Order of the Phoenix (organisation)

Order of the Phoenix

Some Order of the Phoenix members in the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix film adaptation, from left to right: Mad - Eye Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore
Universe	Harry Potter
Location	12 Grimmauld Place, London[HP5][HP6] The Burrow[HP7]
Leader	Albus Dumbledore[HP5][HP6]
Purpose	To prevent Lord Voldemort from conquering the world
Affiliations	Dumbledore's Army
Enemies	Lord Voldemort, Death Eaters

The Order of the Phoenix is a secret organisation in the Harry Potter series of fiction books written by J. K. Rowling. Founded by Albus Dumbledore to fight Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, the Order lends its name to the fifth book of the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Before the Harry Potter series starts – when the character Lord Voldemort declared war on the wizarding world – Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and a highly upstanding and powerful citizen of the wizarding world, attempted to take control of the situation by founding the Order of the Phoenix. Several characters joined the organisation, seeking to prevent Voldemort from taking over the wizarding world and establishing a tyrannical new world order. During this period, before the events of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the Order sustained heavy losses, including the murders of minor characters such as the Prewetts, the Bones and the McKinnons. The Longbottoms were also tortured to insanity at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange.

Voldemort's first reign of terror ended after the murders of James and Lily Potter, and the unsuccessful attempt to murder their son, Harry Potter, at the beginning of the series. The spell rebounded on to him as a result of Lily's sacrifice of her life for her son, and severely diminished Voldemort's powers and as a result the Order was temporarily disbanded due to the lack of any further threat.

When Harry reported that Voldemort had returned, towards the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore reactivated the Order. Many of the original members returned and were soon joined by recruits who effectively replaced those who had died in service during the first conflict. The Order established their headquarters at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's family home, during the interval between the fourth and fifth books in the series. Dumbledore was the Secret-Keeper for the Order, meaning that only he could reveal the location of the Order's headquarters to others. Dumbledore's death on his own request at the hands of Severus Snape in book six made the location vulnerable and it was abandoned in favour of The Burrow as a result.