Ministry of Magic

The Ministry of Magic is the government of the fictional Magical community of Britain in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. First mentioned in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the Ministry makes its first proper appearance in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Throughout the books, it is depicted as corrupt, its high officials blind to actual events and dangers in the wizarding world, reaching a nadir of corruption during the uprising of the antagonist Lord Voldemort.

Composition and status

Connection to "Muggle" world

Each new Muggle Prime Minister receives a visit from the Minister for Magic, who informs him or her that the wizarding world exists. He explains that he will contact the Prime Minister only in circumstances in which the events of the wizard world may affect Muggles. For example, the Minister has to inform the Prime Minister if dangerous magical artefacts or animals are to be brought into the U.K.

The Ministry keeps in touch with the British Prime Minister via a wizard's portrait in the Prime Minister's office at 10 Downing Street. The portrait, which cannot be removed from the wall (because of a Permanent Sticking Charm in place), notifies the Prime Minister of the Minister for Magic's arrival. The Ministers for Magic who appear in the Harry Potter series, such as Cornelius Fudge and Rufus Scrimgeour, tend to act in a somewhat patronising manner towards the Muggle Prime Minister.

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

Government structure

In the Harry Potter books, the Ministry's employees appear to be a largely unelected body. The post of Minister itself, however, is stated to be an elected position. Who has the power to fire or appoint ministers is never explained. 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) wizard public opinion, 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, though different offices require different levels of education and sometimes specific exam results.

Furthermore, the government gives the impression of (at various times) either incompetence or malice. It often appears woefully incompetent, to the point of being unable to detect or prevent an assault on the Department of Mysteries, apparently its most heavily guarded department. Due to lax security, a mere group of Hogwarts students, as well as Voldemort and a dozen Death Eaters, are able to enter the department on whim and without provoking any response whatsoever, even signing in as a "rescue mission" without attracting attention.

Judicial system and corrupt nature

In the books, the wizarding courts can display a marked lack of interest in evidence for or against a suspect, even relying on personal prejudice to decide the outcome as quickly as possible. Not all of the accused are even given trials. In Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry is quite prepared to decree and enforce laws without notice. At times, the Ministry can also seem uninterested in solving serious problems, choosing instead to ignore or cover up bad news. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Minister Fudge takes a long while to respond to the attacks on Hogwarts. In the fifth instalment, Fudge refuses to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, despite mounting evidence and the Ministry even mounts a campaign to damage Harry Potter's credibility, an effort fueled in part by Fudge's fear that Albus Dumbledore wants his job. Eventually, the Ministry is forced to accept the emergency and act. Fudge is removed from office for incompetence and replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour. When Interviewed, Rowling states that when Harry, Ron, and Hermione later work for the Ministry they change it drastically and it is less corrupt.

Ministers for Magic

At the close of the series, the Minister for Magic (Minister of Magic in American versions) in Britain is Kingsley Shacklebolt. He has replaced Voldemort's puppet Pius Thicknesse, who had been placed under the Imperius Curse and put in power after Voldemort killed Scrimgeour.

Scrimgeour himself had 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 alliances with the people around him and to gather followers to serve his interests. Riddle, however, 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:

Artemisia Lufkin (1798–1811)

Grogan Stump (1811–1819)

Faris "Spout-Hole" Spavin (1865–1903)

Nobby Leach (1962–1968)

Millicent Bagnold (1980–1990)

Cornelius Fudge (1990–1996)

Rufus Scrimgeour (1996–1 August 1997)

Pius Thicknesse (1 August 1997–2 May 1998) (under the influence of Voldemort by means of the Imperius Curse; Minister de jure)

Kingsley Shacklebolt (1998–Present)

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. It is located on the second level of the Ministry of Magic. At the beginning of the series, it is headed by Amelia Bones. She is replaced by Pius Thicknesse after her murder by Voldemort., and Thicknesse is replaced by Yaxley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows after Voldemort appoints Thicknesse the puppet Minister for his regime. Bartemius Crouch Sr. once headed the department, prior to the first book.

According to Rowling, this is the department that Hermione Granger joins, after the events of the seventh book, 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 (with marks no lower than "Exceeds Expectations"). She suggests that Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Herbology N.E.W.T.s are the most appropriate for someone who aspires to be admitted to the training program. (A potential recruit will also have to pass "...a series of character and aptitude tests.") Nymphadora Tonks mentions that two of the program's courses of study are "Concealment and Disguise" and "Stealth and Tracking" and that the training is hard to pass with high marks (a requirement).

Significant 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. According to Rowling, Harry Potter joins the department at the age of 17 and is promoted to department head in the year 2007. Ron Weasley becomes a member of the Auror office as well.

During the First War against Voldemort, Aurors were authorised to use the Unforgivable Curses on suspected Death Eaters: that is, given the license to kill, coerce and torture them. Many of the Dark criminals in the Harry Potter universe first duel with the Aurors sent to arrest them before finally giving up their freedom. Aurors are also used to protect high-profile targets such as Harry, Hogwarts, and the Muggle Prime Minister.

Improper Use of Magic Office

The Improper Use of Magic Office is responsible for investigating offences 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's 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. An enchantment called "the Trace" is placed upon children and helps the department detect offences; it breaks at age 17. However, Dumbledore explains to Harry that the Ministry cannot tell who exactly uses magic in a given area, only that it has been used, meaning that Muggle-born wizard minors are more likely than others to be caught if they use magic. The Ministry has to rely on wizard and witch parents to enforce the ban on underage magic within their homes.

After Harry's first minor violation—a Hover charm, actually performed by Dobby the House-elf—he is merely warned. His second violation, blowing up his Aunt Marge, is forgiven by Fudge because the Minister fears that Sirius Black is after Harry and feels that his safety after running away from the Dursleys takes precedence. 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 appear at a disciplinary hearing, given that the offence occurred after he had already received one warning. Dumbledore reminds Fudge that the Ministry doesn't have the power to expel students from Hogwarts or confiscate wands without benefit of a hearing.

At Harry's hearing, he is tried by the entire Wizengamot court and cleared of all charges upon Dumbledore's intervention. Such proceedings are highly unusual, however, for a simple case of underage magic; Harry was originally supposed to be interviewed solely by Amelia Bones, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

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 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 at Harry Potter's hearing, wearing plum-coloured robes embroidered with a silver "W" on the left-hand side of the chest. During the hearing, the Minister for Magic sits in the middle of the front row and conducts most of the interrogation, while Percy Weasley (the Junior Undersecretary), acts as stenographer. Other officials seen at the Wizengamot include the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister and the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Dumbledore has long – for about 50 years – held the position of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, but he is removed during the period coinciding with Order of the Phoenix.

Other Offices

Other offices include the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, which pursues day-to-day law offenses; the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, headed by Perkins, and the job in which the reader first sees Arthur Weasley; and the Detention and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects Office, created by Rufus Scrimgeour in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, into which Mr. Weasley is promoted, to be its head.

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:

*The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad is a squad of wizards whose job it is to reverse "accidental magic." These accidents are normally caused by young witches and wizards who have not learned to control their magic. They may also be caused by older wizards out of control, or severe, unintentional effects of charms or spells, such as splinching (in Apparation when a wizard or witch is split with one part remaining at the point of origin, and the rest of the wizard at the destination). For instance, the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad was sent out in the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban book when Harry Potter inflated his Aunt Marge; "deflating" her and erasing her memory (the memory modification done by Obliviators).

*The Obliviator Headquarters. "Obliviator" is the designation for a Ministry of Magic employee who has the task of modifying the memory of a Muggle who witnesses incidents belonging to the Wizarding world. They are first called so in the sixth volume, although the mentioned practice already appears in the previous novels: any wizard can modify memories in the Harry Potter books by using the spell "Obliviate". In contrast to the incompetence displayed by the Ministry as a whole, the Obliviators appear to perform their task with a near-perfect success rate, keeping the Muggle world completely oblivious to the existence of the Wizarding World.

*The Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee explains any major magical accidents to the Muggles by creating a non-magical reason for the accident. For example, Peter Pettigrew killed twelve Muggle bystanders and tore apart the street (so as to reach the sewer pipe and escape) by means of an immense explosion curse during his altercation with Sirius Black. The massive and obvious damage and mortality was explained by the committee as due to a tragic accidental explosion of the gas main.

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. 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. It is located on the fourth level of the Ministry of Magic.

Clause 73 of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy reads:

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. 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 is a department in the Ministry of Magic which studies particular enigmas (death, time, space, thought, and love) and stores copies of prophecies made in the Harry Potter universe. During Voldemort's discriminatory regime, he forces the department to lie and reveal that Muggle-borns actually steal magic from Pure-bloods, 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.

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 that most of their operations are kept in total secrecy from the general wizard populace. 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.

The rooms at the Department each seem (although not spelled out directly) to refer to various mysteries of life. These rooms include: {| class="wikitable" |- !width=125|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. |Whenever one of its doors is shut, the room's walls rotate, disorienting its occupants for several seconds. 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 amphitheatre. 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. |- |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 aloud 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 neither the “Alohomora” spell nor magical unlocking penknives can 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, and Augustus Rookwood.

Notable Ministry officials

, from left to right: Dawlish, Dolores Umbridge, Minister Fudge, and Kingsley Shacklebolt.]]

The following 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 and England's international team, 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 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 allowed the two to trade appearances using Polyjuice Potion and Mrs. Crouch took her son's place in 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 immediately goes to the Forest, kills his own father, transfigures the 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. In contrast to a spiteful, rather contemptible portrayal in the book, the film portrays him as somewhat more sympathetic; he appears dismayed upon learning that his son is a Death Eater, rather than convicting him without trial.

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, (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test). 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.

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 mentioned in the first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone itself, as the Minister for Magic of Britain. He makes his first appearance in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when he arrives at the school to take Hagrid to Azkaban, even though he does not firmly believe that Hagrid is guilty. He is also forced to remove Dumbledore as Headmaster when pressured by Lucius Malfoy who insisted that all the school governors had voted on it. However, it is not until Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban that Harry meets Fudge for the first time. Fudge kindly does not press charges against Harry for inflating Aunt Marge, and advises him to be careful because an escaped convict is at large. 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. He is worried about the fallout of announcing Voldemort's return, marking the end of the Wizarding world's years of peace, and the sudden outbreak of gloom and terror; and hence decides to merely ignore all of the evidence rather than accept the truth. The author has since stated that Fudge's behaviour mirrors that of Neville Chamberlain in the lead-up to World War II.

In Order of the Phoenix, Fudge orchestrates a vicious smear campaign through the Daily Prophet to present Dumbledore as a senile old fool (even though he was constantly asking for Dumbledore's advice in his early days of being Minister of Magic) 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 Umbridge as Hogwarts' "High Inquisitor" and ultimately Dumbledore's successor as Headmaster, which gives her (and by extension, Fudge himself) primary control of how Hogwarts is managed. Fudge is concerned that Dumbledore is a threat to his power and that he is planning to train the Hogwarts students to overthrow the Ministry. After Voldemort appears in the Ministry of Magic, Fudge is removed from his position of Minister for Magic and is 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. Before 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 irreparably damaged her mentally and physically while breaking the Memory Charm, through which he gained information about the Triwizard Tournament and Crouch Jr. During the 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's 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 in 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 because of the Ministry's treatment of Dumbledore and Stan Shunpike. Scrimgeour makes a short appearance in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at The Burrow with Dumbledore's will.

Scrimgeour is assassinated shortly after the visit when Death Eaters take over the Ministry. He is rumoured to have been tortured for Harry's whereabouts by Ministry officials, under the control of the Imperius Curse, 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.

Scrimgeour was cut out of the film version of Half-Blood Prince. In the film adaptation of Deathly Hallows, he will be played by Bill Nighy.

Pius Thicknesse

, from left to right: Albert Runcorn (intimidator and blackmailer of alleged Muggle-borns), Dolores Umbridge (Senior Undersecretary to the Minister and Head of the Muggle-Born Registration Comission), Pius Thicknesse (Minister for Magic and former Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement), and Yaxley (Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement).]]

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 beneath 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 (later permanent) Minister for Magic. Not much is known about the "real" nature Thicknesse, as he has been under the control of Yaxley for nearly the entire book.

Guy Henry will play Thicknesse in the upcoming adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Dolores Umbridge

Dolores Jane Umbridge is the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, of which she is the main antagonist (besides Voldemort). She is a short, squat woman described in the book as resembling a large pale toad, with "short, curly, mouse-brown hair". 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 the 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. 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. She fires Sybill Trelawney as a teacher and later creates the "Inquisitorial Squad", which rewards some students for reporting on others and sanctions them to act as enforcers of Umbridge's rules. Ultimately, she deposes Dumbledore, being instated herself as Headmistress by the Ministry. (However, the headmaster's office rejects her authority by sealing her out.) 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. However, her authority is challenged by Fred, George and Peeves at every chance they get with the teachers doing very little to stop it.

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 blood quill. Umbridge even attempts to use Veritaserum and the Cruciatus Curse in order to extract information from students. Her hatred for muggle, muggle-born wizards and witches and semi-human beings is made prominent which led to be assumed that she came from Slytherin house because she only favored students from Slytherin. It is in fact she who provokes her abduction by a herd of angry centaurs, by speaking derisively of them to their faces. Umbridge is rescued unharmed by Dumbledore, but is eventually removed from Hogwarts. 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 stands for "Selwyn", rather than "Slytherin". Harry and his friends manage to penetrate the Ministry and steal the Horcrux back from Umbridge. 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. Following Voldemort's demise and the de-corruption of the Ministry under Minister Shacklebolt, Umbridge is arrested, interrogated, put on trial, convicted of crimes against Muggle-borns, and sent to Azkaban.

Imelda Staunton appeared as Umbridge in the film adaptation of Order of the Phoenix and will reprise her role in Deathly Hallows: Part I.

Percy Weasley

Percy Ignatius Weasley is the third son of Arthur and Molly Weasley. In direct contrast to his younger brothers, he is a stickler for rules and often pompous due to his love of authority, though he does have good intentions at heart. 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, much to his mother's delight. 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. Although Harry notes he has always liked Percy the least of Ron's brothers, he is still shocked to hear of this. 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 – going so far to refer to her as a "delightful woman," much to Harry's disgust. 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 an awkward visit to his family with new Minister Rufus Scrimgeour during the Christmas Holidays, although it is later revealed that this was engineered by Scrimgeour in order to speak to Harry alone. He later attends Dumbledore's funeral with Ministry officials, including Dolores Umbridge.

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 even joking that he quits as he fights, which is apparently his first joke since he was young. Halfway through duelling alongside Percy, his brother Fred Weasley is killed in an explosion, and Percy clings to the corpse and shields it from further damage. In the last part of the battle, he and his father work together to defeat Thicknesse. His final appearance is in the book's epilogue, at King's Cross Station, talking loudly about broom regulations. It has been revealed that he marries a woman named Audrey and they have two daughters, Molly and Lucy.

Percy is portrayed by Chris Rankin in the films.

Others

{| class="wikitable" |- !width=125|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 by Death Eaters during the first war). During Harry's trial in book 5, 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. She is portrayed by Sian Thomas in the film adaptation. |- |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. Steffan Rhodri will portray him in the film adaptation of Deathly Hallows . |- |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 can give Harry a hard time (although in the film version of Goblet of Fire, he is presented as amicable). In the film adaptation of Goblet of Fire, Diggory was portrayed by Jeff Rawle. |- |Madam Edgecombe |Works in the Department of Magical Transportation, Floo Network office. She helped Dolores Umbridge to police Hogwarts fireplaces. She is the mother of Marietta Edgecombe, the Ravenclaw who betrayed Dumbledore's Army to Umbridge. |- |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 beginning of the fifth book and movie, Harry receives a Howler with a subpoena to the hearing, written and narrated by Hopkirk. Hermione uses some of her hair to impersonate her and enter the Ministry, and gets close to Umbridge prior to their stealing of Slytherin's locket. Her voice is portrayed by Jessica Hynes in the film version of Order of the Phoenix, but in the upcoming Deathly Hallows, she is played physically by Sophie Thompson. |- |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 |Ogden 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. |- |Tiberius Ogden |Though never explicitly introduced, Ogden is mentioned several times in the fifth instalment as a staunch ally of Dumbledore in the face of the headmaster's growing unpopularity. As a result, allegations (probably invented) are made against him, claiming he is involved in goblin riots. A member of the Wizengamot until he resigns to show solidarity to Dumbledore. |- |Perkins |A friend of Mr Weasley who lends him and the Weasleys his tent during the Quidditch World Cup. Harry, Ron and Hermione use the same tent in the final book during their search for Horcruxes. |- |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. In the upcoming film version of Deathly Hallows, he is played by David O'Hara. |- |Wilkie Twycross |A Ministry teacher who teaches sixth year students how to apparate; notable for his three Ds: determination, destination and deliberation. |}

Political commentary

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 criticising the state. When asked if there is a parallel with Nazism, Rowling replied that "It wasn't really exclusively that. I think you can see in the Ministry even before it's taken over, there are parallels to regimes we all know and love." People's Weekly World claims that the reader is drawn "into the politics of the wizarding world—the 'Educational Decrees' from the toad-like Ministry of Magic representative, the high-level connections of 'war criminals' from the last rise of Voldemort, the prejudice against 'mudbloods' and 'half-breeds,'" and suggested connections "to the world we live in, to the similarities and differences between the Fudge administration and the Bush administration." Slate Magazine also says that Rowling takes jabs at the Bush and Blair administrations suggesting the Ministry's security pamphlet recalls the Operation TIPS (Terrorism Information and Prevention System). University of Tennessee law professor Benjamin Barton notes libertarian aspects of Harry Potter in his paper, Harry Potter and the Half-Crazed Bureaucracy, published in the Michigan Law Review, stating that "Rowling's scathing portrait of government is surprisingly strident and effective. This is partly because her critique works on so many levels: the functions of government, the structure of government, and the bureaucrats who run the show. All three elements work together to depict a Ministry of Magic run by self-interested bureaucrats bent on increasing and protecting their power, often to the detriment of the public at large. In other words, Rowling creates a public-interest scholar's dream—or nightmare—government."

Entrance

Ministry officials usually Apparate to the entrance of the Ministry or arrive through the Floo network.

Visitor's entrance

A red telephone box present in the heart of London was first mentioned in Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix as a visitor's entrance to the Ministry of Magic. To enter the Ministry through this entrance, one enters the telephone box and dials the number M-A-G-I-C or 6-2-4-4-2 (when Mr. Weasley does this, Harry thinks the numbers are out of order). In the place where returned coins appear in ordinary Muggle telephone boxes, silver badges comes out. Harry later used this box again in the book.

Public toilets

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the official entrance to the Ministry is revealed to be a block of public toilets. Coins, embossed with M.O.M. (Ministry of Magic) are used to gain access in this way. Once inside, you must stand in the toilet bowl and pull the flush chain. This sends you through a chute and down into the Ministry.

References

External links

The HP-Lexicon talks about the various departments in The Ministry of Magic

Mugglenet page on The Ministry of Magic

Category:Harry Potter universe Category:Fictional governments Category:Fictional politicians