Editing Death Eater (section)

===Pre-Harry Potter===
The Death Eaters first existed over 11 years before the events of the ''Harry Potter'' novels, torturing and murdering [[Muggle]]s (non-magical people), as well as anyone who opposed them. When a deadly curse from Voldemort rebounded off Harry Potter and disembodied the Dark Lord, the Death Eaters largely disbanded and vanished.<ref name="GoF1">Rowling, J. K. (2000). ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire''. Bloomsbury Publishing. Chapter 33: The Death Eaters are revealed to have existed for over a decade before the events of the series, engaging in torture and murder.</ref><ref name="OotP1">Rowling, J. K. (2003). ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix''. Bloomsbury Publishing. Chapter 9: The Death Eaters targeted Muggles and opponents of Voldemort.</ref><ref name="PS1">Rowling, J. K. (1997). ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone''. Bloomsbury Publishing. Chapter 1: The Death Eaters disband after Voldemort’s curse rebounds off Harry Potter and destroys his body.</ref>