"You're being too sensitive, Dolores." Fudge waved a hand carelessly. "I know that little Weasley quite well. He's not a typical Weasley. Some time ago he had a huge row with his family over matters in the Ministry, and now he basically never goes home."
That had indeed happened. Before Christmas, Percy did not go home for the holidays, but stayed at the Ministry working overtime.
"I still think you should remain vigilant." Umbridge went on in her syrupy voice, its sweetness at least worth ten plus signs. "I suspect this is a self-directed farce of theirs, a bitter trick staged just so they can plant Weasley at your side."
Fudge drew a deep breath.
It was not as though such a possibility didn't exist; as the saying went, better safe than sorry…
Thinking of this, Fudge pondered for a moment, then said, "How about this: have Weasley go with you and Rufus Scrimgeour to seal off Pierce Sinix's house first. We've just received intelligence indicating that he's a Death Eater…"
"A Death Eater?" Umbridge frowned. "Pierce is a Death Eater? How is that possible? He's the excellent head of our Magic Law Enforcement Department! How could he be a Death Eater!"
"But the evidence is ironclad, Dolores." Fudge sighed, raising a hand to rub his temples, looking utterly exhausted. "This isn't suspicion, and it isn't an accusation; it's fact! We found a Dark Mark on his wrist… it's too terrible… Pierce Sinix turned out to be a Death Eater, lurking by our side all this time…"
"Could it be someone framing him?" Umbridge asked with a frown. "Cornelius, think about it… the struggle inside the Ministry has reached a white heat now; what if this is a smokescreen put out by Black and the others, meant to weaken our strength…"
"A genuine Dark Mark can only be branded by the Black Demon himself!" Fudge waved his hand in disgust. "Even though You-Know-Who cannot possibly return, I really can't tolerate such a time bomb sitting at my side… Think about it. He's been embedded in the Ministry for over ten years, day in, day out—was he planning some kind of sabotage? I very much doubt his motives…"
"And another thing!" Fudge lowered his voice again. "If I sit on this matter, and Black and the others join forces with Dumbledore to expose that I appointed a Death Eater—or a former Death Eater—as head of the Law Enforcement Department, my political career will be finished!"
It seemed the previous sentence had not been the point; the real point lay in this last one.
Umbridge also understood how serious this was, and she had no choice but to accept Fudge's decision.
"Oh, what a dreadful shame." Umbridge shook her head and sighed. "To think he really was a Death Eater; this is just…"
"That's enough, Dolores." Fudge's eyelids drooped. "Hogwarts still needs you there to exert pressure. They can't do without you."
"I understand, Minister." Umbridge replied in that cloying voice of hers.
The next afternoon, Percy knocked on the door of the Minister's office, a large file envelope in his hand.
"Come in." Fudge didn't even look up from his newspaper.
Percy entered the office and walked to the desk opposite Fudge, placing the file envelope on the table.
"Minister." Percy called.
Fudge looked up and, seeing it was Percy, smiled and nodded. "Ah, Weasley. How did the matter with Sinix go?"
"We've already arrested Sinix." Percy stood ramrod straight in front of the desk as he reported to Fudge: "At Sinix's home, we found many Dark Magic artifacts, and of course… plenty of Alchemy Products as well. As you know, as a Pure-blood Wizard, Mr. Sinix has built up some assets over the past few years."
Hearing this, Fudge waved a hand, indicating Percy should sit.
Percy did not stand on ceremony and sat down on the sofa not far from Fudge.
Fudge stood up and sat opposite Percy. After pondering for a moment, he continued, "Aside from these, what else was there? If I recall correctly, you went to arrest Sinix together with Rufus, didn't you?"
"Yes, sir." Percy said. "Apart from those, we also found some Magic Potions in Sinix's home, but Mr. Scrimgeour has already packed them up and is preparing to send them to the Ministry."
Fudge rubbed his fingers together and said ruefully, "A head of the Magic Law Enforcement Department, corrupted and fallen into a Death Eater… this is a heavy blow to our Ministry. It will affect the image we hold in the hearts of other Wizards… There's something I need you to do: go and give the Prophet Daily a heads-up, understood?"
"Understood, Minister." Percy took the hint. After a year as secretary, he had developed an eye for such things. "I'll explain to the Prophet Daily that this operation to arrest Sinix was carried out under your direction, that it was your keen eye that saw through Sinix's undercover identity."
Fudge was even more pleased.
"In addition," Percy said meaningfully, "sir, I truly hadn't expected Sinix's home to contain some rather venerable pieces in his collection."
At Percy's words, Fudge immediately straightened up.
"Oh? And you didn't think to examine them properly?" he asked, eyes bright.
"Of course I examined them closely."
Percy played along smoothly. Seeing the meaningful look in Fudge's eyes, he relaxed inwardly.
"Among them was a Ring, said to be a treasure collected by an ancestor of the Gaunt Clan, which used to be carried at all times by Marvolo Gaunt. I didn't register it in the inventory; I slipped it into my pocket. Just before I came in, I put it into the file envelope for this arrest operation."