Gawain Robards

Gawain Robards
Biographical information
Born	Pre-1969
Nationality	British
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Affiliation
Occupation	Head of the British Auror Office (formerly)
Loyalty	British Ministry of Magic Department of Magical Law Enforcement British Auror Office

"And of course, while you were there, you would have ample opportunity to speak to Gawain Robards, my successor as Head of the Auror office."

— Rufus Scrimgeour mentioning Robards whilst trying to convince Harry Potter to join the British Ministry of Magic

Gawain Robards was a British wizard who worked as an Auror for the British Auror Office under the command of Rufus Scrimgeour during the Second Wizarding War.

Biography

Second Wizarding War

Rufus Scrimgeour-led Ministry of Magic anti-Death Eater propaganda during the Second Wizarding War (c. 1996)

Following Cornelius Fudge's fall from power in 1996, Rufus Scrimgeour replaced him as Minister for Magic, and as such Robards was promoted and succeeded Scrimgeour as Head of the Auror Office and commanded the Dark Wizard catchers in the Ministry's employ throughout the reminder of their losing battle against Lord Voldemort and his followers; a direct result of the governing body's prior denial about the return of The Dark Lord. Scrimgeour, during his attempts to convince Harry Potter to become the Ministry of Magic's new "poster boy", offered to set up an interview with Robards, knowing he cherished a desire to join the Auror department one day, in exchange for his cooperation, but Harry refused.

Fall of the Ministry of Magic

On 1 August 1997, Robards was very likely working at the Ministry of Magic when it was taken over by Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters. A month later, it was reported by the Daily Prophet that Aurors had been decommissioned, and stripped of their wands and jobs. As he was permitted to resume his duties after the Battle of Hogwarts, however, he was presumably reinstated following the subsequent recommission of the Aurors by Kingsley Shacklebolt after the conclusion of the Second Wizarding War.

Given that he resumed his duties as an Auror after the Battle of Hogwarts and was considerably older and more experienced at the job than those of the students who survived it and subsequently joined their ranks, he most likely returned to the position as Head of the Auror Office, a job at which he was eventually succeeded by Harry Potter himself in 2007. In response to the Calamity in the late 2010s, however, he was implied to have come out of retirement to assist in the training of new Aurors from the then-recently-established Statute of Secrecy Task Force. During his lessons, he taught prospective Aurors a series of training exercises to help them adapt their stance when attacked, increasing the damage they could withstand in combat, and showed them how to cast his version of the very complicated Confusion Hex, which he later personally helped them refine.

Gawain later created a process he called "Aeration," claiming that intensely blowing on a potion while brewing it could make the resulting potion more potent. A Calamity Investigator working for the task force encountered him while he was engaging in the process, leading to Gawain informing them of how the process worked. The investigator tried the process themselves, finding that it increased the effectiveness of their Potent Exstimulo Potions.

Etymology

The meaning of the name "Gawain" is uncertain, from the name of a nephew of King Arthur and one of the knights of the Round Table in Arthurian legend. He was a popular hero in medieval stories such as the 14th century romantic poem 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'. In some Welsh sources he is considered identical with the earlier Welsh hero Gwalchmei, whose name meant "hawk of May". Alternatively the name may have a different Welsh meaning or even a Germanic origin.

The family name "Robards" means "son of Robert" also a Germanic, French and Latvian name meaning "Bright fame".

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)