestrange, became high-ranking Death Eaters and were imprisoned in Azkaban after the First Wizarding War. The family's last male heir, Sirius Black, rejected their values and was disowned. His younger brother, Regulus Arcturus Black, died after turning against Lord Voldemort. With Sirius's death in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the male line of the Black family died out. The Black name is now extinct, though the bloodline continues through female descendants such as Draco Malfoy and Teddy Lupin.

Members of the Black family were often described as having a certain aristocratic beauty, typically characterized by dark hair, pale skin, and finely-chiseled features. Sirius Black was described as handsome in his youth, and his cousins Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy were also noted for their striking, though very different, looks. A common personality trait was a distinct arrogance and immense pride. A strain of mental instability and a violent temper also appeared to run in the family, most evident in Bellatrix Lestrange and the screaming portrait of Walburga Black.

• Phineas Nigellus Black: A great-great-grandfather of Sirius Black and a former Headmaster of Hogwarts. He was considered one of the least popular headmasters the school ever had. His portrait continues to hang in the Headmaster's office and at Number 12, Grimmauld Place.
• Sirius Black: The last heir of the Black family. He was an exception to his family's traditions, being sorted into Gryffindor, joining the Order of the Phoenix, and fighting against Voldemort. He was disowned and framed for murder, spending twelve years in Azkaban before escaping.
• Regulus Arcturus Black: Sirius's younger brother. A Death Eater who grew disillusioned with Voldemort and sacrificed his life in an attempt to destroy one of his Horcruxes, Salazar Slytherin's Locket.
• The Black Sisters: Daughters of Cygnus and Druella Black, and cousins to Sirius.
  1. Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black): The eldest sister. A fanatically loyal and sadistic Death Eater responsible for the torture of the Longbottoms and the murder of her cousin, Sirius Black.
  2. Andromeda Tonks (née Black): The middle sister. She was disowned and blasted from the family tapestry for marrying the Muggle-born wizard Ted Tonks. She was the mother of Nymphadora Tonks.
  3. Narcissa Malfoy (née Black): The youngest sister. She married the wealthy pure-blood wizard Lucius Malfoy and was the mother of Draco Malfoy. While she shared her family's pure-blood prejudices, her ultimate loyalty was to her son.
• Walburga and Orion Black: The parents of Sirius and Regulus Black. They were cousins who married to maintain blood purity. Their home was filled with Dark Arts artifacts, and Walburga's enchanted portrait remains at Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

• Number 12, Grimmauld Place: The ancestral home of the Black family, located in London. It was protected by numerous enchantments and filled with dark artifacts and the family's unpleasant history. It later served as the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.
• Kreacher: The Black family's devoted house-elf. He was fiercely loyal to the family's pure-blood ideals and his mistress, Walburga Black. He passed into Harry Potter's ownership after Sirius's death.
• The Black Family Tapestry: A magical tapestry depicting the Black family tree, tracing its lineage back to the Middle Ages. Disowned members, such as Sirius Black and Andromeda Tonks, were crudely burned off the tapestry.
• Salazar Slytherin's Locket: This Horcrux was once in the family's possession, guarded by Kreacher's mistress. Regulus Black stole the real locket and replaced it with a fake one.

The Blacks prided themselves on their connections to other “respectable” pure-blood families. The family tree shows intermarriages with families like Malfoy, Lestrange, Crouch, Yaxley, Rosier, and even the Potters in previous generations. They were also distantly related to the Weasleys, a fact they found shameful. Any family member who married a Muggle, Muggle-born, or “blood traitor” was immediately disowned to preserve the family's “purity.”

The family name Black is directly associated with darkness, malevolence, and the Dark Arts, reflecting their core values and practices. A significant naming tradition within the family was to name children after stars and constellations.

• Sirius: Named after the brightest star in the sky, also known as the “Dog Star.”
• Regulus: A bright star in the Leo constellation.
• Bellatrix: A star in the Orion constellation, its name meaning “female warrior” in Latin.
• Andromeda: A constellation named after a figure from Greek mythology.
• Cygnus: A northern constellation, Latin for “swan.”
• Orion: A prominent constellation, named after a hunter in Greek mythology.
• Arcturus: The brightest star in the constellation Boötes.

J.K. Rowling created a detailed Black Family Tree for a Book Aid International charity auction in 2006. This hand-drawn tree, later featured in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, revealed many more family members and relationships not mentioned in the novels. It is the canonical source for names like Cedrella Black, who was disowned for marrying Septimus Weasley, making the Weasleys and the Blacks distantly related. The tree also confirmed that Nymphadora Tonks's middle name was Vulpecula, and that Draco Malfoy's middle name was Lucius. (J.K. Rowling supplementary material).