Even though the wizarding world is a whimsical fictional place, it still has its rules for how it functions as a society. There are ruling bodies and governments in place, the same way there would be in the Muggle world. All of this serves to really flesh out the world aroundHarry Potterand make it feel more lived-in. The story isn’t just about magic spells and fantastical creatures, it’s also about dealing with corrupt bureaucracy and systems that make the jobs of the heroes even harder than they need to be.
The Wizengamot is one such governing body that creates some conflict within the series. This council creates a bit of a roadblock for Harry and shows that not every part of the wizarding world is as fun as it first appears. The Wizengamot especially becomes an issuewhen Voldemort makes his returnand they refuse to acknowledge that fact. In general, they become a real hindrance to progress within the series and serve as an example of how government involvement can become potentially problematic, and how the law in any given society isn’t always as clear-cut as it first appears to be.
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What Is The Wizengamot?
The Wizengamot is the wizarding world’s highest court of law. It held its headquarters within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement atthe Ministry of Magic. It works as a sort of combination of court and parliament, as it’s the main legislative body and highest tribunal at the Ministry. While the full Wizengamot would sometimes convene to oversee court proceedings, most Dark Wizards were actually tried by the Council of Magical Law. The trials themselves appear to be very brief, and there are no official magical lawyers. A third party that had knowledge of the legal process could speak on behalf of a defendant (taking on the role of a lawyer), but this practice seems to be fairly rare.
The Wizengamot becomes relevant to theHarry Potterseries when they try Harry on a charge of violating the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery duringThe Order of the Phoenixafter he was forced to produce a Patronus during summer break when he and his cousin Dudley were attacked by Dementors.Dumbledore stepped up as Harry’s defense, and Cornelius Fudge ended up dropping the charges after a majority vote was in favor of clearing Harry’s name. Of course, Harry had almost missed the trial as they moved the time up and failed to properly inform him of this (on purpose), which was the first sign that this council (or at least some of the members within it) might not be totally unbiased and uncorrupted.
Who Was Part of the Wizengamot?
The Wizengamot was made up of about 50 members, with judges, the Chief Warlock, and a Court Scribe that took notes on all of the proceedings. The Minister for Magic, the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, and the Head of the Department of Magical Law were sometimes in attendance at the more important trials and hearings, but it’s unknown whether or not this was a routine occurrence. Characters who were on the council of the Wizengamot that are important to theHarry Potterseries include Albus Dumbledore (though he loses his position there over the course of the series), Amelia Bones, Barty Crouch Sr., Elphias Doge, Cornelius Fudge, andDolores Umbridge. Umbridge actually lied to other people and told them that her father (now deceased) had been a distinguished member of the Wizengamot as a way to cover up his actual job as a janitor in the Magical Maintenance Department, which was much less glamorous.
Why Was Dumbledore Removed From the Wizengamot?
Dumbledore actually held the position of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot from at least 1988 onward, except from 1995-1996 when he was removed from the position. The Wizengamot kicked him out because he was insisting that Voldemort had returned. In particular, he was critical of the Ministry’s denial that the Dark Lord had returned, despite the evidence proving otherwise. They eventually reinstated him in June 1996 after the events ofThe Order of the Phoenixwhen the Ministry was forced to admit that Voldemort had indeed returned. After this point, he was presumably the Chief Warlockuntil his deaththe next year.
