Hagrid the Death Eater Theory

Zach Hansen

I started a read-through of Harry Potter recently, and I was determined to pay close attention to Snape early on with interest to viewing his character through the lens of a double-agent. However, early on I noticed the strangest behavior coming from Hagrid instead which I had never noticed before. I started paying more attention to the actions, statements, and inconsistencies in Hagrid and realized almost every move taken somehow aided Voldemort. I read the entire series watching for anything to prove or disprove Hagrid being a Death Eater, and by far the majority of the evidence points toward Hagrid as a servant of the Dark Lord.

Is this what J.K. Rowling intended? Almost certainly not! Is this theory given entirely seriously? Definitely not. I still find it to be intriguing given the amount of evidence which supports the conclusion that Hagrid is one of the top servants of Voldemort. In short, what I posit and will provide evidence for:

1. Hagrid is a high ranking servant of Lord Voldemort.

2. Hagrid is secretly much more talented of a liar than he lets on.

3. Hagrid is secretly a much more talented wizard than he lets on.

4. Hagrid has been performing deep cover tradecraft, espionage, source validation, sabotage, and spotting and assessing for Voldemort.

5. Hagrid has been in the service of Lord Voldemort at least since the First Wizarding War, potentially since his time at Hogwarts.

Scope of the Evidence

I will lay out the evidence in chronological order as it is presented in the books, while referencing supporting pieces of evidence from the rest of the series. I am basing this theory entirely on what is textually presented within the original 7 Harry Potter books and not based on other material such as video games, movies, Cursed Child, Pottermore, or the word of J.K. Rowling outside of the text.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Summary

In the Sorcerer’s Stone, we see the following from Hagrid:

* Magical abilities Hagrid uses which are otherwise only known by high-level Death Eaters or extremely talented wizards and witches.

* Disregard to and participation in cruelty to Muggles, as well as a casual approach to Azkaban-level offenses.

* Subtle manipulations of Harry which put him into private contact with Voldemort on multiple occasions.

* Passing private information regarding security directly to Voldemort.

The Evidence

Hagrid’s immediate presence at the Potter residence indicates that he knows advanced fast-travel magic.

When we first meet Hagrid he is delivering baby Harry to the Dursleys’ house. He rides in on Sirius’ motorcycle with the child for delivery, and mentions to Dumbledore and McGonagall how the Potter house was almost entirely destroyed “but I got him out before the Muggles started swarmin’ around.” We know from later books that Sirius gave Hagrid the motorcycle while at the Potter residence. Godric’s Hollow is located somewhere in the West Country portion of England, and we know that Hagrid lives at Hogwarts, somewhere in the Scottish Highlands. We also know that Hagrid is not allowed to use magic due to his expulsion from Hogwarts, which places his magical ability supposedly at the third year level.

Hagrid had to be able to travel to Godric’s Hollow and arrive at the Potter residence before any emergency services arrived, beating their travel time in response to an explosion that blew out the entire side of a house. Hagrid arrived and took the child away, having run into only one other person, Sirius Black. Hagrid is too heavy to ride a broom or thestral, as he states in Book 7; Apparition is only taught in the fifth year and requires a Ministry-issued license. Portkeys need to be approved by the Ministry. Hagrid would not have learned any of this magic in his three years at Hogwarts. He does not have the flying motorcycle until he already arrives at Godric’s Hollow. The only two explanations are: he is using some sort of magic to travel quickly, or he already happened to be in the area of the attack on the Potter residence and was able to respond to the unexpected explosion immediately.

Without means of fast travel, Hagrid would have needed to already be hanging around Godric’s Hollow, but why would he do this? There is no previous connection between Hagrid and Godric’s Hollow other than his having known James and Lily, and the attack from Voldemort on the Potter family was unexpected to the Order of the Phoenix. It’s much more likely that Hagrid has a means of fast travel, which indicates a much more advanced level of magic than we expect from him.

Hagrid knew where to collect Harry, likely because Wormtail told him.

How did Hagrid even know where to collect Harry? We know James and Lily were in hiding using the Fidelius Charm. This charm prevents any person except those told by the Secret Keeper (Wormtail) from knowing where the Potters were, nor could anyone but Wormtail tell someone else. The only people mentioned in the books who knew where the Potters were hiding were Wormtail, Dumbledore, Sirius, and Voldemort. In Book 7, Harry surmises the Fidelius Charm died with his parents; as he was not Secret Keeper, Dumbledore could not have told Hagrid where the house was until after Wormtail or the Potters died. Yet somehow Hagrid appeared at the residence within minutes after the attack. It is possible that Dumbledore tells Hagrid where to go immediately after the Potters are killed, but the necessary conclusion in that case is that Hagrid is capable of high-level magic, as well as creating the question of how Dumbledore knew of the Potters’ deaths. Given that Wormtail doesn’t die until Book 7, the much more straightforward conclusion is that Hagrid knew where to go in Book 1 is that Wormtail had let him in on the secret along with Voldemort.

Hagrid knows about the function and effects of Horcr