Prologue

Author's Note: First of all I own nothing.  Wish I did oh well. Second reviews and comments are welcome, but as this is the first HP fic I've done be nice.  I'll try to post again soon.

Prologue:

    Cornelius Fudge was not having a good day, in fact he hadn't had a good day in quite a while, probably not since Sirius Black had escaped over two years ago, and certainly not since the beginning of the Tri Wizard Tournament.  But he refused to let this madness continue.  He had been a good minister of magic, he had done his job well and he had enjoyed a fair regard from the wizarding pubic, he had no intentions of letting his term end on a sour note.  Which was exactly what would happen if he didn't take action and quickly.  Contrary to popular belief Fudge was no fool, he knew that he had a limited amount of time before Dumbledore would try to go around him in the ministry and raise support for this ridiculous rumor about the rise of You- Know- who. 

Well he would put an end to that nonsense.  There was absolutely no proof that You Know Who had indeed returned.  And Fudge was certainly not going to risk his reputation and career on the word of a boy who was most definitely unstable.  Harry Potter may be a hero to most wizards but to Fudge he was nothing more than a nuisance, and one that needed to be dealt with quickly and skillfully.  But what to do?

Fudge continued to contemplate ways of silencing Dumbledore as well as Harry Potter as he walked up to his office.  By the time he reached his secretary's desk he was in such a fowl mood he completely ignored her squeaky voice chattering about owls and messages he had missed.  Instead of stopping to collect the messages he brushed right passed his flustered secretary and into his office completely failing to see the visitor he had in the reception area.  A visitor that could unknowingly help him take care of the Potter problem, permanently.

Fudge's secretary knocked on his door and opened her mouth to say something but before she could utter a sound someone streaked past her and began firing questions in the ministers direction.

"Minister how do you feel about the end to the Tri wizard Tournament?"

    "Do you have any comment on the student who died in the competition?"

    "Who is responsible?"

    "Rita I haven't the time or the patience for you right now, leave."

    Rita scowled deeply.  She had not been having a good week either.  Stories were so much harder to write when she couldn't embellish a few things here or there.  And she was sick of being thrown out of every office in the ministry.  "You know minister I would have thought it obvious that I hold a powerful place with the people.  Perhaps one of these days soon we will have a ministry who will learn to utilize the press rather than shunt it away, I admit I can be a bit hot tempered in my writing, but I could also make a very powerful ally perhaps once your miserable term is over you will realize the opportunity you lost."  With some of Rita's aggression spent she turned and stormed towards the door.

Fudge sat there, barely registering what Rita had said, thoroughly engrossed in his own personal disaster.  And then the real power of Rita's words hit him.  He looked up just in time to see Rita walk through the door, his mind floundered for a moment, it would be risky, but it could work.  With a feral grin and his mind made up he called out, "Rita dear, come back in and have a seat, I would like to make you a proposal, one I think you may find very, very interesting.

Rita paused by the door and looked over her shoulder, a grin to match the Ministers' slowly spread across her face and she reentered the room letting the door click shut behind her.

"What did you have in mind?"