To Severus' chagrin, Harry was the most tactless person Severus had frequent contact with. Actually, Harry was the most tactless person Severus had ever dated. Harry always spoke bluntly, whether or not the situation called for it. Harry had cheerfully informed Severus' mother that she was overbearing, Bill's wife that she was useless, Ginny's boyfriend that he was a coward, and one of their new colleagues that he was a blithering idiot (Severus rather agreed with that, but he would have said so with much more subtlety).
Many people had stared at Harry in open-mouthed shock at his… well, rudeness. Severus had often been ashamed by Harry in public, although he never said anything. Harry was special. Harry was the Savior of the Wizarding World. He was powerful and good-looking, and people liked him. He could get away with being rude.
Severus snickered. Even when being rude, people stared at Harry with lust. Perhaps it was a turn-on.
Today, though… this was a prime example of why he loved Harry so much. Okay, okay, he adored Harry for many reasons, but the nastiness to the Minister right now… that was high up on the list.
"Minister, do you honestly mean to tell me that you consider the werewolf restraint laws a decent use of Ministry officials' time and taxpayers' money? Unbelievable. Honestly, Minister Fudge, I know that you were of limited mental capacity at best when you first began working as Minister of Magic, but astoundingly, you have managed to get stupider as the years pass. I wonder if it's some kind of mental disease, natural stupidity, or if public office just makes you stupider."
Tact… completely missing. Humor… hm… that wasn't missing. Severus was snickering into his napkin, trying very hard not to look like the cat in the cream. It was made all the more difficult by Fudge's beet red face and stuttering.
"My dear boy… you… unimaginable… how dare you…"
"Aha, this much be the next stage in the disease you're suffering. You've lost the ability to form complete sentences. When will you hit the drooling like a baby stage? I imagine it will be great fun when aides are wiping saliva off your chin during public appearances. Perhaps they'll try to hide that you've become a doddering old fool, although I doubt that… they haven't tried yet. Or if they have, they're clearly failing. If they have, though, that means that you've been even stupider than they're letting on. Cool. That's actually… kinda scary. Given that you're in power and all. Don't voters know anything? Then again… if you're hiding that you're an idiot, you're cheating the public, aren't you? It would be great fun to expose you."
Harry's eyes twinkled with pleasure. "Oh, my, perhaps I should run for office next time. Show the voters what they could have. If your aides hadn't been lying to them about your mental capabilities all these years… Lovely."
Fudge's chagrin was clear and highly amusing to everyone present.
Chagrin – n. 1. Acute vexation, annoyance, or embarrassment, arising from disappointment or failure.
Transitive verb. 1. To unsettle or vex by disappointment or humiliation; to mortify. Word of the Day, March 16, 2008)