Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes

Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes
Organisation information
Headquarters	Level 3, British Ministry of Magic Headquarters, Whitehall, London, England, Great Britain
Intentions	Reverting the consequences of major magical mishaps
Affiliation	British Ministry of Magic

"Level Three, Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, incorporating the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad, Obliviator Headquarters and Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee."

— Voice of lift at the Ministry of Magic

The Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes was responsible for repairing accidental magical damage. It was responsible for being first on the scene when magical spells went wrong or when Muggles became aware of wizarding activity.

The Department operated in teams, which would respond at a moment's notice to a magical accident.

Location

The main offices of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes were located on level three of the British Ministry of Magic. The offices included the headquarters of the Obliviators, witches and wizards trained in memory modification and many others.

Functions

Members of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes leapt into action when magic spells went awry, particularly when magical effects are spotted by Muggles.

The Department worked in concert with other Departments to "clean up" the scene of any such event. They would modify the memories and undoing magical damage. If necessary, the Department would create alternate stories to feed to the Muggle press to keep the existence of the magical community a secret.

History

"MAKE A BANG AT THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL ACCIDENTS AND CATASTROPHES."

— Career advice brochure

Leonard Spencer-Moon, who served as wartime Minster for Magic during the Muggle Second World War, started his Ministry career as a tea-boy in this department.

Cornelius Fudge was a junior minister in this Department and was one of the first on the scene when Pettigrew attacked Sirius Black and killed a number of Muggles.

The careers advice pamphlet issued by the Department for recruiting students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was entitled: MAKE A BANG AT THE DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL ACCIDENTS AND CATASTROPHES.

During the 1990–1991 school year, seventh-year Hogwarts students Jacob's sibling and Ben Copper did assignments for this office during their participation in the Ministry of Magic student programme.

When Harry Potter was caught by Snatchers in 1998, he claimed that his name was "Vernon Dudley" and that his father worked for this department. The ruse worked initially, as Scabior seemed to think that there might be a Dudley working in that department, but the ruse fell apart once the Snatchers identified Hermione Granger.

Astrid Cole's mother worked for the department where she was killed trying to clean up a mess.

Divisions

Accidental Magic Reversal Squad

The Accidental Magic Reversal Squad was an organised team of wizards and witches whose jobs were to correct mistakes in magic, such as spells or potions gone wrong. Mistakes were normally caused by inexperienced witches and wizards, those who had not learned to control their magic, or those who may not have been very skilled in using specific spells or potions.

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

The Obliviator Headquarters was the main office for Obliviators, wizards who had the task of modifying the memories of Muggles if they witnessed incidents caused by magic.

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

One such example was 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 became a permanent patient at St Mungo's.

Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee

The Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee invented excuses for the Muggle community for any magical accidents or occurrences which could not be magically cleared up or completely obliviated. Thus, the committee would inform the Muggle community with any kind of non-magical excuses for the accidents.

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 having been caused by an explosion in the local gas main.

Personnel

• Leonard Spencer-Moon (Tea-boy, formerly)
• Arnold Peasegood (Obliviator)
• Cadmus
• Cornelius Fudge
• Unidentified Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee clerk
• Two unknown agents
• Unidentified Obliviator (I)
• Unidentified Obliviator (II)
• Astrid Cole's mother
• Glenna Golding (formerly)

Behind the scenes

Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes emblem badge

• 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 or anything related to outer-space matters.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (First appearance)
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned only)