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Peregrine: "The wizards and witches of 'R' aren't evil. We're scholars, researchers, inventors, and explorers."
Jacob's sibling: "And you claim the Ministry of Magic is corrupt..."
Peregrine: "Yes, it festers with corruption. But they don't want you to know that so they blame 'R'. Unfortunately, they have more power and reach than we do, so it's their messaging that prevails."
Peregrine defending R's intentions[src]

R, also known as The Cabal, was an enigmatic and powerful secret society that was active during the 20th century and behind a number of clandestine operations around the world.

Description[]

Shrouded in mystery and operating largely in complete secrecy, while little was known about its origins and motives, and even though the identities of its members was largely unknown, it was eventually discovered by Alastor Moody that it consisted of a group of Dark wizards that dealt in the illicit acquisition of arcane knowledge, magical artefacts and unlocking the path to immortality,[9] and whose ruthless pursuit for power had given rise to various clandestine operations around the world.[3]

They were also known to have had sufficient political influence to facilitate the continued concealment of their unlawful activities; having at some point successfully infiltrated the Ministry of Magic in London and been able to search for the fabled Cursed Vaults for more than half a decade before the Ministry even received their first reports that their cabal existed; at which point its members had already acquired enough sway to issue commands to the guards at the fortress of Azkaban; having at one point ordered a Dementor to leave its post in Azkaban and attack Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry without being discovered. Following the fall of the Dark Lord, they permitted former Death Eaters to join their ranks.[13]

They were opposed to the British Ministry of Magic, as they viewed it as corrupt. Its leader Peregrine claimed they were not evil, but they were the "good guys", and that they sought knowledge, truth and justice.[2] The ultimate goal of R, it appears, was to de-corrupt the Ministry using mind control to force officials they perceived as corrupt into retirement.[14]

History[]

This group began writing suspicious letters signed as "R" to denizens of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the mid-1980s. Those letters were very commanding, with imposed instructions and threats of punishment in case the recipients did not follow the instructions. They first wrote to Jacob's sibling in the 1985–1986 school year. Two school years later, they wrote to both Jacob's sibling and Patricia Rakepick, telling Rakepick to step aside from Hogwarts. That same year, a mysterious cloaked figure told Jacob's sibling to avoid the Cursed Vaults, Patricia Rakepick and the Forbidden Forest. It is possible that the messenger was a member of, or sent by, R. R later sent a Dementor to Hogwarts to test Jacob's sibling.

Patricia Rakepick was a member of R,[6] but only had a minor role.[3]

Alastor Moody knew about the group. In 1989, he told Jacob's sibling about it and made them swear not to tell anyone else.[3] Moody's investigation into the group showed that the group had former Death Eaters in its ranks.[13]

Even after the final Cursed Vault was sealed and Rakepick was defeated,[15] R was still not finished in their crusade of seeking power and immortality. With the help of Mundungus Fletcher, Jacob's sibling found out in Knockturn Alley (while wearing an Invisibility Cloak) that the Hogwarts mole was really their long thought-to-be friend Merula Snyde. In a meeting with her aunt Verucca Buckthorn-Snyde, it was revealed that Merula had been working for R and her mission was to bring Jacob's sibling into R, in return that she would become more powerful. She was willing to accept R as her new family and leave Hogwarts behind. The witch promised that Merula's wish would be fulfilled and her journey was only the beginning. They then Apparated away, leaving Jacob's sibling shocked.[5]

During the 1990–1991 school year, Jacob suspected that R had taken the other half of the Dark Scroll from a cave in Japan, in order to brew Dai Ryusaki's mind-enhancing potion for nefarious purposes.[16] Verucca brewed the potion by forcing Merula to tell her the ingredients. This potion was tested in the Shrieking Shack when Peregrine had Jacob drink it along with wearing the Crown of Mneme, so he could develop mind control powers. However, the demonstration went wrong when Jacob began to pain from the Crown's curse, causing a power surge from their head to blast the test subject. Jacob's sibling knocked the Crown under a piano after Jacob removed it, allowing them, Jacob and their friend to escape via Apparition.[17]

After this failed attempt, Verucca considered Peregine to have become rogue. She organised an unusual meeting with the student in Knockturn Alley (using Merula as her messenger), in which she told them that Peregrine's strange behaviour was because of the cursed amulet he was wearing. She told them they needed to remove it to save the organisation and their father, with her offering a partnership in which they would help her steal the amulet from him. They reluctantly agreed, but also informed Alastor Moody of the Auror Office about their plan, as working with a Dark witch was considered unreliable and dangerous.[18] During the attempt to steal the amulet in Knockturn Alley, Verucca and Jacob first conversed with Peregrine to distract him while Jacob's sibling snuck up on him under their Invisibility Cloak. However, he detected their presence and knocked them over with the Banishing Charm. As a result, Verucca took matters into her own hands and demanded he hand over the amulet, threatening him with a spell. When Jacob stood in his father's way to protect him, he has blasted by Verucca's purple spell, a powerful version of the Conjunctivitis Curse which rendered him blind. Moody and other Aurors quickly Apparated to the scene, and Verucca and Peregrine Disapparated.[19]

Jacob's sibling and the Circle of Khanna faced the organisation for a final showdown at the Viaduct bridge at Hogwarts, on 22 June 1991, the anniversary of Dai Ryusaki's death. Jacob's sibling faced their father, telling him to hand over the amulet, to which he refused. The students and the Dark wizards then started duelling each other. During the confrontation, the student wizards overpowered all the adult Dark wizards, with Peregrine agreeing to leave with his younger child. However, they encountered Verucca with Merula on the bridge, who informed Peregrine that she had usurped him as the group's leader and demanded for him to hand over the amulet. She disarmed him quickly of his wand when he dismissed her. Jacob's sibling then duelled and defeated Verucca again, knocking her to the floor and disarming her of her wand. Merula also abandoned Verucca, not breaking her Unbreakable Vow with her in the process, as she realised her "true family" were her friends at Hogwarts, not her aunt. Verucca swore vegenance upon them all, wandlessly summoning her wand to conjure Fiendfyre to attack Peregrine. This caused Peregrine to fall from the Viaduct without his wand. When Jacob's sibling and Merula found Moody and his Aurors arresting the group's members, he informed them that Verucca had also been captured and arrested, being taken to Azkaban along with all the others. However, they were unable to locate Peregrine after his fall, deducing he would have not survived. This final battle resulted in the end of the dark organisation.[20]

Magical abilities and skills[]

  • Transfiguration: Members of R were skilful in Transfiguration, as they were able to transfigure messages they sent into Black Quills, mimicking the concealment methods of Jacob.
  • Dark Arts: Members of R appeared to be proficient with dark magic, including the Unforgivable Curses.

Known members[]

Name Notes Current status
Peregrine (known as 'R')[1] Leader[1][2]
Peter Pettigrew (formerly)[6] Deceased[21]
Patricia Rakepick[6] Incarcerated in Azkaban.
Verucca Buckthorn-Snyde[5] (known as the 'Director')[22] High-ranking member. Served as Peregrine's mouthpiece among R, dispatching his commands to her fellow operatives. Challenged Jacob's sibling and their friend as they attempted to enter Knockturn Alley, then duelled them alongside several dark wizards, only to be swiftly defeated by Patricia Rakepick and blasted sprawling to the floor. Slowly manipulated her niece Merula into joining R, making an Unbreakable Vow with her in which she swore to train Merula in the magical arts that would allow her to defeat Patricia Rakepick. Attended a secret Knockturn Alley meeting with Kazuhiro Shiratori and the disguised Jacob's sibling, then duelled Jacob's sibling's team with Rakepick before fleeing via Disapparition. Later revealed her true identity as a member of R to Merula and enlisted her into R, meeting and initiating her niece into R within Knockturn Alley whilst also making sure that Jacob's sibling was present by staging a conversation within earshot of Mundungus Fletcher. Met with Zenith Xeep in Knockturn Alley to take over ownership of a stolen wand, conversing with the opera diva over the powers of Xeep's Luscious Locks Solution, stunning Ben Cooper upon his emergence before Disapparating in the wake of Jacob's sibling's arrival. Rescued Eustace Burke following his exposure and nonverbally knocked her leader's child back, then Apparated away with the uncovered R agent. Met with Jacob's sibling in the Shrieking Shack following R's capture of Corey Hayden, whereupon she introduced herself to them.
Kazuhiro Shiratori[3] In custody
Merula Snyde[5][7] Defected
Eustace Burke[8] Informant implanted within St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Incarcerated in Azkaban[8]
Zenith Xeep Hospitalised in the Janus Thickey Ward[23]
Jacob Defected
R's second messenger

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 39 (The Aftermath)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 40 (Family Matters)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 1 (Year Six Begins)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 35 (Infiltrating 'R')
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 45 (The Messenger)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, Chapter 30 (Into the Vault)
  7. 7.0 7.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 38 (Tensions Rise)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 29 (Mind of a Diva)
  9. 9.0 9.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 5, Chapter 7 (The Life and Death of Duncan Ashe)
  10. 10.0 10.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 47 (The Circle and the Crown)
  11. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 32 (The Wizengamot Trial)
  12. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 20 (A Circle of Friends)
  13. 13.0 13.1 Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 13 (On the Run)
  14. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 46 (Total Recall)
  15. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 6, Chapter 42 (The Final Vault)
  16. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 23 (The Legend of Dai Ryusaki and the Dark Scroll)
  17. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 51 (A Simple Demonstration)
  18. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 53 (An Unexpected Offer)
  19. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 54 (Best-Laid Plans)
  20. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 57 (The Final Battle)
  21. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 23 (Malfoy Manor)
  22. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 30 (It All Falls Down)
  23. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 7, Chapter 24 (In the Thickey of It)
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