Department of Mysteries

The Department of Mysteries, abbreviated to DoM and formerly known as the Collective of Mysteries was a private research organisation that masqueraded as a section of the British Ministry of Magic. The intentions of the department was the research all areas of Magic, including the Dark Arts and all operations were carried out in total secrecy, with even the Minister for Magic not knowing the coming and goings of the department. Workers of the department are called Unspeakables whilst the public head is called Unspeakable Chief.

Publicly, the DoM was a department of the Ministry that was given a certain leeway so that they could conduct their research with all means necessary. In actuality, the DoM was a completely private organisation, funded by its wealthier members, that pretended to be under Ministry jurisdiction so the government wouldn't investigate their top secret research. The DoM was, in reality, run by the Unspeakable High Council whilst the Unspeakable Head role was mainly a for show job that's purpose was to deal with Ministry bureaucrats that could interfere with the Department of Mysteries.

History
In 1170, four Wizards were called to Tintagel Castle in Wales by a mysterious benefactor. Once arrived, the four Wizards (Cuthbert Griffin, Urbanus Rookwood, Nickolas Napier and Socrates Shadowhurst), were met by Aurelius Ambrose, the then current descendent of the famous Wizard Merlin, who told them he had brought them together so that they could form a group with the sole purpose of research all corners of Magic, even the Dark Arts. The five of them founded the Collective of Mysteries and set up headquarters in Merlin's vast cave underneath the Castle in Wales. Once the group grew, the original five formed the Unspeakable High Council and wrote the rules of the Collective.

Centuries later, in 1707, the Collective of Mysteries (Primarily Octavius Rookwood, Cecil Bestman and Daemon Shadowhurst) conspired with politician Severus Prince to manipulate the Wizard's Council to have the newly forming Ministry of Magic to have its headquarters built underneath the city of London in Whitehall. When the Ministry was officially formed (With Ulick Gamp as the first Minister for Magic), Collective member Cecil Bestman got permission from Gamp to create the Department of Mysteries in the deepest depths of the Ministry. The Collective moved all operations to their new headquarters and could now conduct their research with the up most secrecy with no interference from the new Ministry what so ever.

In modern times, the Shadowhurst, Rookwood and Napier families still exist and are still very much ingrained in the DoM, with the current Unspeakable Head being Sylvester Napier.