Advance Guard

Advance Guard
Organisation information
Founded	5 August 1995
Leader(s)	Alastor Moody Remus Lupin
Headquarters	12 Grimmauld Place, Borough of Islington, London, England, Great Britain
Intentions	To safely bring Harry Potter to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix
Affiliation	Order of the Phoenix
Enemies	Lord Voldemort Death Eaters

Remus Lupin: "A surprising number of people volunteered to come and get you."

Alastor Moody: "Yeah, well, the more the better. We're your guard, Potter."

Remus Lupin: "We’re just waiting for the signal to tell us it’s safe to set off, we’ve got about fifteen minutes."

— The dedication to protecting Harry Potter

The Advance Guard were the members of the Order of the Phoenix that retrieved Harry Potter from 4 Privet Drive and escorted him to 12 Grimmauld Place on 6 August 1995. This was done to provide Harry with a more secure environment after a pair of Dementors attacked him and Dudley Dursley in Little Whinging.

History

Nymphadora Tonks: "Stop being so cheerful, Mad-Eye, he’ll think we’re not taking this seriously."

Alastor Moody: "I’m just telling the boy the plan. Our job’s to deliver him safely to headquarters and if we die in the attempt —"

Kingsley Shacklebolt: "No one’s going to die."

Remus Lupin: "Mount your brooms, that’s the first signal!"

— The Advance Guard planning to take off

The Advance Guard on the first floor of 4 Privet Drive

Prior to its arrival, the Advance Guard lured the Dursley family away from their house. Nymphadora Tonks fabricated a letter informing them that they were among the finalists for the All-England Best-Kept Lawn competition, and the family was heading to the awards ceremony when the Advance Guard arrived at 4 Privet Drive.

Out of the group, Harry only knew Lupin from before, and had spoken to the real Alastor Moody and Dedalus Diggle only briefly. This was Harry's first meeting with the remaining members, most notably Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

The Advance Guard en route to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix

The Advance Guard and Harry travelled to Grimmauld Place by Broomstick, flying in formation with Tonks flying in front of Harry, Lupin underneath, Moody behind and the rest circling. There was a rear guard set up, so that if anything happened to the advance guard, the rear guard could take over, but this was, fortunately, not required.

Alastor Moody suggested the entire group travel above cloud level for better concealment, but he was overruled by Nymphadora Tonks, who protested they would get soaked with water. Later, he also suggested that they double back to ensure that they were not being followed, but Tonks once again screamed at him, and the group was saved by their arrival at Grimmauld Place.

Known members

Alastor Moody

Emmeline Vance

Nymphadora Tonks

Kingsley Shacklebolt

Elphias Doge

Remus Lupin

Dedalus Diggle

Hestia Jones

Sturgis Podmore

Behind the scenes

The Advance Guard as seen in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7

• "The Advance Guard" is the title of chapter three in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Remus Lupin, Dedalus Diggle, Hestia Jones and Sturgis Podmore were not a part of the Advance Guard, and the latter two did not appear in the film at all. The only person other than Lupin that Harry recognised was Moody, but given that Harry only met Barty Crouch Jnr impersonating Moody, he would not be someone Harry would have trusted. Harry also calls him "Professor Moody" even though it wasn't actually him the previous year.

  • The Advance Guard flying to 12 Grimmauld Place

    Hestia Jones and Sturgis Podmore are the only members of the Advance Guard to not appear in any of the films. Podmore is the only one who appears in neither the films nor the video games.

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the members are shown having crossed over River Thames in London.
• In an early script for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Advance Guard are besieged by a pair of Dementors (possibly the same ones that attacked Harry and Dudley earlier that night) en route to Grimmauld Place. Moody and Tonks would have escorted Harry safely to Grimmauld Place, with the rest of the guard arriving shortly after once the Dementors were driven off. The same script also consistently and incorrectly refers to them as the "advanced guard".

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Pottermore
• HarryPotter.com
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7