Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 10: Reactions and Overreactions (pt 3)

5 August 1993
From the front page of the Daily Prophet

DEMENTORS UNLEASHED!
FUDGE UNVEILS CONTROVERSIAL NEW PLAN!
WILL USE DEMENTORS TO GUARD HOGWARTS AGAINST
DEATH EATER MENACE!

by Rita Skeeter

As astute readers of the Prophet assuredly know, yesterday saw the Wizengamot in Emergency Session for the first since the fall of You-Know-Who, and what an historic day it was. After the morning session's Roll Call and Unity Vows, followed by the Chief Auror's report, deliberations resumed in the afternoon with Minister Cornelius Fudge's controversial proposal to reinstitute the so-called Death Eater Laws, a proposal that was soundly defeated by the Wizengamot. Instead, the peerage, consistent with their prior rulings in times of civil unrest, invoked the Praetor Maximus Clause of the Wizengamot Charter, a rarely-used clause which grants the Minister of Magic unfettered authority to deal with this specific crisis so long as his actions and commands do not violate any rights enumerated under the ICW Charter of Wizarding Rights, do not contravene any rights guaranteed to the peerage under the Wizengamot Charter, and do not extend to any matters unrelated to the Azkaban Crisis. The motion for Praetor Maximus was made by Peter Pettigrew on behalf of House Potter and seconded by Elphias Doge on behalf of House Doge. The vote passed by a close margin of 125 to 123 with seven abstentions.

Having effectively placed the burden of addressing the Azkaban Crisis solely on Minister Fudge's shoulders, the Emergency Session was brought to a close soon after. But it was not until the Minister stepped out into the Atrium to address reporters that the true fireworks started. For it was there that the Minister announced that his first act under Praetor Maximus was to summon a contingent of Dementors from Azkaban itself to pursue, recapture, and Kiss the escapees! Even more shockingly, the Minister stated that the bulk of this cohort would be stationed at Hogwarts to help defend it against any Death Eater attacks. Minister Fudge's announcement sent a frisson of terror through those in attendance, but it soon became clear that such a course of action was completely within his extraordinary Praetor Maximus powers. This reporter hopes that our Minister knows what he's doing, for while he now holds unprecedented executive power, it is not an authority that Dementors are any more likely to respect than the Death Eaters they now pursue.

4 August 1993
Ten minutes after the conclusion of the Minister's press conference.

Cornelius Fudge entered his office and deposited his bowler hat and overcoat onto a hatstand before taking his seat. Then, he pulled open a drawer and removed a flask from which he took a quick shot of firewhiskey to fortify his nerves. There was a knock at the door.

"Enter," he said wearily as he put the flask away. Dolores Umbridge came in bearing a worried expression. She too had changed out of her plum Wizengamot robes and into one of the reserved and sensible tweed outfits he'd come to associate with her.

"Bones and Potter are on their way here. Neither of them look happy."

"I hardly expected them to, Dolores. James has two sons and a wife at Hogwarts while Amelia has her niece and ward there. And honestly, I imagine I rather blindsided James with my announcement. I told him nothing about Dementors when I asked him to have his man make the motion for Praetor Maximus."

The Undersecretary nodded and then hesitated before speaking. "Minister, you hired me as Undersecretary to advise you about the details of the Ministry's treaty obligations. Are you ... open to advice in other areas?"

He studied the woman for a moment. "Yes, if offered in good faith, I suppose."

She took a deep breath. "Then ... be honest with them. Swear them to secrecy if you must – and I understand why you feel you might need to – but you need them to be publicly on your side in this matter. If they both have family at Hogwarts, they will never support you in this if they don't know the true reasons for your decision. And even your emergency powers can't protect you from a no confidence vote if led by the two most influential members of your own administration."