Death Eater

Warning: Spoilers follow

When Voldemort first rose to power, the Death Eaters were his most trusted allies - in so far as Voldemort trusted anyone. All Death Eaters were marked with the Dark Mark on their forearms. The Dark Mark, Voldemort's sign (a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth) was used to summon the Death Eaters - when Voldemort touched any of the signs, the others would all turn black, and the Death Eaters were expected to apparate next to their Master.

Some of Voldemort's followers were close enough to him that they were considered part of his "inner circle." They carried out his most important missions.

A prophecy was made about Voldemort and Harry Potter in a small wizard pub, but a Death Eater was found listening to it, and was thrown out of the building. However, the Death Eater told the Dark Lord what he heard, and acting on that information Voldemort attacked Harry when he was one year old. But the spell failed to work, and he lost his body and fell from power. But he did not die, and in the hope that he would someday return, the Death Eaters who had not yet been captured began convincing people either that they had not ever been a follower of Voldemort, or that they had been bewitched or tricked into working for him. Some even said that they had been Death Eaters, but had renounced the Dark Lord.

At the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, on being returned to full power, Voldemort summons all the original Death Eaters to him. But some of them have betrayed him and are too afraid to return to him, and others are dead or imprisoned.

In the course of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a number of prominent Death Eaters manage to escape from Azkaban, presumably with help from those on the outside. At the end of this book, on a command from the Dark Lord, several travel to the Hall of Prophecy in the Ministry of Magic to force Harry Potter to hand over the prophecy stored there. However, during the night's events, Albus Dumbledore and other members of the Order of the Phoenix) arrive in the nick of time and capture (or recapture) almost all of the Death Eaters present.

Table of contents

1 Known Death Eaters 2 People Accused of Being Death Eaters But Cleared 3 People who Served Voldemort Unknowingly or Aganist their Will 4 External Links

Known Death Eaters

1. Lucius Malfoy (imprisoned)
2. Peter Pettigrew (still at large)
3. Barty Crouch Jr ("worse than dead)
4. Severus Snape (reformed, thought to be a double agent for Dumbledore)
5. Igor Karkaroff (reformed, now in hiding)
6. Regulus Black (dead)
7. Bellatrix Lestrange (still at large)
8. Rudolphus Lestrange (unknown, most likely imprisoned)
9. Rabastan Lestrange (unknown, most likely imprisoned)
10. Augustus Rockwood (unknown, most likely imprisoned)
11. Antonin Dolohov (unknown, most likely imprisoned)
12. Walden Macnair (unknown, most likely imprisoned)
13. Evan Rosier (dead)
14. Quirrell (dead)
15. Crabbe (unknown, most likely imprisoned)
16. Goyle (unknown, most likely imprisoned)
17. Avery (unknown, most likely imprisoned)
18. Nott (unknown, most likely imprisoned)
19. Jugson (unknown, most likely imprisoned)
20. Mulciber (unknown, most likely imprisoned)
21. Travers (dead)
22. Wilkes (dead)

1. Sirius Black (dead)
2. Ludo Bagman (cleared)

1. Ludo Bagman (cleared)
2. Ginny Weasley (cleared)

• Harry Potter Lexicon item on Death Eaters