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"And of course, while you were there, you would have ample opportunity to speak to Gawain Robards, my successor as Head of the Auror office."
— Rufus Scrimgeour mentioning Robards whilst trying to convince Harry Potter to join the British Ministry of Magic[src]

Gawain Robards was a British wizard who worked as an Auror for the British Auror Office under the command of Rufus Scrimgeour during the Second Wizarding War.[1]

Biography[]

Second Wizarding War[]

StampOutTheEnemy

Rufus Scrimgeour-led Ministry of Magic anti-Death Eater propaganda during the Second Wizarding War (c. 1996)

Following Cornelius Fudge's fall from power in 1996, Rufus Scrimgeour replaced Fudge as Minister for Magic, and as such Robards was promoted and succeeded Scrimgeour as Head of the Auror Office and commanded the Dark Wizard catchers in the Ministry's employ throughout the reminder of their losing battle against Lord Voldemort and his followers; a direct result of the the governing body's prior denial about the return of The Dark Lord. Scrimgeour, during his attempts to convince Harry Potter to become the Ministry of Magic's new "poster boy", offered to set up an interview with Robards, knowing he cherished a desire to join the Auror department one day, in exchange for his cooperation, but Harry refused.[1]

Fall of the Ministry of Magic[]

On 1 August 1997, Robards was very likely working at the Ministry of Magic when it was taken over by Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters.[2] A month later, it was reported by the Daily Prophet that Aurors had been decommissioned, and stripped of their wands and jobs.[3] As he was permitted to resume his duties after the Battle of Hogwarts,[4] however, he was presumably reinstated following the subsequent recommission of the Aurors by Kingsley Shacklebolt after the conclusion of the Second Wizarding War.

Given that he resumed his duties as an Auror after the Battle of Hogwarts and was considerably older and more experienced at the job than those of the students who survived it and subsequently joined their ranks, he most likely returned to the position as Head of the Auror Office, a job at which he was eventually succeeded by Harry Potter himself in 2007. In response to the Calamity in the late 2010s, however, he was implied to have come out of retirement to assist in the training of new Aurors from the then-recently-established Statute of Secrecy Task Force. During his lessons, he taught prospective Aurors a series of training exercises to help them adapt their stance when attacked, increasing the damage they could withstand in combat, and showed them how to cast his version of the very complicated Confusion Hex, which he later personally helped them refine.[5][6][7]

Gawain later created a process he called "Aeration," claiming that intensely blowing on a potion while brewing it could make the resulting potion more potent. A Calamity Investigator working for the task force encountered him while he was engaging in the process, leading to Gawain informing them of how the process worked. The investigator tried the process themselves, finding that it increased the effectiveness of their Potent Exstimulo Potions.[4]

Etymology[]

The meaning of the name "Gawain" is uncertain, from the name of a nephew of King Arthur and one of the knights of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He was a popular hero in medieval stories such as the 14th century romantic poem 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'. In some Welsh sources he is considered identical with the earlier Welsh hero Gwalchmei, whose name meant "hawk of May". Alternatively the name may have a different Welsh meaning or even a Germanic origin.[citation needed]

The family name "Robards" means "son of Robert" also a Germanic, French and Latvian name meaning "Bright fame".

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

Department of Magical Law Enforcement employees
Department of Magical Law Enforcement logo
Heads of Department
Justus Pilliwickle · Torquil Travers · Bartemius Crouch Senior · Amelia Bones · Pius Thicknesse · Corban Yaxley · Arthur Weasley · Harry Potter
Auror Office
Heads: Theseus Scamander · Rufus Scrimgeour · Gawain Robards · Harry Potter
Mordecai Berrycloth · John Dawlish · Penelope Fawley · Dorian Fungbury · Timothy Hale · Alice Longbottom · Frank Longbottom · Neville Longbottom · Patricia McManners · Alastor Moody · Alastor Moody's father · Riya Patel · Proudfoot · Savage · Kingsley Shacklebolt · Nymphadora Tonks · Ronald Weasley · Williamson · Unidentified Aurors · Helen Thistlewood · Solomon Sallow · Aesop Sharp · Aesop Sharp's partner · Unidentified male Auror at Hogwarts · Director of the Investigation Department No. 61042
Improper Use of Magic Office
Heads: Travers · Dolores Umbridge
Mafalda Hopkirk · Honoria's fiancé · Mafalda Hopkirk's Ministerial Superior · Rufus Fudge · Orabella Nuttley · Chester Davies · Linderina Crane
Other personnel
Council of Magical Law guards · Leta Lestrange · Minerva McGonagall · Elphinstone Urquart · Elton Elderberry · Alastor Gumboil · Arnold Peasegood · Arthur Weasley · Perkins · Bilius Finbok · Cerberus Langarm · Hermione Granger · Bob Ogden · Constance Pickering · Ruth Singer · Tulip Karasu's mother · Tulip Karasu's father · Dempster Wiggleswade · Amelia Bones's assistant · Arthur Weasley's ten subordinates · Unidentified Hit Wizard · Unidentified Wizengamot clerk · Director of the Investigation Department and Ministry Police
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