"Albus." Rita Skeeter's mischievous eyes appeared to search the Headmaster's as she stepped out from the fireplace in Dumbledore's office.
"Mrs Skeeter." The Headmaster greeted, embellishing his tone with as much politeness as he could muster.
"What is it that you wished to speak with me about." Rita pried, getting straight to the point of this impromptu meeting. Her eyes were exploring the office as though she had never been there before. It seemed as though she were eyeing up which items contained within it held any real value.
"Have a seat." Dumbledore offered, waving his hand in the direction of a nearby couch.
The witch's inquisitive eyes ran over the piece of furniture as though evaluating whether it was worthy of her presence.
"Tea?"
"No thank you." Rita refused impatiently as she took her place upon the seat.
"Now Mrs Skeeter, I require some information from you." Dumbledore smiled, the twinkle in his eye seeming to grow beyond anyone's capacity to ignore.
"What might that be?"
~*.*~
Hagrid stood outside his cabin as he picked up what appeared to be a carved piece of wood and placed it on top of another. His eyes darted around the area as though making sure no one was around before raising his umbrella. With a splattering of sparks, the wood began to take the form of a somewhat primitive looking baby's cot.
"That came out better than I thought." Hagrid smiled aloud to no one in particular before feeling something warm and feathery perch itself on his shoulder.
He gasped before turning around to instantly recognise the unmistakeable red feathers.
"Fawkes." Hagrid gasped again, apparently assuming he was in trouble for using magic without permission. The phoenix had what appeared to be a piece of parchment within its beak.
Hagrid hesitated before deciding he best bite the bullet and take the punishment. He raised his fingers before retrieving the paper and unrolling it.
Dear Hagrid,
If you could please come to my office at your earliest convenience.
Yours Sincerely,
Dumbledore
~*.*~
"What is it?" Hagrid tilted his head to the side as he instinctively reached out for the small vial of dark swirling liquid.
"I have a not so small favour to ask of you." Dumbledore sighed ever so slightly as he released the vial from his fingertips, unable to disguise the reservation in his eyes as Hagrid collected the vial without hesitation. Or perhaps it was more to do with the relief he felt at not appearing to be in trouble for using magic.
"Anything Dumbledore sir." The giant nodded eagerly, glancing at the shining substance in his fingers before sliding the vial into his pocket.
"I need you to get Cornelius Fudge to drink the potion in the vial I have just handed you."
Hagrid's face faltered slightly; it was clear that he had no idea where to even begin to carry out this seemingly impossible task. Yet, Hagrid also knew better than to question Dumbledore's motive or to clarify exactly what it was that the potion actually did.
"It is of the upmost importance, do you understand?" Dumbledore nodded as his eyes searched Hagrid's for recognition.
"Yes Dumbledore sir." Hagrid nodded, though this time distinctively lacking the eagerness of earlier.
"And here comes our guest now." Dumbledore's head tilted in the direction of the fireplace, watching as it erupted into a ball of green flames.
Cornelius Fudge stepped out of the fireplace as he strode toward Dumbledore.
"Minister, please take a seat." The Headmaster greeted as he held out his arm in the direction of an available in seat just in front of his desk.
"Why is this great oaf here?" Cornelius barked at Hagrid before occupying the seat offered to him.
"I will get Hagrid to bring us some tea before he leaves. Hagrid, if you would." Dumbledore peered over his half moon glasses at the giant.
"Oh right." Hagrid kicked himself into gear, suddenly catching on to what the Headmaster had in mind as he watched two mugs appear on the table to his right. He turned to block the view between the cups and the Minister of Magic, before unstoppering the vial and pouring it into one of the two cups. He placed them both on a tray before carrying them over to the two wizards, making sure that the one absent the potion was positioned closest to Dumbledore.
"Thank you Hagrid, you may leave now." The Headmaster smiled warmly as he watched the giant trudge from the room.
"I know why you have summoned me here." Cornelius spat before raising the cup of tea to his lips.
Dumbledore remained silent, choosing to wait for the man before him to broach the subject.
"I don't see why it is up to me to fix this Dumbledore, it is your own actions that have brought you to this point." Cornelius shook his head vigorously, his eyes down cast as he took a sip from the teacup.
"I'm giving you one last chance." Dumbledore stated calmly, being careful to pay attention to the Minister's reaction to his provocative words.
Cornelius Fudge spat out his tea.
"One last chance? One last chance for what? It is not me who is soon to be on trial, in case you have forgotten, it is you who will soon face the wrath of the Wizardingamot, not I." Cornelius reiterated the facts vehemently, his body shaking furiously as he did so.
"You see, I have come upon some disturbing information." Dumbledore began as he wrapped his fingers around his warm cup.
The Minister scrunched up his face as though preparing to argue whatever it was that Dumbledore was about to accuse him of. Though, in his expression, he failed to hide just how desperately he wanted to know what this information was.
"You see," Dumbledore carried on, raising his own teacup to his lips.
"It has come to my attention that Mr Lucius Malfoy has been abducting muggles and torturing them with unforgiveable curses and not only for the Dark Lord's amusement, but his own. Though, this news on its own is hardly a surprise. However, it seems you knew about these activities and were paid off by the Malfoy's to keep silent."
Cornelius's face faltered, yet he was unable to cover it up in time as Dumbledore rose from behind his desk.
"But the real news of interest here is that you yourself were invited to Malfoy Manor on a regular basis to 'partake' in these activities with Voldemort's followers."
"Snape himself is a Death Eater and you know it!" Shouted Cornelius as he took a step closer to the Headmaster's desk.
"So you don't deny it? Instead choosing to attempt to distract me with tales about my own staff. Snape is no more a Death Eater than I am."
The Minister opened his mouth to argue but was quickly cut off by Dumbledore.
"It seems the Daily Prophet is very interested in publishing this story, and it seems that your reaction just now has cleared any reservations I may have had about its validity."
"I don't know where you heard this bullshit but if this is what this meeting is about then I'm leaving!" Cornelius shouted, unable to keep his voice steady as he rose from his seat.
"Now now Minister," Dumbledore stated calmly, gently waving his hands out in front of him
"I remind you of your final chance. Cease the trial against Professor Snape, Harry Potter and I and this story won't go to publish."
"Are you trying to blackmail me?"
As though in answer to the Minister's accusation, a serene smile appeared on Dumbledore's lips.