Jacob Kowalski and Queenie Goldstein

Such was the strength of feeling between Fantastic Beasts’ resident Muggle (or No-Maj) Jacob Kowalski and Queenie Goldstein, a witch who worked for the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), that even Jacob being Oblivitated wasn’t enough to dampen it. As he told his old friend Newt Scamander, the potion they used only erased bad memories – and most of his, particularly the ones with Queenie in them, were good.

But unfortunately for Jacob and Queenie, who lived at a time when witches and wizards were banned by MACUSA from having relationships with No-Majs, they were never going to have an easy life. The law that prevented them from getting married caused Queenie such despair that she actually enchanted Jacob and bought him to London, apparently planing to marry him without his knowledge. That was never going to work now, was it? Afterwards, things became even darker, as Queenie herself became enchanted by Gellert Grindelwald’s rhetoric. She may have originally followed Grindelwald down a dark path because she mistakenly believed it might free her to marry Jacob as she wanted, but she became entwined with Grindelwald’s bloodthirsty mission in the process.

Luckily for Queenie, Jacob never gave up on her and they did eventually get married, under no enchantment but love. We’re so glad they got their happy ending.

Eileen Prince and Tobias Snape

We don’t know much about Severus Snape’s parentage, but the small glimmer we did see told a dark and sorry tale. A man who dubbed himself ‘the Half-Blood Prince’ may have been proud to have Muggle blood in his veins, but whether he was as proud of his mum and dad was another story.

In Deathly Hallows, Harry discovered much about Snape’s childhood and friendship with his mother, Lily. Harry also learnt that Snape had a sad childhood, living in a derelict Muggle village, with two parents who seemed to argue endlessly.

When Lily asked Young Snape if his dad, the Muggle Tobias, liked magic, Snape’s reply was short but said an awful lot: ‘He doesn’t like anything much.’

Lyall Lupin and Hope Howell

Like Jacob and Queenie, Remus Lupin’s parents were a good example that Muggle/wizard romance can work, but sometimes events can complicate things. Lyall Lupin and Hope Howell met when Lyall rescued Hope from a Boggart. How very ‘Lupin’ of him!

Turns out this was an excellent ice-breaker for a very happy marriage, and eventually they had a son together, Remus.

Lyall had a run in with the werewolf Fenrir Greyback during his time at the Ministry for Magic. Greyback took his revenge by biting Remus, transforming him into a werewolf and leaving him to a lifetime of exclusion.

The couple knew the stigma attached to their son’s condition, so they educated him at home and moved from place to place to avoid having to answer difficult questions. Remus did get to go to Hogwarts in the end, where he met his future best friends.

Mr and Mrs Thomas

Dean was a close friend of Harry and Ron, and one-time boyfriend of Ginny... but behind the scenes, Dean Thomas’s family had a history be knew nothing about.

An early draft of Chamber of Secrets reveals that, while Dean and his mother, who was a Muggle, believed that his dad had abandoned them, it actually wasn’t the case. Mr Thomas never told his family what he was, and was killed by Death Eaters when he refused to join Voldemort’s cause.

Dean and his mother had no idea that Mr Thomas was not only a wizard, but also a very brave man.

Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle

The relationship between Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle Sr teaches us a very harsh lesson about love and magic.

Born into a life of abuse and poverty, Merope Gaunt had the misfortune of growing up in a family so pure-blood obsessed they resorted to family marriages to keep the line untainted. Merope Gaunt grew up barely able to use magic due to the constant cycle of cruelty, and she fell in love with a local boy – handsome Muggle Tom Riddle.

The reaction from her father and brother was volatile, but the two were later imprisoned. Finally, free from the restraints of her abusive life, Merope began to hone her magic, but sadly after a life of desolation, focused it in the wrong place: she made Tom Riddle fall in love with her using magic.

The pair’s ‘romance’ shocked their village, and the couple led a claustrophobic life with Merope living in blissful denial, with Tom trapped under her enchantments. Eventually Merope became pregnant, so the troubled witch decided to lift the spells and see if Tom Riddle would love her back naturally.

Tom Riddle was instantly repulsed and fled, leaving Merope alone in despair. She died shortly after the birth of her son, also called Tom Riddle, and this young boy – born under terrible circumstances – became one of the Darkest wizards in history. Even worse? Merope’s tortured final wish: that her son would look just like the man who would never love her.