- "... 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[src]
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.[1]
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".[2] 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".[3]
- Elladora was probably named after her mother Ella.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (Seen on Black family tree tapestry)