Harry Potter and the Theft of the Princess

Chapter 2- Fudge

Amelia Fudge stood panting and sweating in front of her telly, doing her morning exercise. Her father had informed her that yes, the Dark Lord had returned. His face was long and his voice was monotone, and he was very disappointed that his plan to keep the return of He-who-must-not-be-named a secret failed. After Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, and Albus Dumbledore himself proved the return of The Dark Lord to be true indeed, there wasn't much doubt in anyone's minds. Amelia learned before anyone else and began secretly training, working to become a better wizard than him, a better wizard than even Albus Dumbledore. That meant, at least to her, physically ready as well. And that's why every morning, Amelia got up and ran 1/4 mile, then did Tae-bo and Shaolin Kempo in front of a Telly screen, then practiced wand movements, hexes, charms, spells, and anything else she can learn. She was always the brightest in her classes at Hogwarts, and now that she's graduated, she could finally study what she wanted- everything. She can successfully Apparate, perform over 200 hexes, charms, and spells with and without her wand. She could produce two Animigus forms- A lion and an eagle- and she could stay awake and listening in Professor Binns History of Magic class, and name every one of the goblin rebellions. She Dueled with Professors Flitwick and Snape, and won both times. She transfigured an eagle into a lion and back again (as part of her Animigus training) and had gotten 18 OWLs and 12 NEWTs. But no one ever recognized her for anything. She was virtually unknown. That was why she wanted to defeat Voldemort single-handedly. She even said his name out loud, and the only people she had known to do that were Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter... Good, perfect Harry Potter who defeated Voldemort... Everyone loves good, great, perfect Harry Potter. She was determined to finally come out of the shadow of Harry Potter.

She finished her set of 100 kicks with vigor, and then flopped back on her bed. She picked up her book, 100,000 Nastily Exausting Wizarding Level Spells, Charms, and Hexes- A Follow-up Book from the NEWTs by Magilda Hopshirk. She was determined to learn them all. She was in the middle of reading Performing the Furniculus Curse on Large Numbers- Some Hints and Suggestions, when an owl swooped into her bedroom. That's funny, thought Amelia, I never get mail. She had no friends that wrote to her, no letters from the school (because she had finished school), no mail from the library or any of her teachers, so who would be writing to her? She didn't even own an owl. This one had a black border around a white envelope... I know I have seen that somewhere before, she thought to herself...

She left the letter on her desk, even though she was anxious to read it, she wasn't in the mood today. Her father told her that Lucius Malfoy, a known Death Eater, had had a trial with 25 charges against him, resulting in 50 separate years in Azkaban, along with 2 life sentences, liquidation of all assets, and a total of 5000 gallons to various people. Her father, being the Minister of Magic, had chosen to suspend the life sentences, and suspend half of the others, letting the fines stand, and bringing his time in Azkaban down to a mere 25. She had been so furious she had hit him round the face, and then run up to her room crying. Her father acknowledged her with a grunt, than finished drinking his coffee. She got up so early in the mornings, she was able to see him off to work every morning, which was amazing, because he left around 6:30. Her alarm went off at 4:00. She grabbed a muffin from the stack her mother made every morning (she got up at 5:30) and went outdoors to read her book. Suddenly, she thought about the letter in her room, and ran up to grab it. On the front it read For the eyes of Amelia Fudge ONLY. She started to open it, very slowly, slowly... Her father caught her attention, just as she was slipping the parchment out.

"Amelia," he called, "I want you to come to work with me today. I'm gonna have one hell of a time working out this mess with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Amelia sighed.

"Dad, can't you just call him Voldemort, like me? I'm not afraid to say his name, and I'm only 20. People'll think you're a wuss, just because you can't say some stupid name. VOLDEMORT!" she suddenly shouted, and her father flinched.

 

"Please, don't say his name. You weren’t old enough when You-Know-Who was at the height of his power. You don't remember enough of it to form an opinion." Cornelius Fudge looked hopelessly at his daughter.

 

"Whatever. Do you want my help or not?" Amelia was just bored now.

 

"Yes, yes, please come down here. Do you know where it is?" Cornelius looked at his daughter quizzically.

 

"Yes, father," she said sarcastically. She jammed the letter in her back pocket and closed her eyes. She really hated her father. She closed her eyes and screwed up her remaining courage, and imagined her father's office. Suddenly, her feet were whisked away from the ground, and she could feel her joints, one by one, moving to her father's office. That's how Apparation works, really, but its too fast to see all the separate parts moving. She arrived at her dad's office, but then Arthur Weasley came up to her as soon as she landed and said "Amelia? Why are you in the MMAO?" She looked around. Oops, she just started to think, but then her dad arrived behind her.

 

"Dad? Why are we in the MMAO?" Amelia asked, puzzled.

 

"We're having Dark Protectors put in the Minister's office, and since Perkins is on sick leave, I thought we could use his desk space while the workers are in my office." He looked at Arthur expectantly.

 

"Why, that would be fine with me," said Arthur. "In fact, that's splendid!" He looked at the portal of his family, and Amelia knew he would have something to talk about that night during dinner.

 

"Marvelous!" spouted Cornelius. "In fact," he looked at Arthur Weasley with admiration, "For your kind generosity, I propose a raise. Lord knows you haven’t had one in way too long..." Cornelius tried to say more, but he found Arthur hugging him round the middle, and shaking his hand vigorously.

 

"Oh, thank you, Mister Fudge, sir, thank you so much!" Arthur Weasley looked as if his birthday had come early. "A thousand thank-you’s to you, kind sir! May a Phoenix sing on your day, sir!"

 

"Oh, think nothing of it. Shall we say... 10 Gallons a week more? Is that do-able?" Arthur could only nod his head through tears. "You only get 5 gallons a week now, as it is, don't you?" Arthur suddenly looked ashamed (though how he could look ashamed and blissfully happy at the same time is beyond thought) Arthur nodded again. "Well, lets make it an even 20 a week, shall we? Is that ok?"

 

Arthur looked very happy indeed. "Yes, sir," he said through sniffles. Amelia could not think of a better person to give all her father's extra money to. She sat down, still smiling at Arthur Weasley, when she remembered the letter. She pulled out of her pocket, pulling out the parchment slowly, slowly...