The Order of the Phoenix is more than just the name of a Harry Potter book and movie, it is also the name of a secretive organization created to protect the wizarding and muggle world from Lord Voldemort and his many followers. The original Order was formed back in the 1970s during the First Wizarding War. It was reassembled later on during the Second Wizarding War to defend against Voldemort's return.
Many of the book's protagonists and heroes were members of the Order, either in the past, present, or both. They were all assigned various duties of varying degrees of importance to serve the betterment of wizardkind. But there is a surprising amount of information to learn about the organization, here are ten things you never knew about the original Order of the Phoenix.
Albus Dumbledore founded the first Order of the Phoenix
It was Albus Dumbledore who organized the original Order of the Phoenix. This makes sense because, at the time, he was coming off the ambitious win of defeating dark wizard Gellert Grindlewald.
Creating an organization of skilled wizards and Aurors who would defend everyone against further threats to the community was a common-sense decision and smart one on Dumbledore's behalf. Plus, it makes sense that Dumbledore would be the one to create the group given his importance to the community at large.
Diversity was a key factor in the Order
The Order of the Phoenix stood for everything that the Death Eaters were against. The Order was not restrictive about who could join, so long as they were passionate, devote, and skilled. That means they were happy to invite Squibs, half-bloods, and Muggle-borns to the resistance. Dumbledore prided himself and his group of being diverse.
It was an important philosophical mandate he encouraged to keep the Order full of varied bright minds. Death Eaters were fundamentally against everything and everyone who wasn't pure-blood or at least half-blood. Muggle-borns and Squibs would definitely not be allowed to join their ranks.
The Order had several secret members
While we know many of the original Order members, there are some that were never mentioned, although it is presumed they existed off-screen. But there were also secret members of the Order we knew like Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt.
Both Tonks and Kingsley worked for the reformed Order under the pretense of being loyal to the Ministry of Magic in order to keep an eye on things in their departments. We can also assume there were secret members working for the Order during the early days as well.
Many Order members watched Harry when he was still with the Dursleys
After Voldemort was vanquished by Harry as a baby, the Order continued to keep watch over Harry. Given that he became a celebrity, it also puts a target on his back, particularly by the lasting members of Voldemort's followers.
If you remember back in the very first book, Harry even had a run-in with Dedalus Diggle. The excited wizard bowed and got excited when meeting Harry in a shop before Petunia rushed him out. Then there's obviously Arabella Figg that also watched out for Harry on Dumbledore's order to keep an eye on him as his babysitter.
Arabella Figg's cats may have been Kneazles working with the Order
Speaking of Miss Figg, she is known for having several cats. The cats were thought of as her pride and joy. Interestingly, at least one of them was half-Kneazle, a species of hyper-intelligent cat-like magical creature.
We know that her cat Mr. Tibbs worked as a spy for the Order in the later books, but there is a distinct possibility her other cats could have also been part-Kneazle and assisted the original Order.
Why Molly Weasley was probably not in the original Order
Even though the majority of the Weasley family was part of the original Order of the Phoenix, and the revived Order, it's interesting that Molly was never technically an official part of the Order.
The reason most likely being that Molly was a mother of seven children and wound up putting motherhood before duties to the Order. That doesn't mean she wasn't still an important figure to the group. We know Molly is a competent witch and has been a great aid to the many members in the past and during the reformation.
The Order never really disbanded
Even though Dumbledore technically did disband the Order after Voldemort was vanquished after the First Wizarding War, the group never really fully went away. Dumbledore always knew that Voldemort wasn't dead and had the potential to return.
With that being the case, it is unlikely he would have let everyone go back to their normal lives. We know that Dumbledore made sure all the members stayed on edge, ready to come back together to fight once more should the Dark Lord ever return. He assigned many wizards to keep an eye on Harry and keep him safe.
The original Order members were considered celebrities
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the original Order of the Phoenix members were treated like celebrities.
Lily and James Potter were always spoken of with immense kindness and pride, Harry was seen as a celebrity, both because of what happened to Voldemort and because of who his parents were. Given all the Order did for the wizarding world, they were praised as heroes and thought of as magical celebrities.
The Bones family were considered to be some of the best wizards
Hagrid considered the Bones family to be some of the most powerful wizards around. They were members of the original Order and Amelia Bones was a member of the Ministry of Magic.
She was one of the few remaining people at the Ministry that was kind and had good intentions. Harry was lucky to have her as a proctor during his trial. Unfortunately, the original Bones were murdered and Amelia was as well. Though Harry does meet her niece, Susan Bones.
The origin of the Order's name
Did you know that originally, J.K. Rowling had the names of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army swapped? She eventually decided that switching them would make more sense.
We know how Dumbledore's Army came about, with Harry wanting to name it after the Ministry's worst fear. But Dumbledore named the Order of the Phoenix as such due to his relationship with his loyal pet Fawkes the Phoenix.