Protection: The Sword and the Shield

Change is here

......Office of the Minister, Ministry of Magic

Cornelius Fudge, looked around his office and wondered how things had gone so wrong. He sighed. He knew exactly how it had gone so wrong. Potter. Like many others he wondered if the writers of those damn books had been a seer. He knew that he was only still Minister because all the scandals had happened before he was minister. Not that it mattered. The massive shift of power had been mind boggling. If it wasn't so legal it would seem like a coup.

It started on Saturday and thinking about it still angered him. How could something like that happen and not one of his connections let him know. The fact that Harry Potter had a muggle slave had been the first blow.

He didn't personally care but the idea of the hero of the wizarding world making slaves was shocking. He had been halfway through planning how to turn it to his advantage when he read the article under the headline. At first he didn't think it would matter but his sources in Diagon Alley told him that the boy was being praised for his honorable actions in response to his "crime".

Who was advising the boy? The donation was greater than the combined donations of all the reformed deatheaters and the money actually went to the hospital and not to people like him. He had already checked and it was not illegal to magically bind a muggle. In fact the boy had brought in a healer who certified it as accidental magic. He was untouchable on that account.

He was not surprised when he received a missive from Lucius Malfoy about the second article. Normally they would pretend that their interaction was not just bribery. They would play word games with each other to play at respectability. But not this time. Lucius just wanted Black dead and wanted him to make it happen immediately. Everyone knew that Lucius was claiming that his son was in line for the Black Lordship. He had thought that Black was kicked out of the family and Lucius was just covering his bases.

He was wrong and the mistake nearly brought down the ministry. First he had been unable to eliminate Black as Lucius had wanted. Amelia had moved faster than him and moved Black to a secret holding cell before his hearing. He had expected his people inside the DMLE to quickly find the location but Amelia had trusted no one.

He had tried to delay the hearing and was faced with the full fury of the Potter proxy, the Longbottom proxy, who had also secretly re-opened and half the titled nobles who wanted to know what was happening. Albus Dumbledore had sided with him about the delay and that had been what sank his efforts as the dark families could not countenance being on the same side as Albus Dumbledore.

At first he thought the man had done it on purpose in a reverse psychology move but he had seen the man's face. He did not want the hearing and by the end of day that Friday it was clear why that was.

......Flashback

......Courtroom Ten, Judicial Wing, Ministry of Magic, London, England

......Lord's Inquest by Request of the Prima Potentia Magicae House of Potter (Regarding Sirius Black)

The Minister had been avoiding Lucius Malfoy for the past 3 days. The media was in a frenzy about the opening of the Houses of two of the Prima Potentia Magicae families when the heirs apparent were only 11. That Harry Potter had done it had been taken as par for the course for the Wizarding world's hero but the House of Longbottom had done the same.

The Prophet had tried to play the two heirs against each other, painting young Potter as deserving and young Neville as trying to play catchup but Augusta Longbottom had created a shit storm in response and was supported by Osirus Vector representing the House of Potter.