Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 sees the deaths of many characters as the evil magical forces of the Wizarding World begin their war against Harry Potter and his allies. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Voldemort and his Death Eaters are now openly attacking muggles and wizards. With the death of Dumbledore in The Half-Blood Prince, the largest threat to Voldemort has been dealt with, and he is free to wage his war, fearless of anyone to stop him. This is the first film that doesn’t have Hogwarts as a setting and the loneliness and despair without it make for a dour tone.
Harry Potter films were always mature in how they dealt with death, characters have died in previous films but in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort kill more characters than in any movie before. It’s a much darker film than previous ones. Voldemort’s return has been warned about for years and when it finally comes, it becomes apparent why wizards have always feared him. This film is no longer a young adult story set in a school; it is a high-stakes thriller that sets the tone early with its numerous deaths of major and minor characters.
1 Charity Burbage Is Tortured And Killed By Voldemort
The darker tone in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is set early in the film qw Severus Snape attends a meeting with Voldemort and the Death Eaters. They sit around a table, where a woman, known as Charity Burbage, is magically suspended above. She is the former professor of Muggle Studies at Hogwarts, a subject Voldemort finds detestable. As Voldemort delivers a great and chilling quote over Charity’s pleas to Snape for help, he then murders her with the Killing Curse and feeds her body to Nagini. This early death is a portent of things to come and a sign that even Hogwarts is no longer safe.
2 Hedwig Dies In The Battle Of The Seven Potters
Hedwig is Harry Potter’s constant companion and one of his few connections to the magical world when he is with the Dursleys. Not only is the bond between them deep, but Hedwig is also willing to put her life on the line for him too (as evidenced in the Battle of the Seven Potters). Unfortunately, this is the last time audiences see her as she is killed while fending off a Death Eater. It heartbreaking to see as Hegwig is the first friend Harry loses in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and one of many that he will end up feeling responsible for.
3 Mad-Eye Moody Dies In The Battle Of The Seven Potters
With Voldemort and the Death Eaters warring out in the open in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, the Order of the Phoenix moves to protect Harry. In order to remove him from Private Drive, the Order, led by Mad-Eye Moody, escorts Harry and his friends disguised as Harry with Polyjuice Potion to the Weasley’s home. It’s shown early in the film that people are willing to put their lives on the line in order to protect Harry (a fact that does not always sit well with him). Each older wizard flies with one of the Harrys to hide the real one from any pursuing Death Eaters.
During the flight of the seven Potters, the Death Eaters ambush the Order of the Phoenix and attack the advance guard. In the commotion, the Harrys and their guardians split up. Each arrives separately and harried at the Weasley’s doorstep. It’s a tense scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, as the characters wait to see who survived the attack. When it’s announced that Mad-Eye didn’t make it, it’s both a tragic loss and a brutal symbol of how overmatched the Order is. Mad-Eye was one of their most powerful wizards and an important strategic leader, if he can die, anyone can.
4 Rufus Scrimgeour Is Assassinated By Death Eaters
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour pays Harry, Ron, and Hermione a visit at the Burrow. Their chat does not go well as Scrimgeour demands Harry align himself with the Ministry and Harry rejects this. During the wedding, it’s learned that Scrimgeour has been killed, and the Ministry has fallen, but the old Minister never gave up Harry’s location (even under torture). With Scrimgeour dead, the Wizarding World is thrown into chaos as the Death Eaters take control and Harry realizes that even those he disagrees with are his allies as long as they are against Voldemort.
5 Gregorovitch Is Killed By Voldemort
Like the more well-known Garrick Ollivander, Mykew Gregorovitch is also a wand salesman based out of Diagon Alley. In flashbacks, the audience is told the wizard once possessed the Elder Wand. Voldemort also acquires this knowledge and confronts Gregorovitch to find its location. Voldemort murders the old wizard and leaves his corpse in his shop after learning who owns the Elder Wand. Gregorovitch’s death is an early clue that the Elder Wand will play an important part in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. When Ollivander later appears in the film, Gregorovitch’s fate creates tension about what will happen to the wand salesman.
6 Bathilda Bagshot Is Killed By Voldemort And Nagini
When Harry and Hermione visit Godric’s Hollow in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, the film almost strays into horror. Harry follows Bathilda Bagshot, an elderly woman who was friends with the Dumbledore family, to her home to presumably hear about Voldemort’s Horcruxes. In a very disturbing scene, Bathilda begins shaking and Nagini erupts out of her. It’s only quick thinking, and maybe some plot armor, that saves Hermione and Harry from the trap. At this point in the film, the pair are on their own and to have the one person who reaches out to them be a trick, hammers home just how alone they are.
7 Gornuk, Ted Tonks, And Dirk Cresswell Are Killed By Snatchers
Although Gornuk, Ted Tonks, and Dirk Cresswell are never seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, their deaths are briefly announced over “Potterwatch”, an anti-Voldemort, secret radio broadcast. Significant in this group is Ted Tonks, the father of Nymphadora Tonks. The Snatchers are Death Eaters who hunt for Undesirables under the new Ministry of Magic. They are violent and capitalize on the fact that speaking Voldemort’s name can reveal someone’s location. These deaths make the point that more wizards than just the main trio are in mortal danger with Voldemort around. Every moment the Dark Lord lives is a moment where innocent people are dying.
8 Unnamed Snatcher Killed By Bellatrix
Death Eaters in Harry Potter have no regard for the lives of others, even those who are on their side. When the Snatchers bring Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the Malfoy Manor in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, one makes the mistake of claiming the Sword of Gryffindor in front of Bellatrix Lestrange. Without a word, the witch blasts the unlucky Snatcher away with a spell. The other three are more fortunate and are only sent away, but the cursed Snatcher doesn’t get up, and it’s a hard lesson to the others that their lives are as expendable to someone as high-ranking in Voldemort’s army as Bellatrix.
9 Dobby Is Stabbed By Bellatrix Lestrange
The climax of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 takes place in Malfoy Manor. Harry, Hermione, and Ron have been captured by Snatchers and Bellatrix tortures Hermione for information. Thanks to a concealing charm, no one realizes Harry’s identity, but it’s only a matter of time before it wears off. Fortunately, Dobby the house-elf appears and breaks Ron and Harry loose so that the trio can rescue Hermione and Griphook. Unaccustomed to a free house-elf, the Death Eaters are caught off-guard by Dobby’s powers, and the protagonists nearly escape unharmed. The good wizards steal the Malfoy family’s wands and Disapparate to Shell Cottage.
As they all leave, Bellatrix throws a knife right where they stood. When the group lands outside Shell Cottage they see that the knife slipped through and has mortally wounded Dobby. It’s one of the significant moments that explain the themes of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. The house-elf can only get out one final “Harry Potter” before dying in Harry’s arms. The pair have been friends since The Chamber of Secrets and Dobby risked his life to save Harry’s. It’s this death that spurs Harry onward to continue his journey of destroying the Horcruxes, to make sure deaths like Dobby’s are not in vain.
