Torquil Travers

Torquil Travers
Biographical information
Born	Before 1910
Blood status	Pure-blood or half-blood
Nationality	British
Title(s)	Minister
Physical information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Relationship information
Family members	Thaddeus Travers (possibly) Ailsa Travers (possibly) Travers (possibly) Sloan Travers (possibly) Travers family
Affiliation
Occupation	Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Loyalty	Travers family British Ministry of Magic Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Torquil Travers was a British wizard and a member of the pure-blood Travers family. He served as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the British Ministry of Magic in the 1920s.

Biography

Early life

Torquil Travers was born into the pure-blood Travers family, one of the "Sacred Twenty-Eight", a number of families that were judged to be still "truly pure-blood" by the author of the Pure-Blood Directory published in the 1930s.

Working for the Ministry

He ended up joining the British Ministry of Magic and eventually became the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. In early September 1927, he joined Arnold Guzman, Rudolph Spielman, and Theseus Scamander in a hearing about Newt Scamander's appeal against his international travel ban. Later that year, he was accompanied by a number of Ministry wizards that included Theseus Scamander, Head of the Auror Office, and Leta Lestrange, arrived at Hogwarts Castle to question then-Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Albus Dumbledore in his own classroom regarding Newt Scamander's rumoured voyage to Paris.

He then joined Newton Scamander, Porpentina Goldstein, Theseus Scamander, Rudolph Spielman, Nagini, Jacob Kowalski, and Yusuf Kama at the Hogwarts Viaduct. Dumbledore raised his arms for his Admonitors to be removed, and Travers walked forward to remove them, but Theseus stopped him and did it himself.

Personality and traits

Torquil Travers was described as a "harsh, mean-spirited man".

Having risen to a high position of power within the Ministry of Magic, Travers enjoyed the authority he possessed and disliked being contradicted or contested on any subject. He considered his place as the wizard in charge of the security of the British community as giving him the ability to pursue any course of action he saw fit, whether it was interrupting a Defence Against the Dark Arts class at Hogwarts while Dumbledore was still teaching (and in spite of Professor McGonagall's protests) or ordering the arrest of people for merely coming into contact with criminals like Gellert Grindelwald and his followers. His immediate reaction to any problem seemed to be attempting to remove it, leading Dumbledore to criticise the policies he had introduced while at the Ministry as those of "suppression and violence".

His position has also led him to expect instant obedience or submission to his demands or orders. Although he seemed to agree to compromise about lifting Newt Scamander's travel ban in exchange for him tracking down Credence Barebone and killing him, he refused to accept any negotiations about the terms of the deal, rejecting Newt's request as soon as he refused it. He also demanded that Dumbledore fight Grindelwald for the Ministry rather than ask, all the while ignoring the Hogwarts teacher's advice regarding his approach to dealing with the threat. He also refused to listen to Theseus's advice about arresting the entire crowd present at Grindelwald's rally and instead ordered him to follow his orders instead of questioning them.

He was also a very blunt man who made minimal effort to hide his opinions and feelings. He remained convinced, despite clear evidence to the contrary, that Newt was responsible for the partial destruction of New York during the Obscurus incident. While this led him to express his dislike of certain people and their opinions (he never hid his disdain for Dumbledore), he didn't let his feelings blind him to the fact that Dumbledore was a far more powerful wizard than he was and that he was the only one who had the skill necessary to defeat Grindelwald. He also seemed to have a soft spot for Theseus Scamander, who served under him as the Head of the Auror Office, trusting him with the lead of the intervention to arrest the Paris rally. His trust or favour Theseus was enough to accept to include his fiancé, Leta Lestrange, as a member of his own staff when he expressed a desire for her to work at the Ministry.

Magical abilities and skills

• Leadership skills: Torquil Travers, as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the British Ministry of Magic, had some effective leadership skills, though Travers' arrogance and abrasive attitude occasionally made him less effective, as evident in his conversation with Albus Dumbledore, and hence Travers required the assistance of Leta Lestrange. As a result, it is possible that Travers being a member of a Sacred Twenty-Eight family played a bigger role in him attaining his extremely high position, rather than an aptitude for leadership.
• Apparition: Travers, like most adult wizards, could Apparate at will, as shown when he was able to Apparate to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, along with Theseus Scamander, Leta Lestrange, and some other Aurors.
• Divination: Travers had at least some knowledge of the subject, given his familiarity with The Predictions of Tycho Dodonus.
• Transfiguration: Travers was proficient in Conjuration, a very advanced branch of transfiguration, as he was able to swiftly conjure two highly complex Admonitor cuffs onto Dumbledore's wrists, items which allowed him to document his spell activity.
• Nonverbal magic: Travers was skilled at nonverbal spells, as he very swiftly cuffed Dumbledore's wrists into Admonitors without saying a word.

Etymology

• Torquil is an Anglicised form of the Norwegian and Swedish masculine name Torkel, and the Scottish Gaelic name Torcall, ultimately stemming from the Old Norse name Þorkell. This Old Norse name is made up of the two elements: Þór, meaning "Thor" the Norse god of thunder; and kell (in some variants ketill), meaning "(sacrificial) cauldron".
• Travers is an English and Irish surname that means "toll or tolltaker" (as on bridges), "traverser" (Norman: "to cross"), "skilful", or (in French) "from the crossroads".

Behind the scenes

• Torquil Travers is played by Derek Riddell in the second instalment of the Fantastic Beasts film franchise.
• Torquil Travers is similar to Cornelius Fudge who served as Minister of Magic fifty years later, In that they were both people from the Ministry of Magic who feared that Dumbledore was conspiring with his friends against them, and therefore they did not like Dumbledore and did not trust him. His dogmatic style is also similar to that of Bartemius Crouch Senior and Rufus Scrimgeour.

Appearances

• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (First appearance)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• The Archive of Magic: The Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World