Order of Merlin

The Order of Merlin is a great honour, an award or medal which is bestowed on Wizards or Witches who have demonstrated their devotion to the principles of living harmoniously with Muggles. The Order was created by the famous wizard of the Middle Ages, Merlin, to pass laws against using magic against Muggles.

Order of Merlin, First Class

 * Sirius Black's grandfather
 * This was either Arcturus Black III or Pollux Black. Awarded for his "services to the Ministry," which, according to Sirius, was another way of saying that he had given them a lot of gold.


 * Albus Dumbledore
 * Cornelius Fudge
 * Peter Pettigrew
 * Awarded posthumously, or so it was believed at the time, for his "heroic confrontation" with Sirius Black. Pettigrew, not Black, was later revealed to have been the one who betrayed the Potters, but whether his Order of Merlin was retracted as a result is unknown.


 * The Toke Family
 * Awarded for saving the lives of several Muggles during the Ilfracombe Incident in 1932.

Order of Merlin, Second Class

 * Newt Scamander

Order of Merlin, Third Class

 * Gilderoy Lockhart

Recipients of unknown class

 * Damocles
 * May have been awarded for his invention of the lycanthropy-treating Wolfsbane Potion.

Possible recipients
Cornelius Fudge promised to give Severus Snape the Order of Merlin for capturing Sirius Black, then assumed to be a fugitive murderer, but Black escaped before Fudge could follow through on his word.

Wrong, End of book 3, Lupin states that the "loss of the order of merlin hit him hardest"