- Harry: "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."
- Alecto: "That makes you pretty skint, witless."
- — Alecto mocking Harry Potter[src]
Alecto Carrow[2] is the sister of Amycus Carrow, and one of a small handful of female Death Eaters. She is described as being a stocky little woman, and shares several qualities with her brother such as his squatness and his wheezy giggle.
History
Fenrir Greyback, Thorfinn Rowle, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Alecto Carrow in the assault at Hogwarts
Alecto and her brother were Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War and were among those who believed that that Lord Voldemort was gone forever. They managed to stay out of Azkaban and returned to Lord Voldemort once he came back to power. Alecto and Amycus were among the group of Death Eaters who led an assault at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1996, which ended with the death of Albus Dumbledore.[3]
- "Alecto, Amycus’s sister, teaches Muggle Studies, which is compulsory for everyone. We’ve all got to listen to her explain how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty, and how they drive wizards into hiding by being vicious toward them, and how the natural order is being reestablished. I got this one for asking her how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got."
- — Neville Longbottom on Aleto's teaching[src]
In 1997, after control of the Ministry of Magic fell to the Death Eaters, Alecto was made the new Muggle Studies Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after the murder of Charity Burbage. Muggle Studies became a compulsory course for all students, and Alecto changed the curriculum so instead of teaching equality and how Muggle technology worked, it became a brainwashing lesson of how Muggles are worthless and disgusting and should be treated like animals. When Neville Longbottom challenged her on this, Alecto slashed him across the face. She and her brother were also the ones that handed out punishment to all students during their reign at Hogwarts, and beat and tortured students who defied them.
In 1998, on Lord Voldemort's orders, Alecto guarded the Ravenclaw common room, where Harry Potter might show up on his search for the Horcruxes. She caught Harry and called the Dark Lord using her Dark Mark, but was stunned by Luna Lovegood, and later was tied up along with her brother, Amycus Carrow.[4]
It is presumed they were both thrown into Azkaban following the Battle of Hogwarts.
Behind the scenes
In Greek mythology, Alecto was one of the Erinyes, known as the Furies in Roman mythology; they were the personifications of vengeance and known for being cruel and bloodthirsty. The name means "unceasing in anger". In Nobel-prize winner T.S. Eliot's play The Family Reunion, the protagonist is named Harry, and he is tormented by the Erinyes.