CHAPTER THREE: THE FUDGE FACTOR

Office Space of Cornelius Fudge

Ministry of Magic, London

26 August 1994

Lucius Malfoy neatly crossed his ankles, and tucked them behind a chair leg, resigned, as always, to listen to the useless twaddle of one Dolores Umbridge. It was incredibly frustrating, and not to mention grating to hear her simper endlessly in hopes of gaining the Minister's favor. Even worse, Fudge seemed to be buying her cloying words, and not for the first time, Lucius silently cursed the fact that he was surrounded by complete and utter idiots. Not for the first time, Lucius wished that he could delegate his work to someone else, but, of course, a lesser wizard would be unable to navigate the political waters of the Ministry with the same finesse as him.

Lucius waited patiently as Umbridge continued to blabber on, and when the batrachian witch paused for breath, he interjected smoothly, "Cornelius, I believe we planned to discuss the Triwizard Tournament."

Cornelius started, then flushed a dull red. "I-"

"I believe you owled me regarding concerns about the increased number of students in Hogwarts?" Lucius interrupted.

"Er, ah, yes, I did," Cornelius manages, still flustered. "If I could just find the papers the Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang sent…"

Lucius flourished a copy from his robes pocket. "Do not concern yourself. I have one with me."

Cornelius pauses, midway through ruffling papers on his desk, and Lucius fancies he can see a slight sheen of perspiration on the man's face. "Of course, of course. Always prepared for everything, aren't you?"

Lucius couldn't bring himself to dote, and smiled coldly. "Of course, Minister."

Cornelius freezes for a moment, clearly aware that he made a misstep, but uncertain on how to rectify it. "Very well then. And the Board of Governors decided?"

"It will be no problem to house the foreign students in Hogwarts," Lucius supplied easily. "After all, the school historically housed two thousand students back in the day, and acted as a sanctuary for the villagers of Hogsmeade, besides."

Cornelius looked surprised. "Ah. Is it wise, however, to let them attend classes with Hogwarts students?"

Lucius suppressed the urge to throttle the man. Not only had this particular subject been hashed out over and over again, but it belonged firmly in the realm of the Board of Directors, and had nothing to do with the Minister. It wasn't even a particularly political one - for Merlin's sake, Lucius and Dumbledore were in agreement - but Cornelius kept nattering on about the wisdom of the decision, plagued as he was by xenophobic doubts. Umbridge was likely the source of those particular thoughts, prejudiced as the woman was against anything that wasn't pureblood and English. By Woden's staff, the woman could hardly hold a civil conversation with Aengus Moran or Archibald MacMillan, and both wizards were as pureblooded as they came. Moran could trace his lineage back to the Tuatha Dé Danann, and the MacMillans, like many of the other Scottish clans, claimed the legendary witch Beira, Queen of Winter, as one of their forebearers.

It was an exceedingly foolish prejudice, and one that made the Umbridges unpopular with many on the Wizengamot. Lucius frankly was surprised Dolores had yet to cause a diplomatic disaster.

"Any scheduling concerns have already been addressed by the Board of Governors," Lucius said smoothly, knowing any mention of Albus Dumbledore would only make Cornelius more pigheaded. "Furthermore, one of Durmstrang's Dueling instructors is chaperoning their students, and has graciously volunteered to assist in running a Dueling club for all students. Both the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons faculty have also volunteered to guest lecture in History of Magic and Wizarding Studies classes to provide students with a more well-rounded perspective -"

"Hem hem."

Lucius ignored Umbridge's juvenile attempt at attention grabbing. "Beauxbatons has also opened five places in their summer Potions and Alchemy Symposium to Hogwarts students. They also expressed interest in an exchange program with Hogwarts, pending a successful and politically pleasant Triwizard Tournament."

"Hem hem."

Lucius raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Problem, Dolores?"

The woman smiled, and Lucius wondered what she hoped to achieve with such a horrendous facial expression. "Aren't you concerned, Lucius -"

"Lord Malfoy," he corrected idly.

Umbridge flushed an unflattering shade of red. "Lord Malfoy, about these...strange ideas these foreigners might impress upon our children? I'm sure you wouldn't want your son exposed to such outlandish ideas."

Lucius stared at Umbridge coldly. "Narcissa and I considered sending Draco to Durmstrang, and given that he spent the summer with his cousins in France, I doubt he will be 'exposed', as you say, to anything I deem inappropriate under the tutelage of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang instructors."

Umbridge gaped at him, now looking more pescatary than batrachian.

"Cornelius, if you wouldn't mind dismissing your secretary, I have matters of a more confidential nature to discuss with you."

The Minister's countenance quickly shifted from despondent to cheerful. "Of course. Dolores, if you could leave us…"

Umbridge hastily gathered her quill and parchment and left, sending Lucius a look of pure loathing. Cornelius looked at him expectantly.

"Charming woman, your secretary."

Cornelius blinked at the non-sequitur. "Ah, yes, she is quite helpful."

"A bit of an ultracrepidarian, isn't she?"

Cornelius scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. "Ah, well, I'll admit I've encouraged her a bit. She is rather well-informed, after all."

"Mm. And in the realm of international affairs?"

Cornelius opened his mouth, reconsidered, and shut it. Lucius quirked an eyebrow, and the man had the decency to look embarrassed. "I - she may be somewhat less informed in that regard."

"She is very poorly informed in that regard, and to be frank with you, it's a small miracle she hasn't caused a diplomatic disaster."

Cornelius all but gaped, and Lucius decided to press the man further in order to make him frantic, then offer the perfect solution.

"You recall the most recent Wizengamot Ascension vote, yes?"

"Of course - I -"

"You may recall how House Umbridge barely managed to receive the eight votes necessary to move to the next stage of the process, while Runcorn, which pulls from the same powerbase, received fifteen votes."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Cornelius spluttered.

"Most of the Wizengamot knows that Dolores is the real voice behind her husband," Lucius continued, voice low. "Dolores has managed to insult each pureblood house which isn't mainly English. As you can imagine, for many of us who have cordial relations or family with these Houses, Dolores' comments were not well-received."

"I doubt that. What do you even mean?"

"She refuses to speak with Lord Moon on the account that House Moon claims to descend from the Old Folk, and she also will not speak with Lord Moran or Lord MacMillan because they hail from Northern Ireland and Scotland respectively."

Cornelius looked taken aback. "I was not aware of that."

"Mm. Should I continue on? Her grudge against Lord Greengrass seems to stem from the fact that he and his family are Welsh, as does her dislike for Lord Bulstrode and his ilk. Need I remind you that Dolores has shown a pathological hatred for foreigners, and Lord Bulstrode married a Dolohov?"

Color drained from Cornelius' face. "Merlin and Morgana save me."

"Thankfully, we do not have many diplomatic exchanges with the Tsardom, but is that a risk you are willing to take?"

"By Seaxnēat's sword, no. I remember the war as well as anyone," Cornelius said, eyes wide, "Antonin Dolohov...it took an entire team of Aurors to put him in Azkaban."

"His older brother, Sergei, is the current tsar."

Cornelius nodded in acknowledgement.

"He is perhaps more dangerous than Antonin, because he has the added benefit of ruling an empire, and also being sane."

Cornelius gulped, and Lucius thanked the gods he was so impressionable. "What would you suggest?"

"I have a lead on a young wizard from the States, actually. Ilvermorny graduate, Thunderbird House. He's currently attending the Harvard Institute of Advanced Wizarding Studies, and focusing on International Affairs and Arithmancy. A mutual friend put me in contact with him as he's interested in politics but finds some of MACUSA's policies distasteful."

Cornelius looked intrigued. "And what is his name?"

"Dmitry Razalas."

"Russian?"
"No, he's an American."

"And you believe he can successfully handle British politics?"

"I would not have recommended him unless I had absolute confidence in his skills."

"Ah. Of course."

"I will pass his résumé onto you." With that, Lucius stood, pulling his robes so they once again lay perfectly on his shoulders. "I'm afraid I must get to another meeting now. It was a pleasure, as always, to meet with you, Cornelius."

"Likewise." Cornelius looked pensive. "You, as always, have been very informative. You've given me a lot to think about."

"If you have queries regarding Dmitry, do not hesitate to owl me. Until next time." Lucius swept out of the room, leaving a somewhat flustered Minister of Magic behind him. Once he was out of view, a smug smile made its way onto his face. Thomas had been rather explicit about his plans regarding Dmitry Razalas, and the importance of landing the man a position in the Ministry.

Admittedly, Lucius had initially been suspicious of the man, despite the fact that both the Dark Lord and Thomas backed him. Razalas, after all, simply was Salazar backwards, and clearly a pseudonym. Any attempts to dig further into Dmitry Razalas' background had been met with resistance, and when Lucius pressed Thomas for answered, he'd simply responded with 'Dmitry's origins do not concern you. Rest assured that his blood is as pure as mine.'

Lucius had accepted the answer - after all, he did trust Thomas, but at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder why he wouldn't divulge the younger wizard's secrets. He was also mildly annoyed that Dmitry already had the ear of the Dark Lord. Lucius had fought long and hard to gain acknowledgement beyond being Abraxas' son, and for Dmitry to simply be able to waltz in and be granted the same level of respect as Thomas was absurd, especially given that Dmitry hadn't even graduated from uni yet.

Lucius' smile turned from smug to grim. He would have to work harder in order to keep his spot in the Dark Lord's pecking order. The older wizard held Severus in frustratingly high esteem, and Lucius needed to figure out how to usurp Severus to gain the position of prestige which rightfully belonged to him.

His expression transformed once again into smugness as he strode down the Ministry corridor, thoughts turning towards his family. The twins, Semper and Selene, hadn't shown any signs of magic yet, but that was to be expected given that they were only several months old. Draco, on the other hand, was an entirely different problem. The boy's general countenance had greatly improved during his summer in France, and he'd returned to Britain much more proper and poised than when he left. He was also much more respectful towards Lucius, a change that was mildly baffling, but not unwelcome.

With any luck, Draco's behaviour would continue to improve throughout the school year given that his cousins would also be at Hogwarts due to the Triwizard tournaments. Dorian had pulled several strings to ensure that all of his children would be a part of the Beauxbatons delegation, and Lucius sincerely hoped that Draco would be a helpful host to his cousins during their stay at Hogwarts. It would be beyond embarrassing if another Hogwarts student took on that role, especially given the students in Draco's year that showed significantly more talent and political gumption than him.

Of course, most fourteen-year-olds weren't political masterminds. It wasn't expected of them, and it hardly was realistic for a teenager to understand the nuances that underlaid British Wizarding politics. It was reasonable, however, for them to begin to realize their greater role in society, and begin to form cordial relationships with their future colleagues. Draco, of course, had managed to alienate most of his peer group by playing the fool. For Merlin's sake, Ronald Weasley had a better relationship with Theodore Nott than his own son did, and Theodore and Draco had known each other since infancy.

Ronald Weasley certainly seemed to be a boy that defied the odds. Dorian's second oldest son, Baptiste, spoke well of him, saying Ronald was not only a phenomenal chess player, but also a strong Quidditch player and a good conversationalist. Lucius had spotted the boy with his brother in Diagon Alley and remarked on the mature manner in which he carried himself. Despite his recent improvements, Draco didn't carry the same presence as Ronald Weasley did. Draco gave the air of a child desperately trying to fill an adult's boots while Ronald Weasley simply was.

Lucius shook his head ruefully. It certainly was under odd circumstances that a Malfoy preferred a Weasley over his own trueborn son.

A/N: A big thanks goes to LittleDinghy from Reddit for beta-ing!