Rufus Scrimgeour

Character Analysis

Ministry: Minister of Magic

From Book 6, we have a pretty bad opinion of Scrimgeour as a Minister who seems ineffective against Voldemort and who opposes Dumbledore. So Rufus isn't our favorite guy. When he shows up at the Weasleys' house at the beginning of Deathly Hallows to give Harry, Ron, and Hermione the items they've inherited from Dumbledore, our opinion of him certainly doesn't improve. However, the news of his death is terrifying ("The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming" [8.211]), and his replacement, Pius Thicknesse, is a pawn of Voldemort – no better. Though we never approved of Scrimgeour, he wasn't evil and he wasn't a coward – rumor has it that before his death, he was tortured by Death Eaters but refused to tell them where Harry was hiding.