Harry Potter novels and films follow a group of Snatchers, an army of Death Eaters that preys upon Muggles or Wizards. Led by Fenrir Greyback, these Snatchers seek revenge upon Harry and his friends.
Harry, Ron and Hermione first encounter the snatchers in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when they are seen chasing Harry, Ron and Hermione after activating Voldemort’s “Taboo curse” (which makes it taboo to use his name).
They are a group of Death Eaters
What are Snatchers?
The Snatchers are a group of Death Eaters working for Voldemort. These wizards and humanoid creatures seek to capture any Muggle-born, half-blood or blood traitors in order to destroy the Wizarding world.
They are an elite group of Death Eaters working for Voldemort, their primary objective being to take control of the Ministry of Magic and restore pure-blood rule over Wizarding society. Additionally, they have a reputation for severely persecuting Muggle-born wizards by sending them to Azkaban or feeding them to Dementors.
Their tactics involve kidnapping Muggle-born wizards, particularly those with weak magic. Additionally, they have murdered people loyal to the Muggle community such as Molly Weasley and her twin brothers Gideon and Fabian Prewett.
Fenrir Greyback is one of the most feared members of the Snatchers. He turned Remus Lupin into a werewolf, causing him much suffering and misery. A vicious and violent man, Fenrir enjoys attacking Muggle-born children for sport.
He is responsible for the death of Draco Malfoy. Throughout the series, he bullied Harry and his friends. Additionally, he served as a Death Eater, sent to eliminate Dumbledore.
The Snatchers are a formidable group of Death Eaters led by Greyback. Their mission: to locate and capture Harry, Hermione and Ron using the Taboo curse. Once captured, they transport them to Malfoy Manor for execution.
In the seventh book, Harry accidentally activates the Taboo curse and is found outside their tent by a group of Snatchers. They recognize Harry and Hermione by their scars, match her to a picture in The Daily Prophet which indicates she will be traveling with him, and notice Harry wears glasses.
When Harry is captured by the Snatchers, they attempt to disguise him as Vernon Dudley of Slytherin and Barny Weasley of Gryffindor. Unfortunately, Hermione has permanently disfigured Harry’s face with a Stinging Jinx.
They are led by Fenrir Greyback
Snatchers are wizards and werewolves working for Lord Voldemort to capture Muggleborns, Blood Traitors and Undesirables. They possess binding spells to hold their prey captive, as well as a red tie around one arm which signifies their allegiance to Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
They are led by Fenrir Greyback, a werewolf. As an important member of the Death Eaters, he works alongside Lord Voldemort to create as many werewolves as possible.
He is an imposing werewolf who commands great respect in the wizarding community. His goal is to infect as many people as possible with his virus in order to create powerful werewolves that can take over the wizarding realm. When the moon approaches full, he likes to position himself close to potential victims so he can bite them when they transform into werewolves.
Greyback enjoys turning his victims into werewolves and biting them to make them more vicious and dangerous. He believes that werewolves deserve blood so they should seek revenge against the wizarding world for what has done to them.
Greyback is not an official Death Eater as he does not bear the Dark Mark; as a werewolf, he did not subscribe to their views of racial superiority. Nevertheless, Greyback remains valuable as an accomplice to the Death Eaters due to his access to victims.
The Snatchers do not wear uniforms like the Death Eaters, but they do sport a red tie around their arm which symbolizes their loyalty to Lord Voldemort. They are equipped with binding spells which they fire at their victims.
They possess both physical and mental strength as well as acute senses of smell.
The Snatchers are mostly equipped with binding spells, but they also possess metal chains and shackles which they throw at their targets. Furthermore, they possess the power of casting a “battering curse” which could inflict serious injury or death upon its target.
Hermione Granger successfully repelled Greyback at the Battle of Hogwarts, and Professor Trelawney then threw a crystal ball that stunned him. Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom then managed to ‘bring him down’ (DH36).
Hermione uses her powerful curse to stop Greyback from attacking Lavender Brown during the Battle of Hogwarts, sending him off Viaduct Courtyard and into a ravine below, where he unfortunately meets his end. However, this cannot be considered canon as it contradicts Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
They are a mob
The Snatchers are a group of witches and wizards that has joined Lord Voldemort, the main villain from Harry Potter. They scour the country looking for Muggleborns (or Mudbloods), blood traitors and those using Voldemort’s name – which has a curse placed upon it by Voldemort himself.
They don no uniforms and wear clothing similar to regular wizards, such as hoodies, sweatshirts and jackets. A red strip of cloth tied around their left arm symbolizes their allegiance to both Lord Voldemort and the organisation he leads – an obvious nod towards Nazi Gestapo activities.
In the book Harry, Ron, and Hermione are captured by a group of Snatchers led by Fenrir Greyback after activating the Taboo curse. They appear outside their tent where they had been hiding and take them captive. After being brought to Malfoy Manor where Draco Malfoy interrogates them about their identities, all three men must confess.
At this stage, they must conceal themselves and assume the identities of Vernon Dudley, Barny Weasley and Penelope Clearwater in order to escape with help from Harry’s wand and Disapparate spell.
Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell and Gornuk were all members of a group led by Dean Thomas that served as bait for the Death Eaters to capture Muggle-borns, blood traitors and people using Voldemort’s name. As they interrogated them further, it was revealed that they possess a “secret radio transmission” called Potterwatch which alerts them when they come up against someone they are searching for.
In the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Snatchers appear to be far more numerous than in the books due to it being easier for them to round up Muggle-borns, blood traitors or people using Voldemort’s name. They receive a gold bonus for each Muggle-born, muggle-blood or blood traitor they capture.
In the final battle of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Snatchers charge Hogwarts as a militia to support the Death Eaters. They bear an uncanny resemblance to both Scourges that terrorised America’s wizarding community in the 1870s, as well as Nazi Einsatzgruppen which rounded up Jews and other groups. In both movie adaptations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, each Snatcher is seen wearing a strip of red fabric tied around their left arm – an obvious nod to both swastika armbands worn by Nazi Gestapo members and red arm bands worn by Communist secret police during Russian Civil War.
They are a militia
The Snatchers are a group of wizards working for Lord Voldemort who search the country for any Muggle-borns or blood traitors and alert the Ministry of Magic if anyone uses Voldemort’s name – this being done due to his Taboo curse which makes it illegal to mention his name publicly.
Harry, Ron and Hermione unwittingly activate the Taboo Curse in their tent, leading them to be captured by a group of Snatchers led by Fenrir Greyback. These Snatchers then take them to Malfoy Manor where Draco Malfoy asks them to identify themselves.
They reveal their names as they are interrogated, and the Snatchers take them to Voldemort’s brother Sirius Black’s castle where they kill twelve Muggles (DH19). Additionally, Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell, and Gornuk were murdered as part of a group working for Dean Thomas and Harry.
These Snatchers bear an uncanny resemblance to the Nazi Gestapo and Schutzstaffel, who formed Einsatzgruppen during World War II that rounded up Jews and other targets of Hitler. Additionally, they wear a strip of red fabric around their left arm which serves as a nod to swastika armbands worn by members of the Gestapo.
In both the first and second film adaptations of Harry Potter books, each Snatcher is seen wearing a strip of red fabric tied to their arm as a sign of loyalty to both their organization and Lord Voldemort. They appear armed with various weapons such as spears or bows-and-arrows.
The Snatchers are less organized and structured than the Death Eaters, yet they still serve as a militia of wizards supporting Voldemort. Furthermore, they protect Hogwarts’ population by testing its magical defenses when Voldemort attacked the school.
Snatchers were not only responsible for rounding up Muggleborns, but they served as a source of gold for the Ministry. Furthermore, they served as decoys to deceive Voldemort into believing he had won the Battle of Hogwarts.
