Evangeline Orpington

Evangeline Orpington
Biographical information
Born	c. 1832
Blood status	Pure-blood or half-blood
Nationality	British
Title(s)	Minister
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Relationship information
Family members	Nerys Orpington (possibly) Orpington family
Magical characteristics
Wand	Poplar, unknown core and length
Affiliation
Occupation	Minister for Magic (1849–1855)
Loyalty	Orpington family British Ministry of Magic

Evangeline Orpington was a British witch who served as the seventeenth Minister for Magic of the British Ministry of Magic, in office from 1849 to 1855.

She was a celebrated politician and is remembered for being the one who first thought of creating a concealed platform at King's Cross Station, to house the Hogwarts Express.

Biography

Early life

Evangeline Orpington was born no later than 1832 into the Orpington wizarding family. In her younger years, she purchased her wand, made of poplar wood, from Ollivanders Wand Shop in Diagon Alley.

Garrick Ollivander, the famous wandmaker, went on to write that the "tired old joke" among lesser wandmakers that no poplar wand had ever chosen a politician was utterly unsubstantiated, given that two of the most accomplished Ministers for Magic had fine, Ollivander-made poplar wands: Evangeline Orpington and Eldritch Diggory.

Later life

The concealed entrance to Platform 9¾

Ms Orpington was appointed Minister for Magic in 1849. She was elected Minister at least once.

When one of her predecessors, Ottaline Gambol, authorised an operation to acquire the Hogwarts Express, the Ministry had seen fit to build a railway station at Hogsmeade. The Ministry was not so keen, however, on building another station, in plain sight, in Muggle London, as it would be in all likelihood a serious breach of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy.

King's Cross Station was opened in 1852, during Orpington's time in office. It was only after its opening that the Minister hit upon the idea of adding a concealed platform at King's Cross Station that could only be accessed by witches and wizards: Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Minister Orpington was also good friends with Queen Victoria, who never realised that she was a witch or Minister for Magic. She was also believed to have illegally intervened magically in the Crimean War.

Minister Orpington left the office in 1855, to be regarded as one of the most accomplished Ministers in British history.

Appearances

• Pottermore (First mentioned)
• Wizarding World (Mentioned only)
• Hogwarts Legacy (Mentioned only)

Notes and references

Minister for Magic of Great Britain
Ministers for Magic
Ulick Gamp (1707–1718) Damocles Rowle (1718–1726) Perseus Parkinson (1726–1733) Eldritch Diggory (1733–1747) Albert Boot (1747–1752) Basil Flack (1752–1752) Hesphaestus Gore (1752–1770) Maximilian Crowdy (1770–1781) Porteus Knatchbull (1781–1789) Unctuous Osbert (1789–1798) Artemisia Lufkin (1798–1811) Grogan Stump (1811–1819) Josephina Flint (1819–1827) Ottaline Gambol (1827–1835) Radolphus Lestrange (1835–1841) Hortensia Milliphutt (1841–1849) Evangeline Orpington (1849–1855) Priscilla Dupont (1855–1858) Dugald McPhail (1858–1865) Faris Spavin (1865–1903) Venusia Crickerly (1903–1912) Archer Evermonde (1912–1923) Lorcan McLaird (1923–1925) Hector Fawley (1925–1939) Leonard Spencer-Moon (1939–1948) Wilhelmina Tuft (1948–1959) Ignatius Tuft (1959–1962) Nobby Leach (1962–1968) Eugenia Jenkins (1968–1975) Harold Minchum (1975–1980) Millicent Bagnold (1980–1990) Cornelius Fudge (1990–1996) Rufus Scrimgeour (1996–1997) Pius Thicknesse (1997–1998) Kingsley Shacklebolt (1998–c. 2019) Hermione Granger (c. 2019–?)