Summary

• The use of seven Harry Potters in the Battle of the Seven Potters provided protection due to the magical properties of the number seven, as revealed by Dumbledore.
• The plan originated from Dumbledore's portrait, who knew that Harry's vulnerability would draw Voldemort's attention while ensuring his safety.
• Giving Harry the Polyjuice potion would not have worked because his signature spell, Expelliarmus, would have given away his true identity, making the Seven Potters plan necessary to protect him.

The Battle of the Seven Potters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been heavily criticized by fans over the years, but magical lore may explain how this plan was supposed to work. The battle occurred when the Order of the Phoenix attempted to remove Harry from the No. 4 Privet Drive for the last time. To keep the Death Eaters from knowing where Harry was being moved, the Order used Polyjuice potion to disguise six others to look like the Boy Who Lived. There seems to be a lot wrong with this plan since it put more people in danger and did little to protect Harry himself.

When Fred, George, Fleur, Ron, Hermione, and Mundungus took the Polyjuice potion and took Harry's form in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it seemed to give the Death Eaters only a few more targets to take out. Fans have determined that it would have made more sense to give Harry some Polyjuice Potion to make himself look like someone else rather than everyone else put themselves in danger. Moreover, the fact that the Death Eaters quickly deduced which of the seven Potters was the real one seems to prove that this plan was majorly flawed. However, there's a specific reason that everything turned out (more or less) okay.

The Battle Of Seven Potters Depends On The Magical Properties Of 7

The number of Potters that flew through the sky that night in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was rather significant. As was revealed by a young Tom Riddle in Half-Blood Prince, the number seven has magical properties. This was why Voldemort decided to split his soul into seven pieces—he knew that splitting himself up so many times would weaken himself, but the rules of Arithmancy in Harry Potter lore determine that the number seven has protective qualities. Unfortunately for Voldemort, he accidentally split his soul into eight pieces when he made Harry into an unintentional Horcrux—and something similar happened with the Seven Potters plan.

By ensuring that seven Harry Potters left the Dursleys', the Order of the Phoenix ensured that they were as protected as they could be. However, changing this number would mean all such protection would be diminished. This is what happened when Mundungus Fletcher Disapparated from the battle after seeing Lord Voldemort—his escape meant there were only six Potters left. The group, now vulnerable, suffered under the Death Eaters' attack. Mad-Eye Moody was killed, and the plan quickly began to fall further apart.

The Harry Potter Movies Missed Where The Seven Potters Plan Came From

The Seven Potters battle depending on the magical properties of the number seven was never mentioned in either the Harry Potter books or movies. However, when looking at where this plan came from, it makes sense that it would be full of subtler forms of protective magic. When Harry watched Severus Snape's memories in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he saw that Albus Dumbledore's portrait had been the one to come up with the Seven Potters plan. He instructed Snape to find Mundungus, place him under the Imperius Curse, and plant the plan in his mind. Then Mundungus suggested it to Mad-Eye Moody, who set it into motion.

Since it has been revealed (via Wizarding World) that, before his death, the real Dumbledore had taught his portrait what to do and how to help Snape, the Seven Potters plan had come directly from the old heaster himself. He knew that the moment Harry left his Aunt's home for the last time, Lily Potter's protection would be no more. So, he called on the protection of another mysterious form of magic to temporarily take its place. Additionally, he knew that this plan would need to keep Severus Snape's status as a double agent from being discovered by Voldemort—and it did.

The Seven Potters Battle Went Wrong In Other Ways (But That Was All Part Of The Plan)

To Harry and the Order of the Phoenix , it appeared as if their plan had gone wrong long before Mundugus Disapparated or Mad-Eye Moody died. Despite their hard work planting a false date of departure with the Death Eaters, they had clearly found out the correct date. This was because, unbeknownst to them, Snape had been the one to plant the idea in Mundugus' head to begin with. Dumbledore's portrait had instructed him to tell Voldemort the correct date, therefore earning his trust that much further.

Of course, by giving Voldemort the correct date, Dumbledore and Snape were putting Harry Potter in great danger, which is why the subtleties of the Seven Potters plan were necessary. Just like with Dumbledore's plan to have Harry sacrifice himself to the Dark Lord, the heaster needed Voldemort to think the Boy Who Lived was vulnerable, all the while knowing that he was as safe as he possibly could be—even if the Dark Lord did manage to figure out which of the Seven Potters was the real one.

Why Harry Didn’t Disguise Himself With Polyjuice Potion (Instead Of Everyone Else)

The most significant criticism of the Seven Potters plan is that the Order of the Phoenix could have simply given Harry Potter the Polyjuice potion and had him turn into any nondescript witch or wizard. Then, a bunch of unimportant-looking characters would have left No. 4 Privet Drive, and the Death Eaters would have been just as confused and unsure of who to attack. However, it's important to that Harry managed to reveal himself as the real Potter fairly quickly in the Harry Potter books. When he cast his signature ive spell, Expelliarmus, the Death Eaters could tell precisely who he was, and they focused their efforts on him.

Dumbledore knew that Harry's gentle nature and refusal to kill anyone were one of his key character traits. He would have been clever enough to recognize that no matter what disguise he placed him under, the Boy Who Lived would reveal himself by refusing to kill. This was a battle, after all. The choice to disarm an attacker rather than kill was a strange one. By creating the Seven Potters plan before his death, Albus Dumbledore ensured that Harry's nature wouldn't get him killed. The plan didn't go perfectly in Harry Potter, but it can't be denied that it was pulled off just as Dumbledore would have expected.