Highlights
- Death Eaters are dark wizards and witches who support Lord Voldemort and engage in acts of terror and dark magic, targeting Muggle-borns and having radical pure-blood supremacist beliefs.
- To become a Death Eater, one must have evil intentions, hate Albus Dumbledore, master the Dark Arts, be willing to use Unforgivable Curses, respond to Voldemort's call, not have Muggle blood, and be ready to commit unspeakable acts.
- While heredity plays a role, Voldemort recruits new Death Eaters from Slytherin and other sources, based on their talent and vulnerability, with a focus on pure-blood status, obedience, and loyalty to his cause.
While many groups, organizations, and alliances form part of the extensive Harry Potter lore, none is as infamous as the Death Eaters, known for their allegiance to Lord Voldemort and their use of dark magic. Although there are many shared characteristics amongst Death Eaters, mainly their loyalty to the Dark Lord, there are wizards and witches who, despite being loyal to him, aren’t Death Eaters, such as Narcissa Malfoy. So, how exactly does an ordinary wizard get to join their ranks?
As a group, Death Eaters in Harry Potter were first introduced in The Goblet of Fire, although some notable members like Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, and Peter Pettigrew were introduced individually earlier in the series. Some characters, such as Draco Malfoy, become Death Eaters during the course of the story, and he in particular faces a daunting task. But what about the rest? What are the requirements for being accepted as one of Voldemort’s elite?
What Are Death Eaters?
Death Eaters are a group of dark wizards and witches who passionately support Lord Voldemort, arguably the most infamous and powerful dark wizard in history. They engage in acts of terror and dark magic, often causing harm to those against Voldemort’s ideals, generally targeting Muggle-borns. They are known for their radical pure-blood supremacist beliefs and for having no fear of the wizarding laws. They have the Dark Mark symbol burned into their left forearm, a symbol they could also use to summon in the sky with the spell “Morsmodre”. It is described in The Goblet of Fire as a glowing green skull with a snake coming out of its mouth.
It was a colossal skull, composed of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue. As they watched, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a new constellation.
The Dark Mark is both a representation of loyalty to Voldemort and a powerful magical curse. It is cast into the sky whenever a Death Eater kills, inflicts harm, or commits an act of terrorism on Voldemort’s orders. The sight of the Dark Mark symbolizes that the Dark Lord’s power is on the rise and dark times are upon the wizarding world. Arthur Weasley describes it as the following:
...You-Know-Who and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the air whenever they killed. The terror it inspired... you have no idea, you're too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you're about to find inside... Everyone's worst fear... the very worst.
Among the most notable Death Eaters are Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Barty Crouch Jr., and Peter Pettigrrew. Some wizards, such as Severus Snape and Regulus Black, joined the Death Eaters and later betrayed Voldemort. There are also several wizards who are allied with Voldemort and the Death Eaters but are not Death Eaters themselves, such as Dolores Umbridge, Quirinus Quirrell, Mafalda Hopkirk, and Narcissa Malfoy, who went on to lie to the Dark Lord in order to save her family during the Second Wizarding War.
How Does a Wizard Become a Death Eater?
Death Eaters were considered Voldemort’s inner circle, and he selected the members himself, although some of them only agreed to join him out of fear or blackmail rather than genuine loyalty or agreement in his beliefs. To become a death eater, it is necessary to have dark intentions. Be it out of fear or not, each Death Eater has evil intentions to some extent. However, that alone is not enough to gain Voldemort’s approval and a “membership” status. Some rules must be followed to become part of the Dark Lord’s elite followers.
While there are exceptions, some of these requirements include but are not limited to:
- Death Eaters must hate Albus Dumbledore and be willing to kill him.
- They must master the Dark Arts and be willing to use the Unforgivable Curses.
- They cannot claim that Tom Riddle is not of pure blood.
- Death Eaters must immediately respond to the Dark Lord’s call.
- They cannot have Muggle blood.
- They must be prepared to commit unspeakable acts at any time.
A lot of the time, becoming a Death Eater is a hereditary affair, and new members are the descendants of Voldemort’s original followers, as is the case with wizards like Draco Malfoy, who was raised with a pure-blood supremacist mindset. While there have been Death Eaters from other houses and even other wizarding schools, Slytherin is Voldemort’s major way of recruiting new followers. The Dark Lord’s allies recruit talented but vulnerable young wizards who can be reeled in easily and get them in touch with the right people, which is the case with Snape, and likely Barty Crouch Jr. Professor Horace Slughorn was to be recruited by Corban Yaxley to join the Death Eaters. He, however, refused to do so and went into hiding, transfiguring himself into an armchair and successfully went undetected.
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Due to his hatred for his Muggle father, Voldemort valued magic, and he praised a pure-blood status, which was perhaps his most important selection criteria for accepting new wizards into his inner circle. However, Snape was a half-blood, so he did make exceptions to this rule. He also valued obedience and service, forcing his Death Eaters to commit to his cause and be willing to give their lives for it. He was more than willing to punish and even kill those who failed to fulfill his demands. Gaining Voldemort’s trust and respect remains one of the hardest things a wizard could accomplish in the Harry Potter world.
Harry Potter
When Harry Potter learns that he is a wizard, he enters a world beyond belief. Aside from continuing his studies at Hogwarts with best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry must also face Voldemort and his dark wizarding forces. The Harry Potter franchise is a worldwide phenomenon, spanning seven books, eight movies, three spinoff movies, a stage play, and numerous video games.
- Created by
- J.K. Rowling
- Where to watch
- HBO Max