Broderick Bode

Broderick Bode was a Wizard who worked as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. He plays a tragic, yet pivotal, role in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as a victim of Lord Voldemort's plot to retrieve the Prophecy concerning himself and Harry Potter. Placed under the Imperius Curse, Bode's failed attempt to take the Prophecy and his subsequent murder at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries highlighted the insidious influence of the Death Eaters within the Ministry.

Little is known about Bode's life before his involvement in the events of the Second Wizarding War. As an Unspeakable, his work within the Department of Mysteries was highly secretive. In late 1995, Bode was placed under the Imperius Curse by Lucius Malfoy on the orders of Lord Voldemort. His mission was to enter the Hall of Prophecy and steal the Prophecy record pertaining to Harry Potter and the Dark Lord. However, the protective enchantments on the prophecies prevented anyone but the subjects of the Prophecy from touching them. When Bode attempted to remove the glass orb from its shelf, the enchantments afflicted him with severe magical injuries, rendering him mentally incapacitated and unable to speak. Bode was subsequently admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and placed in the Janus Thickey Ward for permanent spell damage. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Ginny Weasley saw him there during their visit to Arthur Weasley over the Christmas holidays. Bode was lying motionless in his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. By Christmas, his Healer noted that he was showing signs of recovery. Fearing that Bode might regain his senses and expose Lucius Malfoy's role in the plot, the Death Eaters acted to silence him permanently. A Devil's Snare plant, disguised as a Christmas gift from a “friend,” was delivered to his bedside. The plant strangled him in his sleep. The Ministry of Magic, still refusing to acknowledge Voldemort's return, officially ruled his death an accident, claiming the hospital staff had mistaken the dangerous plant for a harmless decorative Flitterbloom. However, members of the Order of the Phoenix, such as Albus Dumbledore, knew it was murder.

Broderick Bode is described as having a sallow and pockmarked face. When Harry Potter first sees him in a lift at the Ministry of Magic, he appears ill and wan. During his hospitalization at St. Mungo's, he is completely unresponsive, merely staring at the ceiling. Very little is revealed about his personality. His position as an Unspeakable suggests he was likely intelligent, discreet, and a highly competent Wizard. His work involved studying the most profound and dangerous mysteries of magic.

As an Unspeakable working in the Department of Mysteries, Bode would have possessed a high level of magical ability and intellect. The nature of his work, which involved the study of concepts such as Love, Time, and Death, required exceptional magical talent and a capacity for theoretical magic. No specific spells or unique magical skills attributed to him are mentioned in the novels.

No personal possessions of Bode's are described. The only notable object associated with him is the potted Devil's Snare that was used to murder him while he was a patient at St. Mungo's.

• Lucius Malfoy: Bode was a victim of Lucius Malfoy, who placed him under the Imperius Curse and was likely responsible for arranging his murder to prevent his own exposure.
• Ministry of Magic Colleagues: He worked alongside other Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries. His colleague, Saul Croaker, later discussed the nature of prophecies with Harry Potter.
• Fellow Patients: While at St. Mungo's, he was a patient in the same ward as Gilderoy Lockhart, Frank Longbottom, and Alice Longbottom.

• Broderick: A name of Welsh and Old English origin, meaning “son of Roderick.” It carries a formal, slightly dated tone.
• Bode: An English and German surname. As a verb, “to bode” means to be an omen of a particular outcome. This is highly appropriate for his character, as his failure to retrieve the Prophecy boded ill for Voldemort's plans, and his subsequent murder was a dark omen of the Death Eaters' ruthless infiltration of the wizarding world.

In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Broderick Bode is portrayed by actor Peter Cartwright. He is shown being affected by the Prophecy's magic in the Hall of Prophecy and is later seen deceased in a Daily Prophet photograph, having been strangled by the Devil's Snare. (film)