Elladora Black

"... and dear Aunt Elladora... she started the family tradition of beheading house-elves when they got too old to carry tea trays..."

- Sirius Black tells Harry Potter of the House of Black

Elladora Black (1850 – 1931) was a pure-blood witch, member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

Biography
Elladora was born in 1850.

She was possibly the daughter of Cygnus Black I and his wife Ella Max. Her siblings were Sirius Black I, Phineas Nigellus, and Isla. She never married or had children.

Elladora instituted the policy of cutting off the heads of the family house-elves and mounting them on the wall once they became too old to carry a tea tray.

Behind the scenes

 * Based on a statement by Horace Slughorn, Elladora may have been a member of the Slytherin House. This is most likely true, since Sirius Black said all of his family was in the Slytherin House. However, she attended Hogwarts c. 1861 - 1868, when Slughorn was not the Potions teacher.
 * Elladora and her siblings may have been children of Cygnus Black I and Ella Max. In this case, their uncle would have been Arcturus Black I, Cygnus' brother, and aunt Misapinoa Blishwick née Black.
 * Elladora's and Callidora's pictures on the Black family tree tapestry are the same. Also, Callidora and Elladora have similar names.
 * Sirius once said to Harry, "dear Aunt Elladora", but on the Black family tree, Elladora is Sirius' great-great-great aunt. Sirius may not have wanted to bore Harry with "great-great-great aunt", and just chosen to call her aunt, as it was easier.
 * Elladora was only three years old when her elder brother Sirius died.
 * Elladora could have possibly been a half-namesake for Callidora, as both have names ending with Dora (which is the nickname of Elladora's four-greats-niece, given to her by her father, though Tonks came from her disowned mother).

Etymology

 * The name Ella is a Norman form of the Germanic Alia, meaning "other". It is also possibly related to Aella, a Greek name meaning "whirlwind". Aella of mythology was an Amazon killed by Hercules. The name Dora, often considered a diminutive of Theodora, is derived from the Greek word doron, meaning "gift".
 * Elladora was probably named after her mother Ella.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)