Hit Wizard

Hit Wizard
Organisation information
Headquarters	Level 2, Ministry of Magic, Whitehall, London, England, Great Britain
Intentions	Arresting dangerous criminals Riot control Upholding wizarding law
Affiliation	British Ministry of Magic Department of Magical Law Enforcement Magical Law Enforcement Squad
Enemies	Dark wizards Lord Voldemort Death Eaters

"We are looking for talented young witches and wizards with a liking for danger."

— A recruitment advertisement

A Hit Wizard or Hit Witch was a member of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad that was trained to deal with highly dangerous combat situations, such as high-risk arrests and riot control, and frequently called upon as backup by the British Auror Office to help capture Dark wizards.

History

The International Confederation of Wizards ordered a team of Hit Wizards to capture Dai Ryusaki, who they suspected was a Dark wizard. Elton Elderberry was one of them, and he felt deep regret and guilt over his role in Ryusaki's wrongful arrest, leading him to change his career and become an Unspeakable instead.

A team of Hit Wizards arrested Sirius Black in 1981 when he was thought to have murdered Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles with a single curse. Hit Wizard Arnold Peasegood later suffered a minor attack of boils while arresting goblins during the riot in Chipping Clodbury in either 1992 or 1993.

The Ministry sent a squad of Hit Wizards after the Death Eater Bedilia Grimalkin when she reappeared in Godric's Hollow in the late 1980s. However, she was able to easily best them and took their wands, though she was eventually captured by Severus Snape.

Hit Wizards were also needed to escort the Quidditch team members to safety during the riots that occurred at the Puddlemere United versus Holyhead Harpies grudge match. Alastor Gumboil handled applications for Hit Witches and Hit Wizards from Room 919 at the Ministry.

The job

"The Aurors call in the Hit Wizards when we need extra support."

— Alastor Moody

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement maintained squads of trained Hit Wizards and Witches whose job it was to move out at a moment's notice in dire and dangerous situations, be it to disperse the crowd during riots or to apprehend dangerous wizarding criminals once they had been located.

While Hit Wizards were trained to fight Dark wizards, just like Aurors, the latter appeared to differ in that, unlike Hit Wizards, Aurors were more of an elite force whose abilities went far beyond simply arresting suspects, such as investigation, concealment and disguise, stealth and tracking, poisons and antidotes, etc., whereas Hit Wizards appeared to be primarily a fighting and controlling force not trained to investigate crimes.

Job requirements

"Played Beater when I was at Hogwarts. Good training for a Hit Wizard."

— Unidentified Hit Wizard to Jacob's sibling.

• 17 years of age or older
• Five or more O.W.L.s including Defence Against the Dark Arts
• Not of nervous disposition

Benefits included

• Starting salary of 700 Galleons per month
• Ministry of Magic broomstick
• Regular bed at St Mungo's

Known Hit Wizards

Elton Elderberry (formerly)

Unidentified Hit Wizard

Talbott Winger

Cerberus Langarm (formerly)

• Alastor Gumboil
• Arnold Peasegood

Behind the scenes

• Hit Wizard is a play on the term "hit man".
• While the difference between Hit Wizards and Aurors were never explicitly stated in the books, in which Hit Wizards has a single reference (being the ones who arrested the suspected Death Eater and dangerous mass murderer Sirius Black), contemporary writings from J. K. Rowling make references to a riot in Chipping Clodbury in 1999, which Hit Wizards were involved in sorting out. This suggests that the two differed in that Aurors trained extensively in methods of criminal investigation, intelligence gathering and crime prevention, while Hit Wizards by contrast were primarily a fighting and controlling force. In Muggle terms, the distinction would be roughly comparable to that of the Homicide and Major Crime Command and the specialist firearms officers of the Metropolitan Police. In the United States, the equivalent of this would be the differing roles of elite paramilitary units (e.g. SWAT) compared to national criminal investigative bodies (e.g. the FBI).
• It is interesting to note that, while Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Neville Longbottom became Aurors after the Second Wizarding War immediately without the N.E.W.T. requirements and Auror training, both Harry and Ron could actually qualify for entry requirements into the Hit Wizards unit, as they both had seven O.W.L.s, including one in Defence against the Dark Arts, were 17 years or older and were not of nervous disposition.
• It is possible that Hit Wizards operated in squads of five people, as in Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Year 3, Side Quest "A RECORD OF THE PAST" a 'squad' of Hit Wizards were sent after Bedilia Grimalkin and she later showed five wands to Jacob's sibling.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (First mentioned)
• Daily Prophet Newsletters (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World (First appearance)
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)

See also

• Auror
• Ministry of Magic Witch Watchers
• Magical Law Enforcement Patrol