The villains in the Harry Potter series weren’t just Voldemort and the Death Eaters, as the Ministry of Magic constantly antagonized the main character and was also responsible for indirectly setting up events and situations to the benefit of the bigoted people in the magical community.
However, it wasn’t all bad, even if it might seem that way, as the Ministry of Magic got some things right. A few of these happened after the Battle of Hogwarts when a new administration took place, while there were a few instances where the Ministry managed to make the correct decisions for a change throughout the main story.
Give Rights To House-Elves
Books fans are aware of Dobby’s life story and personal passions, with the most noteworthy being his desire for freedom. Unfortunately, Dobby was the exception, as house-elves had become so submissive that they craved servitude. This was a result of the Ministry imposing zero rights to these beings, that is until Hermione arrived.
After she started working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Hermione greatly improved rights for house-elves, which involved ending open abuse of these beings and giving them rights that acknowledged them as living sentient beings and not as slaves. Due to Hermione’s influence, the Ministry finally recognized the plight of house-elves.
Finally Send Lucius Malfoy To Azkaban
The blink-and-miss picture in Half-Blood Prince makes this fact about Malfoy known to book fans more so than movie watchers, as he was sent to Azkaban after being captured at the Ministry in Order of the Phoenix. Although it was late in the game since Malfoy had done a lot of Voldemort's bidding by then, it was still welcome news.
After all, Malfoy had unchallenged influence at the Ministry due to his investments, which allowed him to control even the Minister’s decisions to benefit Purebloods exclusively and infiltrate the Ministry for the Death Eaters. So, it was about time Malfoy was convicted for his crimes and for his name to rightfully fall from grace.
Pass The Muggle Protection Act
Hermione’s parents are easily among the most likable Muggles in the series, they were exactly the kind of people Arthur Weasley wanted to protect. To this end, he proposed a Muggle Protection Act that didn’t allow wizards to have certain items that fell under the dark magic category and also passed a law that placed greater restrictions on magic use around Muggles.
Despite his rather shoddy reputation in the Ministry, Arthur managed to get the Muggle Protection Act confirmed, following which many items that truly were evil in nature had to be disposed of by characters like Lucius Malfoy.
Place Extra Protection Around Hogwarts After Voldemort's Return
With the Ministry finally forced to acknowledge Voldemort’s return, it then took the appropriate measures to ensure the safety of young witches and wizards. In Half-Blood Prince, Hogwarts was surrounded by extra protection, with a number of Aurors and Hit wizards patrolling day and night.
After the lax behavior the Ministry had displayed just prior to Voldemort’s return becoming public, it was about time that student safety became a priority, and these steps were taken upon Rufus Scrimgeour’s appointment as Minister.
Alert The Muggle Prime Minister About Voldemort
This was a delayed reaction but something of note nonetheless, as the Muggle Prime Minister was made aware of the return of Voldemort after the battle at the Ministry. Before that, the Prime Minister had only been informed with half-truths and vague points, making this decision stand out.
Rufus Scrimgeour sent Cornelius Fudge to let him know of the situation before joining them himself. It was perhaps the first truly professional meeting between the Minister of Magic and Muggle Prime Minister, as it was fully transparent and let the latter know the true state of the war against Voldemort.
Pardon Harry For Attacking Aunt Marge
For all the good Muggles, there are also those who are most hated. Aunt Marge certainly falls in the latter category, being a bully who even physically abused Harry at times. Cornelius Fudge wasn’t out to ruin Harry at the time, so made a valid exception in this instance.
Harry accidentally turned Marge into something of a human hot air balloon, which might have been cause for expulsion, but was disregarded by Fudge as an involuntary act. The Ministry also didn’t include this in their official records, proving instrumental when Harry was being tried for underage magic, as it couldn’t be used as a precedent against him.
Announce The Return Of Voldemort
This was a surprising show of competence on the Ministry’s part, as they went public with Voldemort’s return as soon as it was confirmed and created departments to combat him, including departments like the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects.
There were also guides over how to assess a situation, with handbooks that warned people over suspicious activity and the way to deal with Voldemort’s followers. Among the many things the Ministry messed up, this was a notable exception.
Kingsley Shacklebolt Initiating The Ministry Of Magic Reform
Kingsley is definitely a character who deserved more screen and page time, as he was easily the most competent man at the Ministry during his time. This made him the natural choice to become Minister, with his first act involving a mass reform.
The best act that the Ministry took at this time was to weed out the corrupted characters such as Dolores Umbridge and the Death Eaters placed in high positions. The Ministry also made exceptions for Harry, Neville, and Ron to work as Aurors since they had proven their mettle, as well as became inclusive of Muggle-Born and Half-Blood status members in the Wizengamot and other influential departments.
Not Convicting Ludo Bagman
Many might consider Ludo Bagman a character cut out of the films for no real reason, as he had a notable role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He was seen in the Pensieve as a young man whom Barty Crouch tried to convict as an informant for the Death Eaters.
Funnily enough, the Ministry displayed their incompetence here as well, as the only reason they voted him innocent was that the jury consisted of Bagman’s Quidditch fans, meaning they weren’t impartial. Still, it was the right thing to do since Bagman was by no means a Death Eater and was saved from going to Azkaban for being innocent.
Listen To Dumbledore After The Battle At The Ministry
Fudge made it his mission to disregard anything Dumbledore said because of his paranoia. After beginning propaganda against Dumbledore, the Ministry finally relented when he turned out to be right all along about Voldemort.
Dumbledore was shown giving commands to Fudge after the battle at the Ministry, which Fudge went through with after initially arguing against. Everything Dumbledore wanted -- his reinstatement as Headmaster, Umbridge’s removal, the press release of Voldemort’s return, acknowledgment of Sirius’ innocence -- were all granted from the Ministry, as it had no choice but to listen to him. All of this was clearly the right move as well, as the Ministry began steps to fight the next Wizarding War.