The Toad’s Croak
Ministry of Magic, Minister Cornelius Fudge’s Office, 7:30 AM, Monday, June 26, 1995
”Did I just undo all of the hard work Minister Fudge and I have been doing, to keep the possible return of You-Know-Who under wraps?!” panicked Percy Weasley, realizing his words strongly supported Harry Potter’s statement about Voldemort in the Daily Prophet, in direct opposition to the façade of denial he’d shown publicly, ever since becoming Head Boy in 1993.
Percy’s views had quickly landed him a position of favor with Cornelius Fudge, and the two often worked together, in order to squelch rumors that Voldemort’s supporters were trying to bring back the Dark Lord.
Seeing the smirks of satisfaction on the faces of his father and oldest brother—and, worst of all, his boss—Percy knew he’d been set up. Too late, he’d realized that he was likely under the effects of Veritaserum; that made him determined, though (probably in vain, he had to admit), not to answer any more questions. Percy’s hopes were dashed, when—after a knock at the door—Fudge’s secretary announced the arrival of even more visitors.
~~~~~
Percy’s spirits sank even further when he saw who the new arrivals were. First to enter was Rita Skeeter, whose ”Me, Myself and I” column was featured in both the Daily Prophet, and its sister publication, the Evening Prophet.
The final blow to Percy’s resolve to remain silent came when Skeeter was followed into the office by Dolores Umbridge, Fudge’s Senior Undersecretary, who was wearing one of her signature pink outfits, in lieu of traditional robes. Percy now gave in to fact that the questions were about to start flying. He desperately hoped the Veritaserum would wear off before he was asked anything that would further incriminate himself.
”What’s all this nonsense about You-Know-Who’s supposed re-birth?” Umbridge demanded, even as the two Witches took the proffered, newly Conjured chairs.
”Yes, Minister, do you have any new information, since our last chat?” Skeeter queried innocently.
Fudge never had a chance to answer the reporter’s question.
Before he stop himself, Percy blurted out, “You-Know-Who is back! He was resurrected Saturday night, and did, in fact, fight Harry Potter. I don’t know all of the exact details, but we need to mobilize…and soon.”
”That’s impossible!” Umbridge practically shouted. “He was destroyed back in 1981! There’s no way…!”
”Actually, there is, Undersecretary,” interrupted the Minister. “I’ve seen the proof, and now, it’s your turn.” At this, he Summoned his personal Penseive from its shelf, and placed it equidistant among Dolores, Percy and Rita. As Albus Dumbledore had done on Saturday night, Fudge cast the Enlargement Charm, halting the object’s growth when it was large enough to accommodate Percy and the two Witches. He then withdrew a memory, and deposited it, beckoning his latest visitors to “enter”….
~~~~~
After they’d viewed Fudge’s memories of what he’d seen on Saturday night, Umbridge and Skeeter noticed that they had crumpets and steaming cups of tea, to help them recover from their experience. Bill, who’d seen Fudge “serve” the treats, realized the implications, if Cornelius had repeated his earlier actions. “Convinced now, Percy?” he asked his younger brother, hoping to distract him, and give the Witches time to drink.
”I should say so,” Percy replied, no longer fighting the Truth Potion. “I didn’t recognize his accomplice, though. Who was he?”
”The unregistered Anaimagus, Peter Pettigrew,” came the prompt answer from a surprised Dolores Umbridge. “His animal form is a rat, and he and Barty Crouch, Jr. have been working for months, since Crouch escaped from Azkaban, to bring back their Master.”
”How?” chorused the Minister and the reporter.
”Well, the original plan was for Crouch to switch places with his terminally ill mother, using Polyjuice Potion, leaving her in Azkaban in his form, until she passed on. Next, Crouch, Jr., would use even more Polyjuice, to impersonate Alastor Moody, but that slippery eel escaped in time to begin the school year as DADA Professor at Hogwarts. Crouch, Jr. and Pettigrew are holed up together at the old Riddle Manor.”
As Rita Skeeter rapidly took down the short Witch’s words—she was determined to turn over a new leaf, and this scoop would undoubtedly earn her accolades for years to come!—Delores Umbridge, fighting a losing battle against the Veritaserum in her teacup, dropped the biggest bombshell yet.
”They’re Death Eaters, too….”