The Battle of Seven Potters, also known as the Flight from Privet Drive, was an aerial battle that took place on the evening of 27 July 1997. The conflict occurred when members of the Order of the Phoenix attempted to move Harry Potter from his childhood home at Number Four, Privet Drive to the safety of The Burrow shortly before his seventeenth birthday. The plan involved six of Harry's friends and allies disguising themselves as him using Polyjuice Potion, but the group was ambushed by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, leading to a fierce confrontation in the skies over southern England. The battle resulted in significant casualties, most notably the death of the renowned Auror Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody.
As Harry Potter's seventeenth birthday approached, the magical protection afforded to him by his mother, Lily Potter, and tethered to his residence with the Dursley family, was set to expire. To ensure his safety, the Order of the Phoenix devised a plan to move him to a new protected location. The plan, masterminded by Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, was designed to confuse and mislead any Death Eaters who might be waiting to attack. The core of the strategy involved creating six decoys of Harry Potter.
Immediately upon their departure, the seven pairs were ambushed by a large contingent of approximately thirty Death Eaters, with Lord Voldemort himself leading the attack. It became clear that the Death Eaters knew about the plan and were prepared. Key events during the engagement include:
The survivors of the battle gradually arrived at The Burrow, where the casualties were assessed.
The battle was a tactical failure for the Order of the Phoenix, as their plan was compromised from the start, leading to the loss of one of their most formidable members. The event confirmed that Voldemort and his followers had deep intelligence on the Order's activities. For Harry, the battle marked the true beginning of his hunt for the Horcruxes and the final phase of the Second Wizarding War. It also presented the mystery of why his wand had behaved independently, a question that would later be answered with the discovery of the twin cores it shared with Voldemort's wand.
The Order of the Phoenix and Allies
The Death Eaters