Department of Magical Law Enforcement 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. Bartemius Crouch once headed the department, prior to the first book. By the events of
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Harry Potter has become its head. According to Rowling, this is the department that Hermione 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, later to become Minister for Magic.
Auror Office The Ministry employs Aurors to pursue and apprehend Dark wizards. Aurors in the
Harry Potter series include
Alastor Moody,
Nymphadora Tonks,
Kingsley Shacklebolt,
John Dawlish,
Frank and Alice Longbottom, Rufus Scrimgeour. Harry himself later joins the department, and, according to a Rowling 2007 interview, is eventually promoted to department head. During the First War against
Voldemort, Aurors had authorization to use the
Unforgivable Curses on suspected
Death Eaters: that is, they received license to kill, coerce, and torture them. Aurors also operate to protect high-profile targets such as Harry, Hogwarts, and the Muggle prime minister – in
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix auror Kingsley Shacklebolt worked secretly in the Muggle Prime Minister's security detail.
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 underage 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 ends when they reach the age of 17. His second violation, inflating 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 (creating a Patronus to protect himself and Dudley from two Dementors), 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 to confiscate wands without benefit of a hearing. serves as the wizard high court of law, from the words "
wizard" and "
Witenagemot", which was a council of powerful people summoned to advise and appoint kings in
Anglo-Saxon England. That word derives from the
Old English for "meeting of wise men" (
witan – wise man or counsellor /
gemot – assembly).
Other offices Other offices include the
Magical Law Enforcement Squad, which pursues day-to-day law offences; the
Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, headed by Perkins, and the job in which the reader first sees
Arthur Weasley; and the
Detection 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
Apparition 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, two members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad were sent out in the
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban book and movie when Harry Potter inflated
Aunt Marge; they "deflated" her and erased her memory of the inflation (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 practice is mentioned in the previous novels: any wizard can modify memories in the
Harry Potter books by using the spell "
Obliviate". They were sent out in the third book when after they deflated Aunt Marge, they erased her memory of the incident. • 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. 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.
Department of International Magical Cooperation The
Department of International Magical Cooperation is an agency that attempts to get wizards from different countries to co-operate 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
Bartemius Crouch, until his death. This is also where
Percy Weasley began his Ministry career. This department is similar in function to the real-life
Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, 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 organises events like 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 is a department 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 claim that
Muggle-borns actually steal magic from Pure-bloods, which makes them "illegal magicals" and allows their arrest.
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 who is a Death Eater. == Theme park adaptation ==