Fountain of Magical Brethren

Fountain of Magical Brethren
Object information
Location	Atrium, Ministry of Magic, Whitehall, London, England, Great Britain
Made	Pre-September 1932
Usage	To promote the equality of wizardkind and non-human magical beings
Owners	British Ministry of Magic

"Halfway down the hall was a fountain. A group of golden statues, larger than life-size, stood in the middle of a circular pool. Tallest of them all was a noble-looking wizard with his wand pointing straight up in the air. Grouped around him were a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. The last three were all looking adoringly up at the witch and wizard. Glittering jets of water were flying from the ends of the two wands, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and each of the house-elf's ears..."

— Description of the fountain

The Fountain of Magical Brethren was a fountain located in the Atrium of the British Ministry of Magic that depicted the golden figures of a wizard, witch, centaur, goblin, and a house-elf. Jets of water streamed from various points of the statues.

Description

The wizard and Fountain in the Ministry Altrium in 1995

The fountain was located halfway down the hall of the Atrium, on level 8 of the Ministry. The large golden statues were located in the middle of the pool, and the tallest of them all was a wizard with a wand pointing straight into the air. Around this statue were statues of a witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf.

Jets of water came from the ends of the two wands, the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and each of the house-elf's ears. All proceeded from the fountain were given to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Messages of the Fountain

The witch and wizard were the two focal points of the fountain, with the other, "lower" beings looking up in "awe and adoration". This was very unrealistic, as centaurs and goblins considered themselves superior to wizards and witches. House-elves, on the other hand, had no other joy in life other than to be in the service of wizards. The fountain supposedly represented harmony in the wizarding world, although Albus Dumbledore thought otherwise, saying that wizards and witches had mistreated and abused their fellows for a long time and they were now reaping what they'd sown.

History

"As they passed the fountain Harry saw silver Sickles and bronze Knuts glinting up at him from the bottom of the pool... if I'm not expelled from Hogwarts, I'll put in ten Galleons, Harry found himself thinking desperately."

— Harry Potter's first encounter with the statue and his donation

As Harry Potter entered the Ministry on 12 August 1995 to attend his hearing for inadvertently breaching the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, he saw the fountain and the sign for all the proceedings: he mentally noted that if he was not expelled, he would donate ten galleons. Upon being acquitted, Harry placed not just ten galleons, but the entire contents of his wallet into the fountain in triumph.

During the Battle of the Department of Mysteries on 18 June 1996, much of the Atrium was heavily damaged. The floor was gouged and pocketed, the security booth was burned and the fountain largely destroyed. It also participated in the battle when Dumbledore brought the statues to life for various purposes in his duel with Voldemort. The wizard statue (which had previously had its head blown off by Bellatrix Lestrange) acted as a bodyguard for Harry Potter, the witch pinned Bellatrix to the floor to prevent her from intervening on her master's behalf, the centaur (minus one arm) took a Killing Curse meant for Dumbledore, and the goblin and house-elf figures departed to alert Ministry personnel as to the disturbance, as well as being the only ones to survive largely intact. The head of the wizard was turned into a Portkey by Albus Dumbledore, which sent Harry Potter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After the fall of the Ministry in 1997, the fountain was temporarily replaced by the Magic is Might monument, a dark statue of a wizard and a witch sitting atop enormous thrones made of powerless Muggles. The Magic is Might statue was eventually replaced again by the Fountain of Magical Brethren, which was brought back.

The Fountain of Magical Brethren as a Foundable

During the Calamity which affected the wizarding world in the 2010s, the Fountain of Magical Brethren became a Foundable, that had to be dealt with and returned to its original location by members of the Statute of Secrecy Task Force.

Behind the scenes

• Unlike the books, in the films the fountain contains the witch, the centaur, the house-elf and the goblin while a gigantic statue of the wizard stands on a pedestal further into the Atrium.
• In the video game adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, it is revealed what was done to this fountain. It was repaired and placed in the depths of the Ministry (among a detention area below the Wizengamot Courtrooms), directly below the larger golden statue of the wizard that remained on its plinth in the Atrium.
• In Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the fountain appears. Nevertheless, it isn't seen from the eyes of the characters, but only while the camera goes into the Ministry and spins; therefore, it doesn't appear in the screenplay.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (Wizard only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
• Pottermore
• Wizarding World
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened (Mentioned in History of Magic classes)
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter