Ministry All-Purpose Room

Ministry All-Purpose Room
Location information
Location	Level 8, British Ministry of Magic headquarters, Whitehall, London, Great Britain
Owner(s)	British Ministry of Magic
Affiliation	British Ministry of Magic

The Ministry All-Purpose Room was a room on Level 8 in the British Ministry of Magic headquarters, accessible from the Atrium. More or less a public area in the Ministry, although those wishing to access other levels at the premises was required to present valid credentials at the Security Desk to acquire the clearance to do so, visitors at the Ministry scheduled to meet a specific employees could traverse Level 8 and enter it without an escort.

Description

The All-Purpose Room

The All-Purpose Room was comprised of a large, splendidly furnished parlour with a high, curved ceiling that was, along with the walls, made of the same dark porcelain tiles seen throughout the Ministry. Used as a part-break room, part-workspace; at one end of the room, a fireplace big enough for a person to stand in it was flanked on either side by a pair of large grandfather clocks. By said fireplace was a low coffee table made of dark wood surrounded by three black leather sofas, where Ministry officials would often socialise in between office hours.

A portrait of a group wizards and unicorns

There was a long table just behind the three-seater lined with a selection of books that appeared to have been sorted by size and topic, as well as a globe and an oil lamp. There was also a couple of smaller desks in room that could be used for work, each with a lamp on it. Lit on the far left wall by enchanted windows featuring a blue sky, grassy hills and a river, on the left of the door leading out into the Atrium was also a portrait of a group wizards and a child playing with a baby unicorn.

Usage

In the mornings and during breaks, Ministry workers from all over the premises would convene in the All-Purpose Room to socialise before heading to their offices. Lower ranking Ministry officials could also use the room to work in, as they lacked their own offices. It was used as a reception area for visitors to the Ministry scheduled to meet with specific officials and lacking the necessary credentials to visit the other floors, such as the students from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that arrived for internships, to whom it also served a secondary purpose as a briefing room.

History

At some point after the Ministry's inception in 1707, this room was created as a multi-functional area to service various Ministry officials in a wide variety of capacities. At some point after this, the Magical Maintenance Department installed a set of enchanted windows in the room, which they bewitched so that when the Department changed the weather in it, all the other enchanted windows on the premises would change accordingly.

Enchanted windows in this room

For the 1990–1991 school year, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore arranged with the Ministry of Magic for some interested seventh-year students to visit the premises for a student internship. When the students arrived at the Ministry, they were made to report to the All-Purpose Room for orientation, which included a review of the Rules of Conduct for Students Visiting the Ministry of Magic before the handing out of the recquired credentials permitting them limited, supervised access to designated areas elsewhere at the Ministry. The initial head for the student programme was Amos Diggory, an investigator at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, until he lost the position to Wilkie Twycross of the Department of Magical Transportation.

Elton Elderberry in this room

Much later in the school year, Olivia Green and Jacob's sibling spoke to the elderly Archivist Elton Elderberry in this room, where they found him sitting on his favourite chair, talking to his dog Herbert Chewsworthy III. They asked him for information surrounding the Crown of Mneme, and he informed them about the crown's history and powers. The two again met Elderberry in this room having afternoon tea with Herbert, where he was discussing Degas's art and badminton with him. Elton served them tea, and they discussed their need to enter the Ministry of Magic Archives.

Jacob's sibling later met with janitor Callum McClintock to discuss cursed artefacts in the room, where they researched many files together at a table.

Appearances

• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (First appearance)

Notes and references

This article about a location is a stub. You can help by expanding it.