Battle of Seven Potters

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.

• Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Fleur Delacour, and Mundungus Fletcher each took a dose of Polyjuice Potion containing a piece of Harry's hair, transforming them into identical copies of him.
• Each of the “seven Potters” was assigned a protector. The pairs would depart from Privet Drive simultaneously, flying on Broomsticks or Thestrals, and head towards different safe houses.
• The real Harry Potter was paired with Rubeus Hagrid, traveling on Sirius Black's enchanted motorbike.
• Mad-Eye Moody suspected their plans were known to Voldemort due to the infiltration of the Ministry of Magic, making the decoy strategy essential. The plan was secretly suggested to the Order by Severus Snape (via a Confundus Charm placed on Mundungus Fletcher) to protect the real Harry, while Snape provided Voldemort with the correct date of departure to maintain his cover as a loyal Death Eater.

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:

• Mundungus Fletcher, paired with Mad-Eye Moody, panicked at the sight of Voldemort and Disapparated, leaving Moody vulnerable. Voldemort cast the Killing Curse, which struck and killed Moody, whose body was never recovered by the Order.
• Harry's pet owl, Hedwig, was hit by a Killing Curse early in the fight and fell dead into the sidecar of the motorbike. Her attempt to protect Harry inadvertently helped the Death Eaters identify him as the real one.
• Stan Shunpike, apparently under the Imperius Curse, was among the attacking Death Eaters. Harry, recognizing him, used Expelliarmus instead of a more lethal curse, a signature move that further confirmed his identity to the enemy.
• George Weasley, flying with Remus Lupin, had his ear cursed off by Severus Snape with the Sectumsempra curse. Snape was aiming for the hand of a Death Eater who was trying to curse Lupin.
• When confronted by Voldemort, Harry's wand acted of its own accord, firing a jet of golden flame that repelled Voldemort's curse and destroyed the borrowed wand he was using (belonging to Lucius Malfoy).
• Harry and Hagrid ultimately crash-landed in the garden of Ted Tonks and Andromeda Tonks's home, where they used a Portkey to finally reach The Burrow.

The survivors of the battle gradually arrived at The Burrow, where the casualties were assessed.

• Fatalities: Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody and Hedwig were killed.
• Injuries: George Weasley suffered the permanent loss of his left ear. The enchanted motorbike was largely destroyed.

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 Seven Potters (and their Protectors):
  • The real Harry Potter (with Rubeus Hagrid on an enchanted motorbike)
  • Hermione Granger as Harry (with Kingsley Shacklebolt on a Thestral)
  • Ron Weasley as Harry (with Nymphadora Tonks on a Broomstick)
  • Fleur Delacour as Harry (with Bill Weasley on a Thestral)
  • Fred Weasley as Harry (with Arthur Weasley on a Broomstick)
  • George Weasley as Harry (with Remus Lupin on a Broomstick)
  • Mundungus Fletcher as Harry (with Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody on a Broomstick)

The Death Eaters

• Lord Voldemort
• Severus Snape (as a double agent)
• Bellatrix Lestrange
• Rodolphus Lestrange
• Rabastan Lestrange
• Lucius Malfoy
• Corban Yaxley
• Selwyn
• At least two dozen other unnamed Death Eaters
• Stan Shunpike (under the Imperius Curse)

• In the film adaptation, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, the battle is depicted with several changes. Voldemort is shown flying without support, and the chase sequence is extended, including a pursuit through a Muggle road tunnel. (film)
• In the film, Hedwig's death is altered. She is killed while actively defending Harry from a Death Eater's Killing Curse, and it is this heroic act that gives Harry away, not his use of Expelliarmus. (film)
• The detail of Snape giving the “Seven Potters” idea to the Order via Mundungus Fletcher is a crucial plot point from the book that is omitted from the film adaptation. (film)