Thirteen Things You Didn't Know About the Obliviators
By Vifetoile
A/N: I do not own the Obliviators, nor the universe of Harry Potter. All of that is copyright to J.K. Rowling.
1. The Obliviators were founded by Mnemone Radford. She was a half-blood, though she took pains to conceal this fact. According to her biography (spelling and vocabulary adapted from Middle English,)
"I had grown tired of wizards with absolutely no idea of the subtle workings of the mind, and no idea of its delicacy. On the left you had Memory Charms so weak that you could hear the Muggles recollecting fully half of their experiences in the pub the next night; on the right, worse still, were wizards who had judged that no strength was too much, and left their Muggle subjects afflicted with memory and cognition damage to a shameful degree."
2. Mnemone Radford was surprisingly progressive for her day in terms of Muggle relations.
3. Her handpicked group, originally a private police force, was quickly adapted by the Ministry and became widespread
4. The crest of the Obliviators is a circle divided in half, one section black and the other white. A white six-pointed star is in the center. There are two crescent moons facing away from the star, one on either side. A white moon sits on the black half, and a black moon on the white half.
5. No one can agree on exactly what the crest is supposed to symbolize. Some say that the star is consciousness, and the two moons represent real and fabricated memories; some say the star is the Obliviators and the moons are the Muggle and Wizarding worlds. And there are many more ideas.
The two other symbols of Obliviators (now antiquated) are the willow tree and the white poppy, both symbolic of forgetfulness.
6. Gilderoy Lockhart began training as an Obliviator, but quit after a month because, in his own words, "I'm meant for greater things. I just know it."
7. Severus Snape began training as an Obliviator, but quit after the first defeat of Voldemort to teach Potions at Hogwarts.
8. Technically, "Obliviator" signifies a field worker, one who tracks down Muggles who have had unclassified magical encounters. They are required to be capable Leglimens, and to have mastery of spells and potions that redirect attention, create a sense of security and trust, and, of course, modify memories.
9. Among themselves, Obliviators know that they have an unusually complex relationship with Muggles. One must always be honorable to the powerless. However, the temptation of influencing a vulnerable mind never fully subsides.
The requirements to be an Obliviator include – theoretically – the most scrupulous test of ethics in the entire Ministry of Magic.
10. The Obliviators have a research department, whose members are called Paramnesiacs.
11. The uniform of a field Obliviator on the first level is a Cloud Cloak. Obliviators who have been advanced to team leaders are given Stone Cloaks. Those who have been made into district commanders are called Omniamnists, and given Shadow Cloaks.
12. The cloaks are enchanted with spells to repel attention away from the wearer, and to make the wearer slip easily out of the memories of those who see him. These enchantments grow more complex and powerful as an Obliviator's level advances.
13. The motto of the Obliviators is, "Splendide Mendax," Latin, "Nobly Untruthful."