Random Things You Didn't Know About The First Wizarding War (15 items)

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  (#1) Minerva McGonagall's Brother Was Slain By Death Eaters To Provoke Fear In The Public

  Minerva McGonagall isn't an only child - she had two brothers. One of them, Robert McGonagall Jr., was slain by Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War. Interestingly, Robert's demise had nothing to do with him being of importance, as he was eliminated simply because the Death Eaters wanted to provoke fear into the public.

  Robert joins the long list of innocent Half-Blood, Muggle-Borns, and Muggles who were slain for this reason.
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  (#2) James And Lily Potter Were In Hiding For Over A Year

  Although the Fidelus Charm over the Potters' residence only lasted a week, the family was in hiding for well over a year. They were taken away from the public eye by Albus Dumbledore after hearing the prophecy about Harry Potter in 1980. This means that James and Lily's contributions during the First Wizarding War didn't last as long as it's believed.

  The two graduated from Hogwarts in 1978, following which they went into hiding within only two years. Incredibly, however, James and Lily still managed to escape Voldemort as many as three times before Dumbledore sent them into protection.
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  (#3) Aurors Used The Same Tactics As Death Eaters In The Name Of Justice

  At the height of the war, there was little to separate the Death Eaters from the Aurors. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, took to cruel tactics in the name of justice. To this end, Crouch legalized the use of the Unforgivable Curses, meaning Aurors possessed the authority to kill, torture, and control anyone they perceived as a threat.

  This move carried the side effect of making Aurors just as terrifying as Death Eaters, as the public didn't have the favor of the law anymore. Moreover, those that the Aurors incorrectly used the Unforgivable Curses on had no choice but to suffer without anything to defend themselves with.
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  (#4) Lucius Malfoy Became Second-In-Command To Voldemort During The War

  Lucius Malfoy leads the Death Eaters against Harry and his friends in Order of the Phoenix, and the fact is that he was just continuing his former role. During the First Wizarding War, Lucius became extremely close to Voldemort as his personal servant since Malfoy had a number of high-ranking sources in the Ministry and influence through his wealth that Voldemort made use of.

  By the time the war was in full swing, Lucius had ascended to the position of Voldemort's second-in-command, making him the de facto leader when Voldemort wasn't present. Due to this, Lucius was privy to the identities of most of the Death Eaters, while Voldemort entrusted him with the diary Horcrux for safekeeping.
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  (#5) Very Few Death Eaters Even Knew Each Other's True Identities During The War

  The Death Eaters' trademark appearance comprises of a mask and a long hood to go with the black robes. These aren't just for show, though, because Voldemort deliberately kept their dress codes this way in order to avoid one Death Eater knowing who the other was.

  Voldemort dispensed of this practice in the Second Wizarding War, where the Death Eaters knew one another, as their numbers were far fewer than in the original war. The first time around, Death Eaters were required to keep their masks on at all times and Voldemort alone knew who all of them were. This is proven by the fact that the Death Eater Severus Snape had no idea that Peter Pettigrew had defected from the Order of the Phoenix to join Voldemort's supporters.
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  (#6) The Ministry Of Magic Was Infiltrated Through Augustus Rookwood

  The reason why Voldemort was able to always be one step ahead of the Ministry's plans was due to having spies within the Ministry itself. This became possible after the Death Eater Augustus Rookwood started working for the Department of Mysteries. As an Unspeakable, Rookwood's status was never investigated since his position was one where other wizards weren't allowed to question him.

  It was Rookwood who placed further spies in the Ministry, including Quidditch player Lugo Bagman, who was unaware he was passing sensitive information to a Death Eater. Over the First Wizarding War, Rookwood and his spies discreetly delivered vital Ministry plans to Voldemort, enabling him to manipulate the Ministry from the inside.
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  (#7) Wizards Accused Of Being Death Eaters Were Sent To Azkaban Without Trials

  By the time the First Wizarding War had entered its worst phase, the Ministry of Magic stopped taking any chances and simply convicted wizards based on either circumstantial evidence or per their own belief. 

  This was enacted by Barty Crouch Sr., who wanted to appear ruthless in his bid to be appointed as the next Minister for Magic. Crouch was notorious for sending prisoners like Sirius Black to Azkaban despite Sirius never even receiving an investigation over his supposed crime. 

  This caused widespread panic in the Wizarding World, as innocent people were scared they would be sent to Azkaban for crimes they didn't commit, leading to public places being empty as people stopped leaving their houses.
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  (#8) The War Lasted For 11 Years

  Voldemort returned from his disappearance in 1967, following which he spent the next three years growing his supporters and working from the shadows. It was in 1970 that Voldemort fully rose in power, as he not only made his bid for supremacy public but also started appearing in person. This is considered the beginning of the First Wizarding War since Voldemort dropped all pretense and targeted the Ministry of Magic.

  The war continued until October 31, 1981, by which point it had been 11 years of turmoil for the Wizarding World. Of course, this was the day that Voldemort made his ill-fated attempted to slay Harry, resulting in his own banishment.
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  (#9) Minister Millicent Bagnold Allowed Breaches Of Magical Law During Celebrations Over Voldemort's Defeat

  When Voldemort was vanquished by Harry to mark the end of the First Wizarding War, Minister for Magic Millicent Bagnold did nothing to stop wizards from breaching the Statute of Secrecy. The wizarding community was seen publically celebrating Voldemort's disappearance, to the point where Muggles took notice.

  When Millicent Bagnold was charged with allowing these breaches of magical law to take place, the minister acquitted herself and famously proclaimed, "I assert our inalienable right to party."
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  (#10) The War Was Preceded By A Number Of Clashes In The Wizarding World

  Voldemort was able to secure supporters in the lead-up to the war mainly due to the unrest in the Wizarding World. It began with Minister for Magic Ignatius Tuft's proposal for a Dementor breeding program to increase the number of these dark creatures for further use in Azkaban and expand them over to other places. Tuft's proposal was largely lambasted, forcing him to resign in 1962.

  Following Tuft, Nobby Leach ascended to the role of the Minister for Magic. However, due to Leach being the first Muggle-Born Minister, pureblood fanatics within the government resigned in protest, further causing a divide between those who believed in blood supremacy and those who wanted Muggle-Borns to be integrated into wizarding society.

  After Leach's sudden resignation in 1968, Voldemort capitalized on the unrest, as riots began to break out involving Squibs, Muggle-Borns, Half-Bloods, and purebloods.
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  (#11) Peter Pettigrew Retrieved Voldemort's Wand From The Wreckage Of The Potters' House

  The First Wizarding War wasn't officially over when Voldemort failed to eliminate Harry, as no one knew what happened until later. While it's believed that Sirius Black and Rubeus Hagrid were the first to arrive at the scene of the wreckage, the truth is that it was Peter Pettigrew.

  Having provided Voldemort with the location of James and Lily, Pettigrew followed soon after to find Voldemort gone and realized what had happened. Following this, Pettigrew retrieved Voldemort's wand and fled, keeping this wand hidden for the next decade until Voldemort's return.
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  (#12) Giants Took Voldemort's Side And Were Driven Out After His Defeat

  Ron reveals in Goblet of Fire that wizards drove the Giants into hiding, but the full truth is that this was a result of the Giants siding with Voldemort in the First Wizarding War. Voldemort's promise of allowing Giants to roam into the public convinced these creatures to ally with him, leading to Giants wreaking havoc on Muggles, whose deaths were covered up by the Ministry of Magic.

  After Voldemort's disappearance, the Ministry rallied to defeat the Giants, thus resulting in their exile into the mountains.
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  (#13) Two Ministers Were Ousted Due To Their Failure To Stop Voldemort

  When Voldemort began the First Wizarding War, the Minister for Magic at the time was the witch Eugenia Jenkins. She was ultimately too weak in spirit to combat Voldemort's growing threat and the wizarding public started calling for her removal. Eugenia Jenkins was ousted in 1975, paving the way for wizard Harold Minchum. However, Minchum himself proved unworthy to be a formidable rival to Voldemort's war, and he was also removed by 1980.

  The wizarding war finally came to an end under the witch Millicent Bagnold, although this had nothing to do with Bagnold's abilities, as Voldemort tasted defeat through Harry Potter.
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  (#14) Voldemort's Name Became Taboo After The War Started

  The last time Tom Riddle officially went by his birth name was before his disappearance. After returning to the public eye, he branded himself as Lord Voldemort. However, this name wasn't feared at the time and Voldemort used it as his public name. 

  It was during the First Wizarding War, when the death toll of wizards and Muggles steadily kept rising, that Voldemort's name cultivated the fearful reputation it would be commonly known for. Much like it was in the Second Wizarding War, the original conflict also saw Voldemort's name become taboo, meaning Death Eaters would be alerted to the location of the person who dared utter it.
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  (#15) The Order Of The Phoenix Was Formed Due To The Wizarding War

  The Order of the Phoenix was never a faction that Albus Dumbledore had formed for his own needs. The reason for its formation came about due to the Ministry's inability to foresee Voldemort's threat, motivating Albus to found this group. He realized that the Death Eaters needed to be challenged directly and recruited members who were willing to risk their lives to bring an end to the war.

  Had the First Wizarding War not existed, the Order of the Phoenix would also never have been founded.

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