𝕸𝖔𝖓𝖔𝖈𝖍𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖊
Act II - The Warlock of Hogwarts
Interlude -3: Subter-Fudge
"Sixty-seven points, Dolores! Sixty-seven! At this rate I might as well just resign tomorrow itself!"
Cornelius sagged down on his chair, his restless hands barely managing to stay on the table before him. Ever since the blasted night of the Triwizard, things had been on a downward spiral for him. Death of over half of Lucius's faction, an absolute PR nightmare in front of a global audience and if that wasn't enough, Potter's well-crafted fear-mongering attempt about the return of the dead Dark Lord You-Know-Who. If not for his good friend Lucius's well-intentioned advice, he'd probably have drowned in the trial. Who knew that Sirius Black would prove to be such a troublesome sonofabitch, actually bringing in Joshua fucking Greengrass? Cornelius still didn't know exactly why the Greengrass family decided to poke their nose in Harry Potter's trial, but they were the fulcrum upon which the trial shifted, changing from a decisive defeat for Potter into an overwhelming victory.
Again, thanks to his good friend Lucius's well-timed involvement, Cornelius had gotten a breath of fresh air, despite the shortcomings of his Senior Undersecretary's pedigree. And now again, the tables had turned, because his stupidly overconfident undersecretary had failed to account for the deviousness of that insolent Potter brat.
Not being particularly competent himself, and more importantly, knowing that he wasn't particularly competent, Cornelius had only gotten to where he was because he was particularly good at recognising those that were actually competent and boot licking them.
"Minister, I mean, Cornelius," said Dolores. "I think you're being a little too paranoid."
"Oh, I'm being paranoid, am I?" demanded Fudge. "You're not the one that lost sixty-seven points on the Ministry Popularity Index, Dolores. I received over a hundred howlers yesterday. A hundred. Heads of office, Ministry employees, Wizengamot members, businessmen, reporters — everyone and his mother wants a piece of me, and all of them have one single damned thing to complain about."
His maniacal eyes rested on her face. "Care to guess what that is?"
Dolores at least had the decency to look away.
"The job was to find exactly how deep Dumbledore's plans went. We both knew that Potter was a stooge. He's just a boy, marching to the old coot's commands. I gave you all the power you needed, made you the Defence Professor, and you even have Lucius's son and his friends to support you. You were supposed to isolate Potter and push him against the wall, making him resent being on Dumbledore's side so much that he chose to become a Ministry witness against the man. You were not supposed to make the Hogwarts students rise in mutiny against you!"
Dolores flinched.
"I have a meeting with the Hogwarts Board of Governors. Lucius had coaxed them into getting Clause 159 in place, and now they're facing the flak from everyone. Students from all years in mutiny against a teacher? It's an outrage. I'm certain that bumbling old fool is trying to get his hands on an alternative to fill your shoes right now."
"WELL?" He barked, her growing silence irking him more with every passing second.
"I — I don't know what you want me to say, Minister," said Dolores in a small but firm tone. "I did everything you and Mr. Malfoy asked me to. I did not ask you to change the OWL Syllabi. I did not ask you to make me the Defence professor, or the High Inquisitor for that matter. You chose to do those things for me at your own leisure without my input, because it benefited your agenda. I'm only a lowly Under Secretary doing her job, and my job is to ensure that my employer is happy with the services I provide him, not question his commands."
That shut Cornelius up.
Dolores put her hands on the desk and frowned. "I have done my best to analyse Potter over the last two months, Minister. And despite my aggression, he is stuck to his statement without fail. I will admit that he is sly enough to not spread his lies directly, but seeing his confidence in his words does make one reconsider things."
Cornelius felt an uneasiness trickle down his chest. "Dolores…"
"I have no doubt that Albus Dumbledore is behind all of this, but I think we've been wrong in assessing Harry Potter. He isn't Dumbledore's stooge. He firmly believes that… that You-Know-Who is back. I do not know if that is because of compulsions, or worse, the Imperius, but he definitely believes it with all his heart. Just like he has this misconception that Mr. Malfoy is actually a Death Eater."
"Preposterous!" Cornelius bellowed. "Lucius was proven to be innocent! He was under the Imperius curse!"
"Which is exactly what I think is happening here, Minister," said Dolores. "Like Mr. Malfoy, the Potter boy is a famous individual. A… celebrity. I do not know what insidious magic Albus Dumbledore has cast on him, but Potter is fighting for himself. He's thinking for himself, and not just acting as the old man's puppet. That is what we did not plan for."
"Do not try to pass the blame on—"
"Hem!" Dolores interrupted him. "I'm not passing blame here, Minister. Feel free to remove me from the post if you must, but it won't help. This fiasco, it's not because of Dumbledore, and it's certainly not because I didn't do this job properly. You think the students are acting out because I taught them nothing, but you're wrong."
"A hundred howlers say otherwise," Cornelius snapped.
"Those howlers don't have the full picture, Minister," she simpered. "Potter first made a grand, sweeping statement by rejecting the Ministry's aims and the Ministry mandated textbook. I thought he was throwing a tantrum, so when Mr. Malfoy's son protested against that, I let him take charge. I believed that young Draco and his friends would bring Potter to his knees."
She paused and exhaled. "That did not happen. Potter proved himself… proficient enough to take them all down. All those rumours about him being privately trained by Albus Dumbledore, turns out they were right. His staying with his muggle relatives is a complete hoax, allowing him to maintain his cover while Albus Dumbledore trained him over the years. We thought that Dumbledore was finally off his rocker and acting out irrationally because you had stepped out of his shadow, but we were wrong, Minister. We couldn't have been more wrong."
The icy feeling was now spreading across his chest. Cornelius edged closer to the table and asked in a fearful whisper. "Then?"
Dolores's face shone, her conviction burning brighter than the office lights. "The Boy-Who-Lived is a myth of Albus Dumbledore's making, Cornelius. We do not know what fluke ended the Dark Lord back in 1981, but try this. For an entire decade, there were no sightings of the Dark Lord, no insidious events happening inside Hogwarts, no prisoners escaping Azkaban, nothing was acting out of order. And then, the Boy-Who-Lived returns, and suddenly, all those monsters come out of the woodworks."
She began listing off facts with her fingers.
"1991 to 92. Muggle-studies professor turned DADA instructor gets immolated. Dumbledore claims he was possessed by a Dark Spirit. 1992-1993. The Chamber of Secrets fiasco, and the Boy-who-Lived reveals himself to be a parselmouth. Rumours about how the brat killed a basilisk with the mythical Sword of Gryffindor." She let out a little squeaky laugh. "The next year, notorious mass-murderer Sirius Black magically escapes Azkaban."
"Come now, Dolores, what's that got to do with Potter—"
She let out another girlish laugh. "Don't you see it? It was the most insidious plot of all. Who do you think public sympathy went to, the moment Sirius Black escaped Azkaban?"
Cornelius went white. "Potter…"
"Over the three years, Albus Dumbledore did everything to ensure that the Boy-Who-Lived stayed as a hero for the masses, and after the little Parselmouth fiasco, he needed momentum back in Boy Wonder's favour. And surprise, surprise," she said animatedly, raising her hands up, as if to provide a dramatic news headline, "Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban!"
Her voice fell to dulcet tones. "I believe it was all done to weaken your base, blame your government for sentencing an innocent to Azkaban, and also striking your best and strongest supporter, Mr. Malfoy. Two birds with a stone, as they say."
That actually made a lot of sense. Why hadn't he thought of that before? Black's escape from Azkaban had become a global news. The first-ever breakout from the impenetrable fortress had happened under his regime, a PR nightmare if there ever was one. Things were doubly worse because of the innate threat to the Boy-Who-Lived. Merlin, even Cornelius had gone all the way to get the boy to safety at the Leaky Cauldron.
He had never really thought about how Black escaped Azkaban.
"Watch what else? How did Black get into Hogwarts despite the wards? I looked into the details, and it turns out that the werewolf hired for the Defence position was actually Black's friend. I'll wager my entire year's salary that the werewolf was hired just to help Black get entry into the castle. I can't prove it, but Dumbledore must have made some kind of deal with him."
"Merlin's beard! The Black lordship…" Cornelius realised with growing horror. "But then the Quidditch Cup…"
"The Quidditch Cup was just the trailer. Dumbledore has a pet Death Eater on his payroll, doesn't he? Snape must have taught Potter how to cast Dark Mark. I remember them talking at the Ministry at how Barty Crouch discovered that it was Potter who cast the Dark Mark, but he conveniently said his wand got misplaced in the commotion!"
"Galloping gargoyles! That should've been the hint."
Dolores nodded somberly. "I'm afraid you've been played for fools, Minister. The Dark Mark was just Albus Dumbledore setting up the environment for a mass panic. Then Harry Potter entered into the Triwizard, bypassing Dumbledore's Age Line. Yet another feather to add to his larger-than-life image. He participated in it, faced the worthy Champions and for all we know, was probably helped in every step out of the way. We were thinking the third task was the start of all of this, Minister, but we were wrong."
Her eyes met his.
"It was the opening night. In one single move, Albus Dumbledore paralysed your support base, stole the Black lordship from young Mr. Malfoy, and made Harry Potter the Black heir. And now with the Greengrasses working with him, I'm afraid he's using his new alliance to overthrow your Ministry."
"But — but —" Cornelius sputtered in fear, painfully aware of his bladder churning.
"I've received intelligence from Ursula Edgecombe's daughter," said Dolores, her voice now reduced to a whisper. "There was a discussion in the Ravenclaw common room after Potter's open shaming of my class. The other students were impressed, and several students voiced about asking him to teach them dangerous magic. Miss Edgecombe did her best to point out how Potter was a liar, but her words turned to deaf ears. Young Mr, Malfoy reported something similar happening in Slytherin House, where Miss Greengrass used the changing political environment to sow discord, and make them reconsider joining Potter, instead of the Ministry. I also have news from the other houses that similar discussions happened, and then…"
Cornelius kept growing paler with every single word out of her mouth. He finally realised, with a sinking feeling, that Dolores was absolutely right in her assessment. He had been played for a fool. Over the last couple of years, he had been digging his own grave.
"There has been news that four students — Susan Bones, Su Li, Daphne Greengrass, and Potter's mudblood friend Granger, all four of them met Potter in his private room. It isn't known exactly what they talked about, but all four were extremely agitated at the end of it. All four of them openly spoke about speaking against the Ministry sabotaging their future. Can you believe it? They claim that we are sabotaging their future! And whatever has followed since then, you already know."
Cornelius continued to stare at her for a few agonising minutes in silence.
"What…" he croaked at last, "what do I do, Dolores? I — I —"
His mind drew a blank. He just couldn't believe it. All this time, he held a suspicion that there was more to Albus Dumbledore's grandfatherly facade. Oh yes, he could be quite persuasive when he wanted, but something about his demeanour always made him feel at guard. Like there was something about his benignness that just didn't feel right.
And why would he? Cornelius was busy playing checkers when Albus Dumbledore was playing chess. Raising a Hero, gaining him popularity, destabilising Cornelius's power base, and now resurrecting the myth of an old foe for the Boy-Who-Lived to defeat. Cornelius could almost see the man transfiguring some hapless fool to act the part of a Dark Lord, making the Potter brat believe he was facing You-Know-Who.
It all made sense! It all made perfect sense!
"You've got to be strong, Cornelius," offered Dolores. Bless her soul, she had been fighting tooth and nail for him all this time. "You losing your determination to see this through is exactly what they want."
"Yes!" he said, finding a little bit of courage. He was no Gryffindor, but Hufflepuffs didn't shy away from difficulties either. "Yes! Yes! I see it now! Good job, Dolores! And don't worry, we'll prevail. We absolutely will prevail. Albus Dumbledore and the Potter brat have made their moves, and it struck me hard. But the ball is now in my court, and I'll — I'll snatch everything! I'll tear Albus Dumbledore out of Hogwarts! You, Dolores! Get ready for the next phase of the High Inquisitor's duties. Once we're out of this current mess, you'll start investigating the teaching staff. We need to find out chinks in Dumbledore's power base, and we'll weed out the traitors one by one"
Dolores let out a tiny girlish squeak. "I'lll not disappoint you, Cornelius."
Her words made him gain confidence again. Everything was not lost. He still had Lucius on his side. He still had diligent, faithful, hard working people like Dolores on his side. Dumbledore might have scored a blow but Cornelius would win this war. And whatever was needed for him to get there, he would.
He rang the bell on his table.
The door opened, and his newest junior undersecretary, Ursula Edgecombe stepped in. "Yes, Minister?"
"The Board of Governors have all arrived, haven't they?"
"Arrived and waiting for you to join them, Minister."
Cornelius nodded. "Good good, also Ursula, you've been doing good work. I'll grant you a week off next month. Maybe take your husband and daughter to Seychelles? I hear the weather's fine there. I'll write off the expenses on Ministry conveyance."
"Oh! Thank you Minister. You're very kind," said the woman shyly, before stepping out of the door.
"Well then, Dolores," said Cornelius, feeling livelier than usual. "You should return to Hogwarts now. I'll send a word when I'm done."
"Of course, Minister," said Dolores, giving him a neat little bow. "I'll be waiting."
Then and there Cornelius Fudge made a would not be undermined. He could do this.
….
….
….
Ten minutes Later…
"I can't deal with this!" muttered Cornelius under his breath as he sat down with the Hogwarts Board of Governors in one of the MInistry meeting rooms.
Just as expected, he had the entire Board present in this meeting. Normally, he'd have been exhilarated to sit between people of such wealth and influence, especially since his dear friend Lucius was a board member. Lucius used to be the Chairman before the fiasco three years ago got him sacked. He had managed to reclaim his membership through a generous donation before the Triwizard Tournament, but the Chairmanship had stayed out of his reach. And from what he had heard, there was talk about some serious changes on the Hogwarts Board. But never in his worst nightmares had he expected, well… this.
"Minister Fudge," said Augusta Longbottom imperiously. "We'd like to present our newest Chairman and core committee member, Joshua Greengrass."
Cornelius looked at the Dowager Longbottom, before his gaze shifted to the hard expression on Lucius's features, before shifting to the wide, knowing grin on Joshua Greengrass's face.
"Minister Fudge," said the man with a contagious cheer. "I'm glad we'll be working together in yet another field."
Cornelius swallowed, and allowed propriety to dictate his actions as he exchanged grips with the man. He knew what this was. Greengrass had saved his arse at the trial, and this was his way of settling the unpaid debt. He didn't know how, but he had the faintest feeling that something terrible would happen if he denied support to the Board's newest Chairman.
"Regent Greengrass…" he began, pasting his best fake smile he reserved for such occasions. "Please, call me Cornelius."
"Only if you call me Joshua."
….
.…
….
Almost an hour of working with Joshua Greengrass reaffirmed Cornelius's belief that he didn't like the man. But, and there was a but, he had come to appreciate the man's shark-like predatory instincts about politics and media-spin. Much like himself, Joshua knew almost every single member of the Wizengamot, knew their position on key policies and what they would or would not accept. More to the point, he wasn't stupid. He understood that the Board of Governors could operate within a set of rules that allowed a degree of flexibility, allowing them to reap profits in an otherwise humanitarian role. However, unlike Cornelius, who operated from a strange default of doing nothing, Joshua was a maverick, operating less out of self-preservation and more through grand-sweeping statements not unlike the boy he had betrothed his eldest daughter to. At the same time,. Joshua did not seem to want to destabilise the current status quo, nor was he trying to undermine Cornelius in any sense of the term. Conversely, if he did want something, he would cross the extra mile just to get it done.
"And thus, we come down to the two fundamental issues we're currently stricken with," Joshua concluded. "Now I cannot see why so many well-educated and knowledgeable people here would choose to vote for the controversial Clause 159, but what's been done is done, I suppose."
"If you could just give me ten minutes to explain why Clause 159 is essential…" Lucius began.
"I'd love to give you the ten minutes you want, and two more, to prove your statements wrong, Lucius," Joshua said offhandedly, "but unfortunately all of us are on a tight schedule. Especially with the honourable Minister of Magic taking his precious time off for us. Let us not waste his time by casual banter, shall we?"
Cornelius watched the scowl form on Lucius's face. He briefly reminded himself that Lucius had previously held the Black seat on the Board, a hereditary position since the days of Phineas Nigellus Black. His sacking had led him to cough up a ton of gold from the Malfoy vaults to be welcome into the Board again. However this time, Sirius Black had given Joshua his proxy, who in addition to his own newly purchased Board governorship, had become the loudest voice in the Board. Together with Augusta Longbottom, Nathaniel Smith, Margaret Fawley and Edmund Burke, he practically had the rest of the Board eating out of his hand.
"Let me get something utterly clear, and please, if any of you believe that I'm being biassed because of my daughter's involvement, kindly let me finish speaking before you interrupt," said Joshua. "Harry Potter was awarded the position of Warlock by the honourable Wizengamot, and it is an honour considered greater than the Order of Merlin, First Class. Mr. Potter is currently part of a workshop involving no less than three professors and an assistant professor, and is funded directly by the Department of Mysteries for a work that they believe have the potential to bring groundbreaking discoveries in the understanding of primal forces of the world. The Department of Mysteries, as you well know, is an autonomous body that gets at least half of its funding from the ICW and the international guilds. If Mr. Potter and his workshop bears fruit, he will become a celebrity far greater than the Boy-Who-Lived and his discoveries will push Wizarding Britain to greater name and fame. And in such a situation where we, as proud British witches and wizards, should celebrate his success and help him in every step out of the way, we are all but declaring him a public danger and painting a neon sign over him. Already the Department of Mysteries have tried to grab him. If this nonsense that is Clause 159 continues, I can foresee him leaving the shores of Britain and registering himself as a Freeholding Lord in the ICW, taking House Potter and its new found Nobility out of Wizarding Britain. Suffice to say, there would not be much to consider for House Black and House Greengrass, in that event, and we too, would choose to depart from Britain to a country where his talents are more appreciated."
"I thought this was a statement from a Governor," said Lucius softly. "Instead I find you issuing threats, Joshua. Perhaps an outrageous statement like this would've been best reserved for the Wizengamot sessions?"
Joshua's lips twisted just a little in dry amusement. "Hogwarts is a school of learning. A place where we pursue newer avenues of magic and broaden our horizons. Given how you have voted to suppress exactly that, I'd say it is you who has decided to play Wizengamot politics at governor level."
Cornelius frowned.
"Ladies and Gentle wizards," said Joshua. "This is a school. Let it stay as it is."
"We voted in favour of Clause 159 because we received letters from anxious parents, fearing for the safety of those children within Hogwarts," said Lucius firmly.
"And the same people are now crying in outrage, because you installed a teacher who not only does not want to teach, but actively suppresses education."
Nobody spoke up against that.
"And if any of you are still thinking that Harry Potter is anything but a blessing to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I wish to inform you that post this Halloween, Mr. Potter will be leading me, and a team of curse-breakers, potion ingredient harvesters, a famous alchemist, and the school staff to the mythical Chamber of Secrets. As you all will remember, there was a fiasco back in 1993, when a student was dragged into the Chamber. Young Mr. Potter and his friend Mr. Weasley found the entrance to the Chamber, and Mr. Potter managed to get inside, battle the person responsible, and kill the 'horror within'. I should tell you that said 'horror' was a seventy-foot long, thousand-year-old basilisk which, for all we know, was hatched by Salazar Slytherin himself. The plan is to harvest the ancient basilisk carcass, and sell it for an immense fortune."
Cornelius perked up at that. "How much… fortune are we talking about?"
Joshua smirked. "North of a million galleons."
Cornelius coughed out loud. "A… million?"
"Why yes, and young Harry is generous enough to be offering forty percent of the profits to Hogwarts for upliftment of its faculties, as well as adding to the Trustee fund. By sheer numbers, that's easily thrice more than the total amount of gold we governors collectively donate to the school every year."
"And he's doing it willingly?" asked Fawley.
"Upon condition that a small percentage be awarded to those that were cursed by the basilisk back then, as well as the student that was dragged into the Chamber itself. He also requests that a sizable amount be sequestered away for the muggleborn students, since they were the primary targets behind the attacks. Oh, and to the brave phoenix and the School Sorting Hat, for their contributions in his victory over the basilisk."
Augusta Longbottom chortled at that. "That boy…"
"And let me guess, he might change his decision given how today's voting goes?" asked Lucius.
"Why of course," said Joshua with what he probably thought was a winning smile. "Don't die for the ungrateful, as I always say. And quite literally in this case, for Mr. Potter was bitten by the basilisk, only to be saved by Albus Dumbledore's phoenix. A tale for the generations, wouldn't you say?"
Several people chuckled.
Cornelius frowned. Dolores had told him the entire events of the Chamber had been a sham orchestrated by Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter. Even if there was the slightest suspicion over her theories, it had flickered away. Dumbledore had planned this. He had openly mocked Cornelius's Ministry over and over, paralysed his base, and now he was taking further shots. Merlin's beard! The old man was going to kill him slowly over a hundred small wounds.
How malevolently infernal.
He had to do something. But what?
"I agree," said the Dowager Longbottom. "The least we can do is not vilify the lad. It serves nothing but some people's pointless ego," she gave a sharp and intimidating look towards Cornelius who wilted slightly under her glare. "We're making a pariah out of one of the greatest talents of our age, despite the Wizengamot acquitting him of all charges. That Potter is still considering donating that sum of money to Hogwarts…. Merlin, the boy's practically a saint."
"Hera, hear!" agreed Burke.
"You're right," said Fawley. "This has to stop. Clause 159 needs to be taken down."
Cornelius's stomach did a nasty flip. He hadn't seen this coming. First Greengrass, and now this? Whatever arguments he could have presented would wither away before that nasty sum of gold. Politics, his father Hiram Fudge used to say, always follows the Golden Rule — He who has the gold makes the Rules. All this time, Lucius had been employing it, but it looked like there was a new player in the field.
Harry Bloody Potter.
"The Ministry-approved Defence instructor has, on multiple occasions, demonstrated antagonism against Mr. Potter, and singled him out. It's clear to anyone with eyes that Dolores Umbridge has come to Hogwarts with an agenda against Harry Potter, possibly to take revenge for her humiliating defeat at the trial."
Cornelius made up his mind. If he let this man toe the line even further, he'd be inviting him to utterly destroy everything he had been working on. No, it was best to rip the bandaid off. Letting him speak at his own pace would only cause more problems.
"That's a singularly biassed way of narrating the events," said Cornelius.
"Really?" asked Greengrass. "Have I missed something irrelevant to squabble upon?"
"Do not mock me, Regent Greengrass. I have talked to Madam Umbridge about it. She claimed that Mr. Potter openly provoked Mr. Draco Malfoy and —"
"Oh, right. I almost forgot. You mean that incident when Lucius's boy attacked Mr. Potter with a full-powered kinetic spell, throwing him across the floor, crashing through benches and breaking more than a few bones in the process? Despite Harry not even raising a wand at him? Why, I believe young Draco was suspended for two weeks for that incident. That's the event you're talking about, am I right?"
Lucius looked like he had tasted a bad egg.
"Yes," Cornelius grimaced. "That's the event."
Greengrass laughed. "It's ironic that Lucius raised the issue about Harry Potter being a danger at Hogwarts, when his own son grievously injured Mr. Potter within the first week of getting to school."
"The sins of the father, as they say…" drawled Longbottom.
"Excuse me?" Lucius's eyes turned to flints.
"Apologies," said the formidable woman. "I was merely reflecting on your lack of… mental fortitude. It was why you were so easily imperiused back in the last war. Isn't that right, Lord Malfoy?"
Lucius's lips could cut through glass right then.
"Well," Augusta Longbottom continued. "Perhaps your son also lacks fortitude. Emotional at least. And in front of a teacher no less."
Lucius bristled.
"I believe we can get past this idle chatter, Governors," said Cornelius. "I understand that there have been… certain improper reactions against Mr. Potter as of lately, but let us get past that now. I believe we've all decided to negate the effects of Clause 159?"
"Yes," said Fawley.
"Let's dispose of it," claimed Burke.
"About time," Longbottom growled.
Greengrass just smiled.
"Fantastic. I'll send a notice to the Daily Prophet, about its annulment today. It should be in the paper first thing tomorrow."
"And the OWL syllabi—" said Longbottom.
"It is extremely unfortunate that the students do not have adequate trust in the Ministry,
"And Madam Umbridge—" Greengrass began.
"Madam Umbridge is an entirely different issue," Cornelius countered. "She was sent to Hogwarts keeping Clause 159 and Educational Decree No. 22 in mind. I'm certain with the annulment of the former, she'll change her professional behaviour."
"Professional behaviour?" mocked Greengrass. "Is that what they're calling it these days?"
"Regent Greengrass," said Cornelius. "We are lifting Clause 159, but Decree No. 22 will have to stay. For several decades, there has been absolutely no checks on the Hogwarts staff and administration. That long, even modest issues can become large cracks in the system. Dolores has my complete faith that she'll be an excellent judge of the educational processes and quality at Hogwarts. Unless.." he continued slyly, "you don't believe that the teaching staff will be good enough for it?"
For once, the man said nothing.
Cornelius suppressed a smile. "Dolores will continue her job as the High Inquisitor. I will talk to the OWL Examinations Authority, and talk to them about reverting the syllabus to the old model for now, at least until the students are more amenable to trusting Ministry protocol. Unless… you think it isn't reasonable?"
"I can work with that," claimed Smith. Even Fawley was nodding.
"With the syllabus reverted to the original, Madam Umbridge will be requested to do her job as the Defence instructor, and instruct the students, in theory as well as practical. And in case special instruction is required, the Ministry will be requesting some from the Auror office to visit Hogwarts as a visiting lecturer from time to time."
Greengrass laughed. "Madam Umbridge did something that not even the Dark Lord himself managed to do at the height of his power, Minister. She incited all four Houses to stand in rebellion against her. And you think sending her back for the same position that the students mutinied against is a good idea?"
"I mean —"
"No," said Greengrass. "Leave the Defence position alone, Minister. House Potter is funding a private expedition to investigate the rumour of the curse on the Defence position, and hopefully, it will be sorted out quite soon. That the Ministry has never even considered weeding this problem for Hogwarts makes me wonder exactly how interested it is in ensuring that our future gets the best possible education."
Cornelius scowled.
"A curse-breaking team you say?" asked Augusta Longbottom.
"From Gringotts, yes," said Joshua.
"Good," said Fawley. "My niece has always complained about the constantly-changing DADA professors every goddamn year."
"If that's the case," said Smith, "then Dumbledore will probably find some proper applicants for the position for once."
"Albus Dumbledore has had a pathetic history of hiring professors," scoffed Lucius Malfoy. "A werewolf, a crackpot Auror—"
"Compared to what? Gilderoy Lockhart?" commented Longbottom. "I remember it being your suggestion, Lord Malfoy. You'd rather have an obliviating fraud teach the students than someone cursed with a magical condition but with actual NEWTs under his belt?"
Lucius bristled.
Joshua nodded. "The Ministry chose Madam Umbridge and we've all seen exactly how well-suited she was. Perhaps Dumbledore can be given a chance this time around?"
Cornelius was not amused.
AN: Apologies for the delay. Took some time to get some stuff sorted out. Anyway, you will still get the promised six updates for the month. We were planning to release this yesterday to be honest, but it took a little longer to get it all done.
Update Schedule for this month - 6th. 10th. 15th. 20th. 25th. 30th. Maybe I'll stick to this schedule for future months too, only make it 5th instead of 6th. Feels... neater.
If you enjoyed the chapter and our stories, you can support us by giving us feedback as reviews, favorites, and follows. You can also support us on 𝒫𝒶𝓉𝓇𝑒𝑜𝓃 where you can read ahead and view our original works. If you want to talk to us directly, share feedback, or ask us questions, you may have you can join us on our Discord Server. We post six times a month. Every five days.
You can find links to all of our stories, our 𝒫𝒶𝓉𝓇𝑒𝑜𝓃, and our Discord at:
𝓁𝒾𝓃𝓀𝓉𝓇.𝑒𝑒/theblackstaffandnightmare
𝒫𝒶𝓉𝓇𝑒𝑜𝓃𝓈 can read up to 'TWELVE' chapters ahead of the current release.
Thanks once again, and we hope you continue to enjoy our stories.
~The BlackStaff and NightMarE~