Second Wizarding War

### Result

Order of the Phoenix/Dumbledore's Army/allies victory. Death of Voldemort and defeat of Death Eaters

Commanders| * Harry Potter
* Rufus Scrimgeour
* Albus Dumbledore
* Minerva McGonagall
* Alastor Moody
* Kingsley Shacklebolt
* Felicity Black
* Bane
* Kreacher
* 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 Residents
* Centaurs (50+)
* House-Elves (100+)
* Thestrals (10+)
* Ghosts (4+)
* Buckbeak
* Grawp
* 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
* Remus Lupin
* Nymphadora Tonks
* Lavender Brown
* Colin Creevey
* Severus Snape
* Barty Crouch Jr.
* Gibbon
* Peter Pettigrew
* Vincent Crabbe
* Nagini
* Augustus Rookwood
* Bellatrix Lestrange
* Lord Voldemort
* Igor Karkaroff

"*This isn't like last time. The Order is better prepared, we've got a head start, we know what Voldemort's up to-*"
— Remus Lupin regarding the upcoming Second Wizarding War in August 1995 to Molly Weasley

The **Second Wizarding War** referred 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 Muggleborns, with the eventual goal of conquering the entire wizarding world, and the Muggle world along with it.

Harry Potter, prophesised 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

*Main article: First Wizarding War*

"*Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing... the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere... panic... confusion... that's how it used to be.*"
— Sirius Black explaining the First Wizarding War to the quartet

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, Lily and Charlotte Potter. Others, such as Alice and Frank Longbottom, were left permanently injured, both physically and/or mentally, to the extent that they could no longer perform magic.

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 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.

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! 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, Flick Black, and Hermione Granger, along with Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes.

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 have been 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 since shortly after betraying Lily and James Potter to their deaths. He spent 12 years with the Weasley family as their pet.

Pettigew's disguise was discovered by the part-Knezle Crookshanks and Sirius Black, who had escaped from Azkaban in the Animagus form of a black dog named Padfoot. 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 the service of 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

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 Reappearance of the Dark Mark 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)

#### Return of Lord Voldemort

*Main article: Return of Lord Voldemort*

"*The thin man stepped out of the cauldron, staring at Harry... and Harry stared back into the face that had haunted his nightmares for three years. Whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was flat as a snake's with slits for nostrils... Lord Voldemort had risen again.*"
— Voldemort's regeneration in the Little Hangleton graveyard

In the beginning, there were casualties which went unnoticed by most. Bertha Jorkins, a Ministry of Magic official at the Department of International Magical Co-Operation, was captured by Peter Pettigrew during her holiday to Albania in the summer of 1994. She was interrogated for information on the Triwizard Tournament and then murdered with the Killing Curse. Frank Bryce, the 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.

Barty Crouch Sr., head of the Department of International Magical Co-Operation, was murdered by his son Barty Crouch Jr. in May of 1995. Barty had been previous 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.

On the same night, Cedric Diggory was murdered by Peter Pettigrew, who used the Killing Curse on Voldemort's orders. 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

*Main article: Campaign to Discredit Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter*

"*They're trying to discredit him. Didn't you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that he'd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because he's getting old and losing his grip, but it's not true, he was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. They've demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot - that's the Wizard High Court - and they're talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, too.*"
— Remus Lupin explaining the Ministry of Magic's slandering of Albus Dumbledore

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.

The Ministry appointed Dolores Umbridge as 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.

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. 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

*Main article: Battle of the Department of Mysteries*

"*Then, high above them, two more doors burst open and five more people sprinted into the room: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley. Malfoy turned and raised his wand, but Tonks had already sent a Stunning Spell right at him. Harry did not wait to see whether it had made contact, but dived off the dais out of the way. The Death Eaters were completely distracted by the appearance of the members of the Order, who were now raining spells down upon them as they jumped from step to step toward the sunken floor. Through the darting bodies, the flashes of light, Harry could see Neville helping Flick crawl along. He dodged another jet of red light and flung himself flat on the ground to reach them.*"
— The Battle of the Department of Mysteries

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.

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, Flick Black, 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 prophecy, they were confronted by Death Eaters Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Crabbe, Nott, Avery, Augustus Rookwood, Walden Macnair, Jugson, Antonin Dolohov, Mulciber, and the group's leader Lucius Malfoy.

The D.A. students quickly distracted the Death Eaters, scattering throughout the Department of Mysteries, and frequently encountered 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.

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, with Dumbledore taking the upper hand and eventually incapacitating Voldemort with an orb of water. Unable to defeat 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

#### Battle of the Astronomy Tower

*Main article: Battle of the Astronomy Tower*

"*The lightning-struck tower. Calamity. Disaster. Coming nearer all the time...*"
— Syill Trelawney before the battle commences

#### Battle of the Seven Potters

*Main article: Battle of the Seven Potters*

#### Fall of the Ministry of Magic

*Main article: Fall of the Ministry of Magic*

#### Infiltration of the Ministry

*Main article: Infiltration of the British Ministry of Magic*

"*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

#### Attack at Godric's Hollow

*Main article: Attack at Godric's Hollow (1997)*

"*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

#### Ambush at the Lovegood House

*Main article: Ambush at the Lovegood House*

#### Skirmish at Malfoy Manor

*Main article: 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

#### Gringotts Break-in

*Main article: Break-in of Gringotts Wizarding Bank (1998)*

**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

#### Malfoy Manor Massacre

*Main article: Massacre at Malfoy Manor*

"*The Elder Wand slashed through the air...*"
— Voldemort's massacre

#### Battle of Hogwarts

*Main article: 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

## Known Casualties

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