Mechanical Death Eater

Mechanical Death Eater
Object information
Location	Hogwarts Castle
Made	1986 or earlier
Usage	Defence Against the Dark Arts
Owners	Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

A Mechanical Death Eater (also known as training dummy) was a piece of magical machinery designed for the purpose of Defence Against the Dark Arts, carrying both the likeness of a Death Eater and bewitched to move and roll around on its own accord, it was an excellent target for those who sought to improve their spell-casting.

History

Training dummies were already in use by students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the 1890s, though at this point they couldn't have been called Mechanical Death Eaters yet due to the time period.

By the mid-1980s, several of these dummies had been placed at the Training Grounds of Hogwarts, on which several students, including as Bill Weasley, practised their defensive spellwork. These dummies had a wand so it was able to act as a real Death Eater would, and they could also be disarmed.

A Mechanical Death Eater used by Dumbledore's Army

By the mid-1990s, one such contraption had been placed inside the Room of Requirement, and was provided the group calling themselves for the Dumbledore's Army by the room's enchantments among an assortment of stored books and objects that would, during the 1995–1996 school year, provide them with tools necessary to train themselves in Defence Against the Dark Arts in preparation for the forthcoming Second Wizarding War in a time when the Ministry of Magic were still denying the return of Lord Voldemort. The dummy in question was subsequently used by the aforementioned student organisation to practise their spells inside . The dummy was used as a target while the group trained with such spells as Diminuendo, Expelliarmus, Stupefy, and Reducto.

In the 2011–2012 school year, as part of their training for the Intercontinental Wizard's Cup, Ivy Warrington, Daniel Page and their friend went to the Duelling Dungeon to practice. There they faced Duelling Dummies that had been enchanted to deflect back any spell used by the attacker.

During the Calamity which affected the wizarding world in the 2010s, Troll Confoundables guarded these dummies as Foundables, for which members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force could overpower with the Bombardment Spell.

Behind the scenes

• In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, multiples of these dummies were used at a time during spell practice, as opposed to just the one in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
• In the release trailer for Hogwarts Legacy, a mirror is seen being transfigured into a dummy, suggesting that dummies in general have been used for over 80 years by the time the Death Eater dummies first appeared.
  • It is possible that the Death Eaters took the inspiration of their uniforms from these mechanical training dummies, which would explain the seemingly anachronistic nature of these training dummies in Hogwarts Legacy.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• LEGO Harry Potter
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• LEGO Harry Potter
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (As "Duelling Dummy")
• Hogwarts Legacy