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Out of universe, hybrids of two distinct species are not fertile if the two species diverged too long ago (the mule is a good example of this).

I guess biology is a little different with magic involved, but with this in mind : are half giants fertile in the potterverse ?

Any kind of fertility counts, between them, with a human or a giant.

Blackwood
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Edelk
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    How are we supposed to know that? – Gallifreyan Aug 19 '17 at 21:14
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    @Gallifreyan : The Yes answer could be easily provided if we know a half giant had a daughter/son. A No answer could be trickier but might have been dropped in interview. I am not deeply familiar with the universe, but some allusions might have appeared as well. – Edelk Aug 19 '17 at 21:17
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    @Gallifreyan The same way we know most things? There's either direct evidence to say definitively one way or another, or we reason about it based on what we do know. – Anthony Grist Aug 19 '17 at 21:32
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    I've voted to close. There's no instance of this in the books or supplementary materials so any answer is likely.to be purely based on personal opinion. – Valorum Aug 20 '17 at 07:47
  • I we can only get an affirmative quote about the possibility of Hagrid having kids, we could answer this. –  Aug 21 '17 at 17:27
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    It's not a dupe as such but since Hagrid is the only known half-giant this question is kind of answered here. – The Dark Lord Aug 28 '17 at 08:08
  • @The Dark Lord Hagrid is not the only half-giant. Madame Maxime appears to be half giant (though she denies it). But a romance betwixt the two might suggest they could have offspring. – scott Oct 13 '17 at 15:14

2 Answers2

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Probably Yes.

First of all, other Half-Species in the Potter universe are fertile:

Veela:

“An ’air from ze ’ead of a veela,” said Fleur. “One of my grandmuzzer’s.” (GOF)

Troll:

Harry thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him. (PS)

And

“Told them I was Stan Shunpike. First person I could think of.” “And they believed that?” “They weren’t the brightest. One of them was definitely part troll, the smell off him. . . .”

Some and Part imply less than half is a possibility.

So we see that according to JKR, when magic humanoids interbreed with wizards, they're fertile. There's no reason to assume giants are different.

But theres also another reason to assume that there fertile, from a biological perspective: Due to survival of the fittest, almost no animal will naturally mate with a specie from which it cannot produce offspring (This is the reason that nearly all hybrids [such as mules and camas] are created by human intervention - otherwise they would not mate.) Since we know Giants will mate with humans without human's forceful intervention, it is safe to assume that their offspring can be fertile.

TheAsh
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    With the exception of the quote from goblet of fire, the others could just be being mean, like if you said someone portly was part hippo. – Valorum Dec 26 '17 at 11:31
  • @Valorum I'm aware, but when was the last time you heard someone being insulted as 'Part Pig' or 'Part Cow'? The "commonness of the insult implies they're interbreedable. – TheAsh Dec 26 '17 at 11:40
  • Referring to someone's mother-in-law as a "fat cow" is a time honoured tradition in British sitcoms. That doesn't mean that the daughter is literally part cow, part human. – Valorum Dec 26 '17 at 11:42
  • It can be confusing to discern an offensive metaphor in a world where magical beings like werewolves and veela can interbreed, but the wording can tip you off. Troll look and smell definitely used derogatorily here :) –  Dec 26 '17 at 11:52
  • @Valorum 'Fat Cow' yes. 'Part' Cow no. I obviously have heard of people being called 'pigs' and 'cows' (and in Israel, חמור/donkey is one of the worst insults you can say to someone.) But did you ever hear of someone being called 'Part cow'?? No, because since youre not insulting his lineage, Part is unnecissary! The word part demonstrates that the insult is a breeding one, which implies possibility (such as calling a dog 'part-wolf') – TheAsh Dec 26 '17 at 11:53
  • @TheAsh consider 'your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries'. Calling someone a result of breeding between an animal and human is a pretty common insult. –  Dec 26 '17 at 12:01
  • @Morrigan DId you ever hear someone get called 'Yo mama was a part-hamster'? No you didn't. I'm focusing on the word 'part' to show that if merely an impossible insult was intended the word part would not have been said! Its simply not normal human speech! I'm not denying the quote is an insult, as it quite obviously is, I'm saying that the way the insult was phrased implies plausibility! – TheAsh Dec 26 '17 at 12:05
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    @TheAsh everything is possible in HP if the author choses so, but troll-human breeding is less probable, and I'd say it wasn't the JKR's intent to present it so. But i admire how seriously you researched the subject :) –  Dec 26 '17 at 12:17
  • Good answer, but the last part is a bit simplist to my taste. Speciation is a really strange and long process, so it's hard to tell. Moreover we have proof of hybridization that was harmfull to the first generations of hybrids but beneficial in the long run (look Neandertal introgression if you xant to know more) – Edelk Dec 28 '17 at 11:23
  • You may want to also mention Flitwick's goblin ancestry. – ibid Jan 16 '18 at 00:08
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From a purely biological standpoint, there are two options, one, he is not fertile, or two his line will undergo linear decay. This means that he can have children, but the likelihood of his children being fertile deceases with each generation. Of course, it is stated on pottermore that all nonmagical maladies can be cured via magic, so a genetic conditionality such as linear decay could likely be treated.

GarrickOllivander
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    So what you're saying is that Hagrid might or might not be fertile. – Valorum Oct 13 '17 at 14:46
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    If my memory serves The history of Neanderthal introgression into Eurasians populations show that male hybrid infertility is mostly common in the first 2 generations, So I'm interested in your sources – Edelk Oct 13 '17 at 15:03