The World of Hogwarts :: The Ministry of Magic

Roleplay Information

The Ministry of Magic - Use Your Heads? by Danton Thirroul

“Call the Aurors?”

One of the saddest things on Earth is the fact that PLAYERS seem to think the Ministry of Magic is made up of Aurors who deal with all crime... and then everyone else is evil.

Not so. Not even CLOSE. The CHARACTERS should know things correctly. The Ministry of Magic is not evil. This is the Ministry that has been run by Kingsley Shacklebolt for a decade- you remember him - war hero? Potter’s mate? Saved countless lives? Opposed the Dark Lord? Opposed Fudge and Scrimgeour as well? Order of the Phoenix? You know, a DECENT PERSON!?

OK, now please roleplay accordingly. “The Ministry is up to no good” is NOT a valid mind state. Why? Please remember that was a READER'S perception here folks. You are allowing your characters see the world from a READER'S point of view - the position of someone OUTSIDE of the story. Your characters are NOT outside of the story - your characters are IN the story - part of it.

What IS the Ministry of Magic?
The Ministry is the number one employer of Wizards in the country.
The Ministry is the thing without which Wizarding Britain would descend into chaos.
The Ministry is the definition of Wizards in Britain.

Without the Ministry there could be no Hogwarts - without the Ministry there is no Wizarding Britain. Take away the READER'S perceptions - they are after all the blinkered perceptions of ONE small child (Harry Potter). READ the books. The majority of people do not think the Ministry is flawed or corrupted. Yes, they eventually think Fudge was a total incompetent; and he was. But look closely please. His time in office is where the rot set in - the metaphor for this rot was the use of Dementors in Azkaban. That’s the symbol for all that is wrong and that was wrong with the Ministry of Magic you see. Dementors working for the Ministry. As long as THAT WAS going on, then things were bad. The moment it stops - things are better - it’s a metaphor but a bloody important one.

But look now as PLAYERS as to why they was the symbol of ‘The Bad Ministry’… Dementors being used to guard Death Eaters was bad because it signified a SOCIETY that was willing to do evil things to sanction revenge! An eye for an eye. “The punishment must match the crime” or in other words - a VERY right wing society wherein REVENGE was the end all of the legal system. THAT WAS what was wrong with the Ministry - and by extension the whole of Wizarding Britain. Or put it another way. Until his last days when he forced the newspapers to lie for him, Fudge was quite popular, and did NOT have to lie to remain Minister. The Ministry reflects society. Never forget that.

Harry Potter, Hermione, Ron and Dumbledore were trying to change an ENTIRE society. It was never 'The Evil Ministry ALONE lying about Harry' - after all, if society had have been a decent place - then the Order of the Phoenix would have been much more open yeah? The Dark Lord came to power because people were afraid and reactionary. SO, when you roleplay ‘Not trusting the ministry’, what you are saying is this. Your character is paranoid and conservative and reactionary - and you ONLY like the Ministry when it is like this.

Frankly - I could never portray a Ministry that has fallen to malice as well as Rowling - so I will not. If you IC object to The Ministry from now on - you IC object to Kingsley - (or his administration). Find a decent reason OK?