sparsely opining

When we are first introduced to the stories around Sirius, we get this:

Anyway, they cornered Black in the middle of a street full of Muggles an' Black took out 'is wand and 'e blasted 'alf the street apart, an' a wizard got it, an' so did a dozen Muggles what got in the way. 'Orrible, eh? An' you know what Black did then?" Stan continued in a dramatic whisper.

"What?" said Harry.

"Laughed," said Stan. "Jus' stood there an' laughed. An' when reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic got there, 'e went wiv em quiet as anyfink, still laughing 'is 'ead off. 'Cos 'e's mad, inee, Ern? Inee mad?"

And this laughter gets contextualised in the ending chapters of POA:

"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room.

In the second scene, he is laughing at the sheer gall of Peter to accuse him after everything.

I have interpreted this contrarian impulse as a habit from his home life - designed to piss people off when they accuse him of something, most likely unjust. And it is the same response that happens in his breakdown over James and Lily's death on the street - it is the mirthless laughter that begins because of audacity of Peter, the situation he found himself in, and it goes into breakdown over James's death.

But you know who else carries these impulses? Harry! There are many small moments in Dursley chapters where Harry has to fight the desire to laugh in a highly tense situation. Sample:

The Dursleys rounded on Harry like a pair of angry wolverines.

What is this?” growled Uncle Vernon. “What’s going on?”

“They — they’ve tried to get here by Floo powder,” said Harry, fighting a mad desire to laugh. “They can travel by fire — only you’ve blocked the fireplace — hang on — ”

But there are more. Here is after Sirius' death, quite a parallel to Sirius' own response, isn't it? Go after who is responsible and then laugh in a hopeless situation:

"Well, you’re going to have to kill me, because it’s gone!” Harry roared — and as he shouted it, pain seared across his forehead. His scar was on fire again, and he felt a surge of fury that was quite unconnected with his own rage. “And he knows!” said Harry with a mad laugh to match Bellatrix ’s own.

(....)

"LIAR!” she shrieked, but he could hear the terror behind the anger now. “YOU’VE GOT IT, POTTER, AND YOU WILL GIVE IT TO ME — Accio Prophecy ! Harry laughed again because he knew it would incense her, the pain building in his head so badly he thought his skull might burst.

And we see it here too. Boy has morbid streak like his godfather:

For the first time, Harry imagined Mad—Eye’s body, broken as Dumbledore’s had been, yet with that one eye still whizzing in its socket. He felt a stab of revulsion mixed with a bizarre desire to laugh.

somewhere among the seven sisters in east sussex:

why?

because the cave is the location in which he hides the only horcux which connects him to his mother.

"the seven sisters" is a term used to refer not only to these cliffs, but to the pleiades star formation.

and one of the stars of the pleiades...

With some help of @tedwardremus and @siriuslychessi, I've been geeking out again.

In short, I think there were about 50-100 dark mark bearing Death Eaters at the height of the war. So let's get into it:

Those we know escaped punishment: c30 DEs

…and what use would it be to deprive Voldemort of his wand, even if he could, when he was surrounded by Death Eaters, outnumbering at least thirty to one?

In the graveyard in GOF, there were about 30 DEs (if we take Harry’s 30 to 1 statement literally). Of those, we know the following seven were present: Lucius Malfoy, Walden Macnair, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, and Peter Pettigrew.

Additionally, in ‘Spinner’s End’ (HBP) we learn from Snape that he was among the many Death Eaters who did not go to Azkaban for their crimes. The three(/four) examples given were: Lucius Malfoy, the Carrows, and Yaxley. Apart from Lucius, that adds three more Death Eaters that, since they weren’t in Azkaban, would likely have Apparated to Voldemort's side in the graveyard; the Carrow siblings, Alecto and Amycus, and Corban Yaxley.

Those we know got killed: c 3 DEs

“Rosier and Wilkes — they were both killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell.”

“[Evan] Rosier is dead,” said Crouch. “He was caught shortly after you were too. He preferred to fight rather than come quietly and was killed in the struggle.”

Evan Rosier is a separate Rosier from "Rosier and Wilkes" because Evan Rosier was killed after the McKinnon's and the Prewetts were murdered.

Those we know got imprisoned and escaped Azkaban in OOTP: 10

…she spread the newspaper on the table in front of them and pointed at ten black-and-white photographs that filled the whole of the front page, nine showing wizards’ faces and the tenth, a witch’s.

Of those, seven are referenced/seen in ‘The Pensieve’ (GOF) being sent to Azkaban: Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood, Mulciber, and Travers; as well as the three Lestranges, Bellatrix, Rodolphus and Rabastan.

Defectors: 3

Igor Karkaroff—was a Death Eater during the first war, but chose to make a deal with the ministry and ran for it when Voldemort returned.

Severus Snape—was a Death Eater during the first war, turned spy for Dumbledore

Regulus Black—was a Death Eater during the first war, died trying to destroy a horcrux

Death Eaters we don’t know the origin of

We also know the name of some Death Eaters that either might have gone to Azkaban, or might have been present at the re-birth of Voldemort or might have joined in the second war.

If the four were part of the first wizarding war, they would have either been in the graveyard or they would have been imprisoned, and therefore does nothing to the total count of Death Eaters we know operated during the first war. I've merely added them for completeness:

Jugson—Jugson was definitely either at the rebirth or in Azkaban because he’s mentioned in passing when Lucius yells out every Death Eater’s name when chasing Harry and the group in the DOM. At this point, Voldemort is operating in secret, and there’s no way he will have recruited new DEs yet.

Gibbon—Remus recognises him during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, which some take to believe means he was likely on a wanted poster of the Azkaban escapees more than a year previous, and I am inclined to agree this is probable. In any case, I suspect he must have been part of the first wizarding war for Remus to recognise him so easily (unless Remus ran into him at school or something).

Throfinn Rowle—”That’s Dolohov. I recognize him from the old wanted posters. I think the big one’s Thorfinn Rowle.” (Ron, DH) The fact that Ron recognises Dolohov from the wanted poster, and not Rowle, suggests he wasn’t amongst the ten escapees, but I’ve heard the counter argument that there’s no other way for Ron to have recognised Rowle but the wanted posters. 

Selwyn—”Behind him came another scream, ‘Your wand, Selwyn, give me your wand!’” (Battle of the seven potters, DH) We know Selwyn was an active DE in the second war even before the Ministry fell, but we have no idea if he was part of the first wizarding war.

Total bottom-up count:

We know there are at least 40 Death Eaters in the second war, who were active during the first war, plus 3 defected (Karkaroff, Snape, Regulus) plus 3 Death Eaters that got killed (Rosier, Rosier and Wilkes).

There is also the case of the potentially missing Mulciber. We know there’s at least one Mulciber active during the second war, but there were two in the first war—Muliciber Snape’s friend and Mulciber Sr who went to the Hogs Head with a group of Death Eaters back when Voldemort cursed the DADA position.

“Then if I were to stop in the Hog’s Head this evening, I wouldn’t find Nott, Rosier, Mulciber and Dolohov waiting for your return?”

It’s possible one of the Mulcibers got killed or arrested (if so I’d bet on it being before Karkaroff’s trial, as Crouch never asks him to specify which Mulciber), and subsequently died in prison. 

In any case, we’re looking at about 46-47 Death Eaters.

Total top-down count:

However, we also have this number from Remus:

“... you weren’t in the Order then, you don’t understand, last time we were outnumbered twenty to one by the Death Eaters and they were picking us off one by one...”

Which begs the question: How many members were there in the Order of the Phoenix?

In the Order Photograph: 20

Alastor Moody; Dedalus Diggle; Marlene McKinnon, Frank and Alice Longbottom; Emmeline Vance; Remus Lupin; Benjy Fenwick; Edgar Bones; Sturgis Podmore; Caradoc Dearborn; Rubeus Hagrid; Elphias Doge; Gideon Prewett; Aberforth Dumbledore; Dorcas Meadows; Lily and James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black

The old crowd: +2

“You are to alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher — the old crowd. Lie low at Lupins for a while; I will contact you there.”

In addition to the Order photo, we know Figg and Fletcher were part of the Order

Others: +2

And let us not forget Albus Dumbledore. Plus, I think we all assume Fabian Prewett was part of the Order, but just not available for the picture.

Meaning there are about 24 Order members in the original order.

If we take Remus’ statement literally there should be c480 Death Eaters. Given about 30 escape punishment, and 10 survives Azkaban long enough to escape it in OOTP, that would mean 440 Death Eaters got caught and either killed or died in Azkaban. The maths isn’t mathing. But it doesn’t have to.

Now, given Death Eaters are often described as Voldemort’s inner circle:

“And when You-Know-Who disappeared,” said Fred, craning around to look at Harry, “Lucius Malfoy came back saying he’d never meant any of it. Load of dung — Dad reckons he was right in You-Know- Who’s inner circle.”

“Malfoy’s dad must have told him,” said Harry, ignoring Ron. “He was right in Voldemort’s inner circle — ”

Harry thought he knew why Greyback was not calling Voldemort. The werewolf might be allowed to wear Death Eater robes when they wanted to use him, but only Voldemort’s inner circle were branded with the Dark Mark: Greyback had not been granted this highest honor.

I don’t think we can assume Remus is being entirely literal when he says they were outnumbered 20-1 with Death Eaters. It’s more likely he is referring to the broader group of Voldemort’s supporters: Werewolves, giants, snatchers and those allowed to wear Death Eater robes (like Fenrir) without bearing the mark.  That does probably amount to about 500, given:

By the time the four friends [Remus, Peter, Sirius and James] left school, Lord Voldemort’s ascendancy was almost complete. True resistance to him was concentrated in the underground organisation called the Order of the Phoenix, which all four young men joined.

If we can't take Remus' number literally, we're going to have to rely on logic. My guess is that we’re looking at about 50-100 Dark Mark bearing/inner circle Death Eaters.

this is a lovely one, thank you so much anon. the two baby weasleys. two beloved bruisers who will squabble til the cows come home but who would absolutely take bullets for each other in a heart beat... it's the loves of my life, ron and ginny weasley.

the dynamic between ron and ginny is, as you say, deeply misunderstood, deeply underrated and, ultimately, deeply loving. the ron haters will say ron's a misogynistic slut shamer towards his sister: the ginny haters (these are, i fear, much more numerous...) will say that ginny is a nasty bully towards her big brother, the family/molly's favourite who basks in greater limelight and parental love than poor tormented ronnie. i think that says more about fandom's inability to a) remember we are talking about children/teenagers, b) remember that tripping your brother to humble him when he's being openly horny about his future in sister in law is praxis, and c) grasp that conflict between characters does not preclude the presence of real love, care and mutual respect in their relationship. ron and ginny's dynamic is interesting because it brings out each characters' insecurities and flaws (for ron, his anxieties about his reputation among his own peers and his position within his own family, his worry about his family's wider reputation and wellbeing, his particular overbearing concern about ginny's safety post CoS; for ginny, her resentment of being overprotected, her inability to stomach hypocrisy and tendency to fly off the handle when confronted with it, her righteous temper in general...) but i think if the characters were, er, real, and you were able to show them the fandom takes/discourse around their relationship they'd be like, er, what? obviously we love each other to death. we're very very close. we're mates who enjoy each other's company and increasingly hang out a ton and treasure each other as dearly beloved family, what are you on about? like, yes, of course they bicker. of course they fight. but those two, in their core, are good. i think as adults they'd be closer still.

(there's been a horrid fanon tendency in the last few years to make a lot of hay out of the idea that molly desperately wanted a daughter and mistreated ron, her sixth son, as a result. this is an allegation that seems to have its sole canon basis in what the horcrux screams at ron ('least loved, always, by the mother who craved a daughter'). looking past the fact that the horcrux is, er, expressing ron's fears not reality (in its next breath claims hermione is .... in love with harry lads! tiktok fandom discourse do not like to remember this!), i think it's very important that even if this is ron's fear - that his mum loves him less than his siblings and only had him because she was trying to have a girl - it doesn't actually ever inform any resentment or jealousy towards ginny by ron. ron and ginny fight, of course, they do, but ron never makes this apparent anxiety ginny's problem. ginny could be someone ron bitterly resents, someone his mother and, by 1997, his best friend prefers. but he doesn't ever do that. ron just really loves his sister and wants her to be safe, and yeah, sometimes that pisses her off, but it doesn't come from a place of envy or resentment, which, given ron has oodles of that in other relationships, is saying something.)

my favourite ron and ginny moments:

in CoS when ron's desperate to see ginny get sorted and then gutted that he missed it :(

in CoS when ron teases ginny sweetly about her crush on harry but as soon as malfoy does it is ready to commit bodily harm

in PoA when ginny's suffering with the dementors and she goes looking for ron (even though the last thing he told her was to go away, lmao. just sibling things. fuck off and die! but also i would give you both my kidneys)

in GoF where ginny really is trying not to laugh at ron for asking out fleur when that is plainly fucking funny

in OotP when ron gets one singular look at michael corner and decides he is NOT good enough for his sister and also probably a traitor

in HBP when ron and ginny are at war with each other but ginny names her pygmy puff after him and as soon as ron is poisoned ginny is the first person on the scene (with hermione) and does up poirot with harry trying to solve the mystery of her beloved brother's assassination attempt. he will be avenged!

in DH when the catalyst for the ron/harry fight escalating and ron leaving is the moment ron accuses harry of not caring enough about ginny........ king shit sorry!

bonus in DH when ron's like yeah ofc i didn't go home are you mad. fred and george would have been fuming. and ginny, my moral weather vane, would have run me through with the rustiest of pikes

A “beloved boy” to Fleamont and Euphemia Potter

A friend who risked his life every month for Remus Lupin’s safety and comfort

A brother who took Sirius Black in and was “the best friend he ever had”

An adored friend of half-giant Rubeus Hagrid, in an age when all “half-breeds” were looked upon with suspicion during the war

A side of the double act which brought laughter to Madam Rosmerta

An “all-time favourite student” of Minerva McGonagall, so much so that she waited all day at his son’s future home and wept at his death

A saviour of his enemies even when they were trying to expose his friends’ secrets

A Head Boy who was capable enough to be entrusted with the school

A man so against Dark Magic that at his name being invoked, his loved ones changed their mind about vengeance 

An activist protecting the right of existence for Muggles and Muggle-borns right out of school

A soldier who faced Voldemort three times and lived to tell about it

A caring father who went into hiding to protect his son 

A loving husband who sacrificed his life for his family

A faded trace of magic still trying to guide his son when the man that killed him returned to life