The Skirmish at Malfoy Manor was a brief but pivotal conflict during the Second Wizarding War. It began after Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were captured by a group of Snatchers led by the werewolf Fenrir Greyback. The capture was a direct result of Harry saying the name “Voldemort” aloud, which at the time was protected by a Taboo curse that broke protective enchantments and alerted Death Eaters to the speaker's location. To conceal Harry's identity, Hermione had quickly disfigured his face using a Stinging Jinx. Upon arrival at Malfoy Manor, the Malfoy family—Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco—were hesitant to positively identify the disfigured Harry, fearing Lord Voldemort's wrath should they be mistaken. The situation escalated with the arrival of Bellatrix Lestrange. She halted any attempt to summon Voldemort upon noticing that the Snatchers were in possession of the Sword of Gryffindor, an object she believed was secured in her Gringotts vault. Fearing that the trio had broken into her vault, Bellatrix stunned the Snatchers and isolated Hermione Granger for interrogation, torturing her with the Cruciatus Curse. Harry and Ron were taken to the cellar, where they discovered other prisoners: Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, the wandmaker Mr. Ollivander, and the goblin Griphook. Desperate, Harry used a shard of the two-way mirror given to him by his godfather, Sirius Black, and pleaded for help, seeing a flash of a brilliant blue eye. In response, the house-elf Dobby appeared in the cellar via Apparition. Harry instructed Dobby to first take Luna, Dean, and Mr. Ollivander to Shell Cottage, the home of Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour. The sound of Dobby's Disapparition alerted the Death Eaters upstairs. Peter Pettigrew was sent to investigate the cellar. When he attempted to strangle Harry, Harry reminded him of the life debt he owed. Pettigrew's momentary hesitation caused the enchanted silver hand given to him by Voldemort to turn against him, fatally strangling him. Harry and Ron then fought their way upstairs to rescue Hermione. A frantic duel broke out in the drawing room, during which Ron disarmed Bellatrix Lestrange and Harry physically wrestled three wands away from Draco Malfoy. Dobby reappeared and caused a large chandelier to crash down, creating a critical diversion. As the group seized the opportunity to Disapparate, a furious Bellatrix threw her silver knife. They arrived safely on the beach outside Shell Cottage, but the knife had found its mark, mortally wounding Dobby, who died moments later in Harry's arms.
The skirmish had several profound consequences for the remainder of the Second Wizarding War.
In the film adaptation, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, several details of the skirmish are altered.