Augustus Rookwood

Augustus Rookwood (erroneously printed Algernon Rookwood in the British first edition of Book 5) was a spy at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic who worked for Lord Voldemort, and was ventually freed from Azkaban to dutifully serve his lord once again.

Augustus Rookwood is described, judging by his mugshot seen in the Daily Prophet, as a pot-marked a greasy-haired man who seems to be bored, contrasting from the majority of the other Death Eaters in the mugshots, who were sneering and glaring.

Years as a Spy
Before he went to Azkaban, circa 1981-1982, Rookwood worked for the Department of Mysteries and had a information network inside and outside of the Ministry with a number of well-connected wizards. Whether or not these wizards knew they were being used for information by Rookwood is unknown. What is known is that Ludovic Bagman gave Rookwood information, likely ignorant of the fact of Rookwood's real affiliations, since Rookwood dangled the prospect of a Ministry position before Bagman. Bagman's testimony revealed that Augustus Rookwood was friends with his father. He also referred to Rookwood rather affectionately as "Old Rookwood", despite the man being a Death Eater, during his own court case.

From that information, it can be deduced that Rookwood was outgoing and perhaps affable during his years as a spy, breaking the mold of so many other Death Eaters.

Conviction, Azkaban, and Breakout
In 1981 or 1982, Rookwood was convicted on testimony from Igor Karkaroff and sent to Azkaban, from which he escaped along with nine other Death Eaters in 1996. Rookwood was responsible for getting Voldemort on track with stealing the prophecy, and was seen in one of Harry Potter's dreams. Obviously, his experience in the Department of Mysteries made him invaluable in this function.

Involvement in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries
Rookwood was one of twelve Death Eaters who participated in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries after numerous attempts at stealing the prophecy failed. He was the only one not assigned a partner as the Death Eaters pursued the six D.A. members. Rookwood's whereabouts for most of the battle were unknown. There are a few theories on this, ranging from Rookwood stealing Department of Mysteries items to Rookwood using the department's items against Dumbledore's Army and actually manipulating time.

What is known is that Rookwood was apparently uninjured when he entered the Veil Room, and was seen casting the Killing Curse at Kingsley Shacklebolt without his mask on, since Harry Potter was able to identify Rookwood by his potmarked face. It is presumed that Rookwood, along with all the other Death Eaters aside from Bellatrix Lestrange, was captured and imprisoned in Azkaban after the battle.

Battle of Hogwarts
"ROOKWOOD!"

- He (Percy) let out a bull-like roar and set off in the direction of a tall man, who was chasing a group of students.

During the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, Rookwood fired a curse that damaged a great deal of the castle and was believed to have killed Fred Weasley. Percy Weasley eventually found and went after him.

Rookwood was later stunned by Aberforth Dumbledore, and is presumably imprisoned at the current time.

Behind the Scenes

 * Augustus is Latin for "majestic" or "venerable", derived from the Latin augere, "to increase". It was the title given to the first emperor of Rome and subsequently to make other Roman emperors.
 * Rooks are known to be extremely sociable birds, and also have a kind of caw that sounds like a croak. Rookwood is indicated to be a sociable wizard, and when he was seek speaking to Voldemort, he was hoarse and his tone was described as a croak.
 * The surname "Rookwood" may also come from Ambrose Rookwood, one of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot of 1606.