The Original Order of the Phoenix Quiz

Answer:

During Lord Voldemort's first rise to power, Albus Dumbledore founded the original Order of the Phoenix, which, according to the movie picture, had eighteen members available to pose for a picture sometime in the summer of 1981. The purpose of the group was to work with the Ministry of Magic in order to prevent Voldemort's rise to power. Harry celebrated his first birthday that summer, and his parents would be dead by October 31. Information regarding the members of the group was scattered throughout the Harry Potter movies.

Professor Dumbledore was considered by many to be the greatest, most skilled wizard of all time, as he possessed the Elder Wand; the most powerful wand in existence, the Elder Wand was one of the Deathly Hallows. The name of the group was a nod toward his patronus, the phoenix, and the fact that it burst into flames, and was reborn from the ashes. As leader of the Order, Dumbledore alone had the right to choose group members. During the First Wizarding War, the Order suffered grave casualties, with their losses being estimated at 20:1. Its existence was not revealed until the fifth movie, "Order of the Phoenix", after Voldemort's return to power was witnessed by Harry in "Goblet of Fire"; information was previously given, however, about some of its original members.

First and foremost in the group were Harry's parents, James and Lily, whose fates were shown in both "Prisoner of Azkaban" and "Deathly Hallows Part 2". Once the prophecy was revealed, their defiance of Lord Voldemort had put their son at risk, and they were sequestered away in Godric's Hollow under the protection of the Fidelius Charm. The prophecy said that a boy who was born at the end of July whose parents had defied Lord Voldemort three times would have the power to defeat the Dark Lord. Members feared that boy was Potters' son, Harry. The family was in mortal danger, and both parents died protecting their son, while Lily's love protected her son from Voldemort's death curse, and destroyed his body after it bounced off Harry.

Equally in danger were Frank and Alice Longbottom, whose son also seemed to meet the criteria in the prophecy. In "Order of the Phoenix", their son, Neville, revealed that during the First Wizarding War Frank and Alice had been tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and other Death Eaters. It is interesting to note that both Longbottoms were pure-blood wizards, who were fighting against Voldemort's plan to do away with Muggle-born and half-blood wizards. Neville's parents were still alive during the Second Wizarding War, but unable to leave St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

While a student at Hogwarts, James had been a member of a tight-knit group called the Marauders, which included Peter Pettigrew. Peter had been appointed as the Potters' Secret-Keeper, the person who was supposed to protect the secret of the family's location under the Fidelius Charm. Rather than seeing to the protection of his best friends, however, Peter revealed their location to Lord Voldemort. In addition he framed another member of the Order, Sirius Black, for the murder and the deaths of the Potters and twelve Muggles that he had killed to help cover up the crime. After that, Peter went into hiding, faking his own death.

Peter's treachery was revealed in "Prisoner of Azkaban", along with other original members of the group. Another Marauder, Sirius Black was Harry's godfather; Sirius was also a member of the original Order, all of whom had fought in the First Wizarding War. At the conclusion of the war, Sirius was sent to prison because he had been framed for the Potter and Muggle murders. Harry met Sirius for the first time in the movie, relieved to finally have some kind of family connection. In the beginning, Sirius was quite a scary guy, but he and Harry became fast friends. In addition, the information that was revealed in the movie about what had really happened to James and Lily exonerated Sirius.

Also introduced in "Prisoner of Azkaban" was Remus Lupin, who was traveling to Hogwarts to serve as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. While he was a student at Hogwarts, Lupin had been the fourth member of the Marauders, and joined the Order of the Phoenix with his friends. Harry was very happy to have this connection with people who knew his parents, and learn more about them. Lupin, like Sirius, proved to be a faithful friend and ally; both of them also joined the reorganized Order of the Phoenix in 1995.

Mundungus Fletcher, seen in "Deathly Hallows Part 1", was pictured in the first row of the group, easily recognized by his short stature. Although most members of the original Order viewed him as nothing more than a petty criminal, which he was, he was very loyal to Dumbledore and provided the group with underground intelligence during the First Wizarding War that might not have been otherwise available.

Introduced in "Goblet of Fire", Alastor Moody was also a member of the original Order of the Phoenix. He was another link to Harry's parents, and until his death in Battle of the Seven Harrys ("Deathly Hallows Part 1"), was a friend to Harry, fiercely brave and loyal. While he was blunt, gruff, and kind of scary with that eye, Moody was true blue. In the books, Moody was actually the person who gave Harry the picture of the original Order of the Phoenix. While it was meant to be supportive, book Harry was deeply troubled by the gesture, as it was difficult for him to see a picture of the traitor Peter standing so close to his parents.

As already mentioned, there were other members of the original Order of the Phoenix, but they were not mentioned in the movies, as several of them were killed during the First Wizarding War. It also should be noted that it was extremely difficult to find a definitive list of the people in the movie picture, as the picture in the book was noticeably different. For example, one can definitely see Minerva McGonagall in the movie picture, but according to several sources, she did not join the group because the Ministry of Magic viewed it as being illegal; instead, she worked for the Ministry as a spy, using the form of her Animagus, a tabby cat.

Lucius Malfoy, Tim Riddle (Lord Voldemort), Barty Crouch Jr., and Bellatrix Lestrange were all Death Eaters in both Wizarding Wars. At the time of the first Wizarding War, Dobby was a house-elf, tied to his slave-like responsibility to his master rather than his own feelings.