Interdepartmental memo

Interdepartmental memo
Object information
Location	British Ministry of Magic Headquarters
Usage	Communication at the Ministry of Magic
Owners	British Ministry of Magic

"Just interdepartmental memos. We used to use owls, but the mess was unbelievable... droppings all over the desks..."

— Arthur Weasley explains the memos

Interdepartmental memos were a method of communication between departments at the British Ministry of Magic.

History

An interdepartmental memo

As late as 1927, the Ministry employed owls for this purpose, but discontinued use because they left droppings everywhere, which was somewhat disconcerting for Ministry workers.

These memos travelled in the lifts, and left when their levels came. One of these memos informed Arthur Weasley of the regurgitating toilet discovered in Bethnal Green.

During the 1990s, they usually took the form of pale violet paper aeroplanes, with "Ministry of Magic" stamped along the side, magically enchanted to fly independently to their destination.

Interdepartmental memos in the form of Foundables

During the 2010s, when the Calamity occurred and the British Ministry of Magic took the lead in the global effort to combat it, memo aeroplane use went up by 411%, instigating an unprecedented parchment shortage at the Ministry offices. Sage Bragnam also noticed that some of the memos had started to behave erratically, with Sage believing that they were afraid of becoming Foundables. He approached a Calamity Investigator working for the Statute of Secrecy Task Force for help, with the investigator determining that the memos weren't sentient and that their erratic behaviour was actually the result of a mix-up with their routing spell.

Also, some memos were captured by the Calamity and began to appear around the world as Foundables. Members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force were tasked with returning them to the Ministry of Magic.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

See also

• Gringotts Wizarding Bank mail system
• Memorandum Rodentium