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{{Battle infobox
 
{{Battle infobox
 
|conflict=Infiltration of the Ministry of Magic
 
|conflict=Infiltration of the Ministry of Magic
|image=[[File:ministrybreakin.png|250px]]
+
|image=[[File:ministrybreakin1.png|250px]]
 
|partof=the [[Second Wizarding War]]
 
|partof=the [[Second Wizarding War]]
 
|date=[[2 September]] [[1997]]
 
|date=[[2 September]] [[1997]]
|location=[[British Ministry of Magic Headquarters|Ministry of Magic]], [[Whitehall]], [[London]]
+
|location=[[British Ministry of Magic Headquarters]], [[Whitehall]], [[London]], [[England]]
|result=Harry and his two friends acquire Horcrux; Muggle-borns freed
+
|result=The trio acquire Horcrux, Muggle-borns freed
|commander1=*[[Harry Potter]] (as Albert Runcorn)
+
|commander1=[[Harry Potter]] {{c|as Albert Runcorn}}
|commander2=*[[Yaxley]]
+
|commander2=[[Yaxley]]
|combatants1=*[[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] (as [[Reginald Cattermole]])
+
|combatants1=*[[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] {{c|as [[Reginald Cattermole]]}}
*[[Hermione Granger]] (as [[Mafalda Hopkirk]])
+
*[[Hermione Granger]] {{c|as [[Mafalda Hopkirk]]}}
 
|combatants2=*[[Dolores Umbridge]]
 
|combatants2=*[[Dolores Umbridge]]
 
*[[Dementor]]s
 
*[[Dementor]]s
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{{quote|Blooming pain in the bum, this, eh? Forcing us all to get to work this way! Who are they expecting to turn up, Harry Potter?|Ministry employee|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
 
{{quote|Blooming pain in the bum, this, eh? Forcing us all to get to work this way! Who are they expecting to turn up, Harry Potter?|Ministry employee|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
   
There was an '''infiltration of the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]]''' on [[2 September]], [[1997]], during the height of the [[Second Wizarding War]]. The Ministry had recently [[Fall of the Ministry of Magic|fallen]] to [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]] and his [[Death Eaters]], and [[Harry Potter]], [[Hermione Granger]], and [[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] snuck inside the Ministry in order to steal one of Voldemort's [[Horcrux]]es, [[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]]. In the process, the three [[Dumbledore's Army]] members also freed multiple [[Muggle-born]]s who were awaiting trial there as well as reclaiming [[Alastor Moody's magical eye]] from [[Dolores Umbridge]] that was placed on a peephole in her office door so she could spy on her colleagues.
+
There was an '''infiltration of the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]]''' on [[2 September]], [[1997]], during the height of the [[Second Wizarding War]]. The Ministry had recently [[Fall of the Ministry of Magic|fallen]] to [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]] and his [[Death Eaters]].
   
  +
[[Harry Potter]], [[Hermione Granger]], and [[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] snuck inside the Ministry in order to steal one of Voldemort's [[Horcrux]]es, [[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]]. In the process, the Trio also freed multiple [[Muggle-born]]s who were awaiting trial, as well as reclaiming [[Alastor Moody's magical eye]] from [[Dolores Umbridge]] that was placed on a peephole in her office door so she could spy on her colleagues.
==Background==
 
   
  +
== History ==
{{dialogue a-b-a-b|Harry|When you stripped this house of all the valuables you could find, you took a bunch of stuff from the kitchen cupboard. There was a locket there. What did you do with it?|Mundungus|…I was selling in [[Diagon Alley]] and she come up to me and asks if I’ve got a license for trading in magical artefacts. Bleedin’ snoop. She was gonna fine me, but she took a fancy to the locket an’ told me she’d take it and let me off that time, and to fink meself lucky.|Who was this woman?|I dunno, some Ministry hag. Little woman. Bow on top of ‘er head. Looked like a toad.|Harry, Ron, and Hermione question [[Mundungus Fletcher]]|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
 
   
 
=== Background information ===
[[File:Noblecollection_horcruxlocket.jpg|thumb|95px|[[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]]]]
 
 
{{Template:Dialogue a-b-a|Mundungus Fletcher| ''[...]'' I was selling in [[Diagon Alley]] and she come up to me and asks if I’ve got a license for trading in magical artefacts. Bleedin’ snoop. She was gonna fine me, but she took a fancy to the locket an’ told me she’d take it and let me off that time, and to fink meself lucky.|Harry Potter|Who was this woman?|I dunno, some Ministry hag. Little woman. Bow on top of ‘er head.|Harry, Ron, and Hermione question [[Mundungus]]|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
  +
 
[[File:Noblecollection_horcruxlocket.jpg|thumb|189x189px|left|[[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]]]]
   
 
[[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]] was an heirloom of [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]]’s [[House of Gaunt|maternal family]] and one of his [[Horcrux]]es. This was discovered at some point during the [[First Wizarding War]] by [[Regulus Black]], a [[Death Eaters|Death Eater]] who grew disillusioned in his allegiances and turned against the Dark Lord. Regulus, with the assistance of his loyal [[house-elf]], [[Kreacher]], tracked the locket to its hiding place in a [[Horcrux cave|cave]] in [[1979]]. He replaced the locket with a fake one, leaving a note to Voldemort admitting what he did, and was killed by the [[Inferius|Inferi]] in the cave’s lake.
 
[[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]] was an heirloom of [[Tom Riddle|Lord Voldemort]]’s [[House of Gaunt|maternal family]] and one of his [[Horcrux]]es. This was discovered at some point during the [[First Wizarding War]] by [[Regulus Black]], a [[Death Eaters|Death Eater]] who grew disillusioned in his allegiances and turned against the Dark Lord. Regulus, with the assistance of his loyal [[house-elf]], [[Kreacher]], tracked the locket to its hiding place in a [[Horcrux cave|cave]] in [[1979]]. He replaced the locket with a fake one, leaving a note to Voldemort admitting what he did, and was killed by the [[Inferius|Inferi]] in the cave’s lake.
   
[[File:Lolaumb.jpg|thumb|left|130px|Dolores Umbridge, holder of the Locket, in the new Death Eater-controlled Ministry.]]
+
[[File:Dolores_Umbridge.JPG|thumb|202x202px|Dolores Umbridge, holder of the Locket, in the new Death Eater-controlled Ministry]]
   
 
Voldemort never learned of this, but [[Harry Potter]], [[Hermione Granger]], and [[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] deduced it in [[1997]]. They questioned Kreacher as to what had happened to the locket, and he eventually told them what had transpired with Regulus and that [[Mundungus Fletcher]] had stolen the locket from [[12 Grimmauld Place]]. Harry sent Kreacher to find Fletcher and bring him back to the Black household, where he and his friends were hiding out.<ref name="DH10">''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'', Ch. 10</ref>
 
Voldemort never learned of this, but [[Harry Potter]], [[Hermione Granger]], and [[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]] deduced it in [[1997]]. They questioned Kreacher as to what had happened to the locket, and he eventually told them what had transpired with Regulus and that [[Mundungus Fletcher]] had stolen the locket from [[12 Grimmauld Place]]. Harry sent Kreacher to find Fletcher and bring him back to the Black household, where he and his friends were hiding out.<ref name="DH10">''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows]]'', Ch. 10</ref>
   
Fletcher admitted to taking the locket and told them that he was forced to give it up to a [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] employee [[Dolores Umbridge]]. The Ministry had [[Fall of the Ministry of Magic|fallen under Voldemort’s control]] in [[August]], and Umbridge was the head of the new [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission]], an instrument of discrimination against [[Muggle-born]]s.<ref name="DH11">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 11</ref> Harry, Ron, and Hermione spent the next few weeks making a plan to sneak into the Ministry, the most “dangerous place in the whole world” for them to be at the moment.<ref name="DH12">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 12</ref>
+
Fletcher admitted to taking the locket and told them that he was forced to give it up to a [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]] employee [[Dolores Umbridge]]. The Ministry had [[Fall of the Ministry of Magic|fallen under Voldemort’s control]] in [[August]], and Umbridge was the head of the new [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission]], an instrument of discrimination against [[Muggle-born]]s.<ref name="DH11">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 11</ref> Harry, Ron, and Hermione spent the next few weeks making a plan to sneak into the Ministry, the most “''dangerous place in the whole world''” for them to be at the moment.<ref name="DH12">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 12</ref>
  +
 
=== Infiltration ===
  +
 
==== Sneaking in ====
  +
{{Template:Dialogue|Harry Potter |This is mental|Hermione Granger|Completely mental|Harry and Hermione's feelings on the infiltration plan |Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
  +
 
[[File:Ron_Weasley_in_the_Muggle_street_of_London.JPG|thumb|left|250x250px|Ron spying on Mafalda]]
   
==Infiltration==
 
===Sneaking in===
 
[[File:Ron_Weasley_in_the_Muggle_street_of_London.JPG|thumb|236px|Ron spying on Mafalda.]]
 
 
The trio waited outside the Ministry under Harry’s [[Cloak of Invisibility|Invisibility Cloak]]. Hermione [[nonverbal spell|nonverbally]] [[Stunning Spell|stunned]] Ministry employee [[Mafalda Hopkirk]] and then took [[Polyjuice Potion]] to take her form. The trio moved her unconscious form into an empty theatre nearby. Next, [[Reginald Cattermole]] arrived and Hermione gave him a "[[Puking Pastille|sweet]]" that immediately made him sick and insisted that he go to [[St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries|St. Mungo's]], despite his reluctance. She discreetly acquired hairs from him in the process, and they were used to have Ron take on his form. Hermione and Ron then obtained hairs from [[Albert Runcorn]] to disguise Harry.
 
The trio waited outside the Ministry under Harry’s [[Cloak of Invisibility|Invisibility Cloak]]. Hermione [[nonverbal spell|nonverbally]] [[Stunning Spell|stunned]] Ministry employee [[Mafalda Hopkirk]] and then took [[Polyjuice Potion]] to take her form. The trio moved her unconscious form into an empty theatre nearby. Next, [[Reginald Cattermole]] arrived and Hermione gave him a "[[Puking Pastille|sweet]]" that immediately made him sick and insisted that he go to [[St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries|St. Mungo's]], despite his reluctance. She discreetly acquired hairs from him in the process, and they were used to have Ron take on his form. Hermione and Ron then obtained hairs from [[Albert Runcorn]] to disguise Harry.
   
  +
[[File:HPDH1-1766.jpg|thumb|251x251px|The Trio grabbed Reg Cattermole, Albert Runcorn and Mafalda Hopkirk]]
[[File:The_Trio_infiltrate_the_Ministry.jpg|thumb|left|232px|The Trio grabbed Reg Cattermole, Albert Runcorn and Mafalda Hopkirk]]Once inside, Harry, Ron, and Hermione split up to take the employee entrances concealed in a [[Whitehall underground public toilets|set of underground public toilets]]. Employees had to "flush" themselves in, though they did not get wet. They then found themselves in the Ministry [[Atrium]], where the [[Fountain of Magical Brethren]] had been replaced by [[Magic is Might monument|a black stone statue]] of a wizard and witch seated on ornate thrones made from the bodies of [[Muggle]]s “in their rightful place”. The base of the statue read ''"[[Magic is Might]]"''.<ref name="DH12"/>
 
   
 
Once inside, Harry, Ron, and Hermione split up to take the employee entrances concealed in a [[Whitehall underground public toilets|set of underground public toilets]]. Employees had to "flush" themselves in, though they did not get wet. They then found themselves in the Ministry [[Atrium]], where the [[Fountain of Magical Brethren]] had been replaced by [[Magic is Might monument|a black stone statue]] of a wizard and witch seated on ornate thrones made from the bodies of naked Muggles hundreds and hundreds of, men, women, and children, all with stupid, ugly faces “''in their rightful place''”. The base of the statue read ''"[[Magic is Might]]"''.<ref name="DH12" />
===Splitting up===
 
{{quote|If ''my'' wife were accused of being a [[Mudblood]] not that any woman I married would ever be mistaken for such filth and the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement needed a job doing, I would make it my priority to do this job, Cattermole. Do you understand me?|[[Yaxley]] threatens Reg Cattermole (actually Ron Weasley).|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
 
   
 
==== The [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission]] ====
[[File:Infiltration.png|thumb|236px|Hermione, Harry, and Ron disguised as Ministry workers]]They headed for the lifts, but were intercepted by [[Death Eaters|Death Eater]] and head of the [[Department of Magical Law Enforcement]] [[Yaxley]], who demanded that “Cattermole” fix his office, where it was [[Water|raining]]. Hermione whispered advice on how Ron could fix the problem before the trio was forced to split up.<ref name="DH12"/> She was then pulled away from Harry as Umbridge arrived, believing that [[Travers]] sent "Mafalda" to record-keep for her. Harry was left alone with the puppet [[Minister for Magic]] [[Pius Thicknesse]], and then went in search of Umbridge’s office after putting on his [[Cloak of Invisibility]].
 
 
{{quote|If ''my'' wife were accused of being a [[Mudblood]] not that any woman I married would ever be mistaken for such filth and the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement needed a job doing, I would make it my priority to do this job, Cattermole. Do you understand me?|[[Yaxley]] threatens Reg Cattermole {{c|actually Ron Weasley}}|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
   
  +
[[File:Infiltration.png|thumb|left|236px|Hermione, Harry, and Ron disguised as Ministry workers]]
As Harry searched for Umbridge’s office in hopes of finding [[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]], he came across Ministry workers creating political propaganda in the form of pamphlets entitled ''[[Mudbloods and the Dangers They Pose to a Peaceful Pure-Blood Society]]''. It was implied to have been written by Umbridge. Harry then found her office with the magical eye of the late [[Alastor Moody]] on the door. Harry took the magical eye and searched the room, but could not find the locket. He did, however, find [[Arthur Weasley's file|a file]] on [[Arthur Weasley]] that declared him to have “unacceptable pro-[[Muggle]] leanings” and to be under surveillance as a known member of the [[Order of the Phoenix]] and acquaintance of “Undesirable No. 1”, none other than Harry himself.
 
  +
 
They headed for the lifts, but were intercepted by [[Death Eaters|Death Eater]] and head of the [[Department of Magical Law Enforcement]] [[Yaxley]], who demanded that “Cattermole” fix his office, where it was [[Water|raining]]. Hermione whispered advice on how Ron could fix the problem before the trio was forced to split up.<ref name="DH12" /> She was then pulled away from Harry as Umbridge arrived, believing that [[Travers]] sent "Mafalda" to record-keep for her. Harry was left alone with the puppet [[Minister for Magic]] [[Pius Thicknesse]], and then went in search of Umbridge’s office after putting on his [[Cloak of Invisibility]].
  +
 
As Harry searched for Umbridge’s office in hopes of finding [[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]], he came across Ministry workers creating political propaganda in the form of pamphlets entitled ''<nowiki>''Mudbloods and the Dangers They Pose to a Peaceful Pure-Blood Society''</nowiki>''. It was implied to have been written by Umbridge. Harry then found her office with the magical eye of the late [[Alastor Moody]] on the door. Harry took the magical eye and searched the room, but could not find the locket. He did, however, find [[Arthur Weasley's file|a file]] on [[Arthur Weasley]] that declared him to have "''unacceptable pro-[[Muggle]] leanings''" and to be under surveillance as a known member of the [[Order of the Phoenix]] and acquaintance of “Undesirable No. 1”, none other than Harry himself.
   
 
Harry and Ron briefly met up again in the lift, where they ran into Arthur. He advised “Reg” on how to fix the rain in Yaxley’s office and then confronted “Runcorn” on turning [[Dirk Cresswell]] in as a [[Muggle-born]] who faked his family tree, forcing him to go on the run. Harry attempted to warn him about the Ministry watching him.
 
Harry and Ron briefly met up again in the lift, where they ran into Arthur. He advised “Reg” on how to fix the rain in Yaxley’s office and then confronted “Runcorn” on turning [[Dirk Cresswell]] in as a [[Muggle-born]] who faked his family tree, forcing him to go on the run. Harry attempted to warn him about the Ministry watching him.
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After Arthur got off the lift, Harry wandered about under his Invisibility Cloak trying to find Hermione, and his attention was caught when he noticed the presence of [[Dementor]]s.<ref name="DH13">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 13</ref>
 
After Arthur got off the lift, Harry wandered about under his Invisibility Cloak trying to find Hermione, and his attention was caught when he noticed the presence of [[Dementor]]s.<ref name="DH13">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 13</ref>
   
 
[[File:Dolores3.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Dolores Umbridge head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission]]Harry found a courtroom in which a wizard named [[Alderton]] was being tried as a Muggle-born. When he tried to protest that he was a [[half-blood]], he was threatened with the [[Dementor's Kiss]] and then sentenced to [[Azkaban]]. [[Mary Cattermole]] was called next, and Harry entered the room to find that [[Dolores Umbridge]] was conducting trials with the assistance of [[Yaxley]] and Hermione disguised as Mafalda Hopkirk.
===The [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission]]===
 
 
{{dialogue a-b-a|Umbridge|Could you please tell us from which [[Wizards|witch or wizard]] you took that wand?|Mary Cattermole|T-took? I didn’t t-take it from anybody. I b-bought it when I was eleven years old at Ollivander's. It — it — it ''chose'' me.|No, no, I don’t think so, Mrs. Cattermole. Wands only choose witches or wizards. You are not a witch.|discriminatory and illegal trial of Mary Cattermole|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
 
[[File:Dolores3.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Dolores Umbridge head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission]]
 
 
Harry found a courtroom in which a wizard named [[Alderton]] was being tried as a Muggle-born. When he tried to protest that he was a [[half-blood]], he was threatened with the [[Dementor's Kiss]] and then sentenced to [[Azkaban]]. [[Mary Cattermole]] was called next, and Harry entered the room to find that [[Dolores Umbridge]] was conducting trials with the assistance of [[Yaxley]] and Hermione disguised as Mafalda Hopkirk.
 
   
 
While Umbridge sadistically conducted the trial, she exposed the locket she was wearing around her neck. Hermione asked her about it, and Umbridge told her it was a [[Selwyn family]] heirloom, a claim to bolster her “[[pure-blood]] credentials”. Harry, enraged, [[Stunning Spell|stunned]] her and Yaxley from beneath the Invisibility Cloak.
 
While Umbridge sadistically conducted the trial, she exposed the locket she was wearing around her neck. Hermione asked her about it, and Umbridge told her it was a [[Selwyn family]] heirloom, a claim to bolster her “[[pure-blood]] credentials”. Harry, enraged, [[Stunning Spell|stunned]] her and Yaxley from beneath the Invisibility Cloak.
   
[[File:DH1_Dementors_over_the_Muggle-Borns_Trial_Court.jpg|thumb|246px|[[Dementor]]s guarding the [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission]] trial courtroom.]]
+
[[File:DH1_Dementors_over_the_Muggle-Borns_Trial_Court.jpg|thumb|left|250x250px|[[Dementor]]s guarding the trial courtroom.]]
  +
 
Umbridge’s [[Patronus]] vanished and the [[Dementor]] in the courtroom attacked Mrs. Cattermole. Harry used a Patronus Charm, while Hermione took the locket from Umbridge and [[Geminio|left a copy]] in its place so that Umbridge would not later suspect the truth. She then freed Mrs. Cattermole from her restraints with a [[Revulsion Jinx]]. Harry and Hermione summoned their Patronuses and freed the other Muggle-born prisoners, telling them to flee the country while [[Tom Riddle|Voldemort]] remained in power.<ref name="DH13" />
   
 
==== Escape ====
Umbridge’s [[Patronus]] vanished and the [[Dementor]] in the courtroom attacked Mrs. Cattermole. Harry used a Patronus Charm, while Hermione took the locket from Umbridge and [[Geminio|left a copy]] in its place so that Umbridge would not later suspect the truth. She then freed Mrs. Cattermole from her restraints with a [[Revulsion Jinx]]. Harry and Hermione summoned their Patronuses and freed the other Muggle-born prisoners, telling them to flee the country while [[Tom Riddle|Voldemort]] remained in power.<ref name="DH13"/>
 
 
{{dialogue a-b-a|Harry Potter {{c|as Runcorn}}|This lot need to leave before you seal the exits.|Ministry employee|We’ve been told to seal all exits and not let anyone — |Are you contradicting me? Would you like me to have your family tree examined, like I had Dirk Cresswell’s?|Harry bluffs to help Muggle-borns escape|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
   
  +
[[File:Tumblr lupskzNgHS1qgt0vro2 250.gif|frame|[[Harry Potter]] in [[Albert Runcorn]]'s robes casting a [[Patronus Charm]] to safe himself, [[Hermione Granger]] (disguised as [[Mafalda Hopkirk]]), and [[Ron Weasley]] (disguised as [[Reginald Cattermole]]) from Dementors]]
===Escape===
 
{{dialogue a-b-a|Harry (as Runcorn)|This lot need to leave before you seal the exits.|Ministry employee|We’ve been told to seal all exits and not let anyone — |Are you contradicting me? Would you like me to have your family tree examined, like I had Dirk Cresswell’s?|Harry bluffs to help Muggle-borns escape|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows}}
 
[[File:Minisfiltration.jpg|thumb|left|220px|[[Harry Potter|Harry]] in [[Albert Runcorn]]'s robes and [[Hermione Granger|Hermione]] in [[Mafalda Hopkirk]]'s, being chased by Dementors.]]
 
   
 
Harry and Hermione met back up with Ron as they and the freed prisoners raced to the Atrium. By then, the Ministry's security had been alerted because Moody's magical eye was missing from Umbridge's office, and there were workers sealing off the exits. Harry used his disguise as the intimidating Albert Runcorn to bully them into stopping momentarily. The Muggle-borns fled as the real [[Reginald Cattermole]] arrived and [[Yaxley]] appeared, ordering that the exits be sealed again.
 
Harry and Hermione met back up with Ron as they and the freed prisoners raced to the Atrium. By then, the Ministry's security had been alerted because Moody's magical eye was missing from Umbridge's office, and there were workers sealing off the exits. Harry used his disguise as the intimidating Albert Runcorn to bully them into stopping momentarily. The Muggle-borns fled as the real [[Reginald Cattermole]] arrived and [[Yaxley]] appeared, ordering that the exits be sealed again.
   
Yaxley soon figured out what was happening and tried to stop them from escaping. He grabbed Hermione’s arm as she, Harry, and Ron [[Apparition|Disapparated]].<ref name="DH13"/> She used a [[Revulsion Jinx]] to force him to release her, but he was taken past the protections around [[12 Grimmauld Place]], forcing them to abandon it as a safe house<ref name="DH14">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 14</ref> as well as causing them to go on the run, aided only by a [[Perkins's tent|magical tent]].
+
Yaxley soon figured out what was happening and tried to stop them from escaping. He grabbed Hermione’s arm as she, Harry, and Ron [[Apparition|Disapparated]].<ref name="DH13" /> She used a [[Revulsion Jinx]] to force him to release her, but he was taken past the protections around [[12 Grimmauld Place]], forcing them to abandon it as a safe house<ref name="DH14">''Deathly Hallows'', Ch. 14</ref> as well as causing them to go on the run, aided only by a [[Perkins's tent|magical tent]].
   
==Aftermath==
+
=== Aftermath ===
 
[[Harry Potter]], [[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]], and [[Hermione Granger]] obtained a [[Horcrux]], retrieved [[Alastor Moody]]’s magical eye from the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]], and freed many innocent people who would have been prosecuted by the [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission]]. However, [[12 Grimmauld Place]] was exposed to the [[Death Eaters]], forcing the trio to move around in the wild for the next few months. Carrying [[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]] with them also exposed them to negative energy that would eventually lead to Ron temporarily abandoning his friends.
 
[[Harry Potter]], [[Ronald Weasley|Ron Weasley]], and [[Hermione Granger]] obtained a [[Horcrux]], retrieved [[Alastor Moody]]’s magical eye from the [[British Ministry of Magic|Ministry of Magic]], and freed many innocent people who would have been prosecuted by the [[Muggle-Born Registration Commission]]. However, [[12 Grimmauld Place]] was exposed to the [[Death Eaters]], forcing the trio to move around in the wild for the next few months. Carrying [[Salazar Slytherin's Locket]] with them also exposed them to negative energy that would eventually lead to Ron temporarily abandoning his friends.
   
Line 95: Line 102:
 
{{End box}}
 
{{End box}}
 
[[es:Infiltración en el Ministerio de Magia]]
 
[[es:Infiltración en el Ministerio de Magia]]
[[ru:Налет на Министерство Магии]]
+
[[ru:Налёт на Министерство магии]]
 
[[fr:Infiltration du ministère de la Magie]]
 
[[fr:Infiltration du ministère de la Magie]]
 
[[Category:Second Wizarding War]]
 
[[Category:Second Wizarding War]]

Revision as of 14:20, 20 March 2015

"Blooming pain in the bum, this, eh? Forcing us all to get to work this way! Who are they expecting to turn up, Harry Potter?"
— Ministry employee[src]

There was an infiltration of the Ministry of Magic on 2 September, 1997, during the height of the Second Wizarding War. The Ministry had recently fallen to Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley snuck inside the Ministry in order to steal one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, Salazar Slytherin's Locket. In the process, the Trio also freed multiple Muggle-borns who were awaiting trial, as well as reclaiming Alastor Moody's magical eye from Dolores Umbridge that was placed on a peephole in her office door so she could spy on her colleagues.

History

Background information

Mundungus Fletcher: " [...] I was selling in Diagon Alley and she come up to me and asks if I’ve got a license for trading in magical artefacts. Bleedin’ snoop. She was gonna fine me, but she took a fancy to the locket an’ told me she’d take it and let me off that time, and to fink meself lucky."
Harry Potter: "Who was this woman?"
Mundungus Fletcher: "I dunno, some Ministry hag. Little woman. Bow on top of ‘er head."
— Harry, Ron, and Hermione question Mundungus[src]
Noblecollection horcruxlocket

Salazar Slytherin's Locket

Salazar Slytherin's Locket was an heirloom of Lord Voldemort’s maternal family and one of his Horcruxes. This was discovered at some point during the First Wizarding War by Regulus Black, a Death Eater who grew disillusioned in his allegiances and turned against the Dark Lord. Regulus, with the assistance of his loyal house-elf, Kreacher, tracked the locket to its hiding place in a cave in 1979. He replaced the locket with a fake one, leaving a note to Voldemort admitting what he did, and was killed by the Inferi in the cave’s lake.

Dolores Umbridge

Dolores Umbridge, holder of the Locket, in the new Death Eater-controlled Ministry

Voldemort never learned of this, but Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley deduced it in 1997. They questioned Kreacher as to what had happened to the locket, and he eventually told them what had transpired with Regulus and that Mundungus Fletcher had stolen the locket from 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry sent Kreacher to find Fletcher and bring him back to the Black household, where he and his friends were hiding out.[1]

Fletcher admitted to taking the locket and told them that he was forced to give it up to a Ministry of Magic employee — Dolores Umbridge. The Ministry had fallen under Voldemort’s control in August, and Umbridge was the head of the new Muggle-Born Registration Commission, an instrument of discrimination against Muggle-borns.[2] Harry, Ron, and Hermione spent the next few weeks making a plan to sneak into the Ministry, the most “dangerous place in the whole world” for them to be at the moment.[3]

Infiltration

Sneaking in

Harry Potter : "This is mental"
Hermione Granger: "Completely mental"
— Harry and Hermione's feelings on the infiltration plan [src]
Ron Weasley in the Muggle street of London

Ron spying on Mafalda

The trio waited outside the Ministry under Harry’s Invisibility Cloak. Hermione nonverbally stunned Ministry employee Mafalda Hopkirk and then took Polyjuice Potion to take her form. The trio moved her unconscious form into an empty theatre nearby. Next, Reginald Cattermole arrived and Hermione gave him a "sweet" that immediately made him sick and insisted that he go to St. Mungo's, despite his reluctance. She discreetly acquired hairs from him in the process, and they were used to have Ron take on his form. Hermione and Ron then obtained hairs from Albert Runcorn to disguise Harry.

HPDH1-1766

The Trio grabbed Reg Cattermole, Albert Runcorn and Mafalda Hopkirk

Once inside, Harry, Ron, and Hermione split up to take the employee entrances concealed in a set of underground public toilets. Employees had to "flush" themselves in, though they did not get wet. They then found themselves in the Ministry Atrium, where the Fountain of Magical Brethren had been replaced by a black stone statue of a wizard and witch seated on ornate thrones made from the bodies of naked Muggles hundreds and hundreds of, men, women, and children, all with stupid, ugly faces “in their rightful place”. The base of the statue read "Magic is Might".[3]

The Muggle-Born Registration Commission

"If my wife were accused of being a Mudblood — not that any woman I married would ever be mistaken for such filth — and the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement needed a job doing, I would make it my priority to do this job, Cattermole. Do you understand me?"
Yaxley threatens Reg Cattermole (actually Ron Weasley)[src]
Infiltration

Hermione, Harry, and Ron disguised as Ministry workers

They headed for the lifts, but were intercepted by Death Eater and head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Yaxley, who demanded that “Cattermole” fix his office, where it was raining. Hermione whispered advice on how Ron could fix the problem before the trio was forced to split up.[3] She was then pulled away from Harry as Umbridge arrived, believing that Travers sent "Mafalda" to record-keep for her. Harry was left alone with the puppet Minister for Magic Pius Thicknesse, and then went in search of Umbridge’s office after putting on his Cloak of Invisibility.

As Harry searched for Umbridge’s office in hopes of finding Salazar Slytherin's Locket, he came across Ministry workers creating political propaganda in the form of pamphlets entitled ''Mudbloods and the Dangers They Pose to a Peaceful Pure-Blood Society''. It was implied to have been written by Umbridge. Harry then found her office — with the magical eye of the late Alastor Moody on the door. Harry took the magical eye and searched the room, but could not find the locket. He did, however, find a file on Arthur Weasley that declared him to have "unacceptable pro-Muggle leanings" and to be under surveillance as a known member of the Order of the Phoenix and acquaintance of “Undesirable No. 1”, none other than Harry himself.

Harry and Ron briefly met up again in the lift, where they ran into Arthur. He advised “Reg” on how to fix the rain in Yaxley’s office and then confronted “Runcorn” on turning Dirk Cresswell in as a Muggle-born who faked his family tree, forcing him to go on the run. Harry attempted to warn him about the Ministry watching him.

After Arthur got off the lift, Harry wandered about under his Invisibility Cloak trying to find Hermione, and his attention was caught when he noticed the presence of Dementors.[4]

Dolores3

Dolores Umbridge head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission

Harry found a courtroom in which a wizard named Alderton was being tried as a Muggle-born. When he tried to protest that he was a half-blood, he was threatened with the Dementor's Kiss and then sentenced to Azkaban. Mary Cattermole was called next, and Harry entered the room to find that Dolores Umbridge was conducting trials with the assistance of Yaxley and Hermione disguised as Mafalda Hopkirk.

While Umbridge sadistically conducted the trial, she exposed the locket she was wearing around her neck. Hermione asked her about it, and Umbridge told her it was a Selwyn family heirloom, a claim to bolster her “pure-blood credentials”. Harry, enraged, stunned her and Yaxley from beneath the Invisibility Cloak.

DH1 Dementors over the Muggle-Borns Trial Court

Dementors guarding the trial courtroom.

Umbridge’s Patronus vanished and the Dementor in the courtroom attacked Mrs. Cattermole. Harry used a Patronus Charm, while Hermione took the locket from Umbridge and left a copy in its place so that Umbridge would not later suspect the truth. She then freed Mrs. Cattermole from her restraints with a Revulsion Jinx. Harry and Hermione summoned their Patronuses and freed the other Muggle-born prisoners, telling them to flee the country while Voldemort remained in power.[4]

Escape

Harry Potter (as Runcorn): "This lot need to leave before you seal the exits."
Ministry employee: "We’ve been told to seal all exits and not let anyone — "
Harry Potter (as Runcorn): "Are you contradicting me? Would you like me to have your family tree examined, like I had Dirk Cresswell’s?"
— Harry bluffs to help Muggle-borns escape[src]
Tumblr lupskzNgHS1qgt0vro2 250

Harry Potter in Albert Runcorn's robes casting a Patronus Charm to safe himself, Hermione Granger (disguised as Mafalda Hopkirk), and Ron Weasley (disguised as Reginald Cattermole) from Dementors

Harry and Hermione met back up with Ron as they and the freed prisoners raced to the Atrium. By then, the Ministry's security had been alerted because Moody's magical eye was missing from Umbridge's office, and there were workers sealing off the exits. Harry used his disguise as the intimidating Albert Runcorn to bully them into stopping momentarily. The Muggle-borns fled as the real Reginald Cattermole arrived and Yaxley appeared, ordering that the exits be sealed again.

Yaxley soon figured out what was happening and tried to stop them from escaping. He grabbed Hermione’s arm as she, Harry, and Ron Disapparated.[4] She used a Revulsion Jinx to force him to release her, but he was taken past the protections around 12 Grimmauld Place, forcing them to abandon it as a safe house[5] as well as causing them to go on the run, aided only by a magical tent.

Aftermath

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger obtained a Horcrux, retrieved Alastor Moody’s magical eye from the Ministry of Magic, and freed many innocent people who would have been prosecuted by the Muggle-Born Registration Commission. However, 12 Grimmauld Place was exposed to the Death Eaters, forcing the trio to move around in the wild for the next few months. Carrying Salazar Slytherin's Locket with them also exposed them to negative energy that would eventually lead to Ron temporarily abandoning his friends.

Appearances

Notes and references

  1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ch. 10
  2. Deathly Hallows, Ch. 11
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Deathly Hallows, Ch. 12
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Deathly Hallows, Ch. 13
  5. Deathly Hallows, Ch. 14