Disclaimer: Anything from the Harry Potter books belongs to J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: A huge thankyou goes out to Tes-sama, for bothering to read over this and edit it.
* * * * *
I marched down the corridor. I was fuming. This time, Fudge had gone too far. I reached a door reading Arabella Figg-Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I shoved the door open. As I'd excepted, Arthur was waiting for me there.
"You won't believe what Fudge has done now!"
" What did he do, Arabella?" He asked calmly. After years of working with me, Arthur was used to my temper.
"Yesterday's attack on Hogsmeade? That idiot, that pompous jerk, has told the Daily Prophet that it was some sort of accident!"
"Maybe he didn't realize that it was an attack," Arthur said calmly.
"Oh, of course," I said sarcastically. "I'm sure that was it. Anyone could have made that mistake. No one in their right mind would even consider the fact that all those people- including my own mother- were killed with 'Avada Kedavra' on purpose. How could it possibly have been an attack? Of course Voldemort hasn't returned!"
Arthur sighed. "I'm sure Fudge will come to his senses soon enough. What did you want to see me for?"
"Oh. Right. Well, as you know, my mother died yesterday. She played a vital part in the defence of Harry Potter. Your son, Ron, is a friend of his, isn't he?"
"Yes. Why?" " Well, I was wondering if..." I was interrupted when my secretary, Julia, burst in the door.
"That Fudge! I can't stand him! It's not my job to stop those rumours. Anyway, everyone knows they're true! Why can't he see that-" She broke off suddenly. "I'm sorry, Miss Figg. I should have knocked. Oh, and I shouldn't have said that."
I waved it aside. "It doesn't matter." A sudden thought occurred to me. "Julia," I said slowly. "How many other people in this building are against Fudge?"
She blinked. "Well, as far as I know, most people are. They never talk about it much, though."
I smiled grimly. "Right. Julia, Arthur, I want you to spread a message around."
Arthur often did things for me. His department was usually very quiet. "There will be a meeting tonight, in the hall, at 7 p.m. I want everyone to know. Cornelius Fudge is not to know about it. If he does, let him think we are planning a surprise party in his honor. Got it?"
They both nodded, and hurried out. I sat down at my desk. It was time someone took charge.
* * * * *
"QUIET!" I bellowed. The assembled witches and wizards stopped talking. "I'm sure you are all wondering why you're here. Before I say anything, I'm going to read you an article that appeared in the evening Prophet.
I cleared my throat and read:
' Hogsmeade: attack or accident?
Yesterday morning was all set to be a fun day for the children of third year and above who attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was a Hogsmeade weekend: a day when everyone except the first and second years, spends the day enjoying themselves in Hogsmeade. They can amuse themselves in Zonko's Joke Shop, Delight their taste buds in Honeydukes, buy a butterbeer at the Three broomsticks, or visit the Shrieking Shack. However, yesterday's visit was not all fun and games. At midday, ministry officials arrived in Hogsmeade to find shops burning, corpses littering the street, the dark Mark in the sky, and terrified witches and wizards, many of them Hogwarts students, running around in panic.
Was this all an accident? After all, the Dark Mark was in the air. Not to mention that at least 15 people were killed using Avada Kedavra. What kind of accident could this be? Surely it is yet another sign that You-Know-Who has returned? Apparently not. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic was questioned on the subject. His answer? "You-Know-Who has returned? Preposterous! An explosion caused the incident at Hogsmeade. A freak accident. I know the witnesses stated otherwise, but they were obviously hallucinating. I assume it is an affect of the explosion. They should go to St. Mungo's immediately." When we attempted to question Arabella Figg, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Fudge stepped in, and announced that Miss Figg had to deal with a sighting of Sirius Black, and needed to leave immediately. Miss Figg appeared to be rather confused by this statement.
Cornelius Fudge seems to be turning a blind eye to what the rest of the magical Community has suspected since the end of the Triwizard tournament: that You-Know-Who is indeed rising again. If so, we are in desperate need of a new Minister for Magic.'
I looked up at the silent hall.
"I am sure all of you know as well as I do that this incident was no explosion. You may also be aware, that as whoever wrote this article suspected, Sirius Black has not been sighted for months, and was certainly not sighted yesterday. Cornelius Fudge is putting this country in jeopardy. He is refusing to act in case we are wrong and Voldemort- " Everyone flinched. "- has not returned. He does not want to loose his job. But surely he has thought of what will happen if we are correct? What use will his job be then? He will be as dead as he rest of us! Unless, of course, he changes sides."
Murmurs broke out from all sides of the Hall. "In short, Cornelius Fudge is risking the lives of every single person in this country, just for his one, petty little life. I am certain no one in this room would be that stupid. I am confident that everyone here is brave enough to defeat Voldemort or die trying."
Cheering broke out. Everyone was eager to prove they were brave. "I do not know if you will agree with me or not. I am of the opinion that we need a new Minister. And I am certain I am not the only one. Fudge could be the death of us all. Raise your hand if you agree with me."
I hadn't expected that many people to agree. I had been sure only a few people would agree with me, and someone would report us to Fudge. However, every single hand in that hall was raised. I smiled in relief.
"Keep your hand up if you would be willing to sign a petition calling for Fudge's resignation." Not a single hand went down. No one so much as twitched.
"Well then. I'll read this document, and then I'll ask you to sign it. The Heads of Departments will sign first, followed by everybody else." Fudge was going down.
* * * * *
I knocked on the door to Fudge's office.
"Come in."
" Good Morning, Minister."
He glanced at me in surprise. " What brings you here, Miss Figg?"
I was going to give him one final chance before I gave him the petition. " Minister, surely you realize that Voldemort has returned?"
He sighed in exasperation.
" Miss Figg, I thought you of all people would not be influenced by that ridiculous article."
" Minister! How far will he have to go before you realize he has returned? Will his wand be at your throat? We must act now, while we still have a chance of winning!"
I took a deep breath. I had not come to engage myself in a fighting match. " Minister, I was sent here on behalf of the Ministry to give you this." I handed him the document. I knew what it said of by heart.
Due to your failure to act on the matter of You-Know-Who's return, we, the Ministry of Magic, request that you, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, resign from your position, and from the Ministry.
Short, brutal and to the point. Everyone in the Ministry had signed it. I waited nervously for Fudge's reaction. He threw it on his desk.
" I will choose to treat this as a joke," he said stiffly. "I am certain that nobody in this building would sign it. I suggest you leave." I didn't move.
" Miss Figg!" He snapped. " You will leave if you know what's good for you!" His voice rose to a yell.
I gazed at him steadily. " I swear that you haven't heard the last of this, Minister." I swept out of the room. Then, on an impulse, I stuck my head back around the door. " And I always keep my word."
* * * * *
Where has our Ministry gone?
At one end of Diagon Alley stands Gringotts. At the other end is a gigantic white building. This building is the Ministry of Magic, the heart of the wizarding world. Twenty-four hours ago, there was a flurry of activity. People delivering messages and papers dashed from office to office, unable to Apparate inside the building. Every single office door was closed, signalling that the person inside had a mountain of work to do. Today it is a very different story. The corridors are empty. Nearly all the office doors are open, and the desks are empty. Only one door is closed. It is at the far end of the building, and is by far the largest. From behind the door a cough and the shuffling of papers can be heard. The card on the door reads, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic. Why is the Minister the only person working? Where has our Ministry gone?
Thee answer was not too hard to find. A few hours ago, Mr. Fudge was handed a note, signed by everyone in the ministry from the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, to Fudge's private secretary. When the demands were not meet, the entire Ministry walked out in protest. What are they demanding? A pay rise? Reduced working hours? No. They are, in fact, demanding that Mr. Fudge resigns from the ministry of Magic on account of his failure to act on accordance to You-Know-Who's return. Undoubtedly, if the Ministry workers do not back off soon, Fudge will be forced to give in. The workload of the Ministry of Magic is far to great for one man to face alone. It is the belief of the Daily Prophet that we will have a new Minister for Magic tomorrow morning.
* * * * *
I stretched myself out on the sofa. "We might as well enjoy the peace while it lasts. Fudge will give in. The amount of my work alone means I can't afford to take a day off even if I'm dying."
I glanced around at Arthur, Percy, Molly, Julia, and Kara (Fudge's secretary.) Kara nodded in agreement.
"Fudge never does that much work himself. I should know."
"And me," I added. " He seems to think I have a lot of free time on my hands and need to be given extra work."
" And then," Julia chimed in. " I get given a lot more work. I know you try to do it yourself but it's just to much."
" Well, know we've got some time off. Drinks, anyone?" I almost skipped into the kitchen. It was nice to relax once in a while. An Express Owl flew in the window and landed on my shoulder. I jumped, dropping the glass I was holding on the floor. Luckily, all my glassware has an Unbreakable Charm on it. I carefully untied the message.
From the desk of Cornelius Fudge
' Ms Figg,' I read, 'I wish to speak to you in my office immediately.'
I Apparated back to the living room.
" He wants to see me. Julia, Kara, both of you should come. And I'd like you to come as well, Arthur."
The three of us Apparated to the steps of the Ministry Offices. A crowd of reporters was there, buzzing excitedly. We shoved our way through to the door, amid calls of ' Is the strike over?"; " Is Fudge still Minister?"; " Who organized the strike?"
I practically ran to Fudge's office. I stood in the doorway for a moment and watched him write something, before I gathered up my courage.
"Cornelius, " I said flatly. Not using his name was a sign of my disrespect. He looked up at me.
" Here." He shoved me the piece of parchment he had been writing on. I looked at it.
" You resigned," I said stiffly.
" Yes. You won. I've made you the next Minister." I was horrified.
" But, surely Arthur would be better. Or that guy in the Department of Mysteries- Steve, I think his name is. Or you could give the job to Percy."
" No. I have already made out the document. You have no choice."
I stared at him. I hadn't- I'd never wanted this. " All right, Sir."
He stood up, shook my hand, and brushed me aside as he walked out the door. I stared at the spot he'd last been, numb with shock. Arthur cleared his throat, and I realized where I was.
"Right. Arthur, you will be getting a promotion. Or at least a pay rise. Same goes for you, Kara, Julia." The decision had been made. I was Minister. I had no choice. All I could do was make the most of it.
* * * * *
Sirius Black- Innocent!
It has only been a month since Cornelius Fudge resigned and was replaced by Arabella Figg. In this short time huge changes have already occurred. Envoys were sent to the remaining Giants, who are now our Allies. The Dementors have been dismissed, and we no longer run the risk of them joining You-Know-Who. Our criminals will not escape. All criminals are now questioned under the influence of Veritaserum. This process was scraped in the 70's, when it was thought to be unethical. But, as the Minister said, "Isn't it better that a suspect confesses all his secrets, rather than be sent to Azkaban mistakenly?"
By far, the most amazing thing the Minister has done is to have Sirius Black's name cleared. Yes, that's right, Sirius Black. Thanks to the confessions of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and ten captured Death Eaters under the influence of Veritaserum, a number of astonishing things have been revealed. First of all, Peter Pettigrew is, in fact, alive. He is responsible for You-Know-Who's return. Secondly, Pettigrew; a.k.a. Wormtail; is an unregistered Animagus and can turn into a rat. By using the afore mentioned ability, he faked his death, framed Sirius Black, and escaped into a sewer. Sirius has been declared innocent. He was let of off with a full apology and a large amount of money. He was also given custody of Harry Potter. He must be alive. A full report of the trial is available from the Ministry.
Arabella Figg has issued a reward of 10,000 Galleons for the capture of Peter Pettigrew. He must be alive. A smaller amount will be given to anyone with valuable information.