Lord Voldemort

image=This fan-made poster for the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie pictures Lord Voldemort (played by Ralph Fiennes) when he has returned to power. It is not yet known what Voldemort will actually look like in the film, although a swedish newspaper recently showed a picture showing Voldemort which they claimed was from the movie. See more here.

The Second War

At first, the Ministry of Magic refused to believe that Lord Voldemort had risen again. The Minister, Cornelius Fudge, began a process of discrediting Harry, who had witnessed Voldemort's resurrection, and Albus Dumbledore, his chief supporter. Dumbledore was accused of being senile, and was removed from several important posts. Harry, on the other hand, was characterised as an attention-seeking liar. Meanwhile, Lucius Malfoy, having returned to Voldemort's service, sought to gain influence within the Ministry, encouraging Fudge to believe that the real threat to his authority came from a powerful Dumbledore, not a resurgent Voldemort.

Related Topics:
At first - Cornelius Fudge - Albus Dumbledore - Senile

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In opposition to Voldemort, Dumbledore reformed the Order of the Phoenix, and set it up in Sirius Black's family home at Number 12, Grimmauld Place, London. He also sent envoys to the giants and other non-human magical beings whom Voldemort might try to lure onto his side.

Related Topics:
Order of the Phoenix - Sirius Black - Number 12, Grimmauld Place - Giant

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Meanwhile, Voldemort was waiting and plotting carefully. Only a handful of wizards - the Death Eaters and the members of the Order of the Phoenix - knew or believed he was back, allowing him a free hand in his schemes. He managed to coerce the giants, Dementors and werewolves to support him.

Related Topics:
Dementor - Werewolves

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After engineering a plot to secure the breakout of some of the Death Eaters from Azkaban, Voldemort embarked on a scheme to kill Harry and retrieve the record of Trelawney's prophecy regarding Harry and Voldemort, stored in the Ministry's Department of Mysteries. His plot failed, and the only copy of the prophecy was destroyed. All but one of the Death Eaters sent to retrieve it fell into the hands of the Order of the Phoenix after a running battle inside the Ministry building.

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However, during the skirmish Sirius Black fell through a strange archway in the Department, and vanished. This doorway was supposedly created so that the Ministry could study death. Overcome with anger and grief, Harry chased down the Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius's cousin and the woman responsible for his death. They fought, but Lestrange was saved by the appearance of Voldemort himself. Harry was in turn saved from Voldemort's attack by the timely arrival of Professor Dumbledore.

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There followed a wizarding duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort, until finally Voldemort vanished, taking Lestrange with him. He was seen by the Minister of Magic, however, who finally accepted that Voldemort was back. This led to a return of the earlier fear and suspicion among the wizarding community, which was fuelled by Voldemort's continuing attacks and schemes as he regained strength.

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Voldemort's next step was to engineer an attack on his most formidable enemy, Dumbledore himself. This was achieved by the machinations of Draco Malfoy, a student at Hogwarts and the son of Death Eater Lucius Malfoy, who had been arrested and sent to Azkaban following the battle inside the Ministry of Magic, and his wife Narcissa. Draco managed to arrange an access point into Hogwarts for the Death Eaters by means of two enchanted cabinets, the use of which bypassed the extensive enchantments placed around the school to prevent unauthorised access. While Dumbledore, accompanied by Harry, went on a mission to recover and destroy one of Voldemort's horcruxes - which turned out to be a fake - the Death Eaters overran Hogwarts. On their return, Dumbledore and Harry joined the fight but Dumbledore met his death on the school battlements at the hands of Professor Severus Snape, acting to complete the mission assigned by Voldemort to a hesitating young Draco. With Dumbledore dead, Voldemort's greatest enemy is no more and the future of the wizarding community remains in the balance, at least until the publication of the seventh and final instalment of the Harry Potter series.

Related Topics:
Engineer an attack - Draco Malfoy - Lucius Malfoy - Narcissa - Overran Hogwarts - Severus Snape

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