Sooooo, in the midst of Susan's disappearance, today was a GREAT day for the Auror department. Like, for serious. KINGSLEY ALMOST SMILED! Anyway, I've included more details below, and also some helpful game-wide info on what the differences between the Hit Wizard and Auror departments are. :)
Potion Trade About two years ago, the Ministry was dragged into a case involving the trade of dangerous and illegal potions. The trade, as far as authorities could tell, had originated in Croatia, but for many years it was unclear where the actual brewing plant was based. Because of the amount and complexity of these potions, it was safe to assume that it was not a mobile lab, however, the traders were notoriously good at covering their tracks via misdirection.
This all started about five years ago, however, our Auror office was only dragged in two years ago when the trade finally spilled into UK borders. The department was brought up to speed quickly, and a few Aurors were assigned to work the case. Today, a bust was finally achieved during a raid orchestrated by Eames Montague, who had been acting as a liason between the UK Aurors department and the Croatian government. However, while Eames was the official Auror working the case and did finally piece together where the main lab was located, it is likely that almost EVERY Auror in the department had a hand in this case at some point or another. It was a large, ongoing clusterfuck, and while Kingsley would have limited detailed involvement to avoid having too many hands in the cookie jar at once, he did ask those of specific talents to lend a hand occasionally, here and there over that past two years. SO in other words, this is a victory for the entire department! Yay!
Kingsley almost smiled, but it was obvious he was pretty effing proud. News hit the stands today, though details of the criminals and potions were limited given that the majority of the case still belonged to the Croatian government. Kingsley did let someone else organize a small victory party after lunch to celebrate though. There was ice cream. Because I have a Kingsley icon with ice cream and also... a bunch of Aurors eating ice cream together is just hilarious. :D
Auror vs. Hit Wizard Aurors I see the difference between an Auror and Hit Wizard similar to the differences between a cop and a FBI agent. Both represent the law, but in different divisions. Aurors are a much more specific department, but I also see them filling the roles of CIA agents to a certain degree. Dark magic is of course, their main focus, and the moment there’s a hint of dark magic in an investigation an Auror is often called to the crime scene - however, I also see them focusing on different things. Basically, Aurors will work ANY cases involving dark magic or a criminal of a certain caliber. To some extent, Aurors may even leave the country to partner with other countries in solving cases. So, while their focus was certainly the Death Eaters during the war, they have PLENTY of other stuff to do as well. Typically, when an Auror arrests a criminal, the criminal is a high enough offender to be at least considered for Azkaban. Not all of them are sentenced to go there, however.
Hit Wizards Hit Wizards are by far the more commonly seen of the two law enforcement departments. They have a broader range of focuses depending on their talents, ranging from security to investigating crimes of varying degrees. They also likely have stations, where as the Aurors are generally centralized. The easiest way to think of a Hit Wizard is probably like your average cop/detective. This doesn’t make them less important or less talented, it just means that Hit Wizards cover crimes to a certain degree, and if things escalate, it will eventually pass into the hands of an Auror. However, the Hit Wizard office may be kept in the loop. For example, Antonin Dolohov’s murders have no dark magic tied to them, and probably initially came to the Hit Wizard department. However, as the murders continued, the crime escalated and eventually found their way to the Auror department for further investigation.
Basically, Hit Wizards are there to mostly keep the everyday peace. They only have the time and resources to thoroughly investigate something for so long - but their focus is NOT solving cases; its law enforcement. Once a case is determined to need thorough investigation, it is handed off to the Aurors.
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Overall, I’d like to say these departments have a fairly good cooperative relationship. Kingsley wouldn’t really stand for Aurors thinking they’re better than Hit Wizards, and they aren’t. The departments were designed to work together and compliment each other, and that’s what the heads of both push for, I’m sure.