Before Fudge could fully sort out his thoughts, he discovered that he had run into another new problem.
Every newspaper except the Daily Prophet was reporting on the incident. They had even printed one of the photographs Fudge had received earlier. Though it was not the same photo, it was clearly of the same type, and it showed Peeves splashing something all over the Aurors.
Then there were the Ministry of Magic Aurors, who had somehow all collapsed near Hogwarts' front gates. In short, the Ministry had once again become the laughingstock of the entire British wizarding world. Many witches and wizards were questioning the Aurors' competence, even claiming that their poor standards were why they had failed to capture the escaped Death Eaters.
Fudge's political opponents seized the chance to kick him while he was down, loudly mocking his incompetence and hinting that his time as Minister for Magic was nearly over.
Fudge had no choice but to convene a meeting of the Ministry's senior officials to discuss how to resolve the current crisis.
"I'm certain this was the handiwork of those people at Hogwarts!" Fudge slammed several newspapers onto the table and roared furiously. "Certain ill-intentioned individuals are trying to discredit the Ministry of Magic and undermine its authority. This is already a serious violation of..." Halfway through, Fudge seemed to forget something and turned to Percy.
"Disturbing public order!" Percy supplied.
"Yes, disturbing public order." Fudge waved his fist angrily.
Everyone fell into a brief silence, lowering their heads and avoiding Fudge's gaze. This so-called "disturbing public order" offense had only been added to Ministry law recently.
Under Fudge's leadership, the Ministry of Magic had become increasingly absurd.
"I understand how you feel, Minister, but we do not have much energy to waste on Hogwarts right now."