Auror Office

• Type: Office, Departmental Headquarters
• Location: Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Ministry of Magic, London, England
• Owner/Residents: Ministry of Magic. Notable personnel have included Alastor Moody (retired), Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Gawain Robards, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley.
• Key Features: A large, open-plan room divided into cubicles for individual Aurors, often characterized by a state of busy, organized chaos.

The Auror Office, also known as Auror Headquarters, serves as the operational hub for the Aurors, an elite unit of highly-trained wizards and witches responsible for investigating Dark Magic and apprehending Dark Wizards. It is located on the second level of the Ministry of Magic, as part of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The office is described as a large, open-plan, and rather shabby-looking room, buzzing with the constant comings and goings of Aurors. The space is divided into a series of cubicles, creating personal workspaces for each member of the force. These cubicles are notoriously cluttered with paperwork, photographs of wanted criminals, newspaper clippings, Dark Detectors, and maps tacked to the walls, often dotted with pins to track suspects or magical disturbances. The overall atmosphere is one of focused and hectic work. Historically, the Auror Office has been at the forefront of the Ministry's defence against major threats. During both the First Wizarding War and the Second Wizarding War, its occupants were instrumental in the fight against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. However, following the Ministry of Magic's fall in 1997, the office was corrupted from within. Under the control of Pius Thicknesse and Corban Yaxley, Aurors were tasked with persecuting Muggle-borns and members of the Order of the Phoenix. After Lord Voldemort's defeat at the Battle of Hogwarts, the Auror Office was reformed under the new Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were both recruited to join its ranks, helping to purge the Ministry of corruption and rebuild the department.

The Auror Office appears only once in the series, in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but it plays a significant symbolic role. Harry Potter is escorted through the office by Arthur Weasley on the way to his disciplinary hearing. This visit provides Harry, and the reader, with a firsthand look at the daily operations of the wizards fighting on the front lines against Dark Magic. During his brief time in the office, Harry observes the busy environment and sees several key members of the Order of the Phoenix, including Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt, at their day jobs. The scene in Kingsley Shacklebolt's cubicle is particularly important; Harry sees a photograph of the original Order of the Phoenix and a picture of Sirius Black from an issue of The Quibbler, confirming that Kingsley was using his position to subtly support the Order and undermine the Ministry's misinformation campaign against Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. For Harry, the Auror Office also represents a future ambition. His desire to become an Auror is a recurring motivation in the later books, and his visit gives this goal a tangible reality.

• Auror Cubicles: These are the partitioned-off desk areas for each Auror. They are highly personalized and typically filled with case files, maps, personal mementos, and equipment relevant to their work. The partitions are described as “rickety.”
• Kingsley Shacklebolt's Cubicle: The specific cubicle that Harry Potter observes. It contained a map of Wiltshire pinned with red flags, a picture of Sirius Black under the alias “Stubby Boardman,” and a photograph of the original Order of the Phoenix.
• Nymphadora Tonks's Desk: Harry notes Tonks's desk as he passes, which is shown to be particularly messy, reflecting her somewhat clumsy and vivacious personality.

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the Auror Office is depicted very differently. Instead of a single shabby room, it is a vast, multi-level atrium with desks that magically fly through the air, giving it a much grander and more dynamic appearance than its description in the novel (film).
• J.K. Rowling has revealed that Harry Potter went on to become the Head of the Auror Office in 2007 at the age of 26. He and Ron Weasley are credited with revolutionizing the department (J.K. Rowling interview, Pottermore).
• Hermione Granger also joined the Department of Magical Law Enforcement after the war before moving to a higher position, meaning she would have worked closely with the Auror Office during its reformation (J.K. Rowling interview).