Death Eaters

"They were a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating towards a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty."

- Albus Dumbledore on the Death Eaters

The Death Eaters were a group of Dark wizards and witches that followed Lord Voldemort. They often wore black hoods with snake-like eye slits to cover their faces. Only the inner circle of the Death Eaters had a Dark Mark burned into his or her left forearm. When Voldemort touched one of them, each of those Death Eaters felt it, allowing them to Apparate to their leader's side.

Ideology
"Many of our oldest family trees become a little diseased over time. You must prune yours, must you not, to keep it healthy? Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest... And in your family, so in the world...we shall cut away the canker that infects us until only those of the true blood remain..."

- Lord Voldemort on his goals in Malfoy Manor

Ideologically, the Death Eaters sought to destroy Muggles and wizards and witches of Muggle lineage, and to take over the wizarding world, as well as restore it to pure-bloods. The Death Eaters idealized pure-blood wizards, which is ironic considering that their leader, Lord Voldemort, was a half-blood with a Muggle father.

Not all of them could claim to be pure-bloods, and in fact true pure-bloods probably do not exist, as the claim is based on selective genealogy; possibly many of them were half-bloods clinging to their pure-blood ancestors. One such was Severus Snape, the son of a Muggle man and a pure-blood witch. Judging by Bellatrix Lestrange's reaction to being told that Voldemort was a half-blood by Harry Potter, the Dark Lord most likely lied to his followers about being pure-blood.

"The Death Eaters can't all be pure-blood, there aren't enough pure-blood wizards left. I expect most of them are half-bloods, pretending to be pure. It's only Muggle-borns they hate..."

- Hermione Granger on the Death Eaters

The Death Eaters also attacked purebloods who opposed them, such as Gideon and Fabian Prewett, who were members of the Order of the Phoenix. Their main targets, however, were Muggle-borns, whom they hated and believed should not be allowed access to the wizarding world, judging from their mass imprisonment of Muggle-borns during the height of the Second Wizarding War. It is possible that some Death Eaters believed the theory their propaganda put forth — that Muggle-borns stole magic from "real" wizards and witches — though this may have been nothing more than an excuse to send Muggle-borns to Azkaban. In any case, the Death Eaters regarded Muggle-borns as inferior and undeserving of magic, and thought those who disagreed, so-called blood traitors, were nearly as bad. However, J.K. Rowling has commented that in "rare circumstances", a Muggle-born might be permitted to become a Death Eater.

It is also assumed that as Voldemort was trying to find ways to conquer death, Death Eaters sought similar goals, hoping that by following the Dark Lord, he would share his discovered secrets with them.

Origins and the First War
By 1970, the Death Eaters were an organization formed from people Tom Marvolo Riddle, now Lord Voldemort, knew from his time at Hogwarts as well as their relations. Nearly all of those recruited were from Slytherin House as students. Actively recruiting an army of Dark Wizards and creatures, with the belief that his hidden Horcruxes granted him immortality, Voldemort and his followers planned to overthrow the Ministry of Magic and rule their way.

Death Eater activity during the First Wizarding War consisted of attacks on wizards, witches, and large numbers of Muggles. These were initiated by the Death Eaters often, but not always, on the orders of Voldemort. When the Ministry did not suffer an ostensible collapse in the eleven years of Voldemort's reign, the Death Eaters began to attack prominent wizarding families. As a result, fear gripped the wider wizard community, but the Death Eaters remained opposed by the Order of the Phoenix, founded by Albus Dumbledore.

At the height of the war, Severus Snape reported to Lord Voldemort the part of the prophecy he had heard while listening in on a conversation between Dumbledore and Sybill Trelawney which predicted that either Harry Potter, the son of Order members James and Lily Potter, or Neville Longbottom, son of Order members Alice and Frank Longbottom, would be the one to destroy Voldemort. Voldemort attacked the Potters personally, seeing them as a greater danger to him. Despite being under the protection of the Fidelius Charm, Voldemort was able to get into their home because James entrusted his old friend Peter Pettigrew as Secret-Keeper, and Pettigrew subsequently betrayed the secret to Voldemort.

Snape failed to overhear the entire prophecy, including the announcement that Voldemort himself would mark his own equal. Although Voldemort killed James and, despite Snape's pleas that she be spared, Lily, the Killing Curse rebounded off Harry and hit Voldemort, destroying his living body. However, due to his extensive performance of Dark magic, Voldemort's soul survived and escaped.

"The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!"

- Bellatrix Lestrange on trial for her Death Eater activities

With the disappearance of their leader, the Death Eaters largely fell into chaos. Many were rounded up and imprisoned without trial, as part of the hard line taken by Ministry official Barty Crouch Sr. Sirius Black, who been framed for Pettigrew's crimes, was among those imprisoned in Azkaban without a trial. Soon afterwards, Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange, as well as Barty Crouch Jr., tortured the Longbottoms into insanity while trying to procure information about Voldemort's whereabouts. They were captured and sentenced to Azkaban, but Bellatrix proudly proclaimed that the Dark Lord would rise again.

Between Wars
Some Death Eaters managed to elude justice by claiming the Imperius Curse had been used on them, such as Lucius Malfoy, or by turning in other Death Eaters, as Igor Karkaroff did. Most followers hid their allegiance to Voldemort and therefore did not try to find him. Although a handful of Death Eaters, such as the Lestranges and Barty Crouch Jr., remained fiercely loyal to their fallen master and sought him out. They were supposedly rewarded by Voldemort for their loyalty.

Outbreaks of Death Eater activity did occur, although rarely and sporadically, during the thirteen years of Voldemort's absence. Perhaps the most notable event was the riots at the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup in 1994, during which a group of Death Eaters attacked the camp of wizards and witches as well as a nearby Muggle family. The Death Eaters seemed to consider torturing and humiliating Muggles a form of entertainment.

The Dark Lord's Return
In June of 1995, Lord Voldemort finally returned to a physical body through a Dark potion created by Peter Pettigrew. The body was human-shaped, though hairless and with many serpentine features such as slits for nostrils.

Moments after Lord Voldemort had finally regained his body, he summoned his followers to him by touching Peter Pettigrew's Dark Mark. Some proved too afraid to return to him, such as defector Igor Karkaroff, while others who were dead or imprisoned remained absent. Severus Snape did not return on the guise that he had to appear more loyal to Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix; Snape returned two hours later. Despite several absences, there were several who returned the call, including Lucius Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle, who had sons at Hogwarts. Harry Potter was present for Voldemort's return to power, and even dueled and defeated him in a spectacular display of Priori Incantatem, revealing that the cores of Voldemort's and Harry's wands were related. Harry managed to escape and tell Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore of Voldemort's return.

Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge and most of the Ministry of Magic originally refused to believe that Lord Voldemort had returned. Though Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore served as dissenting voices, the majority of the public chose to believe in the Ministry, as well as its wider propaganda and smear campaign against Potter and Dumbledore, printed in news outlets such as the Daily Prophet.

Bid for the Prophecy
Armed with this advantage, the Death Eaters keep a low profile in order to maintain their standing in the wizarding world. Due in part to the Ministry's refusal to remove the Dementors from Azkaban, a proposition Dumbledore supported immediately following Voldemort's return, the Death Eaters informally recruited the Dementors to the cause. Similar progress was made with giants. The quiet revolt of the Dementors fostered a mass breakout of imprisoned Death Eaters from Azkaban in early 1996.

In early summer of 1996, Voldemort sent a group of twelve Death Eaters, led by Lucius Malfoy, into the Department of Mysteries in order to steal the prophecy concerning himself and Harry Potter. Having originally attacked Harry Potter based upon a partial recounting of it, Voldemort now desired to hear the full version in order to understand entirely the nature of the connection between himself and Potter. Harry was lured there, along with five other members of Dumbledore's Army, when Voldemort used their connection to give Harry a vision of his godfather being tortured.

However, Harry and his friends managed to elude the Death Eaters and the prophecy was eventually destroyed. A battle ensued between the Death Eaters and several members of the Order of the Phoenix. Eleven of the twelve Death Eaters were captured; Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange fled, but not before Ministry officials witnessed the returned Dark Lord.

Open War
The raid was a failure for the Death Eaters because their reactivation was no longer a secret and several members were deported to Azkaban, and the return of Voldemort was proved to the skeptical Ministry. Revealed at last to the wizarding community, the Death Eaters proceeded to resume their earlier lifestyle and behavior. Kidnapping, torturing, and assasinations of wizards, witches, and Muggles began anew as the Second War began.

Victory at Hogwarts
"Dumbledore cornered! Dumbledore wandless! Dumbledore alone! Well done, Draco, well done!"

- Amycus Carrow on Dumbledore being cornered on the Astronomy tower

During the second Wizarding War, Voldemort made a plot to rid of Albus Dumbledore. At the close of the Hogwarts school year in June 1997, Albus Dumbledore was slain by Severus Snape's Killing Curse in the Hogwarts Astronomy Tower. He had been previously sickened to the brink of exhaustion by an unknown poison. After convincing Draco Malfoy to forego his plans to murder him, Severus Snape and four other Death Eaters came to the scene. Snape finally killed Dumbledore. After his death, the Death Eaters were chased by members of the Order of the Phoenix, the Death Eaters were forced to retreat.

Among the Death Eaters present were siblings Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Yaxley, Thorfinn Rowle, Gibbon, Fenrir Greyback and Bellatrix Lestrange. Bill Weasley was attacked by werewolf Fenrir Greyback and received scars on his face, but because Greyback was not fully transformed at the time of the attack, Bill sustained minimal lycanthropic symptoms. On the Death Eaters' side, the only death was that of Gibbon, killed by a stray Killing Curse from a fellow Dark Wizard.

Plottings and Tactics
"Not content with corrupting and polluting the minds of Wizarding children, last week Professor Burbage wrote an impassioned defence of Mudbloods in the Daily Prophet. Wizards, she says, must accept these thieves of their knowledge and magic. The dwindling of the purebloods is, says Professor Burbage, a most desirable circumstances... She would have us all mate with Muggles..."

- Lord Voldemort ridiculing Charity Burbage to his followers before killing her

Voldemort began to understand more about his failures in killing Harry Potter, and with his Death Eaters, planned several courses of action. One was the overthrowing of the Ministry of Magic. Another was capturing Harry Potter and killing him. While Voldemort went on his own personal quests and stayed out of sight of the wizarding community's eye, he worked through others, including Yaxley at the Ministry, and Severus Snape and the Carrows at Hogwarts.

The meeting place for the Death Eaters was the Malfoy Manor. At this place, the Death Eaters would make reports and the Dark Lord would give them orders. On one occasion, Voldemort took reports on goings on at the Ministry of Magic by Yaxley, though was more impressed with reports by Snape regarding the Order of the Phoenix's plans to move Harry Potter. Voldemort also ridiculed Bellatrix Lestrange and the Malfoys for the marriage of Remus Lupin, a known werewolf, to Nymphadora Tonks, a relative of theirs. At this meeting, Charity Burbage, a professor of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts, was murdered by Voldemort and then fed to Nagini. Voldemort also took Lucius Malfoy's wand to fight against Harry Potter, believing his own to be inferior to Harry's.

Attempt on Harry Potter
"That's him, it's him, it's the real one!"

- Death Eater after Harry Potter cast Expelliarmus, his "trademark" spell

Still opposed by the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army, who knew it wasn't safe to trust the Ministry of Magic, Voldemort knew through Snape that Harry Potter would be moved from the house of his aunt and uncle a few days before his seventeenth birthday, which is when spells protecting him would have broken. The exact details of this move were unknown to the Death Eaters at large, though Snape manipulated Mundungus Fletcher with magic and knew the plans, only telling the Dark Lord enough to display loyalty.

As a congregation of members of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army including Alastor Moody, Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Rubeus Hagrid, Bill Weasley, Fleur Delacour, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Mundungus Fletcher, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, along with Harry Potter himself, left the home of the Dursleys, the Death Eaters attacked immediately. They could not tell right away which pair included the real Harry Potter, because six of the congregation had used Polyjuice Potion. It was assumed that Harry would be with the strongest members, so Moody and Shacklebolt were attacked most fervently at first.

During the ensuing battle, Snape used Sectumsempra to attack the Death Eater in front of him, but missed and slashed the ear off George Weasley. Bellatrix Lestrange tried very hard to kill Tonks, but she did not succeed in while Tonks herself injured Rodolphus Lestrange. Alastor Moody was killed by Voldemort himself. However, numerous Death Eaters were injured, and one was supposedly killed.

When Harry Potter used Expelliarmus, which they had come to consider Potter's trademark spell, against Stan Shunpike, who was under the Imperius Curse, they knew the real Harry to be with Hagrid. Voldemort himself was present, flying without the aid of a broomstick, and led the charge against Harry. Despite their attempts to capture the boy, they were thwarted by Harry's spellwork, Hagrid's selfless courage, and finally, when Harry crossed into a protective spell over the home of Ted Tonks. Lucius' wand was snapped by a spell cast by Harry's wand, infuriating Voldemort even more.

The Fall of the Ministry
"The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming"

- Kingsley Shacklebolt through his lynx patronus

On August 1, 1997, the Ministry of Magic was overthrown and Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour was killed. Pius Thicknesse was installed in his place, controlled by the Imperius Curse and effectively Voldemort's puppet, and several Death Eaters became employees of the Ministry. The Death Eaters used the Ministry's resources to eliminate the Order of the Phoenix's defences, attacking the Burrow and other homes of Order members, as well as some of their allies, such as Ted and Andromeda Tonks. While no one was killed, many were hurt under questioning about the whereabouts of Harry Potter, and all were subsequently put under surveillance.

Under the control of the Death Eaters, the Ministry created the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, an instrument of humiliation and persecution against Muggle-borns, who were falsely accused of having "stolen" magic and imprisoned in Azkaban for it. Propaganda against Muggle-borns and Harry Potter was spread; Harry was considered "Undesirable Number One" and there was a reward for his capture. The Taboo curse was also placed upon Voldemort's name as a method of locating dissenters.

Headmaster Snape
Attendance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry became mandatory during the 1997-1998 school year, as Voldemort wanted all the population under his control, as well as a way to weed out Muggle-borns. Students were required to prove blood status, and any and all caught Muggle-born children were sent to the Muggle-Born Registration Commission and then to Azkaban.

Severus Snape was appointed Headmaster, though he faced fierce opposition from Minerva McGonagall and other professors, as well as the remaining members of Dumbledore's Army, including Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley. They encouraged rebellion, saved students from detention, and eventually stopped attending classes and took up residence in the Room of Requirement.

The Carrows were also there at the school, with Amycus Carrow teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, though in reality he taught the Dark Arts. Favoured students such as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were encouraged to practice the Cruciatus Curse on rule-breakers. His sister, Alecto Carrow, took over Muggle Studies, though the course became a brainwashing of the superiority of wizardkind over Muggles.

Escape from Malfoy Manor
"The Dark Lord is coming, Harry Potter! Your death approaches! Now…Cissy, I think we ought to tie these little heroes up again, while Greyback takes care of Miss Mudblood. I am sure the Dark Lord will not begrudge you the girl, Greyback, after what you have done tonight."

- Bellatrix Lestrange

During Harry Potter's time hidden from the Death Eaters, he accidentally said Voldemort's name and thus triggered the Taboo placed upon the name. He, Ron and Hermione were captured by a group of Snatchers led by Fenrir Greyback and brought to Malfoy Manor, where they were confronted by Bellatrix Lestrange and the Malfoys. Before either Lucius or Bellatrix could summon the Dark Lord, Bellatrix spotted Godric Gryffindor's Sword among the trio's possessions and interrogated Hermione using the Cruciatus Curse to find out where they got the item. She lied, claiming it was only a copy, a story Harry convinced the goblin Griphook to support. In the meantime, Dobby the house elf came and rescued Harry, Ron, Ollivander, and Luna Lovegood from the basement. He, Harry and Ron saved Hermione and Griphook and took various wands from the house's occupants before fleeing; Dobby was killed by Bellatrix in the process.

As punishment for summoning him without successfully holding Potter, Voldemort punished all present and forbade them to leave the manor.

Destruction of Voldemort's Horcruxes
Unknown to Voldemort or his Death Eaters, Harry, along with Ron and Hermione, was out seeking the Horcruxes of Voldemort. Regulus Black had already removed Salazar Slytherin's Locket from its hiding place, though had been unable to destroy it. Albus Dumbledore destroyed Gaunt's Ring with Godric Gryffindor's sword and Tom Riddle's Diary had been destroyed by Harry in his second year with a basilisk fang. Thanks to Snape's help through his doe Patronus, Ron Weasley was able to find the sword of Gryffindor and destroy the locket horcrux.

Harry Potter concluded from Bellatrix's behaviour at Malfoy Manor that a horcrux was in her safe at Gringotts Wizarding Bank. With the help of Griphook, Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the bank and took Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, escaping on a dragon. The Cup was later destroyed by Hermione Granger using a basilisk fang when she and Ron entered the Chamber of Secrets.

Though the three companions were successful, Voldemort learned from hearing about Harry's venture into the bank that they were seeking his horcruxes. In panic, he went to the places the horcruxes were hidden, leaving Hogwarts last, but in the process revealing to Harry Potter that Hogwarts was indeed the last place to go.

The Battle of Hogwarts
"If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste... I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour... I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you... I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

- Voldemort's ultimatum during the final battle

Voldemort, along with his Death Eaters and other allies, attacked Hogwarts and those defending it in May 1998. During this battle, Harry, Hermione and Ron managed to find the final horcrux, Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, in the Room of Hidden Things. It was accidentally destroyed by Vincent Crabbe's out of control fiendfyre curse. In the meantime, Death Eaters and their allies were storming the castle; Fred Weasley died in an explosion caused by Augustus Rookwood, and Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were killed in duels with Antonin Dolohov and Bellatrix Lestrange, respectively. Voldemort had Nagini kill Severus Snape, believing it would make him the true master of the Elder Wand, and then issued an ultimatum to the other side: Harry turns himself over within an hour, or everyone in Hogwarts would be killed.

It was then revealed to Harry that he himself had accidentally been turned into a horcrux. He willingly took a Killing Curse from Lord Voldemort in order to destroy it, but because his mother's sacrifice lived on in his blood, the blood Voldemort took in himself in order to regain a body, Harry was not killed. Because he was the true master of the Elder Wand, Harry won the final duel, killing Voldemort once and for all.

After the battle was lost by the Death Eaters, many of those who survived were arrested, while others went into hiding. After Voldemort's death, the Dark Marks on the Death Eaters' forearms faded into scars.

Disappearances caused by Death Eaters

 * Caradoc Dearborn
 * Mr. Ollivander, later escaped along with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Dean Thomas and Griphook
 * Octavius Pepper
 * Florean Fortescue
 * Bertha Jorkins-killed on a vacation

Behind the scenes

 * The Death Eaters were originally titled The Knights of Walpurgis . This name seems to be a play on Walpurgis Night, the evening of April 20 when, according to legend, witches and demons gather.
 * Despite his allegiance with Lord Voldemort, Fenrir Greyback was not an official Death Eater due to the fact that he was a werewolf.
 * Narcissa Malfoy was not officially a Death Eater, never having been branded with the Dark Mark, even though she was married to Lucius Malfoy and was the sister of Bellatrix Lestrange. However, she was an ally of the Death Eaters, as she may have participated in the tormenting of Muggles the night of the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, relayed information to Voldemort which led to the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the murder of Sirius Black, sat in on Death Eater meetings (though this may simply have been because they were held in her home at the time, much to her discomfort), and was given the duty of finding out whether or not Harry Potter was truly dead. However, she was not known to have participated in any battles, and she ultimately lied to Voldemort about Harry's death and thus helped bring about his fall.
 * Quirinus Quirrell was loyal to Lord Voldemort, but he was not a Death Eater.
 * Several Death Eaters with the same last name have been mentioned in the series (e.g. Lestrange, Avery, Mulciber), which suggests that fealty to Voldemort may not end with the person themselves, and extends to their children. It is equally possible, however, that the children have similar ideological views to their parents.
 * Dolores Umbridge was never explicitly mentioned to be a Death Eater; however, she was a sympathizer who committed crimes against Muggle-borns at the Ministry of Magic while it was under Voldemort's control.
 * While the majority of the group were males, two explicitly mentioned female Death Eaters were Bellatrix Lestrange and Alecto Carrow. Another unnamed woman was described in the first chapter of the Deathly Hallows, but it is possible she was Alecto.
 * Unlike their fathers, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle do not appear to have ever been official Death Eaters, though they were sympathizers who tried to capture Harry Potter for Voldemort during the Battle of Hogwarts.
 * Aside from Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, the unmasked Death Eaters that appeared in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix were Walden Macnair (Peter Best), Antonin Dolohov (Richard Cubison), Rodolphus Lestrange (Arben Bajraktaraj), Rabastan Lestrange (Richard Trinder), and Travers (Tav MacDougall). This is despite the fact that Travers was not mentioned as participating in the novel version of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

Notes and references
Todesser Mangemort