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In the fictional Harry Potter series, a Death Eater is a follower of Lord Voldemort. Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow. Originally known as the Knights of Walpurgis, they took on the current name as Voldemort shed his facade of decency during his first attempt to overthrow the Ministry of Magic, the ruling body of Britain's wizarding populace, and assume power. The Death Eaters served as Voldemort's troops in the war and were his most trusted allies - insofar as he trusted anyone. Their myriad tasks involved doing battle against the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix and conducting psychological warfare against those who opposed their lord by conducting lethal warfare against their families. After joining, Death Eaters were required to exhibit loyalty and obedience until death. In the event of any dissent, that could be arranged.
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 burn black, and the Death Eaters were expected to apparate next to their Master. The standard Death Eater attire was a black cape with a white skull mask.
After Voldemort's sudden seeming death at the height of his powers, the Death Eaters lost their ability to function effectively. The Ministry rounded them up and imprisoned them in Azkaban, with some managing to avoid this by claiming innocence, or that they had been bewitched or tricked, or had renounced the Dark Lord, et cetera; we see some of these cases via Dumbledore's Pensieve.
As Voldemort regained a full-strength corporeal existence at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, he summoned his followers to him. Some of them have betrayed him and are too afraid to return to him, and others are dead or imprisoned, but many came and returned to his service as Voldemort began his second attempt to claim power.
Word got out about Lord Voldemort's return, but the Ministry refused to believe it. Though Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore served as dissenting voices, the majority of the public chose to believe the official position. This gave the Death Eaters a great advantage, and for much of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the group kept a low profile in order to keep things that way. The Ministry's ignorance enabled the Death Eaters to recruit the Dementors to their cause and make similar overtures to the giants, as well as bolster their ranks by orchestrating a mass breakout of their surviving imprisoned members.
An attempt to learn the entirety of a prophecy made about the connection between Potter and Voldemort - which had led to the latter's fall in the first place - was a failure thanks to the Order of the Phoenix, and eleven of the twelve Death Eaters present were captured or recaptured. Better yet, they blew their cover as the Ministry sighted Lord Voldemort himself and was forced to admit his return. With no reason left to only restrict themselves to covert operations, the Death Eaters are now expected to start another war to serve their master's twisted ends.
Known Death Eaters
Those with no explicitly listed crimes, in most cases, participated in the battle at the Department of Mysteries, or are known to be Death Eaters for other reasons. - Lucius Malfoy
- Crimes: Gave Voldemort's school diary to Ginny Weasley and headed the operation in the Department of Mysteries; long history of throwing about his political and financial weight against "good" characters, specifically trying to get Dumbledore fired. Attempted to place Department of Mysteries employee Broderick Bode under an Imperius Curse in order to capture the prophecy for his master.
- Current Status: Imprisoned
- Peter Pettigrew
- Crimes: Framed Sirius Black for the betrayal of Lily and James Potter and the deaths of twelve innocent Muggles and himself
- Current Status: Officially believed dead, still at large
- Bellatrix Lestrange
- Crimes: Participated in the torture of the Longbottoms, headed the operation in the Department of Mysteries and murdered Sirius Black
- Current Status: Still at large
- Rudolphus Lestrange
- Crimes: Participated in the torture of the Longbottoms
- Current Status: Unknown, most likely imprisoned
- Rabastan Lestrange
- Crimes: Participated in the torture of the Longbottoms
- Current Status: Unknown, most likely imprisoned
- Augustus Rookwood
- Crimes: Served as a double agent for Voldemort
- Current Status: Unknown, most likely imprisoned
- Antonin Dolohov
- Crimes: Helped kill Gideon and Fabian Prewett, nearly killed Hermione Granger
- Current Status: Unknown, most likely imprisoned
- Walden Macnair
- Crimes: Served as a double agent for Voldemort
- Current Status: Unknown, most likely imprisoned
- Mr. Crabbe
- Current Status: Unknown, most likely imprisoned
- Mr. Goyle
- Avery
- Current Status: Unknown, most likely imprisoned
- Nott
- Current Status: Unknown, most likely imprisoned
- Jugson
- Current Status: Unknown, most likely imprisoned
- Mulciber
- Current Status: Unknown, most likely imprisoned
- Travers
- Crimes: Murdered the McKinnons according to Igor Karkaroff
- Current Status: Unknown
Ex-Death-Eaters - Regulus Black
- Reason for ceased servitude: Tried to back out of Death Eating after seeing how far Voldemort was willing to go and was ordered killed by Voldemort
- Current Status: Dead
- Barty Crouch Jr.
- Crimes: Participated in the torture of the Longbottoms and delivered Harry Potter to Lord Voldemort
- Reason for ceased servitude: Cornelius Fudge's desire for protection
- Current Status: "Kissed" by a Dementor making him worse than dead
- Igor Karkaroff
- Reason for ceased servitude: Naturally stopped serving Voldemort when he was defeated and decided to fully reform, turning in Augustus Rookwood in the process
- Current Status: In hiding
- Quirrell
- Crimes: Served as a host for the bodiless Voldemort, attempted to steal the philosopher's stone and murder Harry Potter
- Reason for ceased servitude: Was killed by Harry Potter in self-defence, the ancient protection Harry's mother put on him burned Quirrell to death(?).
- Current Status: Dead
- Evan Rosier
- Reason for ceased servitude: Refused to be caught by the Aurors after Voldemort's fall and killed in battle by Mad-Eye Moody
- Current Status: Dead
- Severus Snape
- Reason for ceased servitude: Reformed (reason unknown)
- Current Status: Double agent for Dumbledore, who has vouched for him and seems to have absolute confidence in him due to apparently confidential events which occurred shortly after Voldemort's encounter with the Potter family
- Wilkes
- Reason for ceased servitude: Death (no further details available)
- Current Status: Dead
Innocents Who Served Voldemort Supposedly, Unknowingly, or Against Their Will - Sirius Black
- Supposed Crimes: Betrayal of Lily and James Potter and the deaths of twelve innocent Muggles and one wizard
- Actual Course of Events: Framed by Peter Pettigrew
- Current Status: Never formally cleared, assumed dead
- Ludo Bagman
- Supposed Crimes: Gave information to Voldemort
- Actual Course of Events: Gave information to Augustus Rookwood not realising he was a Death Eater
- Current Status: Cleared
- Ginny Weasley
- Supposed Crimes: Opened the Chamber of Secrets
- Actual Course of Events: Possesed by Voldemort by means of his school diary
- Current Status: Never accused
- Viktor Krum
- Broderick Bode
- Supposed Crimes: Attempted to steal Harry's prophecy from the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic
- Actual Course of Events: Under Imperius Curse by Lucius Malfoy
- Current Status: Killed by a dangerous plant sent by Malfoy while in St. Mungo's for spell damage
External links - Harry Potter Lexicon item on Death Eaters (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/death_eaters.html)
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