Cornelius Fudge (where Kerry attempts to show that Cornelius Fudge couldn't think for himself even when he was fifteen)

This story takes place in 1933

"Cornelius!" a small voice shouted from below.

"Cornelius," one of his friends smirked.

"Shut it," fifteen year-old Cornelius snapped. "Don't let her hear you."

"I heard that!" the voice cried.

Cornelius leaned over the railing of the tree house he was currently sitting in. "Go away, Cordelia," he shouted down to his little sister. His friends started laughing in the background.

"You said you'd play with me today!" Cordelia yelled, placing her hands on her hips. Her long blonde hair was being swept back by the strong summer wind.

"Play with me, Cornelius!" Mason Trotter snickered. Cornelius tried to give Mason a look that would shut him up, but it failed miserably.

"Leave him alone," Martha Weaver said softly.

"I never said that," Cornelius shouted down to his sister. "I only said I might!"

"But I thought-" Cordelia started but another one of his friends, Johnny O'Leary leaned over the railing and shouted, "Go away, you little brat! He's not playing with you today!"

Cordelia made a small whimper and ran away quickly.

"That was awful," Ruth Mitchell giggled.

"Just awful," Mason said, laughing loudly. "At least she's gone now, eh, Corey?"

Cornelius nodded weakly. He felt absolutely awful inside. He indeed had promised Cordelia that he would play with her today. But then Mason flooed over and said that he was bringing his friends over for the day. It had been a month since he had seen his friends from Hufflepuff, and since Mason wouldn't take no for an answer, Cordelia was pushed to the wayside.

"You are two of the most immature people I've ever met," Martha said, rolling her eyes. She then proceeded to take a long drag from the cigarette she had been holding.

That comment made Johnny and Mason laugh even louder.

"I think they're funny," Ruth squeaked.

Martha gave her a long look. "You would."

"Stop thinking you're better than us, Miss 'I've been named a Prefect,'" Mason said angrily.

"Did I ever say that?" Martha asked simply.

"You're thinking it," Johnny muttered, taking the cigarette from Martha's hand. He took a puff from it. "You want a drag, Corey?"

Cornelius took a long look at the cigarette. He had absolutely no desire to try it, but he didn't want to lose face with his friends. He held out his hand and Johnny handed him the cigarette.

"You ever smoke before, mate?" Mason asked.

Cornelius shook his head and brought the cigarette to his lips.

"Don't try to inhale right away," Martha told him. "You can work on that later."

Cornelius took a deep breath and felt the smoke burn his throat. His eyes started to tear as he tried to hold his breath. He started coughing loudly as Mason and Johnny started laughing wildly.

"I told you not to inhale," Martha said, taking the cigarette away from him. Cornelius felt his face turn red from embarrassment.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't apologize like an idiot, Corey," Martha said, rolling her eyes. "You tried to inhale. It didn't' work. Big deal."

"Sorry," he muttered again. Martha just looked at him and shook her head. Cornelius felt like the biggest idiot ever. He respected Martha more than any of his other friends. He always wondered why she wasn't in Ravenclaw since she was so smart. And now she thought he was an idiot. Great.

A commotion jarred Cornelius from his thoughts. Johnny and Mason had been playfully punching each other in the arm. Johnny must have hit Mason too hard, because Mason jumped up and took his robe off.

"Do you know how much a new robe costs?" Mason said angrily.

"I didn't mean to rip it," Johnny said. "You Mum will be able to fix it, won't she?"

"After I get an hour long lecture on the value of a Galleon," Mason said, shaking his head.

Cornelius thought of his own robe, which definitely needed repair. Four years ago, no one would have imagined that a muggle stock market crash in the United States would affect the Wizarding World, but indeed it had. Many of the major wizarding banks had failed, leaving Gringotts as the most powerful, and even they started to lay off some employees.

His own family had their own difficulties. His father had lost his job at Flourish and Blotts, where he had been a sales clerk. His mother recently started watching other wizard's children during the day for a few extra galleons.

"I heard that some Goblins were threatening to revolt," Martha said after taking a huff on the cigarette. She handed it to Johnny and he took a drag.

"My dad lost his job," Mason told the group. "My mum got a job cleaning lavatories at St. Mungos."

"My Dad lost his job too," Cornelius said.

Ruth brought her knees to her chest. "My mum doesn't know if there will be enough money for me to go back to Hogwarts this year," she said suddenly.

An uneasy silence fell over the tree house.

"Tell me you're joking," Mason said.

"You have to go back to Hogwarts," Cornelius said.

"You haven't taken your O.W.L.S.," Martha said.

"I know," Ruth said, rocking back and forth. "But my little brother will be starting, and my mum says there's not enough money for both of us, and that I've learned enough magic to get by."

Martha sat straight up. "You won't have any chance of a decent job without your O.W.L.S.," she said seriously.

Ruth wiped a tear that fell down her cheek. "I know!" she said loudly. "But what can I do?"

"Write a letter to Hogwarts the moment you get home," Martha instructed. "Write to Professor Dumbledore. Headmaster Dippet wouldn't have the slightest idea what to do. Explain your situation. They have scholarships and aid for needy families."

"How do you know this?" Ruth asked in amazement.

Martha took a deep breath. "I've been on aid since I started," Martha said finally.

Everyone turned and stared at her.

"I didn't know you were poor," Johnny said.

"Thanks, Johnny," Martha said sarcastically. "Think about it. You've seen my mum."

Cornelius remembered meeting Martha's mother when they got off the Hogwarts Express. He had never seen Martha so flustered when her mother was there waiting for her. She was normally so cool and collected, and Martha stumbled over several words when her mother asked to be introduced.

Martha later told them that her mother had, as she put it, "below average intelligence." And that her mother was raising her all on her own. Mason wouldn't stop asking questions and Martha then admitted that she didn't know who her father was, didn't even know if her mother knew. Some bloke apparently took advantage of Martha's mother very easily.

"My mum bags groceries for a living," Martha said. "Do you really think there's money in that to send me to Hogwarts?"

"Cornelius!"

The group moaned. His sister was back.

"Mum says you have to play with me," his sister shouted happily.

"Please make her go away," Ruth said sadly. "I want to keep talking."

Cornelius looked over at Martha, who was staring out the small glassless window. He had never seen Martha look so sad before.

Without thinking, Cornelius went down the rickety ladder to talk to his sister. He really wanted to continue the conversation up in the tree house. Most of the time his friends just joked around, with the exception of Martha. They rarely had a serious conversation.

Cordelia looked up at him expectantly. "Are you playing with me?" she asked excitedly.

Cornelius shook his head and watched Cordelia's face fall. He decided to make a deal. "I need to talk to my friends," Cornelius told her.

"But-"

"Look, take my broom. You can ride it today. And then I promise that we'll play together tomorrow," Cornelius said.

Cordelia's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you."

"Really!" Cornelius said, smiling, hoping to make it sound like a fantastic offer. "Play with my broom today. And if I don't play with you tomorrow…you get to keep it."

"Keep your broom?" Cordelia asked.

"Only if I don't play with you tomorrow," Cornelius promised. He held out his hand. "Come on. Pinky swear."

Cordelia locked her pinky with his and they shook on it. "Where's your broom?" she asked happily.

"In the shed," Cornelius said. "Now go. We'll play tomorrow."

Cordelia ran off without another word. Cornelius was quite pleased that she wasn't mad at him. He quickly went back up the ladder to join his friends.

"Very diplomatic, Mister Fudge," Martha said approvingly.

Cornelius held out his hands. "At least she won't bother us again today." He sat down, but saw that the seriousness was over. Mason and Johnny were back to punching each other's arms.

"So immature," Martha said, rolling her eyes.

"You got a better idea?" Johnny asked.

Martha leaned back on her hands. "Maybe I do," she said, smiling slightly.

"What?" Mason said eagerly.

Martha reached into her robe and brought out a small bottle of Firewhiskey. "This seem like a better idea?" she asked, looking at everyone.

"You snatch that from your mum?" Ruth asked, taking the bottle from Martha. Ruth then opened the bottle and took a swig. She then shuddered as the drink went down. "I hate firewhiskey."

"Then leave it for the rest of us," Johnny laughed as he took the bottle from Ruth.

Johnny handed the bottle to Cornelius. Cornelius stared at the bottle. He had never told his friends, but his uncle was an alcoholic, and Cornelius had seen first hand what liquor could do to someone. He really had absolutely no desire to drink any.

Rather than look foolish, Cornelius placed the bottle to his lips, and pretended to drink. Some of the liquid tricked down his throat, leaving a burning sensation. Without another word, he handed the bottle to Mason.

They stayed there for the rest of the afternoon, finishing the bottle of firewhiskey. Then at tea time, Mason, Johnny and Ruth jumped up and said they had to leave for dinner. Martha stayed where she was.

"Can I stay here while you see them out?" Martha asked.

Cornelius lifted his eyebrows. He had assumed that Martha would be leaving too. "Sure," he stammered. "I'll be right back."

Five minutes later, Cornelius climbed back into the tree house to find Martha staring out the window.

"You must think I'm an idiot for bringing that bottle," Martha said slowly. "I saw that you didn't take a single swallow."

Cornelius felt his ears go red. "You noticed?"

"Only because I didn't drink either. I don't even know why I brought it," Martha told him.

"They seemed to like it," Cornelius said, settling himself next to her.

Martha rolled her eyes. "I'm so glad."

Cornelius couldn't help but wonder what made Martha so hard and sarcastic. She wasn't' warm like Ruth or any other girl he knew. Martha seemed as tough as nails.

They sat in silence for a moment. "Truth or Dare," Martha said finally.

Cornelius laughed. "You know I always answer truth when we play this," Cornelius said.

"Maybe I'm hoping you'll be brave and answer dare this time, Corey," Martha said.

"Truth."

"You're no fun," Martha said, leaning back again the wall of the tree house. She seemed lost in thought while she tried to decide on a question. "Why don't you like Dumbledore? You always seem to glare at him in class."

Cornelius shrugged. "I don't know, really. He caught me playing a prank with Johnny once and gave me three days worth of detention. I've never really liked him since."

"Did you deserve three days of detention?" Martha asked.

"Maybe," Cornelius said casually. "Your turn. Truth or Dare?

"What do I always answer, Corey?" Martha said playfully.

"You always say dare," Cornelius answered. Before he could think of a dare for her, Martha grabbed his neck and kissed him softly on the lips. Cornelius was so surprised that he didn't even close his eyes. He could probably tell you how many eyelashes Martha had.

Cornelius broke away first. "What was that for?" he asked in astonishment.

"I finally made you choose dare," Martha said.

-

Years Later (Harry's fourth year)

Minster of Magic Cornelius Fudge looked at the picture of his first wife, Martha, and sighed. She had been killed fifteen years ago, in a Death Eater attack. As much as he hated to admit it, part of his rise to the top was because of her death. They felt sorry for him, losing her like that. Martha had done nothing but help his career and she was suddenly gone from his life.

Cornelius thought of his second wife, Georgia, and the life they had managed to build together. They had only been married for five years, but they were very happy. He thought of how he might not be able to go on if he lost Georgia like he lost his Martha.

You-Know-Who couldn't be back. He simply couldn't be.

-

A/N – Allrighty. We've had an influx of First Kiss stories told from the men's point of view. Time for a girl. Let's have a vote on who's next. Hannah Abbott, Ginny Weasley or Nymphadora Tonks. I shall let the public decide:)