Three dead in my service...

[Mistress Siana]

I've just noticed something. In GoF, when the newly reborn Voldemort gathers his ols Death Eaters around him, he speaks about the six that are missing:

"And here we have six missing DEs...three dead in my service. One, too cowardly to return...he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever...he will be killed, of course...and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service."

There been quite a few discussions in here about who's the coward and who's left forever, but now I wonder:

Rosier and Wilkes were killed by Aurors. Who's the third that died?
Most people I've talked to seemed to believe it's Regulus Black, but he was killed on LV's order, and I wouldn't call it "death in my service", or even regard it worth mentioning. And was Quirrel a Death Eater? I don't think so. So who was number three?

[Just Mom]

Does Pettigrew fit in there anywhere? Is he the one who has re-entered? And would Snape be the one who will never return and be killed? (or LV attempt to kill him?)

Siana, you're much more up on the names of these fringe folks than I am. Is Regulus Black a brother/father/uncle of Sirius?

[Mistress Siana]

Sorry, I'm a freak.

Pettigrew was the one to help Voldemort regain his his body, so he was with Voldemort in the graveyard scene. He wore no disguise, so no need to mention him in that cryptic. The faithful DE ( the one at Hogwarts) seems to be Barty Crouch jr, and the most common belief is that Snape's the one who's left and Karkaroff's the coward. The are however vivid discussions on that matter.

Regulus Black was Sirius' younger brother. He joined the DEs but backed off when they asked more of him than he was willing to do. He was killed on Voldemort's order. I don't think he would be mentioned together with Rosier and Wilkes, who were martyrs after all.

[Just Mom]

You're not a freak Siana. You're highly intelligent with a darn good memory.

This requires more history. There are too many back stories missing to know much here. For instance, why did Snape join the DEs? Why did he leave? Why was Regulus a DE? How long have the DEs been in existence? Exactly how old is LV? I've seen a mixed figure on this because it seems like one of the books says he's terrorized the wizarding community for nearly a century. Yet another seems to indicate he was older but not considerably older than James and Lily.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

What im interested to know is that Snape who seems to be the one mentioned in:
"One, who I believe has left me forever...he will be killed, of course..." Now Snape has now apparently returned to doing some spy work for the good cause. But Voldemort pretty much stated there that he knows he's left him forever. Now I just wanna know how he was able to get back in with the DE's. And I know he's a good legillimens and stuff, but Voldemort is still a far more powerful wizard. Any ideas?

[Mistress Siana]

Rev Mom, I'm dying to know the answers to your questions (*counting the days until HBP is released*). However, I love speculating.
All we know is how old Voldemort is. He attended Hogwarts at the same time as Hagrid, and they're both born around 1928. About the DEs...According to JKR, they're quite old. They were once called the Knights of Walpurgis before Voldemort kind of "adopted" or recruited them.

Yeah, Snape...that's exactly what all those discussions are about. Voldemort kindly chose to remain cryptic, so we don't know exactly who he was talking about. It's just an assumption that he meant Crouch, Karkaroff and Snape. In OotP, we got the impression that Snape is working as a spy again, but personally I wouldn't take that for granted. The strongest indication we get is a conversation during the occlumency lessons:

"It's not up to you to find out what the Dark Lord is saying to his Death Eaters"
"No - that's your job, isn't it?"
For a long moment they stared at each other, Harry convinced he'd gone too far. But there was a curious, almost satisfied expression on Snape's face when he answered.
"Yes, Potter, that is my job."

The question is if we can expect that to be true. The satisfaction on his face lets it seem as though there was more to it...And, as you said, it is very questionable how Voldemort cannot have discovered that Snape's a spy.
On the other hand, if Snape's a known traitor, how come he's still a friend of Lucius's? And why does JKR keep on saying that we should keep an eye on old Severus Snape? Mysteries gallore![/i]

[Just Mom]

Mistress Siana, since you know so much (I'm in awe of your attention to detail) where does the name "Death Eater" come from and what does it infer? (swallowing death?)

From your post, I'm beginning to think that Snape has an exceptionally deep cover which is probably why he still appeals to Lucius. If we are to keep our eyes on him, and the (another brilliant Siana quote) "redemptive pattern" may be present in Snape, then that would seem to indicate that the wrong folks are fooled and the right folks are fooled in order to accomodate the gaining of more information. DD seems to trust him. Of course DD is always trusting unlikely folks. (Hagrid, Trelawney, Lupin)

[Mistress Siana]

Quirrel, Gilderoy, the fake Moody...yep, Dumbledore trusts a lot of people.

About Death Eaters...I really hope JKR's going to tell us why they are called that way. Here is an older thread about that topic. But as far as I remember, we haven't come to a satisfying conclusion there.