Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes

The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes is responsible for repairing accidental magical damage. It is located on the third level of the Ministry of Magic and houses the following offices:

Accidental Magic Reversal Squad
The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad is an organized team of wizards and witches whose job it is to correct mistakes in magic, such as spells or potions gone wrong. Mistakes are normally caused by inexperienced witches and wizards, those who have not learned to control their magic, or those who may not be very skilled.

For instance, the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad was once sent to the scene of one such accident in 1993, when Harry Potter inadvertently used magic to inflate his "Aunt" Marge. They were able to successfully reverse the spell, deflate her, and modify her memory to remove any recollection of the incident. Presumably this memory modification was performed by Obliviators, according to their duty.

Obliviator Headquarters
An Obliviator has the task of modifying the memory of a Muggle after witnessing incidents caused by magic.

The act of memory modification can be used by any wizard via the spell Obliviate. This is discouraged in wizarding society. Obliviators are professionals and those not experienced in using Obliviate could cause harm to others.

One such example is author and former Hogwarts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, who attempted to erase the memories of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley to cover his reputation. His spell backfired onto himself when he tried to cast the spell using a broken wand. He is still a patient at St Mungo's.

Another example of use of Obliviate is the Hogwarts student Marietta Edgecombe, whose memory of secret D.A. meetings was modified by the auror Kingsley Shacklebolt in an emergency. Edgecombe had attempted to expose the secret meetings to the Ministry, when Shacklebolt prevented her from doing so with the spell.

Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee
This committee invents excuses for the Muggle community for any magical accidents or occurrences which cannot be magically cleared up or completely obliviated.

For example, Peter Pettigrew killed twelve Muggle bystanders and tore apart a city street with an immense explosion during an altercation with Sirius Black. The massive and obvious damage and mortality was explained to the Muggle community as caused by a break in the local gas main.

Behind the scenes

 * Obliviators make a first appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, although they are mentioned in the previous novels.
 * Similar obliviating techniques are used in other works of fiction. For example, the Men in Black series uses electronic light pulses to modify the memories of witnesses to alien encounters.

Département des accidents et catastrophes magiques