For generations, many of the elitist pure-blood wizards and witches in Harry Potter have valued undiluted magical heritage; they believe that one’s magical abilities are solely dependent on the purity of their blood (i.e. they have no Muggle roots). These inherited beliefs have given rise to intolerance towards ‘unworthy’ individuals: half-bloods, who have at least one Muggle parent or grandparent; Muggle-borns or “the other sort”, who have been raised by Muggles; and Squibs, who cannot perform magic despite belonging to wizarding families. Anyone who disputes this flawed structure is considered a traitor to their own kind — or a ‘blood traitor’.