Thus far Cornelius Fudge had had a lovely day and nothing really to worry about. His attack campaign against Dumbledore and Harry was working just fine and quite frankly, he hadn't had anything else of importance on his mind at the time. But the day took a turn for the worse when he returned from his lunch break. Just as he was entering the antechamber to his office, he was immediately informed by his Junior Assistant Percy Weasley that an emergency letter from the American Secretary of Magic had arrived for him. Wondering what his American equivalent wanted, he walked straight into his office, and opened the letter before he sat down. The Secretary wanted to talk to him, already today. Wondering what could be so important, Fudge penned an answer that he was awaiting the Secretary at six o'clock.

Afterwards he had to think about what his colleague wanted to talk about for the rest of the day. It stopped him from really following up on anything and he barely listened when his Undersecretary Doleres Umbridge tried to brief him on the current state of the smear campaign against Dumbledore and the Potter boy. She tried to argue for better measurements to discredit Potter, but Fudge wasn't really listening.

Umbridge had just left the office, when somebody knocked on the door. It was Percy,"Mr. Minister, Secretary Otway is here," he announced.

"Let her in," Fudge said, jumping out of his chair and walked over to the door, in order to greet his guest.

Elizabeth Otway was a very young witch for her position, with just forty-one she was the youngest Secretary of Magic in history. Unlike the British magical community, the American one was way more intervened with the muggle government and the Secretary was often directly appointed by the US President, which had also been the case with Otway. Thanks to rumours about the womaniser attitude of the current President, many people assumed that Otway, who was very attractive, had slept her way to power. But people who knew her, and Fudge was among those, knew that this definitely hadn't been the case. Otway had always hated using her attractiveness to her advantage and wanted to actually earn her positions – and she did. Fudge had seen her once getting angry with the Chinese Minister of Magic, and he, just as all the other people present back then, was happy to not yet have gotten on the wrong side of Otway. She could have quite a temper, was clever, cunning, and also a very talented witch, with clearly no need to manipulate anybody to give her a position.

The two greeted each other and Fudge offered her a seat. Otway thanked him and seated herself, while Fudge returned to his own chair. "So, for what reason do I have the honour," he asked smiling.

Otway didn't smile back, instead she reached inside her travelling cloak, got out an photo and threw it onto the desk. "Explain," she ordered.

Fudge felt like he had been struck by lightning. He was looking at the face of nobody else but Lord Voldemort. "This is an old photo," he simply said, even though he couldn't remember seeing this photo ever before.

Otway shook her head. "No. This was taken last night by a muggle security camera in a museum in Gotham City," she explained. "Now, Cornelius, I would like to know, what you intend to do about this."

The two stared at each other for a long time, until Fudge budged. "I don't know what a person looking like You Know Who appearing in your jurisdiction has anything to do with me," he said, trying to sound as confident as possible.

Otway was certainly not pleased. "Stop denying reality Fudge," she hissed. "He's back – and this isn't a discussion anymore. Dumbledore was right, something many other heads of state had expected all along. But we didn't say anything, because without proof it was nothing more than a domestic power struggle. This changes things."

Fudge gulped. "Why should that change anything," he asked. "There is no proof that this is actually him," he tried to argue, but he already knew that this was a very weak argument.

"So you're not going to do anything about this," Otway asked.

"What am I supposed to do," Fudge countered. "If that is really him, he seems to be in the US anyway. Like I said, that's not my jurisdiction."

Otway shook her head again. "You are unbelievable Fudge. Look at it," she said, pointing at the picture. "Do you really think he's going to stay in the US? His eyes were always set on Great Britain and he'll come here and make your life a living hell if you don't take precautions right now!"

"There is absolutely no evidence for that," Fudge argued desperately once again. "And I know that you have always been close to Dumbledore. Who's telling me, that you didn't make all of this up in order to back him up," he accused her angrily.

Otway was furious. "How do you dare, you little, insecure, power-hungry fool," she shouted. "The greatest threat your country and probably the entire magical world has faced in the past hundreds of years is back at your doorstep and you close your eyes, and for what? Seriously, for what? Why can't you just admit the truth?!"

Fudge jump out of chair, now angry as well. "I'll not get spoken to in this manner in my own office," he barked.

"Then maybe you should grow up and finally admit when you're wrong. It would make it a lot easier for you to get treated with the respect you want – including behind closed doors," Otway replied, now standing up as well.

"Out," Fudge ordered. "And take your silly photo with you," he then added, when Otway was about to leave without it.

The Secretary grabbed the photo, while giving Fudge a look that could have killed if looks were able to do so. "One day you'll regret not acting fast enough," she warned, before storming out of the office, past Percy and into the hallway. She stormed pass nobody else but Lucius Malfoy, who was very surprised to see the American Secretary of Magic storm past him in such an angry manner.

He straightened himself up, walked through the antechamber, giving a very tight nod to Percy and knocked on Fudge's office door. "Come in," came the response. When Lucius walked into the room, Fudge's mood changed. "Ah, Lucius, come in, come in," he said with a smile on his face. The Minister got up and offered him a chair and a drink.

"Thank you," Lucius answered after being handed a glass of fire whiskey. "What did Secretary Otway want," he asked after taking a sip of the whiskey.

Fudge's temper was changing again, and it was obvious that he didn't really want to talk about it. "Nothing, really, only, well...," Fudge didn't really know what to say. He rubbed his hands over his face, trying to order his thoughts. He stood up and began pacing up and down behind his desk, while Lucius was watching him curiously, taking another sip from his whiskey. "She claims to have evidence that You Know Who has indeed returned," Fudge finally said.

That took Lucius aback. His surprised showed on his face, but to his own luck, Fudge was more dense than most people realised and was very unlikely to deduce that the shock on Lucius' face actually was about the fact that his master left evidence behind in Gotham instead of general shock about the possibility that Voldemort indeed could have returned. "But he hasn't, has he," Lucius finally asked after getting his thoughts back together again.

Fudge stopped pacing and looked straight at his guest. "Of course not," he said, trying to sound sure of himself, but it didn't really work, his voice shaking with doubt.

"But why should she make it up," Lucius asked, not because he was trying to convince Fudge otherwise instead he wanted to keep him in doubt, hoping to find out how deep Fudge was still in his rabbit hole.

The Minister shrugged. "She had always been a fan of Dumbledore and was against him being removed from the International Confederation of Wizards. She probably wants to help him out by bullying me into admitting that I'm wrong," he mused. Fudge shook his head one more time and decided to sit down again. "I always knew this was going to happen. He has far too many friends and he clearly has decided to use them against me."

Lucius smiled on his inside. Fudge clearly was convinced that everything was a conspiracy in order to oust him as Minister of Magic. "You've got friends as well," he told Fudge, convincing the Minister to trust him. With a man like Fudge, Lucius knew, he didn't need to use the Imperius Curse to have control of the Ministry, it was very easy to push the right buttons with him in order to get whatever he wanted out of this man.

"Of course Lucius," Fudge breathed. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"Oh nothing really – I only thought about making another contribution to the Ministry," answered the Malfoy family patriarch slyly. This turned Fudge's mood around and the two men chatted away about the amount of the money Lucius wanted to donate and for what cause. About thirty minutes later Lucius Malfoy left the Minister's office, still smiling to himself.

Fudge's mood was back up until he was about to leave the office a little bit over an hour later. The picture serving as his connection to the office of the muggle Prime Minister in Downing Street No. 10 was coughing. Fudge looked up at the small oil painting of an old man in a silver wig. "What is it," he asked.

"The muggle Prime Minister would like to have a word with you," the painted man told him.

Fudge mouth fell open. That had never happened to him before. He also couldn't remember hearing about the Prime Minister calling the Minster of Magic like this before he took office. "What does he want," he asked.

"I don't know, but he told me to tell you that he wants to see you at once," the painting answered.

Fudge nodded. "Okay, I'll be there in a minute," he assured the painting. The painted man disappeared back into his picture at Downing Street No. 10, while Fudge fetched a coat and a hat before using the Floo Network to travel over there as well.

Fudge was greeted by the muggle Prime Minister, who was a tall man with grey but full hair. Like most of the time he wore thick glasses and a dark-grey suit in combination with a blue tie. "Minister," he greeted Fudge with a grim voice.

"Prime Minister," Fudge greeted back before taking a seat on one of the chairs facing the Prime Minister. "What is the reason for this very unusual invitation?"

"Is everything okay in your world," the Prime Minister asked.

Fudge's confusion was written all over his face. "Yes of course. Why shouldn't it?"

"I don't know, you tell me," said the muggle politician and showed Fudge the same picture the American Secretary had shown him before.

"Where did you get this from," Fudge asked in shock.

"I got it as a fax from the American President, who in turn got it from your American opposite as I understand it," he explained.

Fudge shook his head. "I don't believe it," he muttered. "Listen, whatever your colleague told you, it's false. The American Secretary is in league with a political opponent of mine, who tries to convince the public that a certain very powerful wizard has returned," he explained.

The Prime Minister raised one eyebrow. "But he hasn't," he asked.

"No, of course not, we would know about that," Fudge countered.

"Really," the Prime Minister asked. "Because a government doesn't always know everything going on in a country – especially when we talk about terrorists, and from what I understand, this Voldemort guy" – Fudge flinched when the other man mentioned the name – "is exactly that. These people operate in secret. So, answer me again, are you absolutely certain, that he didn't return?"

Fudge had only met the Prime Minister thrice before – and all three times he received him as an very insecure man. He wasn't exactly confident at this very moment either, but it was obvious that he for once thought that he had the upper hand.

"I'm certain," Fudge assured the other politician.

"I'm not," the Prime Minister argued. "Who would really go as far as going to the head of another state, persuade her to create fake evidence about this, make her go to the muggle head of her state and persuade him to call me, so that I try to pressure you into doing whatever?"

"Why not," Fudge retorted.

The Prime Minister shook his head. "What power do I have over you," he asked.

"None," Fudge answered.

Now the Prime Minister nodded. "True, so what could they possibly achieve by this?"

Fudge had no answer this time. It was true, the muggle Prime Minister had no power to influence his policies nor could he force him to step down, so why would Secretary Otway ask the US President to get him putting pressure on Fudge? "They probably hoped that you could talk some sense into me, well, at least what they perceive as sense," he finally answered.

The Prime Minister licked his lips deep in thought. "Okay, Fudge," he said after awhile. "I won't tell you how to do your job nor will I get involved in your internal power struggles."

"Thank you, Prime Minister," Fudge interrupted and got up in order to leave.

"But," the Prime Minister added with force, "I want to know one thing – is there the possibility that this man can return one day? Because how I understood it, he could be a major security risk also to my country."

Fudge was taken aback once again. Could this day get any worse?, he asked himself. "No, he's dead," he answered. "But, I have to admit, if he returned, then yes, he would pose a major risk to the security of muggle and wizard society."

The Prime Minister nodded and excused Fudge. As soon as Fudge had left, the Prime Minister picked up his phone and ordered the head of the MI5 to a briefing into his office.

After Fudge returned from his meeting with the Prime Minister, he decided he needed another shot of fire whiskey. He sat down on the couch in his office and poured himself a generous amount of the liquor into his glass and began gulping it down, when his office door sprung open. It was Dolores Umbridge, who, unlike their last meeting a few hours earlier, seemed very happy.

"Please tell me you've got good news," Fudge told her.

"Oh, I have Cornelius," she answered in her squeaky voice. "Harry Potter got caught using magic outside the school, in front of a muggle. Already for a third time, that means he'll have to be expelled from Hogwarts."

Fudge let his glass slip out of his hand. It hit the floor and spilled the whiskey all over the carpet. The Minister got out his wand and cleaned up the mess, before saying; "This is the best news I've heard all day."

He and Umbridge both grinned. "I already wanted to tell you a few minutes ago, but you weren't there," she said.

Fudge nodded. "I had a meeting with the muggle Prime Minister, he asked me to come over, but it was nothing of importance," he explained.

Just as Fudge wanted to invite his Senior Undersecretary for a drink, their good mood got spoiled by nobody else but Albus Dumbledore, who stormed through Fudge's office door. "We need to talk," he said and sat down on one of Fudge's chairs.

"This is mine office, Dumbledore," the Minister pointed out angrily.

"I know, but this is a matter of utter importance," the Hogwarts headmaster replied grimly.

"Let me guess," Umbridge chimed in, "it's about your favourite student, Harry Potter."

Dumbledore didn't answer, he didn't even awarded Umbridge with a look or a glance. Fudge took a deep breathe and then told Umbridge to leave the two of them alone. "Dumbledore, this has nothing to do with the problems we have had with each other over the course of the last few weeks. He broke the law, and that not for the first time I might add," Fudge tried to explain while seating himself on his chair.

"I know Cornelius, only that the first case already lies back three years and the second time something like this happened, you yourself got involved to keep him out of the clutches of the law," the older man recounted.

Fudge had to take another deep breathe to keep his cool. "The time that passed since the first incident doesn't matter. And we both know that the second time we faced extraordinary circumstances."

"And those are over now," Dumbledore shot back in a questioning tone. "Even if you don't want to believe the truth about Voldemort, Sirius Black is still free, isn't he? What do you think he'll do, once he knows that Harry will be fair game," the headmaster asked.

Fudge opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. He hadn't thought about that. "Well, Black hasn't attempted to do anything since he escaped from Hogwarts last year, didn't he," he finally said, hoping to shut Dumbledore up, but he had no luck.

"At least drop the charge of using magic in front of a muggle," he pleaded.

"But he did use magic in front of a muggle."

"His cousin, who already knew he was a wizard anyway. That was not putting our secret in danger."

"Sorry, law is law," Fudge said and stood up. "Now I've got to ask you to leave. It's very late in the day and I want to go home."

Dumbledore nodded and stood up as well. "When will the hearing take place," he asked.

"A hearing," Fudge asked puzzled.

"Yes, a hearing. You can't really plan to expel a student from Hogwarts and convict him of a crime without giving him a hearing first. Think of the optics Cornelius," Dumbledore argued.

"Pfff, why should there be a hearing? The case is clear."

"Then you shouldn't have a problem laying it open in a hearing, while also giving Harry the chance to explain himself."

Fudge was breathing very hard, trying to control his anger. He not only knew that Dumbledore had a point, but he also wanted to get this old man out of his hair for now. "Okay, I'll set a date for a hearing, the 12th of August would be fine by me, are you satisfied?"

The older man smiled and nodded. "Yes, Cornelius, for once in the last few weeks you've actually did something right," he said. Before Fudge could say anything regarding this remark, Dumbledore had already left the office.

Fudge grunted and called Umbridge back in, telling her that she had to send a letter to Potter, informing him about the hearing and when it was going to take place. She also should call back the wizards sent out to fetch Harry and to destroy his wand. Umbridge face and mood fell to the same level as Fudge's but she did so anyway. What a shitty day, Fudge thought before pouring himself another drink.