- "There were half a dozen teenage boys sitting around Slughorn with Tom Riddle in the middle of them, Marvolo's black and gold ring gleaming on his finger."
- — The structure of the gang, as seen in Horace Slughorn's memory in the Pensieve[src]
Tom Riddle's gang[2] were a group of fellow Slytherin students whom Tom Riddle had around him during his time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.[1]
History[]
Tom Riddle assembled this gang at Hogwarts. He claimed they were his friends, and made it appear so in public. In truth, however, he had no emotional attachment to them, as he never once desired a friend, and he only manipulated them to do his deeds, which led to nasty incidents over the years, among them being them assisting Riddle to open the Chamber of Secrets. Through Riddle's intelligent and discreet methods, the gang was never connected to these incidents.[1]
Presumably, although the gang disbanded after Riddle graduated from Hogwarts in 1945, it was a precursor to the Death Eater organisation. According to Riddle, he was even already going by the name "Lord Voldemort" among the members of the gang. Indeed, at least some of the members became the earliest known Death Eaters.[3]
Known members[]
- "They were a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating toward a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty."
- — Albus Dumbledore on the principal attributes of the gang, many of whom would later go on and become Death Eaters[src]
- Tom Riddle (leader)[1]
- Avery[1]
- Lestrange[1]
- Rosier (possibly)
- Mulciber I (possibly)
- Nott (possibly)
Behind the scenes[]
- The gang may have been titled the 'Knights of Walpurgis'. This was one of the earlier names of the Death Eaters, though it is unknown at what time period they were called this. This name seems to be a play on Walpurgis Night, the evening of 30 April when, according to legend, witches and demons gather.[4]
- Interestingly, this group shares many of the same surnames with those who were part of the gang of Slytherins that attended Hogwarts in the 1970s. This is likely not coincidental as those in the latter group may be the children of those in the former.
- It's unknown what happened to the members of the gang when Tom was abroad looking for followers. It's possible that they travelled with him or they may have simply kept in correspondence with him while remaining in England.
Appearances[]
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First mentioned)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (First appearance) (Appears in flashback(s))
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film) (Appears in flashback(s))
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (video game) (Appears in flashback(s))
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 17 (A Sluggish Memory)
- ↑ CBBC Newsround - FULL transcript of JK's OOTP interview
- ↑ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 20 (Lord Voldemort's Request)
- ↑ Paxman, Jeremy, interviewer. "JK's OOTP interview," BBC Newsnight 19 June 2003.