Fudge sat straighter in the chair trying to look brave and dignified, but Harry personally thought he looked like that arrogant rooster Dudley used to watch in that American cartoon show. What was he called…? Harry thought for a moment, trying to remember the name because at the time, he'd thought the rooster reminded him a lot of Uncle Vernon. Then it came to him…. Foghorn Leghorn. Now that he thought about it that Rooster was a perfect match for Fudge or any other politician on the face of the planet… whether magical or muggle.
"I discussed the issue with one of my top advisors," Fudge continued. "And they agreed it was best to place Hagrid in protective custody, that way if he was guilty we had him where he couldn't do any harm and if he wasn't, then he would be safe from those who might wish to do him harm."
"*cough* Malfoy *cough* *cough*" Harry muttered from his seat in the row behind Delacour's table.
"Lord Potter, please let the man testify on his own without any comments from the gallery." Lord Perrivor requested though Harry thought there was a slight grin on his face.
"Minister Fudge, you do realise just how stupid that sounds don't you?" Delacour pointed out. "You took a man who had little more than a third year magical education and hadn't been convicted of any crime from Hogwarts one of the safest locations in Wizarding Britain and you put him in Azkaban. Even if they weren't in the section of the prison where he was to be confined, how was Hagrid protected from the Dementors, given their effect can be felt throughout the whole prison even the levels where minor prisoners are kept? He could have just as easily have been placed in protective custody in one of the unused towers of Hogwarts or in one of it's dungeon chambers. Or if you didn't want to leave him at Hogwarts, why didn't you place him in a Ministry holding cell? And if you really thought he might be a danger why didn't you take any Aurors with you, in case he tried to make a break for it?"
"I didn't need Aurors," Fudge said pompously. "Dumbledore had accompanied me and given that he took out Grindelwald, I felt he should be able to handle Hagrid if he got out of control. As for why Azkaban, my advisor suggested it so that we could show the public we were doing something about the situation at Hogwarts."
"And who was this foolish advisor that suggested you should imprison an innocent man in hell without a trial?" Lord Longrim wanted to know.
Fudge muttered something too low for them to hear.
"Speak up Fudge." Longrim ordered. "You always manage to talk loud enough when you have nothing to say."
Fudge finally said, "Lucius Malfoy was the one who suggested it. He said it would make people feel safer about their children remaining at Hogwarts."
Dantes gave him a disgusted look. "And you can honestly sit there and say that it didn't cross your tiny little mind that you were about to do something illegal? Nor did it apparently occur to you that you didn't have the authority to arrest and send someone to Azkaban. Not to mention that it was an abuse of the powers of the office of the Minister to place someone there who hadn't been found guilty of any crime."
Fudge looked at Dantes with a dumbfounded look. "Of course I can. I'm the Minister, and if I think someone is guilty of a crime, I can have them arrested or even do it myself."
"But he wasn't guilty was he?" Delacour put in. "You had an innocent man arrested and sent to Azkaban without trial. You may have put a polite face on it by calling it protective custody, but we all know what it really was."
"The Ministry had to be seen to be doing something." Fudge burst out tired of the accusations. "There was a lot of public pressure to get the situation resolved. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement wasn't moving fast enough and so I took steps to get them more time and reassure the public. That is part of my job."
Lord Longrim commented dryly. "I would like to see where in the job description for Minister of Magic it says when the public starts demanding action on a situation the Minister must find a convenient scapegoat, even if they aren't guilty of any crime so the public can feel better about the government."
"It isn't in the job description," Fudge countered stiffly. "It is one of those things you learn on the job. Do whatever it takes to keep the public calm and under control. Whether it is listening to some old pure bloods waffle on about how the muggleborns are ruining our society and how they were kept under better control when they were younger, or listening to the complaints of a Muggleborn about how they aren't treated fairly in wizard society. The situation at Hogwarts was getting out of hand and Dumbledore didn't seem to be able to do something about it, so the Ministry had to give the appearance of having done something."
"By arresting an innocent man." Lord Kieran reminded him yet again. "I have a feeling you wouldn't be quite so cavalier about it if it had been you or a member of your family treated that way by the Minister of Magic."
.....
Join my p@treon and read ahead by more than 60+ chapters.
Link : [email protected]/Sonic_Spectre
Free members can read the next two chapters for free on my p@treon