Bones family

Bones family
Family heritage
Blood status	Half-blood
Notable family members	Seraphina Bones † Effie Bones † Edgar Bones † Amelia Bones † Edgar Bones's wife † Susan Bones Edgar Bones's children †
Affiliation
House(s)	Hufflepuff
Loyalty	Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Hufflepuff British Ministry of Magic Department of Magical Law Enforcement Wizengamot Order of the Phoenix Dumbledore's Army

"No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em... he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts —"

— Voldemort murdered several wizarding families during the First Wizarding War

Bones was the surname of a wizarding family with both magical and Muggle heritage. They were a prominent family, with strong connections to the Ministry of Magic. These connections made them a target of Voldemort during the First Wizarding War.

The family was almost entirely slaughtered by Death Eaters, and Amelia Bones and her parents were murdered by Voldemort himself.

Recent history

Seraphina Bones was a witch whose portrait hung at Hogwarts Castle in the 1990s. Seraphina was most likely a forerunner of the Bones family, which was active in the 20th century.

First Wizarding War

"That’s Edgar Bones... brother of Amelia Bones, they got him and his family too, he was a great wizard..."

— Alastor Moody's opinion of Edgar

The orginal Order of the Phoenix

During the First Wizarding War, Edgar Bones became a member of the original Order of the Phoenix. The Order was an organisation led and founded by Albus Dumbledore. The organisations aim was to oppose the Dark Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Edgar also married a woman and had more than one child with her. Edgar was also described as being a great wizard by Alastor Moody. Rubeus Hagrid also told Harry Potter that the Bones family was considered among the greatest wizards of the time.

Edgar, his wife, and children were murdered by Death Eaters sometime in the later half of 1981. His mother and father were also murdered by Voldemort.

Between the wars

Minerva McGonagall: "Bones, Susan."

Sorting Hat: "HUFFLEPUFF!"

— Susan Bones being sorted

Amelia joined the Ministry of Magic and was there-on known as "Madam Bones". Amelia was possibly roused by her parents' deaths and the deaths of some of her siblings at the hands of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. She became the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and had a seat on the Wizengamot.

Susan being Sorted into Hufflepuff House

Susan Bones was sorted into Hufflepuff House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1991. In her fifth year, Susan became a member of Dumbledore's Army, an organisation taught and led by Harry Potter. Later on in the year, the Death Eaters who murdered her uncle Edgar and his family escaped from Azkaban, the wizarding prison, and many students questioned Susan for information about this.

Second Wizarding War

"My father reckons your aunt's a troublemaker, someone will teach her a lesson!"

— Gregory Goyle foreshadows what happens to Amelia

Amelia Bones as a member of the Wizengamot

Madam Bones sat on the Wizengamot and presided over Harry Potter's disciplinary hearing in 1995, along with Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge who acted as "Interrogators". Albus Dumbledore was the "witness for the defence". Despite poor treatment of Harry by Fudge, Madam Bones managed to keep the trial fairly unbiased and Harry was found innocent by a large majority of the court.

Amelia was murdered during the 1996 summer holiday, presumably for her anti-Voldemort activities. According to Fudge, the then-recently dismissed Minister for Magic, she was known to be so skilled that Voldemort might have killed her personally.

A 1997 Daily Prophet article: "Amelia Bones found murdered at her home"

Her murder was also reported in the Muggle newspapers, the nature of which baffled Muggle police officers as she was murdered in a room which was locked from the inside. Afterwards, some members of the Order of the Phoenix referred to her as one of the greatest witches of her time, and that her absence would be keenly felt by many.

Susan fought along side her fellow D.A. member in the Battle of Hogwarts. It can be assumed that she survived the Second Wizarding War, as her name was not listed amongst the casualties.

Family members

Wizard(s)	Notes
Seraphina Bones	A witch whose portrait hung at Hogwarts
Effie Bones	A witch living in the 19th century.
Mr Bones	Parents of Amelia and Edgar, Susan's paternal grandparents; murdered by Voldemort during the First Wizarding War
Mrs Bones
Amelia Bones	Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and member of the Wizengamot; murdered by Voldemort in 1996
Edgar Bones	Member of the Order of the Phoenix; murdered by Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War
Edgar Bones's wife	Murdered along with her husband and children
The children of Edgar Bones and his wife	Murdered by Death Eaters along with their parents
Susan Bones' parent	Child of Mr Bones and Mrs Bones, sibling of Amelia and Edgar, and parent of Susan
Susan Bones	A Hufflepuff and member of Dumbledore's Army who was in the same year at Hogwarts as Harry Potter; niece of Edgar and Amelia Bones

Family tree

Bones family

Seraphina Bones

Effie Bones

Mr Bones (d. c. 1970s/'80s)

Mrs Bones (d. c. 1970s/'80s)

Amelia Bones (d. 1996)

Edgar Bones (d. 1981)

Mrs Bones (d. 1981)

Mr Bones

Mrs Bones

Edgar Bones's children (d. 1981)

Susan Bones (b. 1979 or 1980)

Etymology

Bones is an English surname originally from either the Old French bon, meaning "good", or the Old English ban, meaning "thin, bony". A bone is a rigid connective organ that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates. Skull and Bones is the name of a secret society based at Yale University; many members of the Bones family were associated with the secret society the Order of the Phoenix.

Behind the scenes

• An early manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone depicts Rubeus Hagrid informing a Muggle minister named Fudge about the kidnapping of a character called "Elsie Bones" by Lord Voldemort, who wished to turn Elsie to his side. The character of Elsie appears to be an early incarnation of Amelia Bones.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game) (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Quidditch Through the Ages (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Harry Potter and Me
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter (website)