Every Second Wizarding War Battle in Harry Potter, Ranked From Worst to Best

Time to revisit the messiest chapter of the Wizarding World: the Second Wizarding War. Voldemort comes back, everyone chooses a side, and things get very not-kid-friendly very fast. I ranked the big clashes by how serious they were, who we lost, and how much they shifted the whole story. Yes, some of these start small and end devastating.

• 7. Bill and Fleur's Wedding (The Wedding Battle)

  Book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

  A nice day at the Burrow turns into airborne panic the second Kingsley Shacklebolt sends a Patronus with the worst RSVP ever.

  'The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.'

  This hits right after Voldemort kills Minister Rufus Scrimgeour and takes over the Ministry. Masked Death Eaters crash the reception, spells fly, and guests scatter while Order members counterattack. The target was obvious: they knew Harry, Ron, and Hermione would be there. The trio disapparates straight to London and the assault fizzles out fast.

  Casualties: None.

  Why it matters: It is less a full battle and more a flashing red siren that Voldemort is officially in charge now. Short, chaotic, terrifying.

• 6. The Battle of the Seven Potters

  Book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

  With the Dursleys' protection about to expire, the Order tries to move Harry to the Burrow without getting him vaporized mid-flight. The plan: six decoys (Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Fleur, and Mundungus) on Polyjuice, each paired with a protector on broomsticks, Thestrals, or Hagrid's flying motorbike. Smart idea, awful night.

  Voldemort's people ambush them in the skies and it turns into a fireworks show of curses. Hedwig and Mad-Eye Moody are killed. George takes a curse to the head and loses an ear. Harry still makes it to the Burrow alive, but any illusion of stealth is gone.

  Casualties: Hedwig, Mad-Eye Moody. Serious injury: George Weasley (ear).

  Why it matters: This is the Order taking a massive risk to keep Harry breathing, and the Death Eaters proving they can overwhelm anyone. The war stops being quiet and becomes open season.

• 5. The Graveyard (Little Hangleton)

  Book: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

  This is the pivot point for everything. The Triwizard Cup yanks Harry and Cedric to a cemetery, and seconds later Peter Pettigrew kills Cedric. Pettigrew then uses a ritual (his hand, Harry's blood, the whole nightmare) to restore Voldemort to a body. Voldemort summons his Death Eaters and forces a duel he thinks he will win easily.

  Then the nerdy wandlore bit kicks in: Harry and Voldemort's wands share a core, so their spells lock in Priori Incantatem. Echoes of Voldemort's victims appear — including Harry's parents and Cedric — and help Harry break away long enough to escape with Cedric's body.

  Casualty: Cedric Diggory.

  Why it matters: Voldemort is back, publicly to his followers and soon to everyone else. This is where the Second Wizarding War truly starts.

• 4. The Astronomy Tower (Hogwarts)

  Book: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

  Draco Malfoy spends the year fixing the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement to smuggle Death Eaters into Hogwarts. He has been branded a Death Eater and assigned one job: kill Albus Dumbledore. When he finally corners Dumbledore on the tower, he cannot do it.

  Severus Snape can. He kills Dumbledore with the Killing Curse while Harry watches, frozen and hidden under the Invisibility Cloak. Meanwhile, the castle erupts as members of the Order clash with infiltrating Death Eaters, who then slip away into the night.

  Casualty: Albus Dumbledore.

  Why it matters: Hogwarts loses its strongest protector, Snape's allegiance looks absolutely settled, and Draco's role inside Voldemort's circle is no longer rumor.

• 3. Malfoy Manor

  Book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

  Harry, Ron, and Hermione get grabbed by Snatchers and dragged to Malfoy Manor, where Bellatrix Lestrange and the Malfoys hold court. Hermione is tortured with the Cruciatus Curse and threatened at knifepoint. Harry and Ron are thrown into the cellar with Luna Lovegood, Dean Thomas, Garrick Ollivander, and Griphook.

  Harry uses a shard of Sirius's mirror to beg for help, and Dobby answers. Chaos follows. Dobby disarms Bellatrix and engineers a breakout for everyone. As they disapparate, Bellatrix hurls a silver knife that hits Dobby. He dies in Harry's arms, after saving them all, calling Harry his friend.

  Casualty: Dobby.

  Why it matters: It is brutal and personal — Hermione's screams, the Malfoys' unraveling, and the loss of the most loyal house-elf in the series. It changes Harry in a way that sticks.

• 2. The Department of Mysteries (Ministry of Magic)

  Book: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

  Voldemort plants a vision of Sirius being tortured, and Harry takes the bait. He charges to the Ministry with Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna, and Ginny, only to discover a trap in the Department of Mysteries. They find a glass orb containing the prophecy about him and Voldemort, and right then Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and a squad of Death Eaters spring the ambush.

  It becomes a full-on brawl through the Ministry until the Order arrives. Bellatrix kills Sirius Black. A furious Harry tries the Cruciatus Curse, but it does not work — he cannot summon the pure hatred the spell requires. Voldemort appears, duels Dumbledore, and briefly possesses Harry. When Ministry officials rush in, they see Voldemort with their own eyes. Denial era: over.

  Casualty: Sirius Black.

  Why it matters: The world finally has to admit Voldemort is back, and Harry loses the only family he had left.

• 1. The Battle of Hogwarts

  Book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

  Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts to hunt the final Horcrux, and Voldemort surrounds the castle with his army. Students, teachers, and the Order of the Phoenix stand their ground against giants, acromantulas, and wave after wave of Death Eaters. It is massive, messy, and heartbreaking.

  We lose Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Lavender Brown, Colin Creevey, and others. Harry then lets Voldemort believe he has died in the Forbidden Forest and comes back for the final confrontation. With all Horcruxes destroyed, Voldemort is vulnerable; his last spell rebounds on him, and the war ends where it began for Harry — at Hogwarts.

  Casualties: Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Lavender Brown, Colin Creevey, and more.

  Why it matters: This is the endgame — the highest stakes, the highest losses, and the final snap of Voldemort's reign.

That is my order — from warning shots to the finale that broke every heart in the Great Hall. How would you rank them?

Harry Potter films are currently streaming in the US on HBO Max.