Disclaimer: Again this is a work of fiction. I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.
Chapter 1: The Argument
Rufus Scrimgeour POV
Rufus Scrimgeour was not a patient man. Nor a particularly kind or compassionate one. But he liked to think he was shrewd, analytical and possessed above average intelligence. And yet to hear Dumbledore you'd think he was speaking to a particularly recalcitrant child.
" So let me see if I understand you correctly Professor, you want me to implement safety measures as you see fit. Combat this catastrophe as you would have it done. Dismiss Dolores Umbridge for heinous crimes that none of your students reported, and you want me to do all of this on your say so, and without receiving anything in return." he clarified.
" Thats not what Im saying at all, I'm merely pointing ou-" said Dumbledore
" Oh well that's good news, you see there for a moment I thought that you were the actually the Minister for Magic rather than the Headmaster of Hogwarts. " Scrimgeour snapped. Dumbledore sighed with exasperation. " I'm merely pointing out that you are making the same mistakes as your predecessor " he said. " You mean not doing what you say, when exactly when you say it. It may have escaped your notice Professor, but I am no longer a student, and as such have no reason to simply do as I'm told. Though as people so constantly like to remind me, if you desired to be Minister for Magic you could easily do so and rid yourself of the headache of trying to control the Ministry from the sidelines." Scrimgeour replied. " As you well know I have no desire to be Minister, howev-" said Dumbledore
" Well then Im afraid you'll have to resign yourself to being the Headmaster of Hogwarts, which as you and your students went to such great lengths to prove last year, has nothing to do with politics." Shaking his head with frustration Dumbledore said " You always were such a terribly stubborn boy Rufus, even as a student you rebelled against any authority". Humph, the only authority I rebelled against was yours you old fart, God talking to him is like playing a game of riddles Scrimgeour thought. " Let me make something clear Dumbledore. If the point your trying to make is that Fudge was and idiot, who let his fear of the Dark Lord blind him to the danger I agree. If you think that his foolishness has caused people to think the Ministry completely inept. Again I completely agree. However I am not Fudge and don't intend to be. You see unlike Fudge I don't give a damn if you walk into the Wizengamot right now and demand to be made Minister. By all means the title is yours and I wish you the best. But if you want the power to fight this war as you see fit, then be honest about it. Don't hide behind your benevolent old man routine, and try to conjole me into doing what you want. That didn't work in school, it didn't work during the First War and it's certainly not going to work now" Scrimgeour sneered.
For the first time Dumbledore's eyes lost their twinkle. His body tensed with anger. Made you angry have I? Scrimgeour thought. His voice steely but soft Dumbledore replied " Very well, I had hoped to conduct this conversation in a civilized manner as allies, however if you insist on more archaic means"
" If by archaic you mean no nonsense and to the point, then yes". Continuing as if Scrimgeour had not spoke Dumbledore said " You know as well as I that when Voldemort rises again there will be a blood bath, a show of strength to frighten to public into submission. He murdered an entire family last time and displayed their bodies for all to see. This time he will be even more brutal. You must inform the public of everything you know." " And cause a massive panic? You think the whole world is made up of people like us. Who can remain calm in the face of adversity. The sad fact however is that the world is full of people like Fudge. If the general public knew everything that would descend into chaos. It would be just like before neighbors turning on each other, people constantly looking behind their backs, tense as a pack of gazelles waiting to be devoured. And thats how the Dark Lord liked it. When people are tense and afraid they do things they wouldn't normally do. Its the perfect environment to either gain new followers or frighten people into submission" Scrimgeour reasoned. " Yes but that doesn't justify lying to, the dementors will turn over to him, they won't be able to resist the temptation, and that means that Azkaban is not secure any longer " said Dumbledore. " And just where do you expect me to find the witches and wizards to guard Azkaban themselves. All the Ministry employees are being stretched thin as it is. And as for the lying to the public, thats rich coming from you. As I mentioned earlier, you seem to expect me to do precisely what you say without giving me any information in return. You know more about Voldemort than anyone, and yet you tell almost no one what you know. Yet you want me to trust what you say and that you know what you are doing. Forgive me, but I'm not prepared to risk the safety of everyone in Britain on the whim of an old man who overestimates himself"Scrimgeour said coldly. For a moment the room was silent. Dumbledores face had lost all of its previous gentleness. It was now replaced with nothing short anger and contempt. Rising from his chair he said" You fool Rufus. Your pride will be your downfall". " The same could be said of you Professor. I guess we'll just have to wait and see who's still alive when this is all over" said Scrimgeour. " The Dark Lord will seize control of the Ministry, and when he does you will not be spared." Dumbledore said with finality. " Perhaps, but then if theres one thing I learned from the last war is that the Dark Lord never does precisely what you expect him to. Before you crow too loudly Dumbledore, you better make sure that your plan, whatever it is, is fool proof. Because if it isn't, you may find your loyal followers as fickle as the rest of the world." Scrimgeour. Walking toward's the door with a sense of resignation, Dumbledore said " No matter what you may think of me, no matter what you may think of prophecy, Harry Potter is our greatest hope.". And with that Dumbledore was gone. That doesn't mean he is our only hope you old fool. Didn't he understand that by labeling the boy as the only hope, he will leave the world in something of a predicament if Harry Potter turns out to be no more threatening than the average 16 year old. Still the public seems to believe in him. It might be to my advantage to get him on my side. He might even be able to tell me something of Dumbledore's plans. Anything that might make this situation less ominous.
The next chapter will be from Dumbledore's point of view. Please review and tell me what you think.