Evangeline and Remus Lupin left the dining hall together and went down to Snape's classroom. Lupin could see Evangeline steel herself before going in and felt another pang of compassion for the pain she was feeling.
As they entered the empty room, Evangeline couldn't quite keep herself from glancing over at the night hearth, where she and Severus had spent so much time brewing up these potions in the past. But she was determined not to let her memories stop her. Keeping her eyes firmly focused on her goal, she walked quickly through the room and into the storeroom. After collecting all the ingredients and equipment that she thought she'd need, she and Lupin took everything upstairs to her old quarters. Where she conjured up a small table next to the fireplace and set immediately to work.
Lupin sat down in a nearby chair and watched her. "Can I be of any help?"
Giving him a sideways glance, her lips twisted into a small smile. "I thought potions weren't your thing, Remus."
Unable to deny it, he snorted and leaned back more deeply into his chair. "Well, that's true."
Suddenly she looked up at him with a sad expression on her face. "Oh, Remus, you'll miss him, too. How will you get more Wolfsbane Potion?"
He smiled sadly. "I can get by without it, Evangeline. It just makes life more difficult…not impossible."
"I told Severus once that you needed to learn how to brew that potion yourself."
He sighed resignedly and shrugged. "I have tried, Evangeline. I just don't have the knack. My potions never work out right. Severus could brew potions in his sleep. I can't brew anything of any complexity, no matter how careful I am. As a potion maker, I'm a dismal failure. I always was."
She nodded in sad understanding and returned to her work. After awhile, Lupin began to feel like a babysitter and decided that she'd probably prefer some privacy anyway. So a bit reluctantly he got up to leave, and not surprisingly, she didn't try to keep him.
Lupin left her room and headed back down to the entrance hall of the castle. As he came down the stairs, he noticed Filch at the door, arguing with a woman. She looked familiar to him, but it took him a minute to place her. It was Minister Eggleson.
Curious as to what could bring her to Hogwarts, he walked over to find out what was going on. "What's up, Filch?"
Filch turned to Lupin with a dark frown on his face. "Professor Lupin, this woman is insisting on seeing Miss Evangeline. I told her this wasn't a good time, but she won't leave. Miss Evangeline doesn't need to be pestered by people at the moment." He punctuated his comment with another glower at the woman in the doorway.
Pleased by Filch's protectiveness, but still really curious as to the purpose of this visit, Lupin decided to intervene. "It's okay, Filch. I'll take care of it. I won't let anyone disturb Evangeline without a good reason. I promise. You can go back to whatever you were doing."
Relieved, Filch nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Professor." Then he headed back into the castle with a dark parting glare for the minister, muttering to himself about how some people simply had no respect for the privacy of others.
Once Filch had gone, Lupin turned to the woman in the doorway. "Minister Eggleson, I'm Remus Lupin. Perhaps I can help you."
She frowned warily. "How do you know who I am?"
Trying to be tactful, he spoke hesitantly. "I'm afraid I saw you the night of the attack on Gringotts. Have you recovered from that ordeal?"
Suddenly her expression faltered, she looked down and shivered as if cold. "It's an ongoing process, Professor Lupin."
Determinedly she brought her eyes back up to focus on his. "Please, I really need to see Miss Winthrop. I'm not here to cause trouble or to add to her pain. It's about Professor Snape. I think I can help him."
Lupin's heart jumped. "Why would you want to help Professor Snape?"
"Because he rescued me from that horror! He was very kind to me that night in hospital. I doubt his guilt, and I have information that may help. Please, I'm sure that Miss Winthrop must be horribly upset at the moment, but what I know would help to ease her mind. I think I know how you can get Professor Snape out of Azkaban. We're wasting time just standing here. Please, give me a chance to tell you what I know."
Almost afraid to hope, Lupin stared into her eyes trying to judge her sincerity. The last thing Evangeline needed was someone raising her hopes only to dash them again. He couldn't stand the thought of anyone hurting her more than she'd already been hurt, but if this could help at all, could he possibly justify denying her the chance to find out about it? No. If this woman could really help Snape, they needed to know. Hoping it was the right thing to do, he made his decision. "Okay. Please, follow me, Minister. I'll take you to Evangeline."
He ushered her inside and closed the door. Then the two of them climbed the stairs and knocked on Evangeline's door.
Lupin opened the door at her word, and ushered Minister Eggleson into the room. Evangeline was still standing at the table by the fire, but it didn't look to Lupin as if she'd made much progress since he'd left.
She turned and looked at them in surprise. Minister Eggleson was momentarily afraid that Evangeline would think she was there somehow representing Fudge and the Ministry. However, Evangeline put her fears to rest by immediately stopping what she was doing, and coming across the room to take Minister Eggleson's hands in hers.
With a look of compassion on her face, Evangeline said, "Minister Eggleson! How are you feeling? Are you finding ways to cope with your horrible ordeal?"
Minister Eggleson smiled at Evangeline. "It's one day at a time, Miss Winthrop."
Evangeline nodded sadly. "I know. It's a terrible thing to overcome, but it can be done, as I know from personal experience. I was in the exact place you were, last Christmas. I know first hand about that table, and what Lucius Malfoy does to his female "guests"."
Minister Eggleson's jaw dropped in surprise. "You were held prisoner there? By that monster? Attacked by him? Why? How did you get away?"
Evangeline patted her arm and led her to a chair. "I got away the same way you did, Minister. Severus came and freed me." She blinked back tears and cleared her throat. "Now tell me. Why have you come to see me? How can I help you?"
Minister Eggleson took a deep breath. "Oh, no, it's I who want to help you. Actually, it's Professor Snape I wanted to come and see, to thank him for what he did for me. I appreciated it so much. What Fudge has done to him is wrong and cruel, and I want to help."
Evangeline frowned in confusion, not daring to hope. "Help? How can you help Severus?"
Minister Eggleson looked down at the floor for a moment, then back up into Evangeline's eyes. "Fudge is a very corrupt minister. He puts forth this jovial fatherly image to the public, but that's not the real Fudge. You saw the mask slip yesterday. When, after tearing Professor Snape out of your arms, he thrust your marriage license into your hands, and sneered that you wouldn't have any use for it now."
Evangeline nodded and swayed on her feet. Appalled to hear of this extra bit of cruelty by Fudge, Lupin came over to stand next to her and put his arm around her shoulders to steady her. She smiled gratefully at him then returned her attention to Minister Eggleson. "I know what a liar Fudge is Minister, but how can that help Severus?"
"Fudge has a compelling reason not to have the public believe in Voldemort's return. When Voldemort conducted his previous reign of terror, the ministry was a very upright place to work. Sometimes the ministers were a bit overzealous in accusing people, but no one was too overly corrupt. The public demanded honesty and safety, and for the most part, they got it. There were Aurors sniffing out evil and wrongdoing everywhere. Anyone breaking the rules was automatically associated with Voldemort and severely punished. Now, it's very much the opposite. Fudge has built a nasty little empire on kickbacks and blackmail. Too much public scrutiny could bring down his house of cards. Blaming your fiancé for what happened at Gringotts satisfies the public and takes the pressure off Fudge. Now there'll be no reason for anyone to look too closely at his administration. He can continue with business as usual. A return to the days when Aurors were constantly sniffing out corruption wouldn't suit Fudge at all."
Lupin stared at her appalled. "Can you prove any of this? Maybe we can kick Fudge out of office and clean things out."
Minister Eggleson shook her head. "The corruption goes very deep and includes many powerful people. You couldn't possibly clean it all up without ending up in Azkaban yourselves. Although you can't clean up the whole morass, you may be able to save Professor Snape by jumping into the sewer and swimming along."
Evangeline shook her head. "I don't understand."
"I have a friend, who's a secretary in the Finance Department. Fudge is pressuring her for sexual favors. When she was in her early twenties and new to her job, her boss at the time, Minister Jared Allensby, now deceased thank goodness, forced her to have sex with him or lose her job. She was young and scared, and she complied. He took pictures. Fudge has somehow obtained those photos. He's threatening to tell her family about it and fire her as well, if she won't go to bed with him. She's in her thirties now, with children, and a somewhat tired marriage, but she can't afford to lose her job or her husband. However, the idea of sex with Fudge sickens her. It was bad enough having to go through this nightmare once; she doesn't want to go through it again. She's agreed to let you watch and listen to her next meeting with Fudge. You could then threaten to expose Fudge, if he doesn't clear Professor Snape's name. In return, you must also obtain the photos of my friend and get an assurance that Fudge will leave her alone. Would you be willing to try this?"
Evangeline paced around the room, thinking hard. Then she shook her head. "Our word against Fudge's wouldn't help. We'd need to record the meeting somehow. I'm sure that Fudge would be smart enough to meet somewhere where Muggle recording devices wouldn't function."
Lupin frowned. "Then we need to use magical means, but photos and a Quick-Quotes Quill wouldn't be conclusive."
Evangeline snapped her fingers. "Yes, it would, Remus. If you prepare the parchment correctly, there's a potion that can be used after a Quick-Quotes Quill has been used to record a conversation. It essentially animates the words and allows you to hear an exact repetition of what was said, just like a Muggle tape recording."
Lupin smiled. "Can you make this potion, Evangeline?"
"I think so. The recipe is in a book that I keep at my shop in Diagon Alley. Someone would need to get it for me." She paused and turned back to Minister Eggleson. "When is your friend going to meet with Fudge again?"
"Fudge has had many other things to be concerned with lately, so he hasn't pressured my friend as much. They're to meet and discuss things tomorrow night, after work, in the park next door to the Ministry building."
Evangeline nodded to herself as she turned things over in her mind. "Okay. Let us know the exact time and place of the meeting. We'll try this."
Minister Eggleson rose to her feet. "I'll be in touch. I really hope this works, Miss Winthrop, for your fiancé's sake and for my friend's, as well. You'll hear from me soon."
Evangeline embraced her and walked her to the door. "Thank you. You've given me hope, Minister."
"I'll keep my fingers crossed for luck. I can find my own way out of the castle. Good day, Miss Winthrop, Professor Lupin." With a nod of her head, Minister Eggleson left the room.