Dear Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,

We at the Ministry would like to notify you of the resignation of Millicent Bagnold who has chosen to leave her ministry rank as the Minister of Magic. We would like to suggest you as her successor and we kindly invite you to attend a ministry meeting, which will be taking place on the 11th of November in the Wizengamot conference room. We hope to see you there.

Yours sincerely,
Amelia Bones


Lowering the parchment he was holding, Dumbledore glanced over his half-moon glasses to the woman sitting across the desk from him.

‘I knew this day would come,’ he sighed, taking a quill and dipping it into ink.

~*~

In the bedroom of an apartment flat, Cornelius Fudge looked at his reflection one last time in the mirror. He was wearing his favorite pinstriped suit, which he’d sent out to be ironed by the Free Elf Service Co. He’d blackened his shoes by both hand and magic, and he’d tried on over ten ties before settling on the black silk one. On a whim, he’d added a bowler hat.

“You look lovely, dear,� chirped the mirror.

“You always say that,� grumbled Fudge.

“That’s my job!� said the mirror.

Still shaking his head, Fudge Apparated to the Ministry. He could have
Apparated straight to his desk, but he felt it was better to make his entrance through the Atrium and elevators. It allowed more opportunities to meet and greet, important for any aspiring politician or bureaucrat, but especially necessary for the Junior Minister of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. Nobody important would notice him otherwise.

Just before noon, Fudge left his office and headed for the Wizengamot Conference Room, where the meeting was being held for potential candidates to replace the Minister. To his great annoyance, Arthur Weasley held him up in the hall, talking about the need to reform the laws relating about enchanting Muggle objects. By the time he freed himself of the man, he was five minutes late to the meeting.

He opened to conference room’s door and found that everyone else had already arrived. There was Barty Crouch, with the recent scandal involving his son, Richard McMillan, who’d been at the Ministry a year less than Fudge, and Ezekiel Smith, who was certainly not well liked, despite coming from a prominent wizarding family. Fudge was starting to feel like he had a decent chance at the job after all.

Then he saw Dumbledore sitting towards the front of the room.

~*~

A few corridors away, a hearing was taking place, a candle shining as the only light in the room.

“Mr. Malfoy, do you know why I have asked you to come here today?� Amelia Bones glanced through her monocle at the wizard sitting across from her.

He, however, stared straight back at her a sneer visible on his face. Of course he knew that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was not swallowing his façade of being under the Imperius Curse and not having meant to serve the Dark Lord.

“Mr. Malfoy,� Amelia Bones continued, “is it clear to you that all followers of He-Who Must-Not-Be-Named are punished by a life long sentence in Azkaban?�

“It is clear,� he replied grimly.

“Is it also clear to you, that you are under the suspicion of belonging to such group?� Amelia Bones shuffled a pile of papers, which were placed, on the desk in front of her.

“I have said before, I was bewitch-“ Lucius started.

“Mr. Malfoy, I cannot be bribed like many of my colleague to believe such rubbish!� she answered harshly. “I have a couple of question, which I will be asking you,� she said while taking out a notebook from beneath her desk.

~*~

“Lemon drop?� Dumbledore broke the awkward silence, which was hovering over the conference room, by offering the other candidates for the Minister of Magic a packet of lemon drops. McMillan and Smith grabbed to take one, while Crouch Sr. shook his head gloomily.

Fudge also shook his head, still deep in though.

He knew that Dumbledore was a favorite between Ministry officials and the public and that he, a non-important Ministry employee, stood no chance. He also knew, that Dumbledore had had no interest of becoming the Minister of Magic, but he was not sure if that might have changed over the years.

“Are you sure you don’t want a lemon drop? They’re really quite delicious!� Dumbledore insisted and Cornelius jerked out of his thoughts just as he was calculating the chances of him becoming Minister of Magic.

“No thank you,� he said gravely, realizing that such chances were relatively low.

In this moment the doors opened and Millicent Bagnold walked in. She glanced around the room and stopped at Dumbledore. In her eyes, the new Minister of Magic was pretty much clear. “Well,� she said, “since we are all here, I think this meeting can begin!�

Cornelius walked out of the meeting feeling rather discouraged. It was very clear that the Ministry favorite for the post was Dumbledore. As a relatively unknown Ministry employee, he knew he didn't have a chance.

As he dejectedly made his way to his office, a richly dressed, blonde-haired man stopped him along the way. "Are you Cornelius Fudge?" the man inquired.

"Yes," replied Fudge. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lucius Malfoy," he said. "There's something I'd like to discuss with you. Would you care to go out to lunch some day?"

"I wouldn't mind going today," Cornelius admitted. "Would that work for you?"

"It would," said Lucius. "Do you like Hestia's Hearth in Diagon Alley?"

~*~

It had been Narcissa's idea. The previous morning, they'd both been in the sitting room. He had been in the corner, working on something at his desk, while Narcissa went through the mail they'd received that morning through owl post. He'd become aware of her sniffles, as she'd tried to cry outright. After a few minutes of this nonsense, he'd decided enough.

"Is there anything wrong, Narcissa?" he'd asked.

"Just this letter," she'd said. "It's from Madam Bones. You're supposed to come to the Minister tomorrow for more questioning."

"They'll probably just want more names," Lucius responded offhandedly.

"I don't know, Lucius," she'd murmured. "She's sharper than most of them, and angry too. You know she lost a lot of her family in the war."

"I can handle her," he'd replied with confidence.

"I hope so," she'd said fervently. "It was nice when I was growing up. The Black family had all the Ministry, even the Minister of Magic himself, under their thumb."

~*~

Millicent Bagnold began to clear her desk, collecting all her notes. As she prepared to leave the room she was shocked to see that, even though all other candidates had left the conference room at her dismissal, Dumbledore still sat in his chair, looking at her expectantly.

“Albus, what—“ she said but stopped in mid-sentence. “Oh, I suppose you want to know your chances right?� she chuckled. “Well, I must say it is under my comprehension that the post will most definitely be assigned to you!� Millicent Bagnold looked at him expecting an out burst of happiness. This, however, she did not receive and therefore she was startled by the gloomy expression on the headmasters face.

“I was worried that would happen,� he sighed beckoning the previous Minister of Magic to take a seat. “See, Millicent,� he began, “I really had no intention of becoming Minister of Magic last time, as you well know,� he said.

Bagnold chuckled. She remembered clearly how, only through the withdrawal of Dumbledore, had she gotten the Minister rank. She respected him, and was, of course, happy of his withdrawal, but never quite understood why.

“Millicent, my views have not changed. I came to this meeting merely of politeness, not to take part in the election.�

“But, Albus, why-“ she started.

“I believe that Voldemort will return!� he declared. Bagnold jumped at the mentioning of this name, throwing all her papers into the air. As they floated back down, Dumbledore continued. “I also believe that he will, as he has done previously, try to infiltrate or attack my school. I cannot leave my post as Headmaster to let this happen. Do you understand that?�

“I understand,� she replied, still a little shaken as she bent to pick up her notes. With the wave of his wand, Dumbledore returned them into her arms.

“I wish you a good day,� he said. “Lemon drop?�

~*~

On the way out, Dumbledore met none other than Lucius Malfoy, who was just entering the room as Dumbledore was leaving.

"Good day, Mr. Malfoy," said a very surprised Millicent Bagnold. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, I am here on the behalf of a few friends," replied Lucius silkily. "When they heard that I was coming to the Ministry to deliver my modest contribution to the Save the Little Kleinstein Krup Park and Breeding Centre Fund, they asked if I could also give you a written summary of their personal opinions of the qualifications of various candidates to succeed you. There are letters from some very prominent families, including the Notts, the Crabbes, the Goyles, and many others, including mine. We'll all miss you and your wonderful leadership enormously, of course, and want to make sure the next Minister is half as good."

"Why thank you, Mr. Malfoy!" said the Minister, blushing. "That's ever so kind of you. I really wish I could continue to serve my country, but the stress of the war has really made my health go downhill. I'd like to spend my last few years around family, especially my grandchildren."

Picking up a framed picture from her desk, she said, "Isn't he a darling? His name is James. My daughter Lisa gave birth to him just last month."

After a suitable time of pretending to examine the picture of the baby, Lucius said, "You must be very proud. Now, where should I leave the letters and the contribution for the Krup fund?"

"You can leave both here," said Bagnold.

Lucius set the letters on her desk and the sack of Galleons on the floor. Millicent eyed the bag with shock – and greed. The Little Kleinstein Krup Park and Breeding Centre was her pet project.

"Why, Mr. Malfoy, how generous of you!" she exclaimed. "Your contribution, I mean. Bring all those letters, too, I suppose.�

Lucius left the office with the faintest hint of a smile on his face. Victory!

~*~

On the day of the voting, Fudge walked gloomily down the hallway to the Wizengamot Conference Room, and bumped into none other than his feared opponent, Albus Dumbledore

“I suppose this is the place where I wish you good luck,� Fudge sighed. Not that you need it,he added in his thoughts.

“But why, Cornelius? I am purely here due to the invitation to attend and take part in the voting ceremony this lovely morning.� Dumbledore chuckled and turned to enter the conference room. This news delighted Fudge greatly, and he though back to the lunch he had with Lucius Malfoy, who had invited him to dine at Hestia's Hearth, a rather posh little restaurant.

Lucius had offered a great amount of financial support if Fudge would become Minister of Magic. Fudge told him he could not accept this, as the possibility of such was quite small. Lucius insisted and even told Fudge he would leave a word with Millicent Bagnold... under one condition: Once he had received the said rank of Minister of Magic, all charges and suspicions of the Malfoy family shall be dropped. Fudge thought nothing of it and agreed, a little half-heartily due to the ever-growing concern of his one big opponent: Albus Dumbledore.

With him now out of the way, for whatever reason Fudge could not imagine, his chances shot sky-high again. He followed Dumbledore with a little skip of joy.

~*~

“So we all know the reason for today’s gathering, I am sure,� Millicent Bagnold began. “I have enjoyed working together with everyone here at the Ministry and am very sad to leave this post.� She paused as some of the members of the Wizengamot murmured their agreement. “So here I present my selection for three candidates, who I think suitable to succeed me and become the next Minister of Magic,� she pointed to the three chairs at the very front of the conference room, on which sat: a sour looking Barty Crouch Sr., an anxious Richard Mcmillan and a very smug Cornelius Fudge. Ezekiel Smith, as Fudge had heard, had been clarified as not liable for the job due to a letter sent to Millicent Bagnold. Fudge didn’t know who sent the letter, or what was written in it, but he had heard rumors that it explained how Smith apparently took regular doses of Felix Felicities.

“Without further ado, I think it is time that the Wizengamot votes,� Minister Bagnold announced. “They have previously been given notice of the candidates and had a chance to consider them. I now ask all who support Bartimous Crouch, Sr. to raise their hands.�

Only a handful of people raised their hands.

“Now, I ask all those who support Cornelius Fudge to raise their hands.�

This time, a far greater number among the Wizengamot members raised their hands. Fudge could see in the stands, and Dumbledore was one of them.

“Finally, would all those who support Richard Macmillan to raise their hands.�

It was hard to tell who had more votes, Fudge or Mcmillan. After a minute, though, Minister Bagnold was ready to announce the winner.

“I’d like to thank all three of you, and indeed all those fine wizards and witches who sought my position and were deemed almost as worthy as these three by me, for your interest in serving the wizarding community of this country,� Millicent said grandly. “It is now my honor to announce the new Minister of Magic,� she paused to let some tension rise, “Cornelius Fudge!�

Fudge was frozen in shock for a minute. Then, beckoned to the podium by Millicent, he stood and made his way towards her still in a trance. He posed shaking hand with her, standing next to her, with his arm around her shoulder, and in many different positions for the papers. The cameras just seem to keep flashing and flashing. It really didn’t hit him for hours, though, that he was now unbelievably the new Minister of Magic.

~*~

Apparently, nobody else could believe that the Junior Minister of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes was now their leader, either. There was a great bout of lawlessness in the weeks following his election. Fudge, who had little prior experience dealing with departments like Experimental Spells and the Aurors, found himself increasingly relying on the advice of others. The one person who seemed to give the soundest advice was his formerly perceived rival, Albus Dumbledore. Besides, it seemed to help public opinion that the renowned headmaster of Hogwarts was on board.