Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

Harry Potter and the Puppet of Time

Chapter 14

Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic and the poor fool in charge of Magical Britain, measured a small quantity of calming draught into a glass as carefully as he could in light of his shaking hands. Diluting the potion with water from a pitcher, he downed the mixture in one go. Then he waited. A few moments later he felt it taking effect and the shaking of his hands finally stopped. He would have dearly loved to drink himself into a stupor, but he needed a clear head for the cabinet meeting later so diluted calming draught it was. If things continued this way he would need a bigger supply.

The problems just kept coming. If he had known the exact state of Magical Britain beforehand he would never have become Minister and remained Head of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes or better, sell everything and find a nice, quiet island resort to live out his days. When his administration finally seemed to get the debt problem and most of those incompetent leftovers from Minister Bagnold's reign under control something even more disastrous popped up.

At first it had been the dementors. Contrary to public perception the Ministry didn't have any actual means to control them; they had only a rather shaky agreement. They would generally obey the Ministry and remain at Azkaban unless specifically called as long as they were provided with enough prisoners to feed on their emotions. The problem had come about when the new crime prevention measures introduced by him and Amelia proved far too effective. While less crime was very welcome they didn't count on the consequences. When the number of prisoners in Azkaban fell too far the dementors had become unruly and threatened to swarm all over the country. The death toll among wizards and muggles alike would be staggering. Of course, there existed several anti-dementor measures, but they were not particularly effective on a large scale. In the same vein they couldn't destroy dementors without the beasts noticing it and breaking the truce. In contrast to what most people believed it was possible to destroy a dementor, just very, very difficult and the time- and magic-intensive secret method discovered by the Department of Mysteries didn't work on groups.

Cornelius and other high Ministry officials had taken to using dementors as bodyguards, allowing the monsters to feed at least somewhat from passerby without affecting any single person unduly. It was still highly unpleasant to have them around even without them spreading their aura. Unfortunately it was still not enough; they needed more people in Azkaban. Since they couldn't simply grab random innocents from the street that had forced them to throw every petty offender in there on the most tenuous grounds they could find. As long as they didn't stay there too long no permanent harm was done. Of course, it wasn't a permanent solution, but it staved off an imminent revolt. If the public ever learned of that they would have riots in the streets and his head on a pike, but he truly saw no other solution.

The Hogwarts gamekeeper had been such a case. It wasn't as if the man was innocent. He had a list of infractions against various laws (mainly the illegal keeping and breeding of various creatures) a mile long. The only reason he had not been tried and thrown into prison a long time ago was Dumbledore holding his hand over him. Making it look like the Ministry was doing something about that Heir of Slytherin business was a very welcome bonus. It wasn't as if they could do anything really productive with Dumbledore hell-bent on keeping the Ministry out of Hogwarts.

After the Hogwarts business was sorted out (he still didn't know how exactly that had happened) he had hoped for a time of relative peace. Then the Malfoy murder occurred. Oh, he and his administration had been able to profit from it somewhat, but the murder of a prominent pureblood lord reminded everyone uncomfortably of the last war.

Even worse, Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban and they were unable to find him. There was no telling what such a Dark Wizard would do. He was a clear threat to their society. Would he try to set himself up as a new Dark Lord or simply continue You-know-who's work?

Cornelius felt his hands beginning to shake again. 'Calm down, calm down. He's gone and won't ever return. I worked so hard to build a better world.'

He didn't want to remember some of the events of the last war, but the presence of the dementors dragged it to the forefront again and again. Almost every night after he had used a dementor he dreamed about them. One of the worst memories was of the day he had come home late only to find his Imperius-controlled wife over the dead bodies of their children as well as his brother's family. Once the Imperius had broken his wife had killed herself, not being able to live with the actions she had performed while under the spell.

Almost as bad was the memory of his own time under the Imperius. It had happened towards the end of the war and lasted only a few days, but the helplessness had been unbearable. He had been strong enough to remain conscious of what he was doing, but not strong enough to resist. Thankfully he had not been ordered to perform any despicable acts (or really anything at all) and once You-know-who had vanished the spell ended. He wasn't sure what he would have done otherwise.

Another bad memory was the scene of Black's crime. A few hit wizards had already arrived before Cornelius, but he still had been one of the first on the scene. He would never forget Black's maniac laugh, the crater in the street and all those injured muggles. Some of them had been completely torn apart by the blast, their grisly remains spread all over the crater. Poor Peter Pettigrew had been at the center of the explosion. All they managed to find was a finger and even that they had only been able to identify because of a ring. The other remains were just too badly mangled and mashed together. Black didn't kill the man, he destroyed him. It was one of the most vicious things Cornelius had ever seen. Cornelius had done what he could, but he wasn't a healer and more than one muggle had died while he desperately tried to keep them alive.

Black was a threat to everyone. Cornelius had even informed the muggle authorities so that they could help in the hunt. Normally he preferred to keep up the separation and to not involve muggles at all. It was better for everyone if the people stayed in the world where they belonged.

'Young Harry really couldn't have picked a worse time to run from home.'

That had come as an unwelcome surprise. Cornelius had worked late in the Ministry when Dumbledore alerted them to the nature of the emergency. Cornelius had accompanied the response team to the Dursley residence and talked to the family. There had been some sort of confrontation and everyone had been pretty angry, but Cornelius thought he had been able to smooth things over.

'Harry's getting to that awkward age, testing his boundaries and getting into trouble with his family.'

Cornelius was pretty sure the minor shattering hex the trace had reported earlier this summer had been Harry showing off. It had been a stroke of luck that Cornelius had met Harry in front of the Leaky Cauldron. He had just visited there on his way home and asked the barkeep Tom to keep his eyes open for Harry (and get a small nightcap). This morning he had arranged for someone to pick Harry up when it was time for the Hogwarts Express. If Harry did stumble upon Black… it didn't bear thinking about. It was better Harry didn't learn in what danger he had been and still was; that would give the poor lad only nightmares. Cornelius had already decided it was better that Harry didn't return to his family this summer. Time was needed to let tempers cool. In little more than two weeks he would leave for Hogwarts anyways. Cornelius was sure that after some time the Dursleys would welcome Harry back. They were his family, after all, and family stuck together. He was a bit worried about Harry blowing up his aunt, though. Accidental magic at that age was very unusual; it normally ceased completely when a child visited Hogwarts and learned to use a wand. It pointed to some sort of mental instability. Well, sometimes a family gathering could lead to pretty heated words if some people didn't get along. The entire incident had been removed from the records; accidental magic wasn't illegal, after all.

'I wonder why Dumbledore was so insistent for Harry to return to his relatives immediately. That would have only fanned the tempers.'

It wasn't the only thing about the Chief Warlock that Cornelius wondered about. There was just no reason he could think of that Dumbledore had kept the Ministry out of Hogwarts during the last year. The old wizard's strange behavior only added to his worries. He knew very well that the old man could easily become Minister at any time he wished. On the one hand Dumbledore always said he didn't want power. On the other hand he was always interfering in everything. It was bloody frustrating.

In the past Cornelius had generally listened to Dumbledore. That had slowly changed since he became Minister. Others had begun giving him good advice, Lucius Malfoy chief among them. Lucius' advice usually worked… Dumbledore's often didn't. The only possible conclusion was that Dumbledore was setting him up to fail. Cornelius wasn't sure about that, of course, but the nagging feeling had grown over the last years. Information he wished to keep secret always found its way to Dumbledore… somehow.

'No sense thinking about that now. I have to go to the meeting.' he thought after a look to the clock.

Most of the meeting was business as usual. Every employee had been asked to keep his eyes open for Black and help in the search if possible, but so far nothing had come of it. Soon the main meeting came to an end and only his most trusted subordinates like Dolores Umbridge and those whose political support he needed like Amelia Bones remained. Then the dementors became the topic of the discussion.

"We have to do something, Minister. The Azkaban guards are close to going out of control. Black's escape has made them even angrier. I don't know how long we will be able to hold them. Either we give them a large enough population to feed on or they will find prey on their own." the Chief Warden of Azkaban declared.

Cornelius had to keep himself from making a grimace. He now wished he had not made that little power play with Amelia after the Malfoy murder. Increasing the number of departments directly under his control had seemed a good idea at the time, but he should have known that Amelia was too crafty to fall for that. She had given him the one department that was nothing but trouble. He really should have been more specific. Worse, the change had been sufficiently long ago that he couldn't even lay some blame about Black's escape at her feet.

"Then we will have to implement the emergency plan. Amelia?" Dolores said.

The grey-haired witch looked like she had bitten into something sour. "I still don't like it, but it seems as if we don't have any choice left. You have my backing."

"The Hogwarts wards should keep the dementors out of the school grounds unless someone specifically orders otherwise." Stephenson from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures replied. "There isn't any danger for the students and the dementors' aura is attenuated enough by the distance. Some effects will persist, but they should be very mild."

Cornelius nodded. "They will feed on the emanated emotions enough to be appeased. Besides, they will guard Hogwarts against Black, freeing personnel for the search. This way we kill two birds with one stone."

The decision was unanimous in the end, although no one liked it. There was simply no other choice. Hogwarts was the only location in Britain they could use. Cornelius wasn't happy about the children being exposed to dementors even at a distance, but they should be safe enough. The nearby town of Hogsmeade would be protected by another ward. Enough people to keep the dementors happy, but no muggle population that would be endangered. It wouldn't do to give them enough prey to breed.

Something was on the back of Cornelius' mind when he headed back to his office. Then it hit him. Amelia and Dolores had behaved differently. The two witches had never gotten along that well, but something had changed. He didn't know what to make of that development. Their disagreements had been a major source of friction in his administration. He sometimes was worried that Amelia might hold ambitions for his job, but he was sure of Dolores' loyalty.

'I will have to wait and see.'

Draco felt like there were some butterflies caught in his stomach when Daphne laughed at the tale of how his sister had shot a royal stag right under the nose of the Russian equivalent of the Minister of Magic a few weeks ago just when the man was about to place his own shot. The man (who was an avid hunter) had taken it in good humor. He had asked Daphne at the end of the Ministry Ball if she wanted to become his girlfriend. Daphne had accepted, but they were both a bit unsure of how to proceed. At least their families had stayed out of it until now.

"Your sister really did that?" Daphne asked.

He nodded. "You know how Aquila gets. If there is something she wants dead the prey has better to make its will. It will be dead soon at her hands come fire or high water. How about you? Did you have fun on your vacation in Germany?"

"It was great. Grandmother's three brothers are very funny. My cousins are a mixed bag, though. Anyway, we visited some interesting historical sites. I even got to take a look at Nurmengard."

They continued chatting about their respective vacations, walking slowly across the extensive Malfoy grounds surrounding the manor. Both had spent the last two weeks outside of Britain, visiting various (sometimes quite distant) relatives in the different European countries. Most of the old families had family relations in every country, forming a complicated web of relations. Puzzling out just how closely related you were to someone was an amusing pastime for many people.

"How closely are you related to the Russian Blacks? I still haven't figured that one out." Daphne asked.

Draco thought for a moment. "I think the last blood connection is about six or seven generations back. It was before the time of Phineas Black, but the two lines kept in contact. Aunt Cassiopeia and Great-grandfather Pollux did the most, but once they made the introduction Grandfather took up correspondence, too. I mainly write to Cousin Boris; he's two years older than me and goes to Durmstrang. From what he writes I think Hogwarts is much better in Transfiguration and Herbology, but worse in some other classes. Their Headmaster Karkaroff holds his position mainly due to blackmail and bribes; most of the teachers he picked aren't that good."

"So it's the same as dear old Hogwarts what with our batty teachers." Daphne concluded. For a while they lapsed into silence, just slowly walking across the grounds. Their route would take them back to the manor in about ten minutes.

"Kevin won't be returning to Hogwarts." Daphne suddenly remarked.

Draco nodded. "Yeah, I got a letter from him, too. He took the offer from Morag's family and changed schools."

Daphne sighed. "I guess it was the best decision he could make under the circumstances. I wonder who Stephen will now talk to about Quidditch."

"There will always be enough people for that. You know how most people are about Quidditch."

His girlfriend snorted. "Oh yes. When I visited Diagon Alley yesterday there was a whole crowd of people gathering around Quality Quidditch Supplies, all staring at the new Firebolt. That thing has all sorts of features no one really needs."

Draco refrained from commenting. He really liked flying (his dislike for Quidditch notwithstanding), but even he had to admit the broom was somewhat over-engineered. Well, the professionals would probably like it and the fans would drool over it.

He was about to make a comment when something tugged at his robe. Looking down, he spotted the Monster Book of Monsters trying to hide behind his legs. Two crossbow quarrels were stuck in the cover and the book seemed to be shaking in fear.

The blond boy raised an eyebrow. "Oh, that's how it is. Now you come back to me for help? I warned you what would happen if you tried to bite off my fingers."

Somehow the book managed to look contrite. Draco wondered whose bright idea it had been to enchant the things to act like aggressive beasts. There was no doubt who had added them to the book list. Just as Draco had expected the Hogwarts gamekeeper Hagrid had taken over Care of Magical Creatures. The oaf probably thought them funny.

After a few seconds Draco addressed the book again. "I forgive you… this time. Give me any trouble ever again and I will let my sister hunt you down without mercy. Are we clear?"

The book seemed to hesitate for a moment; then it gave the impression of resigned agreement.

"Good. Stay in my room. No damaging any of my possessions or terrorizing the house elves, understood?" When it appeared as if the book understood Draco called for a house elf to take it away.

"That was surreal. I had to beat my book into submission with a poker." Daphne remarked when they were alone again.

Draco smiled and shrugged. "You just have to know the right person for the job."

Daphne gave him a smirk of her own. "And you do always know the right one?"

"I try."

"Then, say, who would be the right person to hold hands with me?"

Draco felt his heartbeat speeding up when he took Daphne's hand into his own. The memories he had received might show him how it was done, but doing it himself was a different thing altogether.

Ginny felt a bit frustrated. They would return to Britain tomorrow and she still had not found the opportunity to speak with her oldest brother Bill in private. There was always someone else around. Charlie she had been able to corner near the beginning of the vacation, but it had been a bust. Her second eldest brother had immediately begun to sing Dumbledore's praise and how he was eternally thankful how the headmaster had smoothed the way for his work at the dragon reserve in Romania. Ginny didn't bother to bring up more sensitive topics after that.

The sought after opportunity finally came when her parents had retired for the evening, Ron had gone off with Charlie, Percy was in his room polishing the Headboy badge he had received and the twins had snuck out to somewhere. "Hey Bill, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Ginny. What do you want to know?"

Ginny made sure to put no small amount of hero worship into her voice. "Last year Headmaster Dumbledore visited me in the infirmary. He was so nice. Can you tell me more about him? You were head boy, after all, and I thought…"

Bill smiled. "Of course. He's a really wise and powerful wizard. Did you know it was the headmaster who brought me into contact with Gringotts? There are always a lot of applicants, but the goblins are very choosy. Without him I would have never been able to work as a curse breaker. In my seventh year I attended some of his lectures. He even invited me for some conversation outside of my duties as head boy…"

Ginny wasn't really listening anymore and soon retired to her room. Dumbledore owned her family lock, stock and barrel. She understood the concept of quid pro quo; both Aquila and Draco had mentioned that often enough (and the differences to a genuine friendship). What her family had with Dumbledore was different. They honestly believed the headmaster was doing all that out of the goodness of his heart. He was seen as a wise friend whose advice was to be followed without question.

It was sickening. Ginny had seen Dumbledore's true face. The man was evil and completely without regard for the safety of the school – and there was nothing she could do about it. She hated that feeling of helplessness.

Maybe her family would trust her word above Dumbledore's. Maybe. Then she shook her head. No, she couldn't stake everything on a 'maybe'. She would keep her head down and stay close to Draco and Aquila. Or Hermione and Neville, now that she was friends with them. Thanks to the blasted diary she had pretty much missed the formation period of the cliques and wasn't close to anyone in Gryffindor in her year.

Ginny shook her head in bemusement. The talks with Hermione had opened her eyes to an outside perspective of her family from someone who didn't have any preconceived notions like the Malfoys. It wasn't really flattering. Percy was seen as a pompous jerk (and he had been the one Hermione liked best), Ron was a lazy buffoon who leeched of the work of others and the twins were bullies. The last one had come as a surprise to her. They were pranksters, yes, but she had not seen that as anything bad. Ginny supposed it was far less funny if you belonged to the victims. Fred and George could be the best of friends, but they didn't really know the meaning of restraint. Ginny had already talked with the twins to ease off on her new friend. Ron just had to find a new source of help.

'I really hope the next year will be better than the last one.'

Draco frowned mentally. There was no trace of Remus Lupin on the Hogwarts Express. The appointment of the Defense Professor had been a last minute thing and he had been unable to learn the professor's identity. That was potentially very bad. He knew from the memories of the other Draco that dementors had invaded the Hogwarts Express this year. It might happen again this time around. Combined with the fact that the soul fragment in Harry's scar made him first-class dementor bait Draco had a problem. Harry getting his soul sucked out was unacceptable.

He could already manage an incorporeal Patronus charm, but that might attract more attention than he was comfortable with. Several other methods came to mind. Unfortunately they would raise even more questions. The only solution was intercepting Harry and taking a compartment near sixth or better seventh year students who might know the Patronus. Taking careful note of who entered the train where, Draco waited patiently. Daphne and Morag had arrived together with him, but they had gone off to somewhere with Aquila and the Carrow twins.

The train was already more than half-full when Harry appeared on the platform accompanied by an official-looking man.

"Hey Harry, over here!" Draco shouted.

For a moment Harry looked around, but then he spotted Draco. Leaving his escort behind, he boarded the train. After a greeting the two boys settled into the compartment Draco had picked. The one to the right was occupied by the head girl Penelope Clearwater and several other seventh years. Draco had seen her practicing the Patronus charm in preparation for a Charms Mastery at the end of last year. To the other side were a mixed group of sixth years. All in all it was probably the safest location he could find on the train.

Due to Dumbledore's manipulations Draco had been forced to cut down on the contact with Harry, but they still talked occasionally. Draco used the opportunity to catch up. His occlumency had improved since first year and he thought he could risk closer contact with Harry again.

Before long Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot and Justin Finch-Fletchley joined them. It was a repeat of his first Hogwarts ride two years ago.

"… and I stayed the last weeks in the Leaky Cauldron; it was great." Harry concluded the tale of his summer.

Draco listened only with half an ear when the others told of their summers. None of them thought anything of Harry staying in the Leaky Cauldron. He had sent them owls, but the others had not thought of inviting him to their homes. It was strange to say the least and pointed towards mental influence.

Hours passed by as the train steadily got closer to its destination. It began raining and the world outside changed to a dull, dark grey that grew steadily darker as the day passed. Occasionally other people would enter their compartment for a quick chat, but overall nothing of note happened. That was until the train began to slow down.

"We can't be there yet, can we?" Justin asked.

Hannah looked curious. "You're right. So why are we stopping?"

Draco remained still when the others approached the door to get a look outside. Using the opportunity the turned backs offered, he silently cast a rather obscure spell at Harry. It would make him feel sick for an hour at most… and give Draco a reason to get a prefect into their compartment.

"Guys, I don't feel so well." a suddenly pale Harry exclaimed before he lost his balance and fell against a seat.

Susan was immediately by his side. "Harry, what's wrong?"

The black-haired boy was now sweating profusely and looked even worse than mere moments ago.

Draco frowned. "That looks bad. I get a prefect."

Without waiting for an answer he hurriedly left the compartment. All along the carriage students were sticking their heads curiously out of the doors. The compartment door next to them was still closed. Draco had to knock several times until finally Penelope Clearwater opened up. Her long curly hair was looking somewhat mussed. Apparently he had interrupted something.

"Yes Draco, how can I help you?" Penelope asked in an annoyed voice.

"We need help, Harry suddenly grew very sick. He's in the next compartment."

Penelope's expression lost the annoyance immediately. "I'm coming." When she opened the door completely Percy Weasley became visible, his hair equally mussed and traces of lipstick on his face.

Draco had to suppress a smirk when he led the pair back to his compartment. That had been easy. The girl had always been dutiful during the last two years. Draco knew her well enough as one of the Ravenclaw prefects. Harry had been placed on the bench during the time Draco was gone and looked just like when he had left.

"That doesn't look good. What-…" Penelope asked just when the train came to a sudden halt. A moment later all the lights went out, plunging them into near total darkness.

Before any sort of chaos could erupt Draco raised his wand. "Lumos!"

A ball of light appeared at the tip of his wand, illuminating the compartment. Draco made sure to move away from the closed door and take a seat at the window.

"Thank you, Draco. Percy, could you help me here? You others, please give us some room."

For more than a minute nothing else happened, although several people could be heard moving in the corridor. Percy and Penelope had no luck in figuring out what was wrong with Harry, not that Draco had expected anything else. The spell was almost unknown and left practically no traces. Flitwick, Pomfrey or Dumbledore would probably have been able to figure it out after an in-depth examination, but by then the spell would have faded completely.

The sounds stilled as everyone settled back down. Two minutes passed. Then the door slowly slid open. In the doorway stood a cloaked, towering figure. It was a dementor. Suddenly it drew a long, slow, rattling breath. A wave of intense cold swept over them as the dementor spread its aura. Harry let out an unidentifiable sound before he started twitching and lost consciousness.

"Get away from us! Sirius Black isn't here! " Penelope shouted, but the dementor drifted even closer.

Draco needed his full concentration to prevent some of the worst memories of the other future being dragged to the forefront of his mind. His skill in occlumency certainly helped, but it was still an exceedingly unpleasant experience.

Apparently Penelope had enough. "Go away! Expecto Patronum!"

Silvery vapor emerged from her wand, driving the dementor back outside the compartment. It seemed to contemplate them for a few moments before it turned around and glided away.

Penelope waited almost ten seconds before she ended the spell. "That was unexpected. Are you alright?"

Draco and the other answered positively. "Harry seems to have lost consciousness."

Percy stroked his chin. "If he was already ill the dementor affected him probably more than normal. Do you have any chocolate? It helps with the aftereffects. Any sweet will do, but chocolate is especially effective. Penelope, I have to make sure the other students are okay."

Once Percy had left Draco removed a bag of his summer candies from his trunk and distributed it among the occupants of the compartment. As soon as Draco put it into his mouth warmth spread through his body, driving the dementor's icy coldness away.

"These are very good. Where did you get them, Draco?" Penelope asked.

"This summer I was traveling all over Europe. I brought them with me from home." That answer was completely true and sufficiently misleading at the same time. Dumbledore would recognize the alchemical nature of the candies, but as long as he didn't think Draco was the creator everything would be fine.

It did take several minutes for the lights to come back on and the train to continue its journey. Harry waking up took even longer. Draco stayed only long enough to exchange a few words with Harry. The boy had heard screaming and was still badly shaking, but one of the summer candies helped enormously. Then Draco searched for his sister and girlfriend. To his relief nothing had happened to the two; they didn't even notice that a dementor had boarded the train. The rest of the journey was completely uneventful.

Icy sheets of rain were falling from the dark sky when they finally disembarked at Hogsmeade station. Swept up in the crowd, Draco lost sight of his friends. At least a hundred stagecoaches were waiting for the students. It didn't look like the thestrals pulling them were bothered by the rain in the slightest. It was funny in a way that most people didn't know about the Hogwarts thestral herd. They were only visible to people who had seen death. Draco had always been able to see them, either due to the memories he had received from his other self or the fatal hunting accident he had witnessed at age eight. He ended up sharing a coach with several older Slytherins who didn't bother him after a perfunctory greeting. Draco inched away from the windows when the carriage approached Hogwarts' gates. Two dementors were standing guard and he could feel their aura when the coach passed them.

'They are feeding. I hope there will be no accidents with them.'

Under normal circumstances the Hogwarts wards should prevent them from entering the grounds, but Draco wasn't feeling especially confident about that. Those wards weren't foolproof and if the dementors were determined enough they could resist them. He really didn't fancy his soul getting sucked out.

A short time later Draco was settled in his customary place at the Ravenclaw table and observed the sorting. Harry and Susan had been called away by Professor Sprout as soon as they entered the hall. Draco supposed they were seeing Madam Pomfrey; both of them had been strongly affected by the dementor and Harry was still suffering from the aftereffects of the spell Draco had cast on him. He was feeling a little bad about that, but it was an acceptable price for his safety.

Just after the sorting ended the two Hufflepuffs arrived in the hall. Professor Sprout and Madame Pomfrey took their seats at the staff table. Then Dumbledore made his speech, warning the students about the dementors and introducing two new additions to the staff. Hagrid becoming a professor was no surprise even if Draco knew he didn't fulfill the requirements for the position. He really didn't look forward to the class although he didn't plan on repeating his other self's stunt with a hippogriff. That had been an act of extreme stupidity. The new Defense teacher wasn't Lupin, though.

'I suppose Grandfather's murder and the subsequent werewolf legislation changed things.'

Instead of Lupin a middle-aged witch named Emmeline Vance was introduced as the new professor. Draco knew she belonged to Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix since the last war, but not much else. He would have to wait and see how things developed.

Amelia Bones took a calming sip of tea, giving no outward sign of her inner turmoil. She couldn't afford to show weakness in view of her guest. "It seems our control about the dementors is already weaker than we thought. The dementors stopping the train was not planned. Nor was one of them actually boarding it."

Dolores Umbridge nodded, a concerned expression on her face. "Yes, that was a most unpleasant surprise. Fortunately everyone seems to believe our story that it was a planned search. It would make the Ministry look very bad if the truth got out."

"That is true." Amelia didn't want to dwell on what could have happened to her niece or any of the other children. The danger had passed and there was no sense in fretting over the past. She changed the topic. "Dumbledore managed to find a new Defense instructor at last."

"Emmeline Vance, yes. Can you imagine he wanted to employ that pet werewolf of his at school? It makes me shudder. I still think I should have gone to Hogwarts to examine things myself. We could have re-introduced the office of high inquisitor."

Amelia took another sip of tea, considering her answer. "I admit installing you as a teacher might have given us new insights, but the risk was too high. If my suspicions about Dumbledore are correct he might have cornered you alone somewhere and broken into your mind. For all his failures the man is probably the most powerful wizard alive in Britain."

Several other reasons went unspoken. Dolores Umbridge was many things: a powerful witch, the feared Senior Undersecretary, the Minister's right hand and other things. She kept the Minister's Office running like a well-oiled machine. In contrast to many others she actually got things done. A person able to deal with hordes of children she was not. Considering Amelia's own difficulties in that area she recognized that Dolores would do even worse. She ruled her subordinates with an iron fist and tolerated no back talk. It made her extraordinarily efficient in her position, but completely unsuited as a teacher. Children were often deliberately contrary. The brats at Hogwarts would drive her mad in short order, things would escalate until finally everything exploded in an unholy mess. Considering that all the other teachers were loyal to Dumbledore there would be a lot of subtle sabotage and indirect disobedience, too. All they had to do was encouraging some 'pranks' and covering for the students.

"Besides, we still need you at the Ministry, Dolores. Did you make any progress on the leads I was able to give you?"

The squat, toad-like woman scowled. "Yes, and you were right. Dawlish is slipping Dumbledore information, the dirty little traitor. As the trusted head of the Minister's bodyguard detail he can easily get access to everything. I would never have suspected him. It seems the old man has his people everywhere. Furthermore, I found some inconsistencies regarding to Potter in the records, but I haven't been able to investigate them properly yet."

Amelia allowed herself to smile slightly. "It is as I told you. Dumbledore plays a very dangerous game."

After several more minutes of talk Dolores took her leave. Amelia breathed immediately in relief. She hated that woman. Above all else Amelia believed in the rule of law (not necessarily fair laws, mind you) as an ideal, although she was pragmatic enough to make a lot of allowances in this imperfect world. Dolores' only motivation was power and by extension the Ministry's. At the moment she was completely loyal to Cornelius Fudge, but should the man ever get into trouble she would stick a knife into his back without a moment's hesitation.

In short Dolores was an amoral, prejudiced, evil bitch, but she was an evil Amelia could work with if she absolutely had to. In light of the information provided by the late Abraxas Malfoy and her own discoveries she had to swallow the bitter pill and develop their working relationship into a genuine alliance. Despite everything the woman had several things going for her: Firstly, she was not a (suspected) Death Eater or (alleged) Imperius-victim. Secondly, she absolutely loathed Dumbledore. Thirdly, she was uniquely placed to influencing Cornelius and following several leads Amelia couldn't without drawing too much attention.

She had to be very careful what information she gave Dolores, though. It had to be just enough for Dolores to see a threat to her powerbase, but not so much as for Dolores to act prematurely against Dumbledore. That would backfire badly. Amelia had not even mentioned anything about You-know-who; that would have to wait. No, they had to carefully evaluate which people they could trust, find proof of Dumbledore's misdeeds and wait for the opportunity to strike.

Unfortunately Dolores would probably gain a lot of additional influence in the process. Amelia only hoped it would be worth it in the end.

'Maybe I should look a little deeper into Black's case and see if I can find some dirt. He was part of Dumbledore's order, after all.'

Author's notes: Thanks for all the reviews.

The dementor feeding crisis is my explanation for Fudge's eagerness to throw people into Azkaban, use dementors as bodyguards and let them guard the school. The Minister isn't a complete idiot here. Umbridge is still evil, but sometimes evil can be used for better goals.

So long.