Ministry of Magic

Harry Potter association
Ministry of Magic
Headquarters London
Leader(s) Minister for Magic
Intentions Preservation of magical law
Enemies Order of the Phoenix (temporarily), Death Eaters
First appearance Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

In J. K. Rowling's fictional universe of Harry Potter, the Ministry of Magic is the Government for the Magical community of Britain. The government is first mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and makes its first actual appearance in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, with Cornelius Fudge as the Minister for Magic. Throughout the books, the body is depicted as corrupt and blind to actual happenings of the Wizard world, reaching a nadir of corruption during the uprising of the antagonist Lord Voldemort.

Some political commentators have seen Rowling's portrayal of the bureaucratised Ministry of Magic and the oppressive measures taken by the Ministry in the later books (like making attendance to Hogwarts compulsory and the "registration of Muggle-borns" with the Ministry) as allegorical to criticizing the state.[1]

Contents

Composition and status

Name and connection to "Muggle" world

The term "Ministry of Magic" implies that it is a branch of the actual British government (much like the real-life Ministry of Defence or the Ministry of Justice). However, though the exact relationship between the Ministry and the "Muggle" government is vague, it is clear that the Ministry exists as a full-fledged government in its own right, exercising full jurisdiction over the Harry Potter universe. Each new Muggle Prime Minister receives a visit from the Minister for Magic who informs him that the wizarding world exists and they will be keeping in touch to be updated only in crucial circumstances in which the events of the wizard world may affect the Muggles. The Minister even has to inform the Prime Minister if dangerous magical animals are to be brought into the U.K.[2]

The Ministry keeps in touch with the British Prime Minister via a wizard's portrait (which cannot be removed) in the Prime Minister's office at 10 Downing Street, which notifies the Prime Minister of the Minister for Magic's arrival.[HP6] Although the Ministry would presumably want to keep up good relations with the Muggle government, the behavior of their delegates does not reflect this. Most Ministers for Magic (or at least those who are present in the Harry Potter series such as Cornelius Fudge and Rufus Scrimgeour) act in a patronizing manner towards the Muggle Prime Minister.

This government succeeded the earlier "Wizards' Council", the earliest known form of government for the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

Government structure

As seen in the Harry Potter books, the Ministry seems to be largely an unelected body. The post of the Minister itself appears to be just like any 'job' rather than a special office of election. Whoever has the power to fire or appoint ministers is never explained in the books, but it is implied that some special body has the authority to do so. Nevertheless, both the Minister and the Ministry as a whole are seen throughout the Harry Potter series to be highly sensitive to (and reliant on) public opinion from the wizarding community, which they attempt to influence via the Daily Prophet, the wizarding newspaper. In the books, employment with the Ministry can be obtained right after completion of a wizarding education.[HP4]

Furthermore, the government gives an impression of (at various times) either incompetence or malice. From events depicted in the novels, it appears woefully incompetent, to the point of inability to detect or prevent an assault on the Department of Mysteries, apparently their most heavily guarded department, due to lax security. Harry, his companions (a mere group of Hogwarts students), and antagonist Voldemort were able to enter it unannounced without provoking any response whatsoever.[HP5]

Judicial system and corrupt nature

Within the Ministry, there appears to be little coherent separation of powers, and its judicial system is regularly seen to be subjected to political influences. Nevertheless, all depicted examples of judicial proceedings of the Ministry in the Harry Potter books occur at or around times of upheaval and social unrest, which may be a deliberate reflection on the practices of real-life governments. The Minister and other senior officials seem to preside personally over at least some high profile trials conducted before the Wizengamot (the British Wizards' court), though verdicts in the series are decided by show of hands and may be swayed by skillful representation. Whilst this mixture of powers is unusual in most real-life democracies, it is not constitutionally dissimilar to the arrangement in the actual British Parliament, whereby the Law Lords, who sit in the actual House of Lords and act as the final court of appeal, are also members of the legislature.

As seen in the Harry Potter books, the wizarding courts often display a marked lack of interest in evidence for or against a suspect, often relying on personal prejudice to decide the outcome (another key objective is to get the trial over and done with as quickly as possible).[HP5] Not all criminals are even given trials.[HP4] As read in Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry is quite prepared to decree and enforce draconian laws over the magical community without notice. At times, the Ministry can also seem uninterested in solving problems the wizard world faces in the books, instead choosing to ignore or cover up bad news. In the fifth installment, Minister Fudge refuses to believe that the antagonist of the books, Voldemort, had returned, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Even in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Fudge takes a long while to respond to the attacks on Hogwarts school. They are however forced to accept the return of Voldemort and act; Fudge was removed from office for incompetence and replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour.

Ministers for Magic

At the close of the series, the Minister for Magic (Minister of Magic in American versions) in Britain is Kingsley Shacklebolt. Shacklebolt replaced Voldemort's puppet Pius Thicknesse, who had been placed under the Imperius Curse. Voldemort put Thicknesse in power after he killed Scrimgeour. Scrimgeour himself replaced Fudge, who in turn replaced Millicent Bagnold about whom nothing else is known. Other Ministers have included the highly popular Grogan Stump (1770–1884), who was appointed to the post in 1811 and settled the Beings vs. Beasts classification problem, and Artemisia Lufkin, the first witch to be appointed to the post. Albus Dumbledore was offered the job of Minister and refused it at least three times. In his latter days at Hogwarts, Tom Marvolo Riddle was widely predicted to become Minister due to his intelligence, magical talent and ability to forge friendships and alliances with the people around him, gathering a crowd of followers to serve his interests; however, Riddle refused all offers of assistance to find work at the Ministry.

The following is a list of known Ministers for Magic and their tenures in office:

Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Arguably the most important of the various departments, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is a combination of police and justice facilities, and is roughly equivalent to the real-life British Home Office. In the beginning of the Harry Potter books, it is headed by Amelia Bones. She was replaced by Pius Thicknesse after her murder by Voldemort.[HP6] Thicknesse is replaced by Yaxley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows after Voldemort places Thicknesse as puppet Minister for his regime. Bartemius Crouch Sr. once headed the department before the series.[HP4]

According to Rowling, this is the department that Hermione Granger joins, after the events of the seventh instalment, transferring from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures where she began her post-Hogwarts career.

Auror Office

An Auror's mission is to pursue and apprehend Dark wizards. According to Minerva McGonagall, the Auror Office takes in new recruits with a minimum of 5 N.E.W.T.s (nothing "Exceeds Expectations" or lower; see Education in the Harry Potter universe). She suggests that Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Herbology N.E.W.T.s are best suited. With that, the office takes in students into its training program ("...a series of character and aptitude tests"). Nymphadora Tonks says that two tests are "Concealment and Disguise" and "Stealth and Tracking", and that the training is hard to pass with high marks (a requirement). Luna Lovegood once told Harry not to join, as according to her, they are part of the "Rotfang Conspiracy" working to bring down the Ministry from within using a combination of Dark Magic and tooth decay.[HP5]

Characters to have been Aurors in the Harry Potter series include Alastor Moody, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, John Dawlish, Frank and Alice Longbottom, Rufus Scrimgeour, Gawain Robards, Proudfoot, Savage, and Williamson. Harry Potter joins the department at the age of 17 and starts as Head in 2007.[3] Ron Weasley becomes a member of the Auror office as well.[4]

During the First War against Voldemort, Aurors were authorised to use the Unforgivable Curses on suspected Death Eaters: given the license to kill, coerce and torture them. Many of the Dark criminals in the Harry Potter universe seem to duel with the Auror(s) sent to arrest them, before finally giving up their freedom. They were also used to protect high profiles such as Harry, Hogwarts, and the Muggle Prime Minister.

Improper Use of Magic Office

The Improper Use of Magic Office is responsible for investigating offenses under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy. They regulate an under-age wizard or witch's use of magic and prohibit wizards and witches from performing magic in the presence of Muggles or in a Muggle-inhabited area in the Harry Potter universe (respectively). An enchantment called "the Trace" is placed upon children and helps the department in detecting offences; it breaks at age 17.[HP7] However, Dumbledore has said that the Ministry cannot tell who exactly uses magic in a given area, only that it has been used, and that the Ministry relies on wizard and witch parents to enforce the ban on underage magic within their homes.[HP6]

In Harry's first minor violation — a Hover charm, actually performed by Dobby the House-elf — he is merely warned.[HP2] His second violation, blowing up his Aunt Marge, was forgiven by Fudge because the Minister feared Sirius Black was after Harry, and that his safety after running away from the Dursleys took precedence.[HP3] After his third offence, the letter sent to him states that he is expelled from school, that representatives will arrive at his home to destroy his wand, and that he is required to be present at a disciplinary hearing (as he has already received a warning).[HP5] Dumbledore later reminds Fudge that the Ministry doesn't have the power to expel students from Hogwarts.[HP5]

At Harry's hearing, he is tried by the entire Wizengamot court. This is highly unusual, however, for a simple case of underage magic being performed - Harry was originally supposed to be solely interviewed by Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.[HP5]

The only known worker at the Office is Mafalda Hopkirk.

Wizengamot

The Wizengamot serves as the wizard high court of law. The word "Wizengamot" is a portmanteau created from the words "wizard," and "Witenagemot," which was a council of powerful people summoned to advise and appoint kings in real-life Anglo-Saxon England. The word derives from the Old English for "meeting of wise men" (witan - wise man or counsellor / gemot - assembly).

In Order of the Phoenix, about fifty people are present (in Harry Potter's hearing) wearing plum-coloured robes embroidered with a silver letter "W" on the left-hand side of the chest. During his hearing, the Minister for Magic sits in the middle of the front row and does most of the interrogation while Percy Weasley acts as a stenographer. Other officials seen at the Wizengamot include Senior Undersecretary to the Minister and Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement — apparently on the Wizengamot ex officio.

Until his death, Dumbledore held the position of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. However, he was removed during the period coinciding with Order of the Phoenix. His missing period of time could be why the Minister was seated in the middle of the first row, a seat possibly reserved for the Chief Warlock.

Other Offices

Other offices include the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, that pursue the day-to-day law offences; the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, that was Arthur Weasley's first office as head; and the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects Office, created by Scrimgeour in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, with Mr Weasley promoted to head it.

Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes

The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes is responsible for repairing accidental magical damage in the world of Harry Potter. It is located on the third level of the Ministry of Magic and houses the following offices:

Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures

As noted in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is divided into three divisions (the Beast Division, the Being Division, and the Spirit Division) and contains the Goblin Liaison Office and Centaur Liaison Office, though the centaurs, being isolationists, have never interacted with the office since its creation. Thus, "being sent to the Centaur Office" has become a euphemism at the Ministry for those about to be fired.[HPF] For further detail on the distinctions between these divisions, see Regulation and classification of Magical creatures. It is also noted that Hermione began her post-Hogwarts career here before transferring to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in this office.[5]

Clause 73 of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy reads:

“ Each wizarding governing body will be responsible for the concealment, care and control of all magical beasts, beings, and spirits dwelling within its territory's borders. Should any such creature cause harm to, or draw the notice of, the Muggle community, that nation's wizarding governing body will be subject to discipline by the International Confederation of Wizards.'[6] ”

Department of International Magical Cooperation

The Department of International Magical Cooperation is an agency that attempts to get wizards from different countries to cooperate in wizarding actions both political and public.[HP4] This department on the fifth level of the Ministry of Magic includes the headquarters of the International Magical Trading Standards Body, the International Magical Office of Law, and the British seats of the International Confederation of Wizards. The former head was Barty Crouch, Sr., until his death. This is also where Percy Weasley began his Ministry career.

This department is similar in function to the real-life British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and various organs of the United Nations.

Department of Magical Transportation

The Department of Magical Transportation is responsible for various aspects of magical transport. It is located on the sixth level of the Ministry of Magic and includes the following offices: the Floo Network Authority, responsible for setting up and maintaining the network, and distributing the greenish floo powder; the Broom Regulatory Control, that controls the traffic of broom travel; the Portkey Office, the regulation of Portkeys; and the Apparition Test Centre, that grants licences to witches and wizards so that they can apparate.

Department of Magical Games and Sports

The Department of Magical Games and Sports, seen as the most relaxed department (posters for favourite Quidditch teams are found tacked to the walls), deals with organising sports events the likes of the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament. Ludo Bagman used to be the Head of Department here, but his gambling problem forced him to flee from Goblin creditors. The department is located on the seventh level of the Ministry of Magic, and includes the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters, Official Gobstones Club, and the Ludicrous Patents Office — other sports- and games-related aspects of the Harry Potter world.

Department of Mysteries

The Department of Mysteries, located on Level Nine, a department in the Ministry of Magic which studies particular enigmas (death, time, space, thought, and love) and stores prophecies made in the Harry Potter universe. During Voldemort's discriminatory regime, he forces the department to reveal that Muggle-borns actually steal magic from Pure-bloods — a complete and ridiculous lie — making them "illegal magicals", and allowing their arrest. The reason as to how muggle-borns (born from non-magical parents) acquire magic remains an embraced mystery in the books, and because the department finally "concluded" Voldemort's lie, the world was forced to believe.[HP7]

Because of the covert nature surrounding this particular branch of the Wizarding government, the Department of Mysteries can be likened to real-world intelligence agencies like the CIA or MI6, in which most of their operations are kept in total secrecy from the general wizard populace in the Harry Potter world. However, the primary operations of the department seem to be more like those of scientists, the department attempting to uncover the sources and rules the governing magic in the Harry Potter universe. The name "Department of Mysteries" could be a reference to the Eleusinian Mysteries of Ancient Greece. It shares with those real-life rites a preoccupation with immortality and the cycle of time.

The rooms at the Department each seem (although not spelled out directly) to refer to various mysteries of life. These rooms include:

Name Description Contents
Entrance Room Large, circular room - everything black. Identical, unmarked, handle-less black doors are set at intervals around in walls. Dimly lit by blue flamed branches of candles. When the entrance door is shut, the walls rotate, disorienting its occupants for several seconds (this happens every time a door is closed in the room). This is presumably a security device to keep non-employees of the department from reaching a desired room. Responds to a verbal request for an exit by opening the correct door.
Thought Chamber A long, rectangular room lit by low hanging golden chains. Contains a few desks and a large tank in which brains swim in a green solution. The brains wrap tentacles around Ron, which are described as "memories."
Space Chamber Simply a dark room possibly simulating outer space. Visitors find themselves floating as well. Floating solar system.
Death Chamber A large, dimly lit, rectangular room with stone tiers (as benches) leading down to a pit in the centre. It is similar to an amphitheater. Called the Death Chamber by Dumbledore. In the pit is a raised, stone dais, on which stands an ancient arch with an ancient, tattered black curtain hanging from it. Despite an absence of wind, it continuously flutters slightly, and entrances its viewers. Harry Potter hears faint voices from beyond the veil when he comes near it in the books. It was through this archway that Sirius Black fell and died in Order of the Phoenix. It is implied that the veil somehow leads to the afterlife, as some (perhaps those who have seen someone die) are able to hear voices whispering from behind it.
Time Chamber Simply a room lit by "beautiful, dancing diamond-sparkling light". A room in which various time-related devices are kept, such as clocks of every description and Time-Turners (necklaces with hourglass pendants, which will send the wearer back in time when the pendant is turned over). It also contains a mysterious bell jar, inside which anything will grow steadily younger and younger, and then slowly return to its original age in a never-ending cycle. Hermione mentions that the department's entire stock of smashed Time-Turners were not even replaced by September 1996.[HP6]
Hall of Prophecy A cathedral-sized room, dark and very cold, illuminated by the dim blue fire emitted from more candle brackets. Vertical to the door are towering shelves holding thousands of orbs (recordings of prophecies). To the left of the door are row Nos.1 - 53, while on the right of the door are rows Nos.54 and beyond. They are magically protected, so that the only people who can lift them off their shelf are the Keeper of the Hall of Prophecies and the subject or subjects of the prophecies; all others are afflicted with instant madness. Whenever an orb breaks, the recorded prophecy it contains is repeated out-loud once, after which the recording is useless. Sybill Trelawney's 1980 prophecy of "the boy who would defeat the Dark Lord" is kept in here until the events of Order of the Phoenix in which it was smashed.
The Ever-Locked Room A room behind a door that remains locked at all times and which either the “‘‘Alohomora’’” spell or magical unlocking penknives cannot unlock. According to Dumbledore, behind that door is the most mysterious subject of study in the department: a force "that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than the forces of nature... It is the power held within that room that you [Harry] possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all." In Half-Blood Prince, this power was confirmed through a dialogue between Harry and Dumbledore to be love.

Unspeakables

The Unspeakables are the group of wizards who work in the Department of Mysteries (their identities classified for security reasons). Known Unspeakables include Broderick Bode, Croaker,[HP4] and Augustus Rookwood. The "Unspeakables" may be a reference to The Untouchables, a group of US Treasury agents gathered by Eliot Ness in the 1920s to preserve Prohibition in the United States and catch Chicago gangster Al Capone.

Notable Ministry officials

The following fictional characters are notable Ministry of Magic officials. Arthur Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks are listed under Order of the Phoenix.

Ludo Bagman

Ludovic "Ludo" Bagman is a former, highly successful Beater for the Wimbourne Wasps, whose good looks have gone a bit to seed; his nose is squashed in (apparently having been broken by a stray bludger) and he is quite a bit thicker around the middle than he was in his Quidditch days. He is the head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Rowling uses Dumbledore's Pensieve to reveal in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that Bagman was accused of being a Death Eater about thirteen years before the events of the fourth book because he had given information to recently discovered Death Eater Augustus Rookwood. It is stated that he had believed Rookwood, who was his father's friend, to be beyond suspicion, and that, consequently, he had thought that he was aiding the Ministry by passing the information on to him.

Bagman loves gambling, which got him in financial trouble so severe that he pays some of his creditors with disappearing Leprechaun Gold, after they have gambled on the Quidditch World Cup. After the World Cup final, some goblins corner him in the woods outside the stadium and take all the gold he had on him, which is not enough to cover his debts. To clear his debts with the goblins, Bagman makes a bet on the Triwizard Tournament, of which he is one of the judges. He bets the goblins that Harry would win. He tries to help Harry over the course of the Tournament, giving him a perfect score in the First Task even though he is injured, and offering him advice. Harry and Cedric Diggory end up tying for first place in the tournament, and Bagman does not win the bet as the goblins argue that Bagman was betting Harry would win outright. Bagman runs away after the Third Task of the Tournament.

Bagman's character was cut from the film adaptation of the fourth book. Some of Ludo's primary roles in the story were primarily performed by Cornelius Fudge and Barty Crouch, Sr. in the film adaptation. Bagman appears in the Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup video game as a Quidditch announcer.

Barty Crouch, Sr

Bartemius "Barty" Crouch, Sr was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement when Voldemort first came to power. He became as ruthless as some on the Dark Side, and gave Aurors powers to kill rather than capture suspected Death Eaters who resisted arrest. He sent Sirius Black to the wizard prison Azkaban without a trial. Crouch appeared to be the favourite to become the next Minister for Magic, when his own son, Barty Crouch, Jr, was caught with the Lestranges, Death Eaters who were trying to bring Voldemort back to power. Crouch gave his son a trial before sending him to Azkaban; however, according to Sirius, the trial was a sham, merely a public demonstration of how much he hated the boy. About a year after the trial, Crouch's terminally ill wife begged for her son's life to be saved, so Crouch gave her Polyjuice Potion that made her take on her son's appearance while their son drank some that caused him to take on his mother's appearance, and thus escape Azkaban. After the supposed death of his son in prison, public sympathy fell on Crouch Jr; the wizarding world placed all the blame on Crouch Sr, accusing him of driving his son to join the Death Eaters because of his neglect of his family. After the scandal, Crouch lost much of his popularity and he was shunted sideways to a post as the head of the Department of International Magical Co-operation.

Barty Crouch, Sr makes his first appearance in the series at the Quidditch world cup in Goblet of Fire. Crouch accuses Harry of attempting to set off the Dark Mark, and when Winky is found to have Harry’s wand, he angrily dismisses Winky, as the house-elf is supposed to look after his son who is always under an Invisibility Cloak. Voldemort and his servant Peter Pettigrew show up at the Crouch family home and put Crouch Sr under the Imperius Curse, freeing Crouch Jr from the Imperius Curse placed on him by his father and thus rejoining Voldemort. Crouch continues to appear in public at first and is one of the five judges at the Triwizard Tournament. However, worried that Crouch would fight the Imperius Curse, Voldemort later keeps him imprisoned within the house and has him communicate exclusively through supervised owl post. Later in the book, Crouch, who has escaped from his home, meets Harry and Viktor Krum in the Forbidden Forest and begs to see Dumbledore. However, Harry, while on his way to inform Dumbledore of the events, unwittingly alerts Crouch Jr, in the disguise of Mad-Eye Moody, to his father's presence. Crouch Jr instantly goes to the Forest, kills his own father, transfigures his body into a bone, and buries it on the Hogwarts grounds.

Roger Lloyd-Pack appeared as Crouch in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

John Dawlish

John Dawlish is an Auror. He is very capable, self-assured and is described as a "tough-looking wizard" with "very short, wiry" grey hair. He leaves Hogwarts with Outstandings in all his N.E.W.T.s. However, it is a running joke of the books that in any appearance or mention of him, he is eventually hexed, usually due to a combination of far superior opponents and sheer bad luck.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Dawlish accompanies Fudge to Hogwarts to confront Harry about the secret Dumbledore's Army meetings. Dawlish is knocked out along with Fudge, Umbridge, and Kingsley when Dumbledore, who took the blame for the Army on himself, escapes. A few weeks later, Dawlish is among the wizards who attempt to arrest Rubeus Hagrid when Umbridge sacks the gamekeeper. Still later, Dawlish arrives at the Ministry of Magic with Fudge after the battle at the Department of Mysteries is over. Fudge then sends him to attend to the captured Death Eaters. Dawlish appears again in Half-Blood Prince guarding Hogwarts after the commencement of the Second War. He is sent to follow Dumbledore when the Headmaster leaves school to search for Voldemort's Horcruxes, but is "regretfully" hexed by the Headmaster. He is Confunded by an Order member early on in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and gives Death Eater Yaxley false information on Harry's removal from the Dursleys' home. Being Confunded, he is defeated by Dirk Cresswell, who then escapes halfway on the way to Azkaban. Later, Dawlish is sent to arrest Augusta Longbottom. After a struggle, her attack places Dawlish in St Mungo's Hospital.

Dawlish's first name is not revealed in the books or films. However, Rowling said in an interview with the podcast "PotterCast" that she named him John, owing to host John Noe's appreciation of the character.[7]

Dawlish was portrayed by Richard Leaf in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Cornelius Fudge

Cornelius Oswald Fudge is first introduced in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as the Minister for Magic of Great Britain. While he does not believe firmly that Hagrid is controlling Slytherin's monster (the monster's identity unknown at the time) to attack Hogwarts, Fudge shows himself in the school to send Hagrid to Azkaban, and is forced to allow the removal of Dumbledore as Headmaster when pressured by Lucius Malfoy who states that all the governors have voted for it. However, it is not until Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban that Harry meets Fudge for the first time. Fudge acts very kindly by not pressing charges against Harry for inflating Aunt Marge, and also advises him to be careful because an escaped convict is at large, suggesting Sirius Black might have a connection to him. When Fudge goes for a social drink at the Three Broomsticks pub, he inadvertently tells an unseen Harry that Sirius was James Potter's best friend and was believed to have betrayed the Potters to Voldemort. Fudge allowed the near-execution of Buckbeak to occur, once again influenced by Lucius Malfoy.

His kindly relationship to Harry suddenly changes in Goblet of Fire. When Harry emerges from the Triwizard Tournament's third task after having seen the rebirth of Voldemort, Fudge refuses to believe it, worried about the fallout of announcing Voldemort's return, and that that would be the end of the Wizarding world's years of peace, and decided to merely ignore all of the evidence rather than accept the truth. The author has since stated that Fudge's behavior mirrors that of Neville Chamberlain in the lead-up to World War II.[8]

In Order of the Phoenix, Fudge orchestrates a vicious smear campaign through the Daily Prophet to present Dumbledore as a senile old fool, and Harry as an unstable, attention-seeking liar. He also passes a law allowing him to place Dolores Umbridge, his Senior Undersecretary, as a teacher at Hogwarts; he then appoints her "High Inquisitor," and ultimately Dumbledore's successor as Headmaster, giving her (and by extension, himself) primary control of how Hogwarts is managed, because Fudge is particularly afraid that Dumbledore is a threat to his power and that he is planning to train the Hogwarts students to overthrow the Ministry. However, this is overturned after Voldemort appears in the Ministry of Magic, which forces Fudge to be sacked as Minister for Magic and replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour, though he stays on as a powerless advisor in Half-Blood Prince. Fudge is last mentioned in the series as one of the attendees at Dumbledore's funeral, and his fate during Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry during the following year is unknown.

In the film series, Fudge is portrayed by Robert Hardy.

Bertha Jorkins

Bertha Jorkins was a student at Hogwarts at the same time as James Potter and company. She was known as nosy, with a good head for gossip. She became a Ministry of Magic employee after leaving Hogwarts. Prior to the events of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, she was killed by Voldemort. Rowling later revealed that her death was used to turn Nagini, Voldemort's snake, into a Horcrux. Some months before her murder, she accidentally discovered that Barty Crouch Jr, who supposedly died in Azkaban prison, was still alive and being hidden by his father. Barty Crouch Sr. silenced her with a powerful Memory Charm. Voldemort irrepairably damaged her mentally and physically while breaking the Memory Charm, through which he gained information about the Triwizard Tournament and Crouch Jr. In the climax of the book, Voldemort uses Harry in a ritual to restore his body. During the subsequent duel between Harry and Voldemort in the graveyard at Little Hangleton, Bertha is one of the shadows that spills out from Voldemort's wand and helps Harry escape.

Bertha Jorkins' character was written out of the film adaptation of Goblet of Fire due to time constraints.

Rufus Scrimgeour

Rufus Scrimgeour serves as the Minister for Magic of the United Kingdom, succeeding Cornelius Fudge, from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince until his death the following book. He is described as looking like an old lion with tawny hair and bushy eyebrows, with yellow eyes and wire-rimmed spectacles. Before being selected as minister, Scrimgeour headed the Auror Office of the Ministry and he is heavily battle-scarred from his years of service as an Auror, giving him an appearance of shrewd toughness. As minister, he visits the Muggle Prime Minister with Fudge, now a powerless advisor, to inform him about recent wizarding events, crucial to internal security.

Scrimgeour proves to be a more capable leader than Fudge. Scrimgeour seeks to raise the wizarding population's morale by asking Harry, who has been labelled as the "Chosen One", to be seen visiting the Ministry, so that the public would believe that Harry supports the Ministry's actions against Voldemort. This becomes a source of contention between the Minister and Dumbledore, who does not support this idea. Harry also rejects the role primarily because of his own antagonistic history with the Ministry, and the Ministry's treatment of Dumbledore and Stan Shunpike.[9] Scrimgeour makes a short appearance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at The Burrow with Dumbledore's will.

Scrimgeour is murdered shortly after the visit when Death Eaters take over the Ministry. He is tortured for Harry's whereabouts by Voldemort before he is killed. Harry felt a "rush of gratitude" to hear that Scrimgeour, in his final act, attempted to protect Harry by refusing to disclose his location. With the Ministry in Death Eaters' hands, the official line for Scrimgeour's death is that he resigned.

Pius Thicknesse

Pius Thicknesse is first introduced in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. He is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the start of the book, when he is placed under the Imperius Curse by Yaxley, who uses his position to infiltrate the senior ranks of the Ministry. Thicknesse is described as a man with long hair and a beard, which are mostly black but tinged with some grey, along with a great overhanging forehead and glinting eyes. Harry's immediate impression is of "a crab looking out from under a rock."

After the coup in which Scrimgeour is killed, the Ministry comes under the de facto control of Voldemort, who appoints Thicknesse as his puppet Minister. Thicknesse joins the ranks of the Death Eaters for the rest of the book and fights with them at the Battle of Hogwarts, where he duels against Percy Weasley (who Transfigures him into a sea urchin). Following the end of the battle, the Imperius Curse that was placed upon him is broken. Kingsley Shacklebolt replaces him as interim (then permanent) Minister for Magic. Having been mind-controlled for nearly the entire book, not much can be said about the "real" Thicknesse.

Dolores Umbridge

Dolores Jane Umbridge is the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She is a short, squat woman described in the book as resembling a large pale toad. She has a broad, flabby face, little neck, and a wide, slack mouth, with "short, curly, mouse-brown hair" and often wears a black velvet bow (or pink Alice band) in her hair that reminds Harry of a fly about to be caught.

Umbridge is first presented as an interrogator at Harry's trial for underage use of magic in the opening chapters of Order of the Phoenix. It is later revealed that Umbridge herself had ordered Dementors to attack Harry in an attempt to frame or silence him. Umbridge is subsequently installed at Hogwarts as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor by order of the Ministry, to provide on the ground feedback and address what the Ministry believes are falling standards. Her teaching consists only of defensive magical theory, due to Fudge's paranoid fear that Dumbledore intends to use his students as an army to bring down the Ministry. She is soon appointed the first "High Inquisitor" of Hogwarts, in which position she is given extraordinary powers over the students, teachers, and curriculum. Umbridge creates the "Inquisitorial Squad", which rewards some students for reporting on others and sanctions them to act as enforcers of Umbridge's rules. She later fires Sybill Trelawney as a teacher and deposes Dumbledore, ultimately becoming Headmistress. Towards the final chapters of Order of the Phoenix, Umbridge tries to attack Hagrid, but her attempt is thwarted. Hagrid escapes Hogwarts, and Minerva McGonagall is severely injured and is sent to St. Mungo's hospital, clearing the way for Umbridge to assume complete control of the school. When Fred and George Weasley escape as well, a riot breaks out.

Umbridge's time at Hogwarts is characterised by cruelty and abusive punishments against students; she shows signs of sadism by forcing Harry, Lee Jordan and other students who get detention from her to write lines using a quill that magically causes the words to be cut into the skin on the back of the writer's hand and uses their blood as ink. Umbridge even uses or attempts to use the potion Veritaserum and Cruciatus Curse in order to extract information from students. Her hatred for non-wizards and semi-human beings such as vampires, werewolves and centaurs also is made prominent. It is in fact she who provokes her abduction by a herd of angry centaurs, by speaking derisively of them to their faces. She later makes a cameo appearance in Half-Blood Prince, where Harry is disgusted to hear that she is still working for the Ministry and that she attended Dumbledore's funeral.

Umbridge plays a smaller role in Deathly Hallows as the head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission, and appears to have written a leaflet called "Mudbloods and the dangers they pose to a peaceful pure-blood society", indicating her full support of Voldemort's regime, whether or not she knew the truth about who was running it. She has somehow obtained Mad-Eye Moody's magical eye after his death, and uses it to spy on the other Ministry workers from her office. She has also taken Slytherin's locket as a bribe from Mundungus Fletcher after he stole it from 12 Grimmauld Place. She uses the trinket to solidify her pure-blood credentials, claiming the "S" on the locket to stand for "Selwyn", her ancestral name, rather than "Slytherin". The recovery of this locket forms a major plotline in Deathly Hallows. Despite Harry being unable to conjure a Patronus while wearing the locket, Umbridge manages to do so. Rowling explains this by Dolores being a "very nasty piece of work"; the object aiding her instead of hindering her.[10] She is attacked by Harry and his friends, who recover the Horcrux while Harry takes Moody's eye. Following Voldemort's demise and the de-corruption of the Ministry, Umbridge is arrested, interrogated, put on trial, and imprisoned for her crimes against Muggle-borns.[10]

Novelist Stephen King, writing as a book reviewer for the 11 July 2003 Entertainment Weekly, noted the success of any novel is due to a great villain, with Umbridge as the "greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter...".[11]

Imelda Staunton appeared as Umbridge in the film adaptation of Order of the Phoenix.

Percy Weasley

Percy Ignatius Weasley is the third son of Arthur and Molly Weasley. When readers first meet Percy in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, he is a Gryffindor prefect, and in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, he becomes Head Boy. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Percy secretly has a girlfriend — Ravenclaw prefect Penelope Clearwater. Academically a high-performing student, Percy received twelve OWLs. When he finished school, this academic distinction secured him a job in the Ministry in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. His immediate employer is Barty Crouch Sr; Percy somewhat idolises Mr Crouch, but Crouch never seems to remember Percy's name, calling him "Weatherby." When Crouch is ill, Percy replaces him as a judge in the second Triwizard Tournament task.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Percy is promoted to Junior Assistant to Minister Fudge; because Fudge and Dumbledore are at odds over Harry's claim that Voldemort returned, a dispute between Percy and Arthur erupts, resulting in Percy's subsequent alienation from his family. When Percy learns Ron is made a prefect, he sends him a letter congratulating him for following in his footsteps, and unsuccessfully urges Ron to sever ties with Harry (claiming Harry is an extreme danger to Ron's prefect status), and to pay loyalty to Umbridge and the Ministry. Percy later makes an appearance in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, where he has apparently seen the error of his ways and pays a visit to his family with new Minister Rufus Scrimgeour during the Christmas Holidays, although it is later revealed that this is a mere opportunity for Scrimgeour to speak to Harry alone.

In the climax of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Percy returns to his family and manages to make up with all of them, and eventually duels new Minister for Magic and Voldemort's puppet Pius Thicknesse in the Battle of Hogwarts. Halfway through dueling alongside Percy, Fred is killed in an explosion, and Percy clings to the corpse and shields it from further damage. Then, Percy sprints off to pursue Augustus Rookwood, a Death Eater whom he believes killed Fred and who is then attacking an unnamed group of students. In the last part of the battle, he and his dad work together to floor Thicknesse. His final appearance is in the book's epilogue, at King's Cross Station, talking loudly about broom regulations. It has been released that he marries a woman named Audrey and they have two children, Molly and Lucy.[12]

Percy is portrayed by Chris Rankin in the films.

Others

Character Background
Broderick Bode A worker in the Department of Mysteries. He is placed under the Imperius Curse by Lucius Malfoy, who sought to obtain the prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort. Bode suffered spell damage from his attempt to steal the prophecy and was sent to St Mungo's Hospital; he was subsequently strangled by a potted Devil's Snare plant at Christmas to prevent him from revealing any information about the Death Eaters' plot.
Amelia Susan Bones Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She is aunt to Susan Bones (Harry's classmate from Hufflepuff), and sister to Edgar Bones (a member of the Order of the Phoenix killed during the first war by Death Eaters). Madam Bones sat on the Wizengamot and presided over Harry's trial in book 5. During the trial, Madam Bones expressed admiration for Harry's ability to produce a corporeal Patronus at such a young age. Bones is believed to have been brutally murdered by Voldemort himself shortly before the events that take place in book 6.
Reginald "Reg" Cattermole Works for magical maintenance in the Ministry. In the final book, Ron uses some of his hair to impersonate him to enter into the Ministry to steal Slytherin's locket. His wife, Muggle-born Mary Elizabeth Cattermole, was being questioned at the time that Harry, Ron and Hermione stole the locket.
Dirk Cresswell Muggle-born, member of the Slug Club during his time as Hogwarts student. He was Head of the Goblin Liaison Office until Albert Runcorn exposed his falsification of his family tree and caused him to be sent to Azkaban. However, he escaped, but eventually was killed by Snatchers along with Ted Tonks and Gornuk the goblin.
Amos Diggory Father of Cedric Diggory. Works in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Unlike his son, who is quite modest, Amos likes to boast about his son's accomplishments and gives Harry a hard time (although in the film version of Goblet of Fire, he is presented as quite amicable).
Mafalda Hopkirk Works in the Improper Use of Magic Office in the Ministry, and is responsible for sending out warnings when magic by the underaged is detected. In the final book, Hermione uses some of her hair to impersonate her to enter into the Ministry to steal Slytherin's locket.
Griselda Marchbanks An elder witch who resigned from the Wizengamot and was already working for the Wizarding Examinations Authority in Dumbledore's time as student. Marchbanks personally examines Harry and some of the students of his year's O.W.L.s.
Bob Ogden Rowling used a memory of his that Harry and Dumbledore witnessed to expose the background of the House of Gaunt, Voldemort's maternal family. He worked as a Magical Law Enforcer and was Head of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad before he died.
Albert Runcorn While his allegiance is never made explicit, it is implied that he is a supporter of the Death Eaters. In a discussion with Arthur Weasley, he is revealed to have discovered the falsified genealogy for Dirk Cresswell. Harry uses some of his hair to impersonate him to enter into the Ministry to steal Slytherin's locket.
Wilkie Twycross A Ministry teacher who teaches sixth year students how to apparate; notable for his three Ds: determination, destination and deliberation.

References

  1. ↑ Barton, Benjamin, Harry Potter and the Half-Crazed Bureaucracy, Social Science Research Network
  2. ↑ Rowling, J. K. (2005). Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (in English). London: Bloomsbury/New York City: Scholastic, et al. UK ISBN 0747581088/U.S. ISBN 0439784549., chapter 1
  3. ↑ "New 'Wizard' for October", HPANA (2007-09-30). Retrieved on 2007-10-01. 
  4. ↑ Exclusive: Finished ‘Potter’? Rowling tells what happens next - Wild about Harry - MSNBC.com
  5. ↑ "Online Chat Transcript", Bloomsbury Publishing (2007-07-31). Retrieved on 2007-08-14. 
  6. ↑ Rowling, J. K.: "A Brief History of Muggle Awareness of Fantastic Beasts", Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, 16(65):65.
  7. ↑ Anelli, Melissa, John Noe, Sue Upton. PotterCast 130: The One with J. K. Rowling PotterCast. (2007-12-18). Podcast accessed on 2007-12-18.
  8. ↑ "J. K. Rowling Discusses Inspiration for Minister of Magic and More in New Interview", The Leaky Cauldron, 2008-02-04. Retrieved 2008-02-04.
  9. ↑ Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; 2005; Chapter 16; Pages 345-347 (American edition).
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Anelli, Melissa (2007-07-30). "Online Chat Transcript", The Leaky Cauldron. Retrieved on 2007-07-30. 
  11. ↑ Potter Gold (2003) Entertainment Weekly
  12. ↑ J.K.Rowling - A Year In The Life; James Runcie; Independent Television (ITV); 2007

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