Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ======Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight====== =====Object Information===== * **Type:** [[Ministry of Magic]] [[Legislation]], Magical Proclamation * **Issuer:** [[Ministry of Magic]] * **Authority:** Enacted by [[Minister for Magic]] [[Cornelius Fudge]] =====Description and Appearance===== Like the other [[Educational Decree]]s issued during the 1995-1996 school year, Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight manifested as a formal proclamation magically posted on notice boards throughout [[Hogwarts Castle]]. It was printed on parchment and set within a wooden frame, bearing the official seal of the [[Ministry of Magic]]. The text would have been signed by [[Cornelius Fudge]] as [[Minister for Magic]], formally announcing the change in the school's leadership. =====Provisions and Effects===== The primary and sole provision of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight was the appointment of [[Dolores Umbridge]], the [[Hogwarts High Inquisitor]], to the post of [[Headmistress]] of [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]]. * **Legal Basis:** The [[Ministry of Magic]] was able to enact this decree following the sudden departure of [[Albus Dumbledore]]. After taking responsibility for the student defence group known as [[Dumbledore's Army]] to protect [[Harry Potter]], [[Dumbledore]] magically evaded arrest by Ministry officials and fled the school. As he left the Headmaster's post vacant without the [[Board of Governors]] approving a successor, the [[Ministry]] invoked its authority to install its own candidate. * **Immediate Effects:** * The decree granted [[Dolores Umbridge]] supreme authority over [[Hogwarts]], its staff, and its students, solidifying the [[Ministry of Magic]]'s control over the school. * [[Umbridge]] attempted to occupy the [[Headmaster's office]], but the office itself, being loyal to [[Dumbledore]] and past legitimate Headmasters, sealed itself against her. * As [[Headmistress]], [[Umbridge]] sanctioned the creation of the [[Inquisitorial Squad]], a group of favoured students (primarily from [[Slytherin]] house) whom she empowered to enforce her rules and dock points from other students, including prefects. * Her brief tenure as [[Headmistress]] was characterized by increasingly cruel punishments and a complete suppression of any anti-Ministry sentiment. =====History===== Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight was enacted in the spring of 1996, at the height of the [[Ministry of Magic]]'s smear campaign against [[Albus Dumbledore]] and [[Harry Potter]]. The Ministry, led by a paranoid [[Cornelius Fudge]], refused to accept the return of [[Lord Voldemort]] and viewed [[Dumbledore]] as a political rival seeking to undermine its authority. The decree was a direct consequence of the discovery of [[Dumbledore's Army]]. Alerted by the betrayal of member [[Marietta Edgecombe]], [[Umbridge]] cornered [[Harry Potter]] and brought him before [[Dumbledore]], along with [[Minister for Magic]] [[Cornelius Fudge]] and Aurors [[Kingsley Shacklebolt]] and [[John Dawlish]]. To prevent Harry's expulsion and the incrimination of the other students, [[Dumbledore]] claimed the organization was his own creation and made a spectacular escape. With [[Dumbledore]] a fugitive, the Ministry passed this decree to fill the power vacuum and ensure its chosen agent was in absolute control of [[Hogwarts]]. =====Role in the Story===== This decree marks the climax of the [[Ministry of Magic]]'s hostile takeover of [[Hogwarts]] in //Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix//. It represents the darkest period of that school year for the students and staff, plunging the school into a state of oppressive misery that, in turn, sparked open rebellion. The student body, led by figures like [[Fred Weasley]] and [[George Weasley]], engaged in widespread magical mischief to undermine [[Umbridge]]'s authority. As [[Headmistress]], [[Umbridge]] felt emboldened to use extreme measures. Her attempts to interrogate [[Harry Potter]] about [[Dumbledore]]'s and [[Sirius Black]]'s whereabouts using illegal methods—first with a failed attempt at [[Veritaserum]] and then threatening the [[Cruciatus Curse]]—directly led to her downfall. Lured into the [[Forbidden Forest]] by [[Hermione Granger]], she was carried off by a herd of angry [[Centaur]]s. The decree was nullified at the end of the school year when [[Lord Voldemort]] was seen at the [[Ministry of Magic]], forcing Fudge to admit the truth and leading to [[Dumbledore]]'s full reinstatement as [[Headmaster]]. =====Behind the Scenes===== In the film adaptation of //Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix//, the succession of [[Educational Decree]]s is shown visually through a montage of plaques being hammered to a wall. While the specific number "Twenty-Eight" is not mentioned, the event it triggers—[[Umbridge]] taking over as Headmistress after [[Dumbledore]]'s flight—is a key sequence in the film. The film also depicts the [[Headmaster's office]] physically refusing her entry. (film)
