Chapter 34: Chapter 32 – The Conference

“Today’s press conference has to go well!” said Fudge with his fists clenched. “I have to denounce Dumbledore. I have to show the world his true colors.”

Fudge paced around his bedroom, his large four-poster bed placed in the center of the room, unmade, with the sheets strewn about. Someone had clearly tossed and turned in bed for quite a while for it to end up in that state.

Fudge paused his ruminations, staring at the full-length mirror on the wall. What he saw was a haggard, portly man, with a pale face and bags under his eyes. He was the very picture of exhaustion.

“This is all your fault, Dumbledore. I swear I’ll ruin your life!” swore Fudge. “You and that idiot boy, Potter!”

His ramblings became more and more incomprehensible as his thoughts jumped from tangent to tangent.

Though one thing was clear. He was absolutely sure that Dumbledore was the reason for his recent misfortunes.

Fudge looked at the clock hanging on the wall and nodded to himself. “The press conference should start in another two hours. I better get ready and reach the Ministry.”

Fudge wore his best cloak and made himself as presentable as he could, his pale complexion and the bags under his eyes, aside.

After making doubly sure he wasn’t forgetting anything, he walked towards his fireplace to use the floo network to get to the Ministry. He kept reciting the speech he had prepared and edited to be much more vicious over the past few days.

Once he reached the Ministry, he tried his best to ignore the gossipy looks of the various Ministry employees and made his way to his office. Doreen, his assistant, sat at her desk, but the moment Fudge walked in, she jumped up and backed away from him.

Fudge couldn’t help but frown at this. ‘I know I attacked her, but that was an accident. She doesn’t need to act that strongly around me,’ thought Fudge, aggrieved. He just nodded at her and walked into his room and sat at his desk.

‘I’ll be able to fix these issues once this press conference is finished and I can convince people how evil Dumbledore is,’ thought Fudge, ‘Then I can have someone help me break this hallucination curse and then I’ll finally be free to manage the Ministry with no interruptions.’

Fudge became happier as he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. ‘By this time tomorrow, everything will be back to normal,’ he thought with a smile, ‘No, it will be so much better than normal.’

Time passed by quickly as Fudge was lost in his delusions of a happy future. He was brought out of his reverie by a timid knock on the door. “Come in,” he called.

Doreen slowly stuck her head in, “Th-they say, th-they’re ready for th-the press con-conference, Minister,” she reported with a forced smile and an incessant stutter.

Fudge frowned for a moment. “I got it. I’ll be there soon.”

He shook his head and thought, ‘This will only go on for a little longer,’, a vicious smile crossing his face, ‘I’ll take Dumbledore’s reputation and drag it through the mud, I’ll make sure he can’t live in peace no matter where he goes and if I’m lucky, I might even have him imprisoned.’

Fudge laughed madly, thinking about that glorious future. Satisfied with how the situation would likely turn out, he stood up confidently and made his way to the press conference venue.

Once he was inside, he noticed the crowd of reporters, many foreigners, and many locals. A satisfied look crossed Fudge’s face, ‘With this many, I can really destroy Dumbledore,’ he thought.

He walked onto the stage and stood behind the podium. He looked around the room, surveying it and noticed a lot of Aurors taking positions all over the room. ‘Good,’ he thought, ‘This way, no one can interrupt us.’

Fudge turned towards the crowd, which had quieted down the moment he walked into the room. Looking expectantly at Fudge, waiting for his big news. They had been informed that there would be a huge unveiling of some shocking news regarding a man who is considered a hero of wizard-kind. Though none of them knew who that man was, they knew better than to miss such a tasty scoop.

Fudge surveyed the room for a few more minutes, noting several people he was familiar with.

Rita Skeeter, though he wasn’t happy to see her, he couldn’t help but smile inwardly since she would write an extensively demeaning article about Dumbledore after the conference. Sitting next to her was a black cloaked individual with a hood over their head, whispering something in her ear.

Another man who caught his eye was a man with weasel like features, a man Fudge never felt he could trust but he was, nonetheless, the one who worked closely with Fudge in the Daily Prophet. This man, Pivane Clarke, had his hand in several aspects of the Daily Prophet and with Fudge’s backing, he could get a senior post in the newspaper. Thanks to him, Fudge could smear both Dumbledore’s and Potter’s reputations in the mud ever since the end of the Triwizard tournament and Potter’s asinine claims.

Nodding almost imperceptibly towards Pivane, Fudge turned towards the room at large. Taking a breath, he steadied his breathing.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for gathering here today. Some of you have even traveled from distant countries,” said Fudge with a smile. “I’m sure you’re all wondering why we have called for this conference. What was so important that we couldn’t just release an article and be done with it?”

Fudge watched as several people nodded in agreement.

“Today’s news may shock many. God knows, it shocked me, but I have to say, I’m not very surprised,” said Fudge.

“This is regarding a man who every single person must have heard of at least once. The man who defeated the dark wizard, Gellert Grindelwald in single combat and is now known as the strongest wizard of our time,” said Fudge, his voice growing louder with each word, a flair for drama in his tone. “Albus Dumbledore himself!”

Despite Fudge’s overacting, there was a collective gasp in the room the moment he said the name. Satisfied with their response, Fudge continued. “We all have been thinking that Dumbledore was selfless, that he fought Grindelwald just to save the world from his atrocities,” he said, in a grave tone. “However, the truth cannot be further from what we think we know.”

There were several who sucked in a breath, looking at Fudge in wonder. “Dumbledore is nothing but a poser and a liar!” yelled Fudge, “He did not go fight Grindelwald to save the world, oh no. He went simply to assuage his own feelings of guilt!”

People broke into whispers at this statement.

“What you people might be unaware of is, Dumbledore not only knew Grindelwald in the past but they were incredibly close,” he said, with a satisfied smirk, “I have a strong source who told me they actually used to plan taking over the world, together. He was not only not a hero, but a villain in disguise!”

Gasps rang out in several places as the reporters jotted down what was happening as fast as they could.

The hooded figure next to Rita Skeeter spoke up, “Is that why you’ve spent all summer trying to smear Dumbledore’s name in the mud? Because he’s a threat to your position as minister?”

Fudge was slightly taken aback by this question. “I - I did not do any of this because he’s a threat! I did it for the good of the wizarding community.”

“If you’re doing it for the good of the community, then why not release this information earlier? Why spend the entire summer using the Daily Prophet to destroy his reputation with baseless insinuations?” asked the figure.

“We only just received this information. We have acted completely in the interest of the greater good!” replied Fudge, getting more and more frustrated.

“If that was so, then why use the Daily Prophet to ruin the life of a boy, one that you people lauded as a savior while it was convenient to you? Then threw aside when he actually tried to save your sorry selves?” asked the figure, every single word dripping with mockery and contempt.

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“Potter is not a savior! Potter is nothing but a liar and an attention-seeker who’s a little too used to the limelight!” yelled Fudge.

“What if he was right?” asked the figure abruptly, “What if you-know-who is actually back? How would you handle the situation when he finishes his preparations and finally comes into the light? Are you so incompetent that you cannot even consider the possibility that the greatest dark wizard of all time might rear his head again?”

“I am not incompetent!” roared Fudge. Clearly, the figure’s words had struck a nerve. “There is no way, you-know-who is back! Potter is just trying to hog the limelight again. “

“Oh? Am I?” asked the figure, slowly removing his hood. “You may say that, Minister. But you are nothing but a delusional trash who till last year had to beg Dumbledore for advice because he couldn’t do his own job himself. You are nothing compared to Dumbledore and you know it. That’s why you’ve spent your entire summer trying to destroy his life.”

Harry’s expression was full of contempt, that tone of voice, that gaze as if he were looking at a piece of garbage was more than Fudge could handle. He jumped up to his feet. “Potter!” he roared. “You finally showed yourself!”

Murmurs broke out in the crowd.

“I have no reason to hide from a self-important prissy old twit like you,” said Harry, dropping every pretense of respect. “You’re just an idiot trying to play at being the Minister and failing miserably at it. You’re worried Dumbledore would take your position as Minister for Magic and you know what? You should be. Dumbledore would be a thousand times better than you. You are nothing Fudge, you deserve nothing.”

The vicious speech from Harry struck a nerve. Fudge had long since gone from being red with anger at having turned a shade of purple. Not bothering with where he was anymore, he roared in anger and raised his wand, pointing it at Harry.

“You crossed me for the last time, Potter!” he roared, and quickly shot out a curse. “Crucio!”

Shrieks rang out from the crowd as the reporters rushed to move away from the place Fudge had aimed at.

“Where are you aiming, Minister? I’m right here,” came a mocking voice.

Fudge turned his head and saw Harry standing next to one of the chairs. Not bothering to wonder how Harry reached that spot, Fudge roared and shot another curse, “Crucio!”

This time, he saw Harry get hit by the curse, but before he could even see the result, dozens of spells were flying towards him.

‘Why are they attacking me? They should attack Potter!’ thought Fudge, appalled at the scene.

‘Why - me?’ he thought as his consciousness faded away.

***

‘Well, that turned out kinda different from what I was expecting,’ thought Harry, shaking his head. ‘I knew he would attack, but to go straight for the cruciatus is a bit much.’

Harry looked around the room. The reporters had all moved to the back of the room. In the area they had been sitting were two figures who had just fainted from the pain.

‘Rita Skeeter deserved it for all the crap she’s pulled so far,’ thought Harry as his eyes went over the female reporter, then moved on to the other figure.

‘That weasel like man, I wouldn’t have bothered him if I hadn’t seen him with Fudge trying to conspire the best way to ruin Dumbledore’s and my lives,’ thought Harry, ‘Bastard should have suffered a little more.’

He then turned his gaze to the stage where Fudge was incapacitated and being dragged away by several Aurors. Amelia Bones was also present. She walked to the head of the stage and faced towards the crowd.

“I sincerely apologize for the actions of our Minister - ex-Minister, I should say.” She said and then paused before continuing, “In the last few days he has been acting a little strange, but no one thought he would get violent like this.”

Angry murmurs filled the room as the reporters seemed bent on expressing their grievances.

“Rest assured, Cornelius Fudge will be judged extremely severely for his actions,” said Madame Bones. Her sense of authority filled the room. “The Ministry will also compensate everyone present here for the potential harm they could have suffered. Additionally, extra recompense will be paid to the ones who were attacked.”

The angry murmurs died down considerably at that, a few feeling that they had gotten lucky coming here. Not only did they get a different scoop from what they expected, but they also got money.

Soon the room emptied as the reporters made their way out, reporting their names to a secretary-like figure near the door, so they could get the compensation.

After everyone had left, Amelia Bones sat heavily on a chair. “What in the world is going on? Could this really be a curse by Dumbledore?” she asked, to no one in particular.

Kingsley, who had been standing near her, replied, “I doubt it,” he said, “if it really is a curse, then it’s potent dark magic that I wouldn’t expect Dumbledore to perform. At least not for someone like Cornelius Fudge.”

“You don’t seem to like him much,” said Amelia with a small smile.

“He might have been a fair Minister a few years back but as of late, he’s nothing but delusional,” replied Kingsley in his characteristic deep voice, “Even if you-know-who hasn’t actually been resurrected, as the Ministry, we should take measures to safeguard against this potential threat, not ignore it as the ramblings of a youth.”

“You think Potter is telling the truth, then?” asked Amelia, raising a brow.

“I have had the pleasure of meeting the boy a few times, and he doesn’t strike me as the attention-seeking kind,” he replied, “If anything, he seemed like the kind to jump headfirst into danger without a second thought. The kind I would very much like to see in the Auror's office.”

“You think rather highly of him, Mr Shacklebolt,” said Amelia with a surprised look.

“I do. However, that aside. Even if Potter is wrong about you-know-who, the most we would have is wasted effort,” said Kingsley, “That would be nothing compared to the danger of you-know-who at full strength, attacking a Ministry that has made no preparations and is basically being eaten from the inside by spies and incompetency.”

“You do have a point there,” said Amelia with a sigh, “I wonder who would be appointed next as Minister. I do hope they do a better job.”

“We’ll have to make sure they will,” replied Kingsley.

Harry listened to the entire conversation with a smile, then made his way out of the Ministry, feeling extremely accomplished.

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