After a few moments of silence Snape finally answered. "If they had never seen it happen before, then it would be a sudden shock. And if you are going to ask if Fudge exhibited any symptoms of sudden shock, then I must answer unequivocally no he did not."
The silencing ward went up again and there was an even longer conference between the Councillors than there had been over the issue of Sirius Black.
Finally the ward went down and Dantes gave them the decision of the High Council on this charge. "While we will not be adding a charge of murder by Dementor to the list against Cornelius Fudge, we do herby find him guilty of the crime of failing the report the rogue Dementor to the proper authorities so that it could be put down. We also add the charge of endangering the warders of Azkaban Prison, because he failed to report the action to them as well, so they could take steps to isolate the rogue from the rest of the population within the prison walls. We are also adding a charge of deliberately endangering the lives of the children attending Hogwarts."
"I didn't endanger the children at Hogwarts!" Fudge protested.
"Oh really," Lord Kieran countered. "What do you think that Dementor would have done if it hadn't been satisfied with the soul of Barty Crouch? It would have killed you and Snape and then because the Headmaster didn't know it was within the walls so he could ward off the dormitories, it would have had a free run at the pride of the next generation."
"You admitted brining it in… without letting Dumbledore know it was coming." Perrivor reminded him. "If that rogue had killed single child you would have been held accountable; legally, morally, and financially and if you had been Kissed then your heir would have been made accountable for your actions. While that did not happen, thank Merlin, the situation should not have occurred in the first place. That Dementor should not have been brought within the walls of Hogwarts without the Headmaster's knowledge and consent."
Fudge gulped at the thought of the Dementor actually Kissing him as well. It was quite clear to those watching that the thought of that happening had never occurred to the man. Personally, Harry couldn't see why the idiot was so worried about a Dementor Kissing him. He doubted there would be any real change in the man given Fudge had no soul to lose.
Harry shuddered slightly at the thought of Fudge having kids. The image of Fudge as a proud father was only slightly more appealing image than the thought of Umbridge as a mother. Now there was an image that should be the stuff of nightmares. Umbridge as a cooing mother!
"The judgement stands," Dantes told him. "Let's move on to the next charge shall we; the failure of your office Fudge to notify all participants of the change in time for the trial you had ordered for a simple under-aged magic charge. Since you were listed as the lead interrogator that responsibility rested solely with your office Fudge. As well as the secondary charge that goes along with it of abusing the power of your office to have it held before the full Wizengamot, instead of a simple three member panel from the Department of Magical Education, which is the normal procedure in such a case."
Sliding Down a Slippery Slope
"Minister Fudge, who in your office was responsible for sending out the notices regarding the change of time for young Mr. Potter's under-aged magic hearing?" Madame Bones asked. "I know I got my notification the night before and several other members of the panel got their notifications early that morning because they barely made it to the hearing on time."
Fudge tried to look dignified and responsible as he told the High Council, "I entrusted the task of making sure the notifications went out on time to then Undersecretary Delores Umbridge."
"And did you stress to her how important it was that everyone who was supposed to be at the hearing receive their letter in a timely manner?" Bones wanted to know.
"Of course!" Fudge managed to sound offended. "Delores knew how important it was that this hearing be conducted in the proper manner. I trusted her to take care of the matter appropriately."
Madame Bones turned her attention to Umbridge who was seated in a chair several feet away from Snape. "Miss Umbridge, what was your understanding of how the letters, notifying the participants about the change in time for Lord Potter's underage magic hearing, should be delivered?"
Umbridge stared at Fudge through narrowed eyes, not really surprised that he would try and place the blame wholly on her shoulders. Politics was a cutthroat business after all, but she wasn't going to let him get away with that. While she couldn't read the High Councillors that well, she was fairly certain just from the charges that had already been confirmed that Fudge was likely to lose his office, if not wind up spending time in Azkaban, so why not help add to his punishment, since he was indirectly responsible for her have to spend the rest of her life there.
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