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Amelia Bones

Last edited on January 10, 2014
by Seth Cooper
Ameliabones
Amelia Susan Bones
Biographical information
Born

Before 5 August, 1978[1]

Died

Between 28 June and 5 July, 1996[2]

Blood status

Pure-blood or Half-blood

Marital status

Single

Title(s)

Madam

Physical information
Gender

Female

Hair colour

Grey

Eye colour

Navy Blue

Family information
Family members
Affiliation
Occupation

Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Loyalty

Wizengamot

Madam Amelia Susan Bones (d. summer, 1996) was a witch and celebrated Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Born to Mr and Mrs Bones, she likely attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry before joining the Ministry of Magic.

Madam Bones, having a seat on the Wizengamot, presided over the disciplinary hearing of Harry Potter. She was fair, unlike Cornelius Fudge, the prosecuter, and was astounded by Harry's ability to conjure a corporeal Patronus. She voted for the clearing of all of his charges, and Harry was allowed to leave. A year after, Madam Bones was killed by Lord Voldemort himself during the summer, though she put up a good fight.


Biography

Early life

Little is known about Amelia's early life, other than that the First Wizarding War took a heavy toll on her family: her father and mother were killed by Lord Voldemort;[3] Amelia's brother Edgar, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, his wife, and their children were killed by Death Eaters.[4] She had at least one surviving sibling, however, as her niece Susan Bones was a classmate of Harry Potter.

As Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement

Possibly roused by her parents' deaths, Amelia joined the Ministry of Magic and was there-on known as "Madam Bones". She became the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and had a seat on the Wizengamot.

"My father reckons your aunt's a troublemaker, someone will teach her a lesson!"
Gregory Goyle mentioning his father's view on Madam Bones.[src]

Respected and celebrated by most, the father of Gregory Goyle called her a "troublemaker" and that someone should teach her a lesson, presumably disliking her due to her unbiasedness and his association with the Death Eaters.

Amelia Bones: "Those in favour of clearing the accused of all charges? And those in favour of conviction?"
Cornelius Fudge: "Very well, very well… cleared of all charges."
— Madam Bones conducts the motion during Harry Potter's Disciplinary Hearing before the Wizengamot.[src]

Madam Bones sat on the Wizengamot and presided over Harry Potter's disciplinary hearing in 1995, along with Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge who acted as "Interrogators". Albus Dumbledore was the "witness for the defence". Despite poor treatment of Harry by Fudge, Madam Bones managed to keep the trial fairly unbiased and Harry was found innocent by a large majority of the court. During the trial, Madam Bones expresses admiration for Harry's ability to produce a corporeal Patronus at such a young age, and believed Arabella Figg's testimony when Fudge stubbornly did not. She was also part of the faction that voted to clear Harry of all charges.

Death

Girl 1: "Did you hear about her aunt? Poor Susan."
Girl 2: "Yes, it's awful, I didn't want to leave my family behind this summer."
— Two students mentioning Amelia and Susan.[src]
DailyProphetAmeliaBones
A 1997 Daily Prophet article: "Amelia Bones found murdered at her home."
Amelia was brutally murdered during the 1996 summer holidays, presumably by Voldemort himself. According to Fudge, the then-recently dismissed Minister for Magic, he said that she put up a good fight. Her murder was also reported in the Muggle newspapers. The Muggle police were baffled by the case as she was killed in a room locked from the inside. Afterward, some members of the Order of the Phoenix referred to her as one of the greatest witches of her time. Also, that several witches and wizards felt deeply troubled by Bones' death.

Pius Thicknesse replaced Madam Bones as Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement after her death.

It's possible that she was seen as a likely replacement for Fudge after his removal, given the fact that the position of Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is often used as a stepping stone to the Ministership. This could explain why she was targeted by Voldemort.

Physical appearance

Amelia Bones was described as being a square-jawed witch with close-cropped grey hair and a monocle. This gave her an appearance of being a serious person, which matches her personality perfectly.

Personality and traits

Amelia Bones was a serious but fair person and gave Harry and Mrs Figg a chance to testify, and did not overlook the obvious points, when Fudge did neither because he was biased against Harry. She is also impressed with great feats, as she showed admiration of Harry's production of a corporeal Patronus at such a young age. Additionally Bones was courageous and put up a valiant fight against Lord Voldemort. It is also likely that she was kind, given the fact that Susan Bones, her niece, was upset when she died.

Magical abilities and skills

"A terrible loss. She was a great witch."
—Albus Dumbledore expressing the loss of Amelia Bones.[src]
  • Martial magic: Amelia Bones was considered to be one of the greatest witches of her time. She was a highly skilled duellist and was able to hold her own against Lord Voldemort himself, when the Dark Lord arrived to murder her.

Etymology

Amelia is a female given name. It is a variant of Amalia, derived from the Germanic word amal meaning "work", and means "industrious" and "fertile". The diminutive is usually Amy, Lia, Mia, Mel, or Mimi.

Etymologists believe that the name Amelia/Amalia is unrelated to the Latin gens name Aemilia, which was translated into English as Emily. Equivalents of Aemilia/Emily in romance languages do sound similar to Amelia (e.g. Italian Emilia) but have a different origin from this Germanic name.

Behind the scenes

Appearances

Wiki
The Harry Potter Wiki has 8 images related to Amelia Bones.

Notes and references

  1. Susan was named after Amelia, meaning that Amelia was alive by 1979. However, being born in 1979 would make Amelia only 16 and not old enough to sit on the Wizengamot, meaning she had to be at least 17, meaning her birthdate could be no later than August 1978 as Harry's trial was on 5 August, 1995.
  2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Chapter 1 (The Other Minister) tells us that Cornelius Fudge was sacked a fortnight after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries (18 June, 1996). Thus, Fudge had been sacked on 2 July, 1996. Since Fudge tells us that that was "three days ago", the chapter is set on Friday, 5 July, 1996. Fudge also says that the murder of Amelia Bones had taken place during the course of the previous week, the earliest possible date that it could have taken place was the previous Friday, 28 June.
  3. 20 October, 2000 chat with J.K. Rowling at Accio Quote!
  4. Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 25
  5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Second Draft


Department of Magical Law Enforcement employees
Heads of Department
Justus Pilliwickle · Bartemius Crouch Sr. · Amelia Bones · Pius Thicknesse · Yaxley
Auror Office
Heads: Rufus Scrimgeour · Gawain Robards · Harry Potter

John Dawlish · Alice Longbottom · Frank Longbottom · Neville Longbottom · Alastor Moody · Proudfoot · Savage · Kingsley Shacklebolt · Nymphadora Tonks · Ronald Weasley · Williamson · Unidentified Aurors · Unidentified male Auror at Hogwarts · 3 Unidentified Aurors at Hogwarts · Director of the Investigation Department No. 61042
Other Personnel
Minerva McGonagall · Elphinstone Urquart · Alastor Gumboil · Arnold Peasegood · Mafalda Hopkirk · Honoria's fiancé · Rufus Fudge · Perkins · Hermione Granger · Travers · Bob Ogden · Arthur Weasley · Dempster Wiggleswade · Mafalda Hopkirk's Ministerial Superior · Arthur Weasley's ten subordinates



Level 10 employees
Wizengamot members
Amelia Bones · Elphias Doge · Albus Dumbledore · Cornelius Fudge · Griselda Marchbanks · Tiberius Ogden · Dolores Umbridge · Two elderly witches · Dumpy, heavily-moustached wizard · Frizzy-haired witch
Council of Magical Law members
Albus Dumbledore · Alastor Moody · Bartemius Crouch Sr. · Female juror · Male member · Clerk
Muggle-Born Registration Commission members
Dolores Umbridge · Yaxley
 
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