Minister Cornelius Fudge rubbed his temples as he received yet another disturbing letter from the great Albus Dumbledore. It had arrived after Fudge had received the first official report about the developing situation. The letter arrived right after the ministry was in an uproar after the very visible murder in Knockturn Alley twenty minutes ago. Now Harry Potter had been attacked? Again? Fudge sighed and opened his office door.

“Dolores?” Cornelius said.

“Yes, Minister?” Dolores Umbrage replied in her high pitched voice, looking up from her paperwork. It grated on Fudge’s ears, but he put up with it because her efficiency in determining what meetings would be worth his time. A skill surprisingly hard to find in the ministry these days much to Cornelius’ annoyance.

“Cancel all my appointments.” He said before hesitating, “Except for the five o’clock with Lucius Malfoy. But inform him that there may be a delay in our meeting due to what has been happening, if you will.”

Dolores nodded, her bright pink clothing standing out against the dark stone of the ministry floors and walls. “Certainly, Minister. Should I reschedule or cancel?”

Fudge hesitated again. Some of those people were important donors, but not all of them.

“Send apologies and reschedule. But wait at least two weeks. Who knows what will happen next.”

Dolores straightened, “Has something else happened, Minister? Is there anything else you need?”

“Harry Potter’s been attacked on Hogwarts grounds. Again. I’m going to speak to Dumbledore now, and it is not a conversation I’m looking forward to.”

Dolores eyebrows rose. “Well Minister, I’ll inform whoever comes that you’re occupied. The press is going to go wild at this. Should I begin sending some owls to prepare?”

Fudge paused. “That would be appreciated, Dolores. Make sure the press doesn’t whip themselves into a frenzy before we have all the information.”

Hmm. Maybe I should give Dolores a raise.

“Certainly, Minister. I’ll get right on it.”

Cornelius huffed in a slightly better mood. “Thank you, Dolores. I’ll be off now.”

Cornelius waved his wand and the private fireplace in his office burst into green flames. After shutting and locking his door, the minister walked through and entered Dumbledore’s office. The headmaster’s phoenix sat on its stand staring the minister down with its sharp gaze. Fudge ripped his eyes away to fix on the headmaster who sat behind his desk, looking tired.

“Dumbledore, is there anything on the newest attack on Harry Potter? There’s been an open murder in Knockturn Alley if you can believe it. Your letter was an unwelcome surprise given all the chaos that's causing.”

Dumbledore leaned in with interest. “Murder? Of who, if I might ask?”

“We don’t know, fellow was blown to bits by a blasting curse it seems. Most of the killers are in custody, but investigations are casting their spells now to see what happened.” Cornelius said.

“What a coincidence… Do you think they could have been connected?” Dumbledore’s eyes were blank as he seemed deep in thought and stared into the mid distance.

“Dumbledore! Is there really nothing more than the letter? No culprit, no leads? How is this possible?” Fudge’s sharp tone seemed to bring Dumbledore back to reality. The headmaster’s gaze bored into Cornelius for a moment before he shook his head. Fudge let out a quiet sigh of relief as the headmaster looked away. But Fudge couldn’t let himself be intimidated. Dumbledore was quickly becoming a sinking ship if things didn’t turn around soon.

“No,” Dumbledore spoke after a pause, “I checked it myself. My spells couldn’t find anyone in the area after Severus found the boy. I’ve checked the wards and there isn’t anyone at Hogwarts that shouldn’t be here. Whatever happened, the culprit is long gone.”

“Do you know what this means?” Fudge hissed. “You assured me, the Ministry, the world, that nothing like this would happen again! Let alone to Harry Potter specifically! You promised that you would find the culprit. How do you think it looks if you say there was an attack with no leads or suspects again? Any political support you have left will disappear, and the ministry will look terrible for letting it all happen. Perhaps the Ministry should intervene here at this school.”

Dumbledore stretched out his hands. “Now Cornelius, let’s not be hasty. This is a setback, but the boy is being treated and I’m sure he will recover quickly. I am personally going to reinforce the Hogwarts wards out of my personal funds. That should stop any further intrusions. The ministry can also put extra security on Hogsmeade. That is how they must have entered the castle.”

Minister Fudge calmed slightly. The wards on Hogwarts castle were ancient and powerful and slowly degraded over time. It took many expensive reagents and experienced wizards specialized in ward maintenance to keep them in prime condition. They hadn’t been reinforced for over two hundred years by now and were significantly weakened. The cost of the service would cost enough gold to run entire departments of the ministry for years after the maintenance had been ignored for so long. Cornelius rubbed his chin.

“And you have the funds to do so? It might be enough to get you out of this, but not a single piece of gold for the project will come from the Ministry. We are not supposed to interfere in Hogwarts business after all.”

Dumbledore snorted. “You know that’s not what it is supposed to mean, Cornelius. But regardless, I will have enough. My many inventions over the year have brought me plenty of income. You should know I don’t do this lightly, I estimate this will drain roughly seventy percent of the wealth from my ancestral vaults. Minus any donations I am able to solicit for the project, of course.”

Minister Fudge swallowed thickly. He had thought Dumbledore would be soliciting for loans. That was the only solution that made sense, but apparently Dumbledore meant to pay it out of pocket if he had to. Donations could only cover a small fraction of the costs given the massive expense to complete the project.

Cornelius knew that Dumbledore was rich, but not that rich. Lucius Malfoy was considered one of the richest men in Britain. And Fudge doubted even he could match that amount of wealth. Or be willing to spend such a large fraction of his fortune.

No wonder Dumbledore had supported Cornelius’ initial campaign for minister so eagerly, the wealth Dumbledore had contributed must have been like pocket change to him. The Dumbledore vaults were ancient and storied, they must have more wealth than anyone had ever thought.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Minister Fudge cleared his throat. Despite himself his words came out a little strangled. “And… and the goblins at Gringotts bank? They will let you withdraw that amount?”

Dumbledore nodded. “They will. It will be difficult, but I have the right to do so.”

Cornelius wrung his hands for a second before coming to a decision.

“Very well. If you do this, Dumbledore, then I will put the Ministry behind you. But this is the final warning. I truly can not protect you from another incident, the Ministry can not be seen to stand by and do nothing. It will be hard enough to keep the public at bay with the situation as it stands, let alone if there is more.”

Dumbledore pondered and stroked his beard for a long moment and Fudge could practically see the calculations dancing behind his eyes. Eventually, Dumbledore looked up and nodded,

“I understand Cornelius. I will accept the consequences if anything else happens. I’m glad we could come to an agreement.”

Minister Fudge nodded. “Hmm. Indeed. Now, I have another whole other situation to deal with. Keep me informed if you find anything else.”

Dumbledore nodded. “Good day.”

With that, Minister Fudge walked back through the fireplace back into his office and practically groaned as he collapsed back into his chair. How were things all going so wrong so quickly? He flicked his wand to the fireplace and the green flames disappeared.

Minister Fudge poured himself a glass of whiskey. If there was anytime to drink, then it was now. He would need to be relaxed for all the damage control meetings he already knew were coming.

— — —

Cornelius took another gulp of the whiskey. “So that is the situation, Lucius. I’m aware of your ambitions, but I am asking you to hold off for now. He will be weakened after investing his vast wealth into Hogwarts. He will be easier to take down then.”

Lucius Malfoy’s fingers drummed across the head of that silvered cane he always carried around with him. This was probably the most disturbed Cornelius had ever seen the man. It seems he was shocked at Dumbledore’s wealth dwarfing his own.

“It must be a lie!” Lucius practically hissed, “A delaying tactic. He will have trouble with Goblins and then will have years to salvage his reputation in the meantime. Do you know how much effort I’ve spent on my campaign? Despite his obvious negligence, many in the light faction still view him as a savior that can do no wrong.”

Cornelius nodded, he had thought of that too after the stressful conversation with Dumbledore. And the light faction was a little overzealous in their defences of Albus Dumbledore recently. They spoke like fanatics, the man was not the perfect saint they always seemed to rave about.

“I will require him to get a statement from the goblins at Gringotts proving he has the wealth he claims he does," Fudge said, "He would not be caught by such a simple lie, it would crumble apart in days after we checked.”

Lucius settled down and grumbled,

“Regardless, what of my efforts? I will not take this lying down and leave the man alone. I know he is your ally, but even you must see his failings after the third attack at the school, on Harry Potter alone, in under a year.”

Cornelius interlaced his fingers.

“No, no, no. Don’t misunderstand me, I understand his faults probably better than anyone. And the attacks are disturbing, and will be investigated vigorously. Can’t be seen to do anything less by the concerned parents after all. Dumbledore must retain his position of headmaster. That’s all I ask for. Feel free to use these incidents to attack his political allies. Perhaps it is better for you to cut his support before going after the most powerful man in Britain anyways. I’m not very happy with him myself at the moment.”

Lucius’ expression scrunched in thinly veiled distaste, but he didn’t refute the Minister’s statements. After considering the Minister’s words for a second, his face grew a thoughtful.

“That… would be acceptable. I see the wisdom in your words, I appreciate your trust in this Minister.”

“Nonsense, Lucius!” Cornelius said, “Despite being on opponents on most issues over the years, I’ve always appreciated your cunning political sense. I knew you would understand if I gave you the full context to things. Now, let’s enjoy this expensive whiskey! I could do with something for the nerves after the day I’ve had.”

Lucius gave a thin smile as he raised his glass and held it up to the minister. “To a cunning politician. I can’t believe you were in Hufflepuff, you would have made a fine Slytherin.”

Minister Fudge bumped Lucius’ glass and took a sip.

“Quite right. Quite the compliment from you, Lucius. I wish we could be aligned like this more often.”

Lucius nodded. “Indeed, Indeed… I would like that very much…”

— — —

Cornelius stared blankly at the two Aurors giving their report. It had been two days, and the initial investigation was complete. The bounty hunters that had been captured and refused to talk until they were given veristserum, which forced the person who drank it to tell the truth.

Their wands had cast suspiciously powerful cleaning charms recently, which could be used to dispose of blood or evidence in the criminal circles. Even after the veristserum their answers were short and unspecific, they were all somewhat trained for this scenario. But eventually the truth was found which is how Cornelius found himself reevaluating things from the beginning.

“The man who was murdered…” Minister Fudge said, “Was Quirinus Quirrell? The Hogwarts teacher? Why in the world would someone want to kill him?”

The Aurors nervously glanced between each other.

“Well, er… We don’t know, sir. Witnesses say he rushed to Hogsmeade, apparated to Diagon Alley and went straight to Knockturn Alley. He ran scared after spotting the bounty hunters, so he must have known something about it before they got him.”

Minister Fudge leaned back.

The Aurors continued. “But we have found the contact that gave them the job. Their memory was erased by someone, but their mind is being searched as we speak for any clues.”

Minister Fudge frowned. “Who authorized that? I should have had to sign off for those. You know we can’t do any memory searches without a good justification.”

“Well, er…” The Auror replied, “The suspect offered it as part of a plea deal. Waived their rights, and Amelia Bones didn’t want to wait for there to be any accidents for the suspect while we were waiting for approval.”

“Hmph. Well, unusual but understandable in a case this big. I suppose if Amelia Bones signed off on it... But it should have been brought to me regardless. Well, I suppose I will have to do it…”

There was a moment of silence as the Aurors shifted around nervously.

“Do what Minister?”

Minister Fudge jolted, seeming to have forgotten the other two were there. “Oh, yes. Call Amelia Bones to my office. Tell her we must interview headmaster Dumbledore about this. This teacher was missing for days and the Ministry was not alerted. The headmaster will know more about the situation.”

Minister Fudge had never seen two Aurors scramble out of his office so fast. It seems they were well aware of the political storm swirling around this. Someone in their department must really not like those two to get them assigned to giving this report.

— — —

Minister Fudge sighed. It was the same old story. Dumbledore was surprised and said the teacher requested a sudden leave and ran off. Amelia Bones had really drilled the man with detailed questions on the headmaster’s exact movements over the last few days. That was good, the Aurors that were supposed to be conducting the interview quickly allowed her to take over when it appeared she would not slow her barrage of questions. Cornelius was surprised she had come personally to Dumbledore’s interview. But Minister Fudge supposed he had gone personally too.

This was in no way a normal situation, and there could be no risk of mistakes of any kind in the process. Everything must be flawless. Because Dumbledore was a sinking ship, and Fudge wouldn’t sink with him. Best to detach himself from Dumbledore before things grew truly desperate.