Second Wizarding War

Second Wizarding War
Part of Wizarding Wars
Date	24 June 1995 – 2 May 1998
Location	Wizarding world, United Kingdom
Result	Order of the Phoenix/Dumbledore's Army/allies victory. Death of Voldemort and defeat of Death Eaters.
Commanders
Rufus Scrimgeour † Albus Dumbledore † Harry Potter Minerva McGonagall Alastor Moody † Kingsley Shacklebolt Neville Longbottom Bane Kreacher
Lord Voldemort † Bellatrix Lestrange † Lucius Malfoy (reformed) Fenrir Greyback Pius Thicknesse (Imperiused)
Combatants
Order of the Phoenix (around 20) Dumbledore's Army (20+) Ministry of Magic Hogsmeade militia Centaurs (50+) House-elves (100+) Thestrals (10+) Ghosts (4+) Buckbeak Grawp
Death Eaters (200+) Ministry of Magic (under Pius Thicknesse (Imperiused), late war) Giants (2+) Dementors (100+) Acromantulas (100+) Werewolves (50+) Inferi (100+) Snatchers
Casualties
50-70 killed in action, unknown others murdered Cedric Diggory Broderick Bode Sirius Black Amelia Bones Emmeline Vance Igor Karkaroff Florean Fortescue Mrs Abbott Montgomery Albus Dumbledore Charity Burbage Hedwig Alastor Moody Rufus Scrimgeour Mykew Gregorovitch Bathilda Bagshot Ted Tonks Dirk Cresswell Gornuk Gellert Grindelwald Dobby Fred Weasley I Remus Lupin Nymphadora Tonks Colin Creevey Severus Snape
2 to 3 dozen Gibbon Peter Pettigrew Vincent Crabbe Nagini Bellatrix Lestrange Lord Voldemort Igor Karkaroff

Harry Potter: "Do you really think there's going to be a war, Sirius?"

Sirius Black: "It… feels like it did before."

— Harry and Sirius at King's Cross Station

The Second Wizarding War refers to the conflicts stemming from the Dark Wizard Lord Voldemort's second rise to power after his return in 1995. Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, waged a violent campaign across both the wizarding and Muggle communities, seeking to topple the Ministry of Magic and subjugate Muggle-borns, with the eventual goal of conquering the entire wizarding world, and the Muggle world along with it.

Harry Potter, prophesied as the "Chosen One" capable of bringing an end to Voldemort's power, took an active role in this war, alongside his peers in Dumbledore's Army and the members of the Order of the Phoenix. The Second War technically began on 24 June, 1995, though was not officially announced by the Ministry until nearly a year later on 17 June, 1996, and ended on 2 May, 1998, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, after the death of the Dark Lord.

History

Prelude (1970-1995)

First Wizarding War

"Even my parents, they're Muggles, know something's going on."

— Hermione Granger

The First Wizarding War was fought for approximately eleven years, from 1970 to 1981. It included Lord Voldemort's rise to power, the induction of the Death Eaters, and the mass chaos that resulted in his reign of terror.

Several great wizards were murdered in this time; brothers Fabian and Gideon Prewett, the McKinnons, the Boneses, and James and Lily Potter. Others, such as Alice and Frank Longbottom, were left permanently both physically and/or mentally injured, to the extent that they could no longer perform magic.

The Potter family home under attack, Lily is murdered by Lord Voldemort

On 31 October, 1981, Voldemort attacked the home of James and Lily Potter in hopes of preventing the prophecy regarding his downfall from ever coming to fruition. However, his Killing Curse on their son, Harry, backfired due to the sacrifice Harry's mother made for him. Voldemort, having lost his physical body and magical powers, fled to a forest in Albania as a wisp of a shattered soul. The fragments of his soul stored in his Horcruxes (see below) prevented his actual death, which should have occurred when the Killing Curse backfired. Death Eaters were arrested by the Ministry of Magic; others such as Lucius Malfoy, Corban Yaxley, Walden Macnair, Amycus Carrow, Alecto Carrow, Avery, Crabbe, Nott, and Goyle claimed they had been enslaved by the Imperius Curse. The First Wizarding War ended and peace was temporarily restored to the wizarding world.

Harry Potter is left on the doorstep of 4 Privet Drive

There was much speculation afterward concerning Voldemort's survival. Only Albus Dumbledore had any confirmation he was in Albania. However, some, including Rubeus Hagrid, believed he was still alive, as he "wasn't human enough to die." As Dumbledore strongly suspected that the worst was not over, Harry Potter was taken into the care of his Muggle relatives, the Dursleys. Dumbledore placed a protective charm on their home which would break on either:

1. The day Harry came of age, or
2. The day Harry stopped calling 4 Privet Drive home (the day he left and never returned).

Attempted theft of the Philosopher's Stone

"Kill him!"

— Voldemort ordering Quirrell to murder Harry

Lord Voldemort waited for his followers to find him, but he was instead located by Quirinus Quirrell, who sneaked him into Hogwarts so they could steal the Philosopher's Stone. However, Harry Potter, who was in his first year, thwarted them both, killing Quirrell and forcing Voldemort back into hiding.

Second opening of the Chamber of Secrets

Before his first downfall, Voldemort had split his soul into six fragments which he embedded into Horcruxes. He did this out of his terror and paranoia of death. One such Horcrux was Tom Riddle's diary, which Voldemort, through his servant Lucius Malfoy (who was ignorant of the diary's true form, not recognising it as a Horcrux, but thinking it was some obscure Dark object his master had created), tried to use to regain a physical form in 1992.

This time his unsuspecting victim was Ginny Weasley, who unwittingly allowed the diary to siphon life from her to the preserved memory of Tom Marvolo Riddle. However, once again this plot was foiled by Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, along with Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes.

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Harry stabbing Tom Riddle's diary with a Basilisk fang

Harry slayed the massive 60 foot serpent with Gryffindor's Sword that he acquired from the Sorting Hat. After slaying the serpent he unknowingly destroyed the Horcrux with a fang from Salazar Slytherin's basilisk. The basilisk venom destroyed the diary completely, putting it beyond the realm of magical repair. Harry was bitten by the basilisk in the process and was an inch from death. Fawkes' tears healed his wound and saved his life. This also led to Dumbledore having some proof of his belief that Voldemort had Horcruxes though not fully certain of how many.

Servant returns to the master

"The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight... the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight... before midnight... the servant... will set out... to rejoin... his master."

— Professor Trelawney's second prediction

In 1994, Ron's pet grey rat, Scabbers, was revealed as Peter Pettigrew. Although thought to be dead (he was believed to be murdered by Sirius Black), he turned out to have been in hiding, due to the fact he was now a Death Eater and an accomplice. He had been hiding in his Animagus form of a grey rat named Wormtail since shortly after betraying the Lily and James Potter to their deaths on 31 October, 1981. He spent 12 years with the Weasley family, as their pet.

Peter Pettigrew and Lord Voldemort making the plot to return the latter to his body

Pettigrew's disguise was discovered by the part-Kneazle Crookshanks, Sirius Black, who had escaped from Azkaban in the Animagus form of a black dog named Padfoot, and Remus Lupin. Though not from lack of trying, Harry Potter failed to successfully turn Peter Pettigrew over to the Ministry of Magic, and Pettigrew escaped to return to service to Voldemort, though he later regretted it, where he made two complicated dark potions, one of which was the Regeneration potion, to return Voldemort to a body.

Triwizard Tournament

The Goblet of Fire selects Harry as the fourth champion

Voldemort soon learned one of his loyal Death Eaters was alive and had escaped Azkaban. Voldemort went in search of this servant and found him being kept prisoner in his father's house. After a group of Death Eaters wreaked havoc at the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, Barty Crouch Jr scared them off by launching the Dark Mark into the sky. Voldemort and Crouch then hatched a plan to bring Harry Potter directly to Voldemort.

Using Polyjuice Potion, Crouch disguised himself as Alastor Moody, who would be returning to Hogwarts to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. Using his position of authority, Crouch entered Harry Potter into the Triwizard Tournament, under the name of a false fourth school. During the final task, Crouch turned the Triwizard Cup into a Portkey, which then transported Harry to the Little Hangleton graveyard. Using Harry's blood, Voldemort was able to regain physical form and overcome the protective spell from Harry's mother. After a duel between the two, Harry managed to escape and report Voldemort's return to Albus Dumbledore.

Voldemort's return to power (1995-1996)

Rebirth of Lord Voldemort

"Don't you turn your back at me, Harry Potter! I want you to look at me when I kill you! I want to see the light leave your eyes!"

— Voldemort before the Duel in Little Hangleton

In the beginning, there were casualties which went unnoticed by most. Bertha Jorkins, a Ministry of Magic official at the Department of International Magical Cooperation, was captured by Peter Pettigrew during her holiday to Albania in summer of 1994. She was interrogated for information on the Triwizard Tournament and then murdered with the Killing Curse. Frank Bryce, Muggle caretaker of the Riddle family mansion, was murdered by Voldemort with the Killing Curse on 20 August, 1994, after overhearing Voldemort's plans to murder Harry Potter.

Voldemort gaining a body during his rebirth

Barty Crouch Snr, head of the Department of Magical Cooperation at the Ministry, was murdered by his son Barty Crouch, Jr in May of 1995. Barty had been previously incarcerated in Azkaban for the crime of taking part in the capture and, by means of the Cruciatus Curse, torture of the aforementioned Longbottoms. Later, his father smuggled him out of prison to fulfil the dying wish of Mrs Crouch.

However, with the aid of Lord Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew, Crouch broke free of his father's Imperius Curse and took up the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, in an elaborate scheme to take on the identity of Alastor Moody. His father was subsequently put under the Imperius curse by Lord Voldemort, but when he escaped, he was murdered by his son before he could reveal the truth to Dumbledore. However due to Harry's escape his identity was compromised and his soul was destroyed by the Dementor's Kiss.

Voldemort attempts to murder Harry in Little Hangleton

On the same night, Cedric Diggory was murdered by Peter Pettigrew, who used the Killing Curse on Voldemort's orders, with Voldemort's yew wand. Through a spell and potion, Voldemort regained his physical form, though under developed, and attempted to duel Harry Potter. He failed, as the "echoes" of his previous victims, including James and Lily Potter, Cedric Diggory, Bertha Jorkins, and Frank Bryce came to the scene at the accidental summoning of Priori Incantatem. They held back Voldemort's spell's power, allowing Harry to escape using the Triwizard Cup as a portkey back to Hogwarts.

Ministry of Magic's denial

"It's changing out there. Just like last time. There's a storm coming, Harry. We'd all best be ready when she does."

— Rubeus Hagrid

A Daily Prophet article showing the Ministry trying to slander Harry Potter and anyone who believed him

Shortly after Harry emerged from the maze claiming Voldemort had returned, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, refused to believe it, as it might compromise his position as Minister. Instead of working with Dumbledore to prepare the wizarding world for battle and try to stop the Death Eaters, Cornelius Fudge launched a campaign to slander and discredit both Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, as Fudge was paranoid that Dumbledore was after his job. Fudge used his influence at the Daily Prophet to convince the wizarding public that Dumbledore and Harry were crazy, attention-seeking liars and that everything was going well in the world.

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The Daily Prophet against Dumbledore

The Ministry appointed Dolores Umbridge to Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, and soon she became Hogwarts High Inquisitor, giving her enormous power over the students and the teachers and enforcing the Ministry's agenda at Hogwarts. Harry was further alienated by students and friends, such as Seamus Finnigan, and even his friend Ron's brother Percy Weasley, who wrote Ron a letter saying that Ron should distance himself from Harry. Umbridge also punished Harry with sadistic, torture-like detentions for telling the truth by making him write "I must not tell lies" with a Black Quill.

However, Harry found strength from within by forming a secret organisation with his friends called Dumbledore's Army to prepare themselves for the war that would soon follow. As Dumbledore's Army trained, disappearances continued to occur as Voldemort gained power, while the Ministry turned a blind eye to it. The Dementors guarding Azkaban started to move their authority to Voldemort and a large break-out occurred, including the release of notoriously sadistic Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange. Dumbledore was forced to flee the school when Dumbledore's Army was discovered and he took the blame for it, and Umbridge was appointed Headmistress of Hogwarts, though she did not get much help from the other teachers stopping the chaos that the students caused to disrupt her tyrannical regime.

Hagrid's and Madame Maxime's Giant Colony mission for the Order of the Phoenix

The Death Eaters took full advantage of the Ministry's denial and kept a low profile, rebuilding their forces quietly and secretly. They managed to recruit both Dementors and Giants because the Ministry refused to take the suggested actions, and successfully engineered the Azkaban breakout because of this. Consistent with the denial, Fudge suggested the breakout and disappearances were the work of Sirius Black, much to the contrary. The only resistance the Death Eaters met with, at the time, was the Order of the Phoenix, which was suppressed by the Ministry's propaganda and threat of dismissal, thus furthering Voldemort's freedom of action. Falsely-reformed Death Eaters such as Lucius Malfoy and Walden Macnair remained in the Ministry's trust, subtly sabotaging the government's efficiency and gathering information on them. While Harry and several Order members suggested that Fudge was under the Imperius Curse, Dumbledore believed otherwise, which was not a lot of comfort.

Despite the Ministry's propaganda and corrupt political procedures suppressing the truth, which affected many citizens' opinions, there are many who chose to believe Dumbledore and Harry instead, such as the Longbottom family and Ernest Macmillan. When Harry provided an interview of the truth via The Quibbler, it riled many more people to support him, such as Seamus Finnigan.

Battle of the Department of Mysteries

"Things aren't going at all well with the Order…and these disappearances are just how it started before. Voldemort is on the move."

— Sirius Black pointing out the comparison of the First War and the events in 1996

After the Death Eaters made two unsuccessful attempts to steal a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries, it was realised that only those about whom the prophecy referred could remove them from the shelves in the Hall of Prophecy. Thus, in June 1996, Lord Voldemort used his connection to Harry Potter to send him a fake vision of his godfather, Sirius Black, being tortured within the department.

The six D.A. members travel to the Ministry on the backs of Thestrals

After Harry and Hermione led Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest where she was carried away by centaurs after insulting them, Harry and fellow Dumbledore's Army members: Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley flew on Thestrals to the Department of Mysteries within the Ministry of Magic building to try to rescue Sirius. After obtaining the "Dark Lord's prophecy," they were confronted by Death Eaters Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Crabbe, Nott, Avery, Jr, Augustus Rookwood, Walden Macnair, Jugson, Antonin Dolohov, Mulciber, and the group's leader Lucius Malfoy.

D.A. members battling Death Eaters in the Hall of Prophecy

The D.A. students quickly distracted the Death Eaters, scattering throughout the Department of Mysteries, and frequently encountering and duelling with the dark wizards. Neville had his face kicked and as a result could not perform spells; Hermione, Luna, Ron, and Ginny were all incapacitated, as well as numerous Death Eaters, but there were no fatalities until five members from the Order of the Phoenix — Sirius Black, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, and Alastor Moody — arrived. They battled the Death Eaters before Bellatrix Lestrange suddenly blasted Sirius Black with her wand, causing him to fall and disappear through a mysterious veil, killing him instantly.

Soon afterwards, Albus Dumbledore appeared and captured (through the use of an Anti-Disapparition Jinx) all the Death Eaters except Bellatrix, who ran out of the chamber chased by Harry Potter, and for the first time in his life Harry used an unforgivable curse and cast the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix. However the curse was too weak, because Harry was angry at Bellatrix for murdering Sirius, rather than wanting to purely cause Bellatrix pain, and so gave Bellatrix only a small amount of pain. The two proceeded to exchange spells in the Atrium.

Voldemort and Dumbledore duelling

Searching for Harry and Bellatrix. Dumbledore then came across Lord Voldemort himself. The two engaged in a duel of epic proportions which left the Fountain of Magical Brethren in ruins. Realising he could not beat Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort attempted to possess Harry in the hope that Dumbledore would sacrifice Harry in order to kill Voldemort. When an army of Aurors arrived, Voldemort hastily fled, thus ending the battle and causing Fudge to finally believe Dumbledore and Harry's claims about the Dark Lord's return.

Open war (1996-1998)

"These are mad times we live in..."

— Horace Slughorn

Death Eaters attacking London

Upon their reactivation being no longer secret, the Death Eaters resumed their modus operandi: terrorism, abduction and mass murder. There were numerous casualties of the war in 1996. When Minister Cornelius Fudge refused to surrender the Ministry, Voldemort destroyed the Brockdale Bridge drowning many Muggles. Florean Fortescue and Garrick Ollivander both went missing and Ollivanders was emptied, but there was no sign of struggle. Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour showed evidence of a struggle or fight, but no sign of him was ever found. A man named Octavius Pepper disappeared in the early spring. Igor Karkaroff was found dead in a shack with a Dark Mark cast over the building a year after he deserted Voldemort. Order of the Phoenix member Emmeline Vance and Head of Magical Law Enforcement Amelia Bones were murdered by unknown assailants. These events allowed Head of the Auror Office Rufus Scrimgeour to replace Fudge as the new Minister for Magic.

During this time, Voldemort also gathered the strengths of the Giants, Dementors, and Werewolves to his cause. Because of the Ministry's denial, Voldemort was able to rebuild his forces unhindered, which led the Ministry to fall far too back behind by the time they finally accepted the truth. Voldemort also set a plan in motion to assassinate Albus Dumbledore, the leader of the resistance against him, striking a crippling blow against the wizarding world's morale as well as removing Harry Potter's strongest defender and mentor.

Rufus Scrimgeour-led Ministry of Magic anti-Death Eater propaganda during the Second Wizarding War (c. 1996)

Unfortunately for the Ministry, even with the consequences of Fudge's denial as an example, it did little to change their preference of reputation over true security; Fudge attempted to request Harry to lie to the public how the Ministry was doing a great job in their defence against the Death Eaters, which would have led to more false sense of safety that would endanger them. Although Harry refused, Minister Scrimgeour attempted to do the same and also created many cover ups such as Azkaban breakouts and arresting random suspects to make it look like progress.

Harry found the pamphlet distributed by the Ministry to be not so helpful in regards to basic defensive strategies against the Death Eaters. This campaign of corruption and false security would cause the Ministry's defence to drop further, as Death Eaters were able to place Imperius Curses onto high-ranking officials, who in turn would take control of others, leading to a network of powerful conspirators, and eventually, the Ministry would pay for its folly in 1997.

Battle of the Astronomy Tower

"The lightning-struck tower. Calamity. Disaster. Coming nearer all the time..."

— Professor Trelawney before the battle commences

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The Dark Mark above the Astronomy Tower

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 the Drink of Despair. After convincing Draco Malfoy to forgo his plans to murder him, Severus Snape and four other Death Eaters came to the scene. Snape took over the task of killing Dumbledore.

Among the Death Eaters present were siblings Alecto and Amycus Carrow, Corban Yaxley, Thorfinn Rowle and Gibbon, along with werewolf Fenrir Greyback. On the side of Hogwarts were siblings Ginny, Ron, and Bill Weasley, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Minerva McGonagall, and Harry Potter. 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 only minimal lycanthropic symptoms. On the Death Eaters' side, the only death was Gibbon, killed by a stray Killing Curse cast by Thorfinn Rowle.

Albus Dumbledore's body falling from the Astronomy Tower after his death

The Death Eaters were forced to retreat once their task was accomplished. They were pursued by Harry, who duelled with Snape but was unable to prevent the Death Eaters' escape. Much of the luck of the Hogwarts' defenders can be attributed to Felix Felicis, liquid luck, which was used by the students who were present. Now that Voldemort was finally rid of Dumbledore, the only wizard he ever was afraid of, he could turn his attention to toppling the Ministry and finally murdering Harry Potter.

Battle of the Seven Potters

The Seven Potters preparing to depart Privet Drive

Also known as the Battle over Little Whinging, this battle occurred when the Order of the Phoenix was ambushed while attempting to remove Harry Potter from the Dursley home at 4 Privet Drive just before Harry's seventeenth birthday. The "seven Potters" included Hermione Granger, Fleur Delacour, Ron, Fred and George Weasley, and Mundungus Fletcher, who all took Polyjuice Potion to take on the disguise of Harry Potter. Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, Bill and Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Rubeus Hagrid acted as escorts to various "Potters" to confuse any Death Eaters who might try to prevent them from reaching their destination of the Burrow.

Immediately after takeoff, they were ambushed by at least thirty Death Eaters, including Severus Snape, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Lord Voldemort. Fletcher Disapparated as soon as he sensed danger, and Hedwig and Moody were both slain by Killing Curses.

All others safely arrived at the Burrow, with only George Weasley sustaining a great injury with his ear which was accidentally caused by Severus Snape's Sectumsempra curse. Harry, however, was devastated by the death of his loyal pet owl.

Fall of the Ministry of Magic

Ministry Officials Albert Runcorn, Dolores Umbridge, Pius Thicknesse, and Corban Yaxley introduce the new Death Eater controlled Ministry

On 1 August, 1997, the Ministry of Magic fell under the control of Lord Voldemort. The coup was described as "swift and quiet," but as Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour was murdered, this is disputable. Before Scrimgeour died, he was interrogated under use of the Cruciatus Curse about Harry's whereabouts; despite his knowledge, Scrimgeour's last act was to protect Harry from Voldemort.

Many of the Ministry's top officials were under the influence of the Imperius Curse when this battle took place, including Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Pius Thicknesse, who became Voldemort's puppet Minister after the take-over. Voldemort himself did not declare open leadership, instead choosing to use secrecy and confusion to maintain the public's distrust for each other, thus preventing rebellion. Whether Death Eaters actually entered the Ministry and fought in person is not known. Regardless, some Death Eaters, such as Yaxley, Travers, and Selwyn became employees in the new regime. They also quickly placed the Taboo curse on Voldemort's name as a way of spreading fear and locating enemies which later played an important role in the capture of Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger.

The Order was informed of the coup by Kingsley Shacklebolt's Patronus, which arrived at The Burrow during the reception for Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding. Death Eaters arrived as Hermione Apparated herself, Harry and Ron to Tottenham Court Road. There, after unwittingly breaking the Taboo on Voldemort's name, they were ambushed by Antonin Dolohov and Thorfinn Rowle. After the Luchino Caffe Duel, Hermione wiped their memories. Harry, Ron and Hermione then took to hiding in 12 Grimmauld Place.

Death Eaters break the protections surrounding the Burrow and storm the wedding

Meanwhile, Death Eaters interrogated those at the Burrow as well as other locations affiliated with the Order. Dedalus Diggle's house was burned down, though he was not there at the time, and Ted and Andromeda Tonks were tortured for information. The Death Eater regime soon established the Muggle-Born Registration Commission to round up and imprison Muggle-borns on charges of "stealing" magic. The new regime also asserted control over Hogwarts, attendance at which became mandatory, and installed Severus Snape as Headmaster. Despite the seemingly absurdity of these new policies, Voldemort's effectiveness in spreading confusion to maintain control made the citizens to accept the changes.

Infiltration of the Ministry

"Blooming pain in the bum, this, eh? Forcing us all to get to work this way! Who are they expecting to turn up, Harry Potter?"

— Ministry employee

The disguised trio prepare to infiltrate the Ministry

On 2 September, 1997, Harry, Ron, and Hermione infiltrated the Death Eater-controlled Ministry under the disguise of Polyjuice Potion. They disguised themselves as Albert Runcorn, Reginald Cattermole, and Mafalda Hopkirk, respectively. They were looking for Salazar Slytherin's Locket, which they believed to be in the possession of Dolores Umbridge. Not only did they manage to reclaim the locket, but Harry Potter also liberated Alastor Moody's magical eye from the front of Umbridge's office door. In addition, they assisted several Muggle-born wizards in escaping interrogation. There were no known deaths or permanent injuries. However, they were forced to abandon 12 Grimmauld Place as a safe house after Yaxley forcibly Disapparated with them by grabbing Hermione's arm.

Attack at Godric's Hollow

""Bathilda must’ve been dead a while. The snake was... was inside her. You-Know-Who put it there in Godric’s Hollow, to wait. You were right. He knew I’d go back."

— Harry Potter regarding Voldemort's motives

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Harry communicating in Parseltongue with a disguised Nagini

On Christmas Eve of 1997, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger made their way to Godric's Hollow, both to visit the graves of the former's parents and to see if Bathilda Bagshot knew anything about the symbol on a book left to Hermione by Albus Dumbledore, and if she possibly had Godric Gryffindor's Sword. After visiting the graves of James and Lily Potter, Harry and Hermione were spotted by Bathilda, despite being under Harry's Invisibility Cloak. They followed her back to her home, where Harry saw a picture of a young wizard he later learned was Bathilda's nephew, Gellert Grindelwald. Bathilda beckoned Harry to follow her upstairs, and Hermione reluctantly remained on the lower floor.

Nagini attacking Harry in Bathilda Bagshot's house

Upstairs, Bathilda asked if he was Harry Potter; he was not aware that she asked this in Parseltongue. When he confirmed that he was, he felt his scar burn — Bathilda had in fact been dead for some time, and Nagini was in her animated corpse. She signalled Voldemort and then attacked Harry, biting and coiling herself around him. Hermione came running upstairs and tried to curse the snake while Harry felt Voldemort approaching. Hermione repelled Nagini from Harry using a Blasting Curse that also ended up breaking Harry's wand. Both jumped out of the window and Disapparated just as Voldemort arrived. Hermione managed to heal Harry's bite, but they had to share her wand until Ron Weasley returned to them, with a spare wand taken from Snatchers.

Ambush at the Lovegood House

On 30 December, 1997, shortly after Ron Weasley returned to the hunt and his friends. Ron destroyed the locket Horcrux, Hermione Granger expressed a desire to visit Xenophilius Lovegood in order to question him about a mysterious symbol somehow connected to The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald, and Godric's Hollow. It was also the symbol Xenophilius had worn to the wedding at the Burrow in the summer.

Death Eaters converge on the Lovegood house

In spite of Harry Potter's scepticism, the trio went to the Lovegood House. There, Xenophilius told them about the legend of the Deathly Hallows. They began to grow suspicious, however, when they saw a copy of The Quibbler that was no longer supportive of Harry and the Order of the Phoenix, and when they deduced that Luna Lovegood had not been home for a long time. Xenophilius admitted that Death Eaters had taken her hostage against his good behaviour, and that he had alerted them to Harry's presence in his home. He tried to hold them there, but ended up causing the erumpent horn in his living room to explode. The trio hid as Selwyn and Travers arrived and started to beat and torture Xenophilius, thinking he had been lying to them. Hermione then engineered their escape so that the Death Eaters caught a glimpse of her and Harry but not of Ron, who was supposed to be home with spattergroit. That way, Ron's alibi was preserved and the Death Eaters would not punish Xenophilius or Luna.

Skirmish at Malfoy Manor

"You're going to kill me? After I saved your life? You owe me, Wormtail!"

— Harry to Wormtail when he attempted to strangle Harry

The small but bloody skirmish of Malfoy Manor occurred after Fenrir Greyback captured Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Griphook, and Dean Thomas after Harry broke the Taboo on Voldemort's name. Greyback and five Snatchers descended on their location around Easter of 1998 when Harry accidentally broke the Taboo.

Ollivander and Luna are saved from Malfoy Manor by Dobby the House-Elf

Opting to take Harry directly to Voldemort for the large reward, they Apparated to his headquarters at Malfoy Manor. Though Voldemort was elsewhere, the Malfoy family, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Peter Pettigrew were present. Bellatrix stunned the Snatchers for their "lack of respect" towards her and ordered Draco Malfoy to take all the hostages to the basement. Once in the basement Harry and Ron met with Luna Lovegood and Garrick Ollivander. Bellatrix kept Hermione upstairs and brutally tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse for information on how they were able to get Godric Gryffindor's Sword and at one point threatened to run her through with a dagger. In spite of her great suffering, Hermione was able to concoct a bogus story, claiming the sword was a fake. Harry overhearing Hermione say the sword was a fake convinced Griphook to back up her claim.

Dobby the house-elf was sent to Harry's aid from Aberforth Dumbledore. Harry requested that he evacuate Dean, Ollivander, and Luna using the elf's special brand of Apparition magic. Dean and Luna were both reluctant to leave Harry and protested. The noise was overheard in the house above, and Peter Pettigrew was sent to investigate. He was ambushed in the basement when Harry and Ron took his wand and briefly battled him hand-to-hand. However, when Harry reminded Pettigrew that he had saved his life, Pettigrew hesitated to murder Harry and, despite of Harry's and Ron's efforts to stop it, Pettigrew's Voldemort-made silver hand turned against him and strangled him to death for the tiny, merciful impulse that Wormtail felt.

Dobby dies in Harry's arms

The two boys then stormed the room where Bellatrix was holding Hermione. When Dobby reappeared, the group — Harry, Ron, Hermione, Griphook, and Dobby — disapparated to the cottage of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. It was only then that they discovered Bellatrix had thrown a blade and stabbed Dobby, who died soon afterwards. Dobby was buried in the garden of Shell Cottage with the epitaph of "Here lies Dobby, A Free Elf."

Gringotts break-in

Harry Potter: "The vault we need to get into isn't empty, and I'm guessing its protection will be pretty powerful. It belongs to the Lestranges."

Griphook: "You have no chance. No chance at all."

— Discussion of breaking into Gringotts

The trio in the Lestrange vault looking for Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, while fighting the Geminio Curse

While staying at Shell Cottage, Harry, Ron, and Hermione planned to break into Gringotts Wizarding Bank in order to steal an item from the Lestrange vault, as they suspected from Bellatrix’s earlier panic that it was one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Using hair that had fallen onto Hermione's sweater when Bellatrix was holding her at Malfoy Manor, the trio brewed Polyjuice Potion so that Hermione could disguise herself as the Death Eater. She then transfigured various aspects of Ron's appearance and he took on the alias of "Dragomir Despard", a foreign wizard. Harry and Griphook followed under the Invisibility Cloak.

The trio escape on the back of a half-blind dragon

With Griphook's help, and Harry using Confundus Charms and the Imperius Curse on Death Eater Travers and various bank employees, the trio got into the Lestrange vault. There, they struggled to get Helga Hufflepuff's Cup as the treasure turned hot enough to burn them and multiplied when touched. Just as they obtained the Cup, Griphook took Godric Gryffindor's Sword from Harry and deserted them. Harry, Hermione and Ron escaped by flying the half-blind dragon that had been guarding the vault out of the bank.

Malfoy Manor massacre

"The Elder Wand slashed through the air..."

— Voldemort's massacre

The massacre unfolds.

After learning his Horcruxes were being systematically hunted and destroyed, Lord Voldemort slaughtered all those who brought him the news.

Battle of Hogwarts

"I know that you are preparing to fight. Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood. Give me Harry Potter, and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."

— Voldemort's Ultimatum

The Battle of Hogwarts

Following the massacre, Lord Voldemort warned the Carrows that Harry might go to the Ravenclaw tower and ordered a massive attack on Hogwarts Castle, where his Horcrux was hidden as Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went into the Room of Requirement, followed close behind by Vincent Crabbe, Draco Malfoy, and Gregory Goyle. Crabbe set off Fiendfyre, burning everything until Harry, Ron, and Hermione rescued Draco and Goyle and flew from the Room on broomsticks. Crabbe was unable to escape and perished.

Hogwarts fortified itself for the attack. Voldemort demanded that Hogwarts hand over Harry Potter but, despite his threats, they remained in support of Harry and refused. Eventually, having been convinced to hand himself over by Snape's memories, Harry surrendered himself to Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest, convinced that his death would destroy Voldemort as well, for a piece of Voldemort's soul attached itself to Harry's soul when the Killing Curse backfired, turning Harry into an accidental Horcrux.

Voldemort hitting Harry with the Killing Curse

Voldemort's use of the Killing Curse on Harry merely sent Harry's soul into a Limbo where he had a brief conversation with Dumbledore before reawakening in the forest. To maintain his safety, Potter feigned his death. Ordered by Voldemort to confirm Harry's demise, Narcissa Malfoy discovered that Potter was in fact alive, but kept it secret in exchange for information from Harry concerning the welfare of her child Draco (she and Lucius no longer cared who won, they just cared whether or not Draco was alive and well). Rubeus Hagrid was forced to carry Harry back to the Castle, where the Hogwarts community believed he had been murdered and Voldemort claimed that he had been caught trying to escape and save himself. In the ensuing commotion, Harry concealed himself with the Invisibility Cloak, and witnessed Neville beheading Nagini, Voldemort's last remaining Horcrux.

File:Hogwarts BigBattleAtHogwarts Moment.jpg

Voldemort gloating over Harry's 'death', Neville slays Nagini, and the second half of the battle breaks out

Morale renewed by Longbottom's bravery, the final battle included the house-elves, the residents of Hogsmeade; the friends and families of every remaining student, a few returning Slytherins, a flock of Thestrals, a herd of centaurs, and the outlaw Hippogriff Buckbeak. Death Eaters were either cut down or forced to surrender. In the Great Hall of Hogwarts, the crowd congregated around Voldemort battling Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva McGonagall and Horace Slughorn all at once, and "his last, best lieutenant," Bellatrix Lestrange, fighting Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood. After Bellatrix nearly murdered Ginny, Molly Weasley stepped in, killing the Death Eater. Voldemort blasted his three opponents away from him and turned on Molly, but Harry Potter revealed himself at that moment.

Voldemort's Last Stand

Harry's final defeat of Lord Voldemort and the end of the Second Wizarding War

The crowd retreated and watched then as the two great enemies, Voldemort and Harry Potter, bantered and circled each other. Harry dared Voldemort to feel remorse, to which Voldemort responded by shooting a Killing Curse from the Elder Wand. Harry simultaneously cast his own signature spell, the Disarming Charm, using Draco Malfoy's wand. However, because the Elder Wand rightfully belonged to Harry, the Killing Curse rebounded and ended Voldemort's life once and for all, restoring peace to the wizarding world. Harry then, shortly after, used the Elder Wand to repair his own broken wand, and then placed it back in Dumbledore's tomb, hoping the wand's power would die with him.

The Second Wizarding War was over with a decisive victory for the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army. Few members of the Order survived, but most the Death Eaters and allies were either killed or imprisoned after the war, except the Malfoy family.

Aftermath (Post 1998)

After the defeat of Voldemort, twenty or more Death Eaters were killed. The rest were imprisoned, with the exception of the Malfoys. Approximately fifty-five defenders of Hogwarts were murdered in the final battle. Kingsley Shacklebolt was named interim Minister for Magic, and later took the position on permanently. Minerva McGonagall became headmistress of Hogwarts. Celebrations were held in the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

In the years following the Second Wizarding War, Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt lead a massive reform of the Ministry of Magic in order to put an end to prejudice based on blood status and to better combat Dark Wizards in the future. In addition to the reforms, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley revolutionised the Auror Office and Hermione Granger helped advance the rights of magical creatures and eradicated the old pro-pure-blood laws from high up in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Ron Weasley later went on to join his brother George at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, which became an enormous money-spinner.

Known casualties

Person	Allegiance	Killed by	Cause of death	Circumstances	Time of death
Cedric Diggory	Hogwarts	Peter Pettigrew, on Lord Voldemort's orders	Killing Curse	Accompanied Harry Potter to the graveyard in Little Hangleton	24 June, 1995
Broderick Bode	Ministry of Magic	Unknown Death Eaters	Strangled by Devil's Snare	To prevent him from revealing the Death Eaters' planned theft of a prophecy from the Department of Mysteries	January 1996
Sirius Black	Marauders, Order of the Phoenix	Bellatrix Lestrange	Knocked through the Veil	Battle of the Department of Mysteries	17 June, 1996
Amelia Bones	Ministry of Magic	Lord Voldemort	Killing Curse (possibly)	A relative of Order of the Phoenix members, and senior official at the Ministry of Magic	Summer of 1996
Igor Karkaroff	None	Unknown Death Eaters	Unknown	Killed for betraying his fellow Death Eaters after the First Wizarding War	July 1996
Mrs Abbott	N/A			Found dead in her home	Autumn of 1996
Florean Fortescue		Unknown, possibly Death Eaters		Abducted from his shop along with Mr Ollivander	1996
Emmeline Vance	Order of the Phoenix	Unknown Death Eaters		Member of the Order of the Phoenix	Mid-1996
Albus Dumbledore	Hogwarts, Order of the Phoenix (founder and leader)	Severus Snape, on Dumbledore's own orders	Killing Curse	As part of his own plan; Dumbledore was already dying and Snape was a spy for the Order of the Phoenix	June 1997
Gibbon	Death Eaters	Thorfinn Rowle	Killing Curse, accidental	Rowle was aiming for Remus Lupin during battle
Charity Burbage	Hogwarts	Lord Voldemort	Killing Curse	Gathering of Death Eaters at Malfoy Manor	July 1997
Hedwig	Harry Potter	A Death Eater		Battle of the Seven Potters
Alastor Moody	Hogwarts, Order of the Phoenix	Lord Voldemort
Rufus Scrimgeour	Ministry of Magic (Minister for Magic)		Possibly Killing Curse	Takeover of the Ministry	1 August 1997
German family	N/A		Killing Curse	Murdered for not having information on Gregorovitch's location	Autumn of 1997
Gregorovitch				Voldemort's search for the Elder Wand
Gellert Grindelwald		Lord Voldemort	Killing Curse	Same as above	1997
Bathilda Bagshot		Voldemort, or on his orders	Unknown	Body used as a disguise for Nagini to trap Harry Potter	1997
Jacob Erland		Unknown		Reported missing on Potterwatch
Jennifer Winston
Joe Laurie
Joshua Flexson
Ted Tonks	Order of the Phoenix	Snatchers		The search for "Mudbloods" and "blood traitors"	Spring of 1998
Dirk Cresswell	Ministry of Magic, Slug Club alumnus
Gornuk	Gringotts
Peter Pettigrew	Marauders (betrayed), Death Eaters	His own magical silver hand	Strangling	He owed a life debt to Harry Potter
Dobby	Hogwarts, Harry Potter	Bellatrix Lestrange	Stabbed with a thrown knife while Disapparating	The escape from Malfoy Manor
Bogrod, and Griphook, and many other Goblins and Guards	Gringotts	Dragon of Gringotts / Voldemort	Destruction of Gringotts / Killing Curse	Gringotts Break-in
Vincent Crabbe	Death Eaters	Himself (by accident)	Fiendfyre	Battle of Hogwarts, his spell raged out of control, destroying everything in the Room of Requirement, including Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem	2 May, 1998
Lavender Brown	Hogwarts	Fenrir Greyback	Werewolf attack; not necessarily fatal	Battle of Hogwarts NOTE: Lavender only died (or appeared to die) in the movie "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two." In the book, Hermione blasts Greyback away from Lavender's "feebly stirring" body, after which Professor Trelawney knocks Greyback out with a crystal ball. Later, Harry does not see Lavender among the dead laid in the Great Hall. There is no reason to believe that Lavender died in the book.
Fred Weasley	Dumbledore's Army, Hogwarts, Order of the Phoenix	Unknown	Explosion	Battle of Hogwarts
Remus Lupin	Marauders (last surviving), Hogwarts (resigned), Order of the Phoenix	Antonin Dolohov	Duel
Nymphadora Tonks	Order of the Phoenix, Ministry of Magic (Auror)	Bellatrix Lestrange
Colin Creevey	Hogwarts	Unknown	Unknown
Severus Snape	Double agent: Order of the Phoenix and Hogwarts (primary loyalties) and the Death Eaters	Nagini, on Voldemort’s orders	Snakebite
Nagini	Death Eaters (Voldemort's Horcrux)	Neville Longbottom	Beheaded with Godric Gryffindor's Sword
Bellatrix Lestrange	Death Eaters	Molly Weasley	Unknown curse
Tom Marvolo Riddle/Lord Voldemort	Death Eaters (founder and leader)	Himself (inadvertently), Harry Potter	Killing Curse backfire	Battle of Hogwarts, Final duel with Harry Potter

Also among the dead were 20-40 Death Eaters and the Fallen Fifty.

Behind the scenes

• Although the deaths of Quirinus Quirrell, Bertha Jorkins, Frank Bryce, and Barty Crouch Snr can all be directly attributed to either Lord Voldemort himself or his Death Eaters, they all died before the Second Wizarding War officially began with Voldemort's rebirth.
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the Millennium Bridge shown to be attacked in lieu of the Brockdale Bridge. The events of the story occur in 1996, when the bridge had just begun being built, meaning it was unlikely that people were allowed on it, however, the film does not explicitly state the time the events took place.
• Barty Crouch Jr technically wasn't killed in the Second War, but he was given the Dementor's Kiss by a Dementor bodyguard brought by Cornelius Fudge.
• In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, several extra deaths happen that didn’t seem to have happened in the book:
  • Hermione's Stunning Spell sends Fenrir Greyback off the Viaduct Courtyard to the ravine below and to his death after he was discovered mauling Lavender Brown. As this contradicts the events of the novel, it cannot be considered canon to the book (in which she does blast him away from Lavender but clearly not off a cliff, as he turns up again in the final part of the battle).
  • Scabior led the Snatchers into the Wooden Bridge, where he briefly duelled Neville Longbottom before the latter cast a spell making the bridge collapse, Scabior attempted to get to safety, but inevitably fell to his death into the chasm below.
  • Pius Thicknesse is ruthlessly killed by Voldemort in frustration after he interrupts his concentration with an unwanted interjection.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Motorbike Escape
• Harry Potter for Kinect