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Minister Faris Spavin, also known as Spout-hole, (fl. 17561903) was a British wizard who served as the twentieth Minister for Magic of the British Ministry of Magic, in office from 1865 to 1903.[3]

Biography[]

Tenure as Minister for Magic (1865–1903)[]

Background[]

Faris Spavin was born in 1755 or 1756. He became Minister for Magic in 1865 at 109 years old, and was known for being the longest-serving holder of the position. Over the course of his career, he was elected at least six times, as elections for the office of Minister for Magic needed to be held at a maximum interval of seven years.

He survived an assassination attempt made by a centaur who took offence to the punchline of his infamous "a centaur, a ghost and a dwarf walk into a bar" joke.[3]

1870s[]

In the 1870s through to the 1880s, the Muggle government made plans to flatten the Leaky Cauldron with the creation of Charing Cross Road. Faris Spavin made a melancholy seven-hour speech before the Wizengamot explaining why the Leaky Cauldron could not be saved. During the course of his tedious speech, however, the wizarding community rallied and performed a mass of Memory Charms (and possibly also the Imperius Curse, though it had never been proven) on several Muggle city planners so that the Leaky Cauldron could be accommodated in the revised plans for the new road. After his speech, Spavin's secretary presented him with a note describing the developments that had just invalidated his words.[4]

The largest poaching ring in eastern Wales formed during his tenure, culminating in the Great Poacher Raid of 1878. The ring was single-handedly taken down by a Ministry official, Dinah Hecat, who confiscated a Hebridean Black skeleton from the event.[5]

Legislation[]

Spavin's time in office saw the introduction of an important piece of wizarding legislation, the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, in 1875.[6] This law made it illegal for an underage wizard to perform magic outside of school. The Ministry of Magic detected breaches of the Decree by means of the Trace.[7]

Spavin's term was also notable for introducing some reforms to the game of Quidditch (and the commotion they originated). In 1883, a riot broke out at the Ministry Headquarters after the Department of Magical Games and Sports decided to get rid of "goal baskets" in favour of the modern goalposts in Quidditch.[8]

One year later, on 21 June 1884, a similar riot erupted after the Department decreed the institutionalisation of the Stooging Penalty in Quidditch. This announcement caused widespread discontent among British Quidditch players and fans, who again demonstrated at the Ministry headquarters, bombarded a Department representative with Quaffles and threatened to stooge Minister Spavin himself. Wizards from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement were duly dispatched and the crowd reluctantly dispersed.[8]

In the 1890s, Faris Spavin received a request from Phineas Nigellus Black, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, to change the school's admissions process, very likely to restrict Muggle-born access to the school while favouring pure-bloods, though this was declined.[9]

In 1890, a witch claimed her son was attacked by a Dementor. Spavin commented on the matter saying 'Dementors are under strict Ministry control.' and 'They are and have always been stationed at Azkaban prison. The idea that they are running rife amongst the populous, kissing random wizards is nothing but utter delusion.' The witch was proven wrong, as his son's gormless look actually came from long hours of paperwork from his job as a Ministry intern and not a Dementor's Kiss.[10]

Ranrok's goblin rebellion[]

"Minister Spavin talks more than he listens. Ranted on and on about rogue dragons. Wouldn't listen to a word about goblins. Speaking of which —"
— Professor Eleazar Fig[src]

During the 1890s, Spavin oversaw the Ministry's response to Ranrok's goblin rebellion as well as the rising threat of the Rookwood Gang.[5] When Eleazar Fig went to the Ministry to explain the events surrounding George Osric's death and tried to express his concerns about Ranrok, Spavin hardly allowed him to talk, preferring to "rant" about dragons instead.[11]

When Eleazar Fig sent Faris Spavin a letter about Ranrok's rebellion, Spavin wrote back accepting that it was an issue, but appeared to disregard it, focussing more on his new Stooging Penalty and inviting Fig to the upcoming Quidditch Final.[12]

Retirement[]

In 1901, Spavin attended Queen Victoria's funeral in an admiral's hat and spats. Two years later, in 1903, the Wizengamot gently suggested he step down as Minister for Magic. He was 147 when he resigned due to advanced age.[3]

Etymology[]

  • The name "Faris" means "knight" in Arabic, but also "stone" in both Greek and English. Faris is also the name of a municipality in Laconia, Greece. It has a population of roughly 5,000.
  • Spavin is a word given to a disorder located in a horse's neck, usually a swelling. The word has French origins and comes from the word "espavin", meaning "swelling".

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. He was 147 when he resigned in 1903.
  2. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Ministers for Magic" at Wizarding World — Nobby Leach (in office 1962–1968) was the first Muggle-born Minister for Magic)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Ministers for Magic" at Wizarding World
  4. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "The Leaky Cauldron" at Wizarding World
  5. 5.0 5.1 Hogwarts Legacy
  6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 2 (Dobby's Warning)
  7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 4 (The Seven Potters)
  8. 8.0 8.1 Quidditch Through the Ages, Chapter 6 (Changes in Quidditch since the Fourteenth Century)
  9. Hogwarts Legacy (see this video)
  10. Hogwarts Legacy (Daily Prophet: 'DEMENTOR ATTACK PROVEN LIES')
  11. Hogwarts Legacy, Main Quest "The Map Chamber"
  12. Hogwarts Legacy (see this image) (see this image)


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