Attack at the Tonks residence

"No deaths, but they were rough... they used the Cruciatus Curse on Tonk's family. Again, trying to find out where you went after you visited them."

- Remus Lupin tells of the attack

The attack at the Tonks residence was a short but violent skirmish at the home of Ted Tonks and his wife Andromeda on 1 August, 1997. The attack occurred directly after the fall of the British Ministry of Magic at the height of the Second Wizarding War.

The Second Wizarding War had reached its most terrible and brutal stage by the summer of 1997. Leader of the Order of the Phoenix, Albus Dumbledore, had occurred during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower the previous month and Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters had been becoming gradually more powerful for months. On July 27, 1997 members of the Order of the Phoenix had attempted to safely escort Harry Potter from his home at Number 4, Privet Drive to the Tonks Residence, from where he would take a portkey to The Burrow. However, all did not go to plan and the Order's attempted use of decoy Harrys through the use of Polyjuice Potion became useless when the real Harry Potter was identified by a gathering of waiting Death Eaters above the town. Lord Voldemort was alerted and attempted to kill him. However, complications arose between the wand he was using and Harry's and Harry survived Voldemort's Killing Curse. Harry and his protector Rubeus Hagrid, arrived safely at the Tonks residence, virtually unscathed as Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters watched helplessly from behind the house's advanced magical protection.

However, once the Death Eaters infiltrated the ministry they immediately dismantled this magical protection, entered the house and interrogated its residents under torture, by means of the Cruciatus Curse, about Harry Potter's current whereabouts. They eventually left, leaving the couple unhurt, but shaken and traumatised. This was presumably because they could obtain no satisfactory answers and realised that Ted and Andromeda did not know of his location.

At the same time as the attack, other Death Eaters were breaking into the homes of Order members and their allies elsewher. Similar conflicts occured at The Burrow and at the home of Dedalus Diggle.