battle_of_the_department_of_mysteries

Battle of the Department of Mysteries

Introduction

The Battle of the Department of Mysteries was a pivotal conflict fought on 18 June, 1996, within the Ministry of Magic. The battle began as a trap laid by Lord Voldemort to lure Harry Potter into the Department of Mysteries to retrieve a prophecy concerning them both. The initial skirmish involved six members of Dumbledore's Army against twelve Death Eaters. The battle escalated with the arrival of members of the Order of the Phoenix, and culminated in a legendary duel between Albus Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort. The event resulted in the first public exposure of Voldemort's return to power, officially marking the start of the Second Wizarding War in the eyes of the public, and led to the tragic death of Sirius Black.

Prelude

Following his return to a physical body, Lord Voldemort sought to acquire the full record of the prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney concerning himself and Harry Potter. Housed in the Hall of Prophecy, the record was magically protected so that it could only be retrieved by those about whom it was made. Unable to enter the Ministry of Magic himself without revealing his return, Voldemort spent months attempting to use his mental connection with Harry to manipulate him into retrieving the prophecy for him. His efforts culminated in planting a false vision in Harry's mind, depicting his godfather, Sirius Black, being tortured by Voldemort in the Hall of Prophecy. Despite warnings from Hermione Granger and an attempt to verify the vision's authenticity through the Floo Network at Professor Umbridge's office, Harry was convinced of its reality. He, along with Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood, flew from Hogwarts to London on Thestrals to mount a rescue mission. Upon arriving at the deserted Ministry of Magic and entering the Department of Mysteries, they discovered the trap had been set.

The Battle

The battle unfolded across several chambers within the Department of Mysteries.

  • The Hall of Prophecy

The six students located the prophecy orb bearing Harry's and Voldemort's names on Row 97 but found no sign of Sirius Black. They were then ambushed and surrounded by twelve Death Eaters, led by Lucius Malfoy. The Death Eaters included Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood, and several others. Malfoy demanded the prophecy, but Harry refused. On Harry's signal, the students used various spells to create a diversion, with Hermione Granger casting a Silencio on Dolohov and the group destroying shelves of prophecies to cover their escape into the adjacent chambers.

  • The Brain Room and the Time Room

The students were separated during the chase. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom fled into the Brain Room, where they encountered a tank filled with brains that attacked a Death Eater. Meanwhile, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood were pursued into other rooms. Ron was hit by a curse that left him confused and disoriented after encountering the brains, and Ginny's ankle was broken. Neville Longbottom accidentally smashed the prophecy orb during the fighting in the Time Room.

  • The Death Chamber

All six students were eventually cornered by the Death Eaters in the Death Chamber, a room containing an ancient, veiled stone archway. Just as they were about to be defeated, five members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. A fierce duel erupted. During the fighting, Hermione Granger was incapacitated by a non-verbal curse from Antonin Dolohov, and Neville Longbottom was tortured with the Cruciatus Curse by Bellatrix Lestrange. While dueling his cousin Bellatrix, Sirius Black was struck by a spell that sent him falling backward through the Veil, resulting in his death.

  • The Duel in the Atrium

Enraged by Sirius's death, Harry pursued Bellatrix Lestrange into the Ministry Atrium. He unsuccessfully attempted to use the Cruciatus Curse on her just as Lord Voldemort Apparated to the scene. Before Voldemort could kill Harry, Albus Dumbledore arrived, leading to a spectacular duel between the two most powerful wizards of the age. Dumbledore animated the statues of the Fountain of Magical Brethren to protect Harry and capture Bellatrix. The duel involved powerful, destructive magic, including Voldemort's use of Avada Kedavra and a serpent of Fiendfyre, which Dumbledore countered with a massive sphere of water. In a final act of desperation, Voldemort possessed Harry, hoping Dumbledore would sacrifice the boy to kill him. However, Harry's overwhelming grief for Sirius created a pain derived from love that Voldemort could not endure, forcing him out of Harry's body. At that moment, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge and other Ministry officials arrived, witnessing Voldemort just before he Disapparated, taking Bellatrix with him.

Aftermath

The battle had profound consequences for the wizarding world.

Participants

Dumbledore's Army & The Order of the Phoenix

Death Eaters

Behind the Scenes

  • In the film adaptation, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the battle is depicted with several changes. The prophecy shatters upon being dropped, and its words are audibly whispered throughout the Hall of Prophecy. The chase through the Department of Mysteries is also shortened and condensed (film).
  • The death of Sirius Black is altered significantly in the film. He is struck directly by Bellatrix Lestrange's Avada Kedavra killing curse, rather than an unnamed spell that simply knocks him through the Veil. This was done to make his death less ambiguous for the film audience (film).
  • The duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort in the Atrium features more widespread environmental destruction than described in the novel, including a maelstrom of shattered glass (film).