Taking a look at the condition of the Gaunts, would it suffice it to say that inbreeding doesn't register as high on the pureblood unacceptability scale as procreating with muggles does? It seems that pureblood wizards would rather be deranged, deformed and so severely inbred that they've demented their own personalities than develop a branch off of their family tree. What do you think? Would the Malfoys associate with a family like the Gaunts? They are, after all, the last living heirs of Salazar Slytherin, they're very much NOT blood traitors, they just happen to live in squalor. Do they [Malfoys, et al] not realize that after generations of inbreeding with close family relatives that they'll all eventually end up like the Gaunts?

I'm really not sure what the Malfoys would have thought of the Gaunts. I think that, had they met, the Malfoys would have been disgusted by the filth that the Gaunts lived in and they would have probably thought that it was a shame that they're living like Muggles. After all, they think of all Muggles as scum and the Gaunts weren't much better.

Since it takes generations of inbreeding to cause such askew traits, I don't think they do realize what inbreeding does. And, if they did know, they probably chose to either ignore it or think that it wouldn't happen to them.

I think there would have been a severe conflict of interest when it came to the Gaunts and the Malfoys. If Lucius had known that the Gaunts were the heirs of Slytherin, I think he would have been, at the least, cordial to them because of the blood history there. If he didn't know then he would probably treat that family like every other piece of dirt that he came across, regardless of blood purity simply because of the squalor they lived in. Lucius is all about appearances and associating with such a family would have marked him greatly. Granted he associated with Severus who wasn't anywhere near affluent but at least he wasn't spitting and twitching like the Gaunts were.

Inbreeding all depends on how closely you inbreed. If you get together with a first cousin or closer, the effects of inbreeding are going to be seen much sooner than if you procreate with second or third cousins. I think inbreeding has a very different tone depending on where you are in the world. In the US, it's a definate no-no and to hear of someone inbreeding is disgusting. In England, the royal family inbreeds in order to keep the blood "blue". Granted they reach pretty far out into the gene pool so as not to end up like the Gaunts but Hemophelia runs rampant in the royal family (a genetic disorder in males, most commonly found in inbred men). It depends on the society you grew up in but regardless of the taboo, it's going to have an effect on the health of the offspring by procreating so close to your own bloodline. I think the Blacks, as judging from Bellatrix, might have bred a little too close to the DNA strands and it was a hit or miss with their children. Bella's nuts. Narcissa is more level-headed and Andromeda is normal. I think people like the Malfoys are more than aware of the effects of inbreeding but are so concerned with keeping their blood pure that they're willing to stretch the boundries to do so. They know that the pureblood family tree is folding in on itself and their options are running out but being pureblood supercedes anything else. I think, should a family like the Malfoys have a child like one of the Gaunts they would lock it in a closet or basement.

With the inbreeding going on, I think you are eventually going to have that problem (children like the Gaunts). Just because the Malfoys had been lucky up to that point doesn't necessarily mean that their luck was going to continue forever. It's a risk, and the concern for keeping the blood pure was becoming a mania, an addiction, something that they had to do no matter what the cost.

I agree totally with Linda, as she was saying the Malfoys have been lucky, but it wont last for long.

I certainly must say that wizarding families like the Malfoys seem to favor maintaining pure blood status over the negative consequences of inbreeding; however, there are other pureblood families that we really haven't had much exposure to (like the family Draco married with), so I wonder if the Malfoys particularly take meticulous care to keep their inbreeding on the very outskirts.

My concern really lies in families like the Malfoys who seem to limit the number of children they have in each generation, thereby making it difficult for purebloods to stay along the outskirts anymore. You'd think there would be a priority to pop out as many pureblood kids as possible (like the Weasleys) lol so that the gene pool remains a bit more diverse and a bit larger to choose from.

That is a very valid point you bring up Tiff; with true purebloods diminishing in the world you would think the few left would want to keep it going as long as possible by having as many children as possible. But this does not seem to be the case, even with Draco, since we know that he only had one child - Scorpio (the name must have come from his wife's side, lmao).

Ah well, soon we won't have to worry about this "pureblood mania" anymore as all of the "purebloods" will no longer be able to be considered "pure" anymore. Virtually no one meets the criteria, even now.

ya!with all of them marrying within the pure blood line,that limits the no of choices.and also i dont think any of them would marry bthe weasleys because they are blood traitors.so finally there'll be a day when not many pure bloods will be left and they'll maybe take on carrying halfbloods(and maybe pretend they are still pure like voldemort)

Well you have to remember that Britain is not the only place in the world! There is a great big world out there for the wizards who wish to remain pure can choose from to keep the bloodline from getting diluted from blood traitors and what not.

I partly believe that the Guants were a severe case of inbreeding gone wild, but I also think they lived in a hell of their own making. I mean I would bit a bit crazed if I know my family had money but flitted it all away without regard to me. I mean they went from Royalty to has beens and never was. That would drive anyone mad.

I think the Malfoys are keeping a better hold on the inbreeding than the other families are. They only have one child. Therefore only one child they have to find a mate for and marry off. I think if they did popped them out like the Weasleys they would all be bumbling dorks right about now.