Throughout theHarry Potterseries, there are a few key figures that are more or less tertiary characters. While Rufus Scrimgeour plays an important role in the wizarding world,Harry Potterfans may actually have some trouble recalling exactly who he was and what he did. Despite looking like he might harbor some love for the darker side of magic, Scrimgeour was one of the lesser-known heroic figures of the series.
Considering some may not even recall whythe Ministry of Magic’sRufus Scrimgeour was so significant, the fate of the character might additionally be hard for some to remember. Unfortunately for Scrimgeour, his fate wasn’t one that smiled favorably upon him, resulting in a particularly dark series of events. He may not be the most famous character from the series but had things gone differently in his life, it’s possible Harry Potter would have failed to stop Lord Voldemort.
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Who Is Rufus Scrimgeour?
Born to the Scrimgeour family sometime before 1968, Rufus was destined for greatness. While the details of his upbringing and family life are scant,Harry Potterfans are aware of how important he would eventually become. His aptitude with magic likely had him standing out among his peers considering he woulddevote his life to becoming an Auror. As it turns out, Scrimgeour would be quite the competent Auror, eventually becoming the head of all British Aurors for his contributions to the fight against wizards who had traveled down a darker path.
After decades of furthering the fight against dark wizards, Scrimgeour would finally rise to his ultimate calling as the Minister of Magic. He would gain this role after the wizarding world would cry out against the leadership of Cornelius Fudge. With Fudge as Minister of Magic, the wizarding world had become much weaker and scared as Voldemort rose to power once more. The public fear and the allure of suchan accomplished Aurorguiding the ministry is likely what directly led to Scrimgeour’s installation as the new Minister of Magic. Unfortunately, guiding the wizarding world during the second rise of Voldemort would prove rather tricky, and despite his best efforts, things wouldn’t improve under Scrimgeour.
A man who’s tough and calculated like Scrimgeour makes perfect sense to lead the public fight against Voldemort, but each of his moves would only further lead to his own downfall. Instead ofactively challenging Voldemort, it was likely that Scrimgeour feared for his own safety as most of his actions were relatively cowardly and subdued, revolving around the waning image of the ministry. Eventually, Scrimgeour could be considered as corrupted as the worst of the wizarding world, considering he was willing to let the innocent suffer if it meant that the Ministry of Magic appeared functional and powerful.
Scrimgeour’s unique tactics would keep him relatively popular with the public but disliked by key figures like Harry Potter and Dumbledore. He wouldn’t be so corrupt as to withhold the content of Dumbledore’s will from the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione following the headmaster’s death, but even in that meeting, Harry and Scrimgeour would again be at odds verbally. Little did Scrimgeour know, that final meeting to give the triothe golden snitch, the deluminator, and theTales Of Beedle The Bardwould be the last time he’d see any of the heroes.
What Happens To Rufus Scrimgeour?
With Dumbledore gone, Voldemort’s power in the wizarding world skyrocketing once more, and Harry and his friends on a desperate quest to locate and destroyeach and every Horcrux, Scrimgeour was left in a bit of political limbo. His next steps were unclear, but that didn’t matter because Voldemort’s Death Eaters would launch a successful attack against the Ministry of Magic, resulting in the capture of Rufus Scrimgeour. The key to this was how the group had managed to infiltrate the ministry itself as well as placing a number of key figures under the Imperius curse.
While an attack like that may seem like a relatively small matter in the life of Harry Potter, one must remember that Scrimgeour was aware of the boy who lived’s location, or at the very least, his location as of roughly a day before the attack on the ministry. This means that Voldemortand his Death Eaterslikely did everything in their power to force Scrimgeour to unveil as much information as possible that would lead to the capture of Harry Potter. Regardless of what horrific curses he was placed under or what other ceaseless torture he endured, Scrimgeour managed to do the right thing for the first time in a long time, refusing to give up the location of Harry.
Refusing to divulge any key information, either Voldemort or one of his followers killed Scrimgeour and replaced him with a minister who was under their control. Of course, the public couldn’t know the truth, so Scrimgeour was simply said to have been replaced by a new minister after his resignation from the role. In the end, Scrimgeour failed as the Minister of Magic, withVoldemort rising to power once more, though his decision to not give up Harry Potter was likely one of the many small moments that ultimately led to the boy who lived’s defeat of the greatest dark wizard known to the wizarding world.
All of the public damage done within the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding world as a whole would last for quite a while. It would eventually fall onto Kingsley Shacklebolt to turn a new leaf for the public image of the ministry. Once the damage was finally undone, Scrimgeour was left to be publicly remembered as nothing more than the man who allowed Voldemort to rise to power for a second time, while those who knew of his true fate knew that without the man keeping his mouth shut,Voldemort likely would have ruled the entire world.
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