It's been nearly fifteen years since the last Harry Potter book came out, but fans are still trying to dig deeper. Whether through fanfiction, fan films, or just straightforward textual analysis, there are just as many questions and theories now as there were when the books and movies were originally coming out.
Since the books have a fairly limited point of view, there's a lot that audiences simply don't know about the Death Eaters. Defeating Voldemort seemed to cut the head off the literal and proverbial snake, but the actual functioning of the organization is left to speculation and connecting dots.
How Did The Death Eaters Originally Form?
The most social location in the Wizarding World is Hogwarts, which makes it the ideal spot for the Death Eaters to have formed and recruited. In Half-Blood Prince, Dumbledore tells Harry that Voldemort gathered a group of followers while he was in school, which would presumably be the grandparents of Harry's cohort.
They then brought in their siblings and eventual children, who continued the socialization at Hogwarts. While this was not overt in most of the Hogwarts houses, it was certainly in practice in Slytherin, where the students parroted their parents' hatred to each other, pressuring others to agree with them and eventually the Death Eaters.
How Old Do You Have To Be To Become A Death Eater?
While most Death Eaters seemed old enough to have taken part in the First Wizarding World, there are several that prompt the question of how young they were recruiting. The vast majority of Slytherin students did not participate in the Battle of Hogwarts, suggesting that they were not yet Death Eaters, but that doesn't mean there weren't exceptions.
Draco became a Death Eater between his fifth and sixth years at Hogwarts. According to the Black family tapestry, Regulus died at 18, after having been a Death Eater for several years. And Barty Crouch Jr. was eighteen or nineteen when he was sent to Azkaban, according to Goblet of Fire. So while most Death Eaters graduated Hogwarts before taking the mark, sixteen seems a likely minimum age for ittance.
How Did So Many Death Eaters Avoid Life In Azkaban The First Time?
In Order of the Phoenix, it's mentioned that the Order was outnumbered 20 to 1 by Death Eaters at the end of the First Wizarding War, yet only ten Death Eaters had to escape Azkaban to return to Voldemort's side. This means that a solid chunk of the original Death Eaters never faced punishment the first time.
Several, like Lucius Malfoy, claimed to have been under the Imperious Curse the whole time. A few others, like Igor Karkaroff, sold out others for their freedom. Finally, Snape avoided Azkaban due to Dumbledore vouching for him. Of course, it's also probable that the richest Death Eaters found their surest path to freedom was the liberal use of their pocketbooks.
What Was The Hierarchy Amongst The Death Eaters?
At different times throughout the Harry Potter series, the Death Eaters seem more and less organized. While this inconsistency makes it hard to fully break down, there is definitely some degree of hierarchy.
Voldemort is alone at the top, but then there is an extremely tight inner circle (Lucius, Bellatrix, etc.) who are trusted with protecting Horcruxes. Going down from there are the fifteen or so named Death Eaters who run missions, like the attack at the Ministry. From there are any number of marked Death Eaters, followed by unmarked Death Eaters, creature allies, and finally ending with sympathetic outsiders, who do Voldemort's bidding without being official of the organization.
What Was Peter Pettigrew's Place In The Death Eaters?
Peter Pettigrew was responsible for several of the Death Eaters' victories, including the deaths of the Potters, potentially the torture of the Longbottoms, and finding Voldemort and performing the ritual that brought him back to life. That should have meant he was a high-ranking Death Eater, but it didn't seem to work that way.
The Death Eaters mocked him regularly, and Wormtail wasn't tasked with any important tasks after Goblet of Fire. Though Pettigrew was given the Dark Mark and gifted a replacement hand, he appeared to be little more than a servant by Deathly Hallows.
How Does The Dark Mark Work?
Voldemort's most loyal servants were 'rewarded' with the Dark Mark, a tattoo burned into their left forearms. But the Dark Mark is more than just a sign of loyalty. In Goblet of Fire, it's shown that Voldemort can summon all of his servants through it, and in Deathly Hallows, it's shown that they can summon him in turn.
Additionally, the mark seems to function as a signifier of Voldemort's life force. Karkaroff remarks to Snape that his mark was darkening, going from more of a scar to more of a tattoo as Voldemort's power grew. This effect presumably informed Death Eaters to be ready for Voldemort's return, reminding them of their duties.
Why Do Spies Get The Dark Mark?
There are three known spies in the Harry Potter series—Severus Snape, Peter Pettigrew, and Draco Malfoy—and all are shown to bear the Dark Mark at some point in the series (at least going by the films). This seems like a silly decision since the Marks are plainly visible and could have given away Pettigrew and Malfoy's loyalties.
While there isn't a definitive answer given to this question in the books or films, it seems reasonable to assume the Mark was a way of making sure they didn't turn into double agents. Since the Mark cannot be removed, it keeps the spies from ever being fully accepted in non-Death Eater society again, should they try to switch sides.
How Many Death Eaters Did Harry Meet Before Goblet Of Fire?
The name "Death Eaters" doesn't emerge until Prisoner of Azkaban, and the group itself was not shown until Goblet of Fire. Despite that, Rowling did a good job scattering Death Eaters throughout the first three books, though Harry didn't them as such until later.
In the first book, Harry met Quirrell and Snape. In Chamber of Secrets, he interacted with Lucius Malfoy. Finally, Prisoner of Azkaban introduced Wormtail and Macnair (Buckbeak's would-be executioner). Though this may not seem like much, it does connect several of the first three books' antagonists to Voldemort, which made it all the more obvious how little had been done to stop them from rising again.
How Did They Get So Much Political Power?
The ways that government can aid bigotry became a critical theme in Order of the Phoenix, where Crouch and Umbridge's actions aided the Death Eaters, despite not meaning to. There are three ways that bigotry became part and parcel with the Ministry, which explain how the government in Harry Potter is built for evil to triumph.
First, the purebloods families innately had power due to their ability to continuously accumulate wealth in the magical world. Secondly, many Death Eaters and sympathizers were employees of the Ministry, able to draft legislation that allowed them to persecute others under the guise of the law. Finally, of the government who were unwilling to yield to money or law were Imperiused.
Why Didn't The Death Eaters Kill Harry Sooner?
This is always the biggest logical problem in Harry Potter. Why was it so hard to kill a small child? Even excluding the first fourteen years of his life, in which it could be supposed that A) The Death Eaters didn't know Voldemort survived or B) They knew he was needed to bring Voldemort back, he seemed to be safe at all times except the end of the school year.
There are three answers to this question, two with serious textual evidence, and a third based on speculation. Voldemort explicitly ordered his servants not to kill Harry, since he believed the prophecy meant only he could do it. Furthermore, Harry was protected at all times through Lily's sacrificial protection and Dumbledore. But the third reason seems to be symbolic. Attacks consistently happened on Halloween (AKA Samhain) and at the end of the year (on or around Beltane), which suggests that the attacks were planned based on traditional times of greatest magical power.
