RUFUS SCRIMGEOUR & PIUS THICKNESSE, THE MINISTERS

Rufus Scrimgeour

Today, The Stones and The Grandma have known two Ministers of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour and Pius Thicknesse.

Rufus Scrimgeour originally joined the Ministry of Magic as an Auror, where he became a hardened veteran, spending most of his life fighting Dark Wizards and succeed Cornelius Fudge as Minister for Magic.

Pius Thicknesse became Minister for Magic under Lord Voldemort's puppet regime under the Imperius Curse.

Before talking about Rufus Scrimgeour and Pius Thicknesse, The Grandma has offered a new Cambridge Key English Test A2 Example to her family. They will be able to know more infomation about the Speakings. 

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Minister Rufus Scrimgeour is a British wizard who was a powerful ranking official in the Ministry of Magic.

He originally joined the Ministry of Magic as an Auror, where he became a hardened veteran, spending most of his life fighting Dark Wizards. Eventually he rose to become Head of the Auror Office.

During the Second Wizarding War, Scrimgeour was appointed to succeed Cornelius Fudge as Minister for Magic, being the third ex-Auror to hold the post. While he appeared to provide a much tougher and resolute stance against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, he made the same mistake of creating the appearance of safety and security, while in truth Scrimgeour's efforts were waning in progress in the war.

This policy of giving the appearance of false safety would ultimately cost Scrimgeour his life, as it left the Ministry open to infiltration by the Death Eaters, who used several high-ranking Ministry officials, all of whom had been subverted to their control, to launch a successful coup and bring the Ministry under Lord Voldemort's control.

Lord Voldemort, wanting the location of Harry Potter, captured and brutally tortured Scrimgeour.

Rufus Scrimgeour with Hermione, Ron & Harry

Scrimgeour was born into the wizarding Scrimgeour family. It was highly likely Scrimgeour attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during his youth, where he would have received his magical education.

Scrimgeour joined the Ministry of Magic, and completed a stringent series of character and aptitude tests to join the Auror Office. At some point before he became Minister, Scrimgeour joined Bertie Higgs, Tiberius, and Cormac McLaggen to hunt recreationally for Nogtails in Norfolk. Eventually, after serving as an Auror for some time and having fought Dark wizards for most of his working life, Scrimgeour rose to the post of Head of the Auror Office, which he occupied at least in the early-to-mid-1990s.

In this capacity, Scrimgeour worked alongside John Dawlish, Proudfoot, Savage, Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Gawain Robards.

When he was the Head of the Auror Office, he often questioned Tonks and Shacklebolt about Sirius Black, as they were in charge of the investigation of his whereabouts after his escape from Azkaban.

The Death Eaters staged a successful coup on the Ministry, as they now had agents loyal to them surrounding the Minister, and as such were able to make a successful attempt on his life.

More information: Wizarding World

Pius Thicknesse, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and several other high-ranking Ministry officials had all been placed under the Imperius Curse.

Scrimgeour was a man with a certain rangy loping grace; he walked with a slight limp, and looked rather like an old lion with grey streaks in his mane of tawny hair and bushy eyebrows. He had keen yellowish eyes and wore wire-rimmed spectacles. He sometimes used a walking stick. With time, the stresses of the failing conflict reached him, and when last seen he appeared badly-shaven, scraggy, and grim.

Rufus is a Latin name meaning red. It was a Roman cognomen as well as the nickname of King William II of England, who had the reputation for being an effective soldier but a ruthless and unpopular ruler.

Scrimgeour is a Scottish surname that is believed to probably mean skirmish, from the French escrimeur, meaning swordsman. His name therefore loosely translates to Red Skirmish or Red Swordsman.

More information: Screen Rant

Remembered you're not at school, have you?

Remembered that I am not Dumbledore,

who forgave your insolence and insubordination?

 Rufus Scrimgeour

Minister Pius Thicknesse is a British wizard and a Ministry of Magic official.

During the Second Wizarding War, he became Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as well as, later in the War, Minister for Magic under Lord Voldemort's puppet regime while under the Imperius Curse and thus essentially Voldemort's puppet himself.

He replaced Rufus Scrimgeour as Minister of Magic. Thicknesse took part in the final conflict of the War where he fought alongside the Death Eaters, still under the curse. He was succeeded by Kingsley Shacklebolt in his post of Minister for Magic.

Thicknesse was born to the likely Pure-blood or Half-blood Thicknesse family. He most likely attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in his youth, where he would have received his magical education. He ultimately joined the Ministry of Magic, at some point in his adult life.

Minister Pius Thicknesse

When Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, was murdered by Lord Voldemort, Thicknesse was appointed her successor, presumably by then-Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour.

When one takes in consideration that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is the largest Ministry department to which the remaining six departments are all, in some respect, answerable with the possible exception of the Department of Mysteries, it seems to be safe to presume Thicknesse was high up at the Ministry at the time of his appointment.

During the Battle of Hogwarts, Thicknesse was stationed within the ranks of the Death Eaters and fought with them against the castle's defenders. He was amongst a group of masked and hooded Death Eaters who successfully penetrated Hogwarts and duelled with Percy Weasley.

Thicknesse was described as having long black hair and a beard streaked with silver, as well as a great overhanging forehead that shadowed his glinting eyes. Harry Potter thought he resembled a crab looking out from beneath a rock.

The name Pius is derived from the Latin word pius, which despite being similar to the English word pious, has a different shade of meaning: that is, it refers to one who has reverence for law, government, as well as order.

Thus it is particularly appropriate for a head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Minister of Magic. It has also been the regal name of twelve popes. Thus, the name of the man who created an organisation to oppress Muggle-borns may allude to the Inquisition, which persecuted heretics as well as, ironically, witches.

Thicknesse, meanwhile, may mean thick and the Proto-Germanic word nessye or nessieh, meaning tongue, probably alluding to the anti-Muggle-born propaganda passed during his tenure as Minister.

In Swedish, Thicknesse was renamed Pius Korpulens, the word korpulens meaning girth.

In Serbian, Thicknesse was renamed Pije Glupsije, the word glupsije being derived from the word glup which means dumb.

In Italian, Thicknesse was renamed Pius O'tusoe, that sound like the word ottuso, an Italian word for dumb. These translations may have been inspired by the fact that thick is also British slang for not too bright.

More information: Wizarding World

As your new Minister for Magic,
I promise to restore this temple of tolerance to its former glory.
Therefore, beginning today,
each employee will submit themselves... for evaluation.
But know this: you have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide.

Pius Thicknesse