"Dumbledore"
"Caretaker Minister Fudge"
The politician sneered a bit, not forgetting about how the elder Wizard had 'abandoned' him during the Dementor incident fallout. Still the Headmaster had been the one to instigate the plan to return him to, at least temporarily, office and given him, unknowingly, the tools for his revenge against Lucius. He could ignore the masked insult for now.
"I take it you are here regarding our progress against Malfoy?"
Albus nodded, "I am sure you understand the time constraints we are facing. If we cannot locate evidence directly showing his involvement in the next few months the campaign will lose its momentum. Worse, Harry will be returning to school in the fall."
"One problem at a time Headmaster. We are still investigating, and making progress, against Malfoy and the Death Eater releases. The man covered his tracks, but he will have slipped up somewhere along the line enough for the DMLE to make a proper arrest. As for Potter… I may have an idea for that. You need someone to push him, to get him to show what he truly is yes?"
A nod confirmed his suspicions and the politician pressed onward, "My undersecretary is loyal to me and willing to do what is necessary for the cause. She will reveal the evil inside of him for the world to see. Once that occurs we can return England to the way it was, to the way it is supposed to be. Due to the incident at the end of the Triwizard Tournament the Wizengamot has approved the hiring of a more reliable instructor for the Dark Arts and I recommended Dolores. Give her leeway Dumbledore and she will give you what you need."
...
An hour after Dumbledore has departed the temporary Minister's office he returned to his own, and was greeted by one of his closest friends and advisers.
"You sure about this Dumbledore? Fudge was the one who put the Dementors at Hogwarts remember?"
"I do Alastor, but I have recently come into information pointing to Harry as being the cause of the massacre. Cornelius may not be the best leader, but he is certainly better than allowing a future Dark Lord free reign over the government."
"Like you have been doing?"
The elder Wizard shot a glare over to his friend, who merely returned it back in force, "Just saying Dumbledore, you were the boy's biggest advocate from what I've heard. Snape told you time and time again that he was dark and you ignored him."
"Yes, I am well aware of my own failures, but that does not mean I cannot correct my mistakes. I have been blind towards Harry for too many years, thinking that Severus saw only the darkness due to his hatred for James Potter. It took the collaboration of several others to open my eyes. Now I must due everything I can to prevent another evil from taking hold."
Moody gave a light snort, showing exactly what he thought of trying to do so when it seemed the boy had already triumphed, before nodding as well, "Alright, so what is the plan?"
"First we begin by weakening his hold over the government and the people. Tom was able to do far more damage through his followers than he would have ever been able to do alone. If his support can be removed Harry will become vulnerable."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"By identifying those who are loyal to him." Albus answered, already beginning a list in his mind of those most likely fallen to the boy's side. "Some will be obvious, others not. Lucius Malfoy is undoubtedly one and I fear many of the freed Death Eaters will flock to his cause as well. There are also some of the Harry's classmates who will choose him over the lives of the innocent, and while I truly hope we can save them they may be already passed our aid."
"Do we even know what his goals are? If we could figure them out, we might be able to cut him off before he achieves any more success."
Dumbledore shook his head, "Unfortunately no. Thus far the only ambitions he seems to have are subtle political manipulations and gaining control over the government, although his lack of involvement in placing Mr. Malfoy back into power is a bit odd."
The former Auror growled in agreement, earning a soft chuckle from the older man, who gently took off his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose in weariness.
"Truth be told Alastor I am not sure what Harry has planned, all I know is that he is continuing to grow stronger and more influential as time passes. If something is not done, we may lose the next war before it even begins."
....
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