The Second Wizarding War

The Second Wizarding War was a major global wizarding conflict that took place between 1995 and 1998. The war was fought between the forces of Lord Voldemort, primarily his Death Eaters and their allied Dark creatures, and those who opposed him, including the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's Army, and the Ministry of Magic. The conflict began with Lord Voldemort's return to a physical body and concluded with his ultimate defeat at the Battle of Hogwarts. It is considered one of the most devastating and pivotal events in modern wizarding history, ending Voldemort's reign of terror and fundamentally reshaping the wizarding world.

The war's true beginning is marked by Lord Voldemort's restoration to power on 24 June 1995. Prior to this, signs of his growing strength were evident, including the murder of Frank Bryce and the events at the Quidditch World Cup. The conflict was formally reignited in the graveyard of Little Hangleton, where Voldemort, with the aid of Peter Pettigrew, used a dark ritual involving the blood of Harry Potter to regain his body. Following his rebirth, Voldemort summoned his Death Eaters and dueled Harry Potter. Harry managed to escape via a Portkey and report the devastating news to Albus Dumbledore, setting the stage for the war to come.

Despite Harry and Dumbledore's warnings, the Ministry of Magic, under the leadership of Cornelius Fudge, refused to accept Voldemort's return. The Ministry launched a smear campaign against Harry and Dumbledore, using the Daily Prophet to discredit them and portray them as liars and troublemakers. To control Hogwarts, the Ministry installed Dolores Umbridge as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and later the High Inquisitor. In response to the Ministry's inaction, Albus Dumbledore reformed the Order of the Phoenix, a secret society dedicated to fighting Voldemort. The Order's primary mission during this phase was to guard a prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort located in the Department of Mysteries. Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley founded Dumbledore's Army, a secret student group where Harry taught practical defensive magic. This phase of the war concluded with the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, where several Death Eaters were captured and Lord Voldemort himself was seen by Ministry officials, forcing them to finally acknowledge his return. The battle resulted in the tragic death of Sirius Black.

With Voldemort's return now public knowledge, the war entered an open and more violent phase. Rufus Scrimgeour replaced Cornelius Fudge as Minister for Magic, and the Ministry began to take active measures against the Death Eaters. However, Voldemort's forces wreaked havoc across Britain, causing the collapse of the Brockdale Bridge, murdering prominent individuals like Amelia Bones, and orchestrating mass breakouts from Azkaban. During this year, Dumbledore began giving Harry Potter private lessons, revealing Voldemort's history and the secret of his immortality: the Horcruxes. The main plot of the Death Eaters involved a mission given to Draco Malfoy to assassinate Dumbledore. The year culminated in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, where Death Eaters invaded Hogwarts with the help of a vanishing cabinet. Though Draco was unable to kill him, Dumbledore was ultimately killed by Severus Snape, fulfilling a secret pact between them.

Following Dumbledore's death, Voldemort's power grew exponentially. On 1 August 1997, the Ministry of Magic fell to a coup, with Pius Thicknesse, acting under the Imperius Curse, installed as a puppet Minister. Voldemort's regime took control, instituting a tyrannical rule that persecuted Muggle-borns through the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. As prophesied, Harry Potter, along with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, did not return to Hogwarts. They instead embarked on a perilous mission to find and destroy Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. Their quest led them to infiltrate the corrupted Ministry to retrieve Salazar Slytherin's Locket, visit Godric's Hollow where they were ambushed by Nagini, and be captured and taken to Malfoy Manor. After a daring escape with the help of Dobby, they planned and executed a heist on Gringotts Wizarding Bank to steal Helga Hufflepuff's Cup.

The war concluded on 2 May 1998 at the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to the castle upon learning a Horcrux was hidden there. Their arrival triggered a full-scale assault by Lord Voldemort and his army. The staff and students of Hogwarts, members of the Order of the Phoenix, and other allies united to defend the school. During the battle, the final Horcruxes were destroyed: Vincent Crabbe inadvertently destroyed the Diadem of Ravenclaw with Fiendfyre, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley destroyed Helga Hufflepuff's Cup with a Basilisk fang, and Neville Longbottom beheaded Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor. Harry discovered that he himself was an unintentional Horcrux and willingly walked to his death in the Forbidden Forest, allowing Voldemort to destroy the piece of soul within him. Because Voldemort had used Harry's blood to regenerate, Harry was tethered to life and survived. In the final confrontation in the Great Hall, Voldemort's Killing Curse rebounded upon him because the Elder Wand's true allegiance was to Harry, leading to Voldemort's permanent death and the end of the war.

• The Anti-Voldemort Alliance
  • Order of the Phoenix: The primary resistance group, founded and led by Albus Dumbledore. Key members included Severus Snape (as a double agent), Minerva McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and the Weasley family.
  • Dumbledore's Army: A student-led resistance group that fought both Umbridge's regime and later the Death Eaters at the Battle of Hogwarts. Led by Harry Potter, its key members included Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley.
  • The Ministry of Magic: Fought against Voldemort under Ministers Rufus Scrimgeour and, after the war, Kingsley Shacklebolt.
• Voldemort's Army
  • Lord Voldemort: The supreme commander of his forces.
  • Death Eaters: Voldemort's elite followers, a group of dark witches and wizards. Prominent members included Bellatrix Lestrange, Lucius Malfoy, Antonin Dolohov, and Yaxley.
  • Allied Creatures: Voldemort's forces were bolstered by a vast number of Dark creatures, including Giants, Dementors, Acromantulas, and Werewolves led by Fenrir Greyback.
  • The Corrupted Ministry of Magic: After the coup in 1997, the Ministry became a puppet state that enforced Voldemort's will.

The Second Wizarding War ended with a decisive victory for the anti-Voldemort alliance, but at a great cost. There were numerous casualties, including Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Colin Creevey, Severus Snape, and at least fifty others who died defending Hogwarts. In the aftermath, Kingsley Shacklebolt was appointed interim, and later permanent, Minister for Magic. He, along with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley who joined the Auror department, worked to round up the remaining Death Eaters and reform the Ministry, purging it of corruption and pure-blood prejudice. Hermione Granger began a high-ranking career in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The war marked the end of the long-standing threat of Lord Voldemort and ushered in a new era of peace for the wizarding world.

• J.K. Rowling has stated that the rise of Voldemort and his ideology of “pure-blood” supremacy was influenced by Nazism and World War II. (J.K. Rowling interview)
• The film adaptations depict the Battle of Hogwarts on a much larger scale than the books, including scenes of Giants and Snatchers openly attacking the castle's exterior, and a dramatic sequence where Voldemort's forces shatter the magical protective shield over the school. (film)