From the Daily Prophet of 22 June, 2000
Ministry shake up
Wizengamot reasserts power in surprise vote
By Cliotus Hearst
LONDON -- The message echoed through the corridors of the Ministry of Magic louder than the most powerful Reductor Curse. The seat of power now rests far deeper than the First Level.
Going against the wishes of Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, the Wizengamot overturned the murder sentence of the late Sirius Black in a surprise full session Wednesday. It was a purely symbolic act that could signify a fundamental change in the governance of Magical Britain.
"This is the best thing the Wizengamot has done in a bloody long time," said gleeful member Mundungus Fletcher.
He and the rest of Minister Fudge's opponents have every reason to be delighted. In a vote that many speculate was a test of support for the sitting government, the council's decision was overwhelming. The final count was 29-20 (with one abstention) to overturn Black's sentence, leaving little doubt Fudge's influence alone is no longer enough to run the country.
Minister Fudge has been widely criticized for a number of blunders in recent years, the most significant of which were: rejecting evidence of the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; targeting Albus Dumbledore by toying with the administration of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; and discounting the danger posed by the Death Eaters after the Dark Lord's fall. Even his vehement stance that Black was guilty of the 13 murders for which he was sent to Azkaban without trial in 1981 was questionable, considering the supposed hero of that tragic day, the purportedly fallen Peter Pettigrew, has since been found to be alive and in the service of the Dark Side.
Still, it was an unaccustomed defeat on an unprecedented scale for the Minister, who found himself casting a vote with the minority for the first time in almost five years. Until Wednesday, the Wizengamot had supported every position the Minister has taken since it overruled him in clearing Harry Potter of illegal underage use of magic in front of a Muggle in August of 1995.
"It's a huge victory for all of us who want to see the Ministry run the way it should be. We in the Wizengamot have let Minister Fudge get away with far too many ridiculous things in the past," said Fletcher, the administration's most outspoken critic. "This is the first step toward making sure that does not happen again."
The next steps might not be far off. With 29 or 30 votes, the opposition can dictate the legal course of Britain's magical community. Even Fudge is powerless to check the law-making power of the newly formed coalition if it maintains its current strength. But the Wizengamot's greatest power lies in its ability to reshape the Ministry of Magic. It takes only 26 votes to topple the government by declaring no confidence.
That fact was made imminently clear when Fletcher called for a confidence vote just minutes after Black's sentence was overturned. Though the motion was not seconded and no vote was held, Fletcher felt the Minister has received the intended message.
"I knew I was acting on my own, this time," the former Order of the Phoenix member said. "But it was bloody well time for someone to show that bumbling fool (Fudge) that he had best be careful. After today's result, we all know that the next confidence vote will be the end of this government."
Fudge supporter Dolores Umbridge was quick to dismiss the possibility of a change on the First Level, declaring, "The Wizengamot still supports Minister Fudge." However, that claim seems dubious after the Minister responded to Black's sentence being overturned by calling for the late millionaire to be tried for his alleged crimes. The motion was defeated 46-3.
Minister Fudge stormed from the chamber after the vote and did not answer questions, though his office did later release a statement on his behalf.
"While I disagree with today's vote, I respect the Wizengamot's authority to makes its own decisions," the Minister is quoted as saying in the statement. "I know the close relationship that has long existed between the council and my government will not be affected by this one minor disagreement."
If the relations between the First and Tenth Levels do continue to degrade, Harry Potter could be the one to benefit. The celebrated 19-year-old war hero has been widely tabbed as a likely replacement for Fudge. Potter enjoys widespread support in the Wizengamot, where Fletcher has said he and many of his fellow members would back the Boy Who Lived for Minister. Potter even has plenty of personal motivation to seek the Ministry's highest office after Fudge forced him to resign from the Auror Division last month.
Potter, who has announced plans to join the Puddlemere United Quidditch Club, would not comment on his future in government, though his agents did put something of a Quietus Charm on the speculation.
"Harry as Minister?" Fred Weasley asked with a chuckle. "Who makes up this stuff?"
"In all honesty, we don't know what Harry's political plans are," George Weasley added. "All we know is that he has expressed every intention of being in Puddlemere on the 1st of August."
Regardless of what sort of meaning it will have for his aspirations, Potter is sure to be pleased with the outcome of Wednesday's vote. Though the crimes for which Black was imprisoned all stemmed from the betrayal of Potter's parents, James and Lily, the Boy Who Lived has repeatedly asserted Black, his late godfather who escaped from Azkaban in 1993, was innocent of all charges. He reiterated that belief Wednesday in a letter sent to Wizengamot members and obtained by the Daily Prophet.
"I want to personally thank all of you for your efforts on behalf of my godfather, Sirius Black," Potter wrote. "Sirius was a good man, a brave man and a fine wizard. He is deeply missed by all of us who knew him for what he really was….
"To Sirius, a good name never meant as much as protecting the people he cared about. But that good name is something he deserved, and you have restored it to him. For that, I am deeply grateful. I only wish that Sirius could have been with us to enjoy this day and that he had not been forced to live the last 15 years of his life in disgrace when he did nothing wrong."
Also finding personal solace in the overturning of Black's sentence was his cousin, Wizengamot member Nymphadora Tonks. She sponsored the motion that cleared his name and chose to introduce it Wednesday, the fourth anniversary of Black's death in the opening battle of the recent war.
"It was the right time to do something," Tonks said as she fought to hold back tears after the motion's passage. "Sirius' soul has suffered long enough."
When asked if it is also the right time for the coalition she helped put together to take other legislative action, Tonks replied, "I don't want to talk about that," and stalked off, refusing further questions.
But now that Tonks and her allies have found themselves in a position of power, that is just the sort of question Britain's witches and wizards want to have answered.
"I want the truth, not 'no comments,'" said Rita Skeeter, 49, of London. "The people have a right to know what's happening at the Ministry."
For now, the truth will not be forthcoming, but what is clear is that one dead man's past could reshape the future of this nation's entire magical community. For the first time in years, the course of the government is being decided in the Wizengamot, not in Cornelius Fudge's office.
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Cliotus Hearst covers the Ministry of Magic for the Daily Prophet. Owl him at thedpreporting@yahoo.com
A/N: I really want to thank everyone who has reviewed. I know I haven't been very good about recognizing all of you, but I really do appreciate all the support. And I'll try to be better about updating, but no promises.