"Minister, the reporters have arrived."
Percy Weasley stood by the door, raised a hand to knock softly on the office's wooden door, and reminded Fudge, who sat behind his desk with his fingers interlaced, looking utterly listless.
"I know."
Cornelius Fudge rose wearily and headed out of his office.
To be honest, Fudge had no desire whatsoever to face that swarm of fly-like reporters. But as the current Minister for Magic, he had to give everyone a reasonable explanation for Amelia Bones's death.
"An explanation?"
"Bloody hell!"
Fudge himself had not even figured out what exactly had happened.
A few hours earlier, Fudge had been woken from his sleep and informed that Amelia Bones had been murdered.
What did it mean, suspected to have been personally killed by The Dark Lord?
The Aurors had not given him a reasonable explanation, so how was he supposed to explain it to the reporters?
Was he meant to tell them that Amelia Bones had been personally murdered by The Dark Lord?
Anyone with half a brain could guess what the consequences would be if he said that.
What the entire British wizarding world truly cared about was not Amelia Bones's death itself, but the fact that she had been murdered by Death Eaters under heavy Auror protection.
The Ministry of Magic's authority would once again come under scrutiny, but that was not even the most frightening part. After this, people would think: if Amelia Bones could be murdered under Auror protection, how could their own lives possibly be guaranteed?
Wizards living in fear and anxiety would only vent their anger at the Ministry of Magic, and Fudge, as Minister for Magic, would undoubtedly bear the brunt of it. After all, this had happened during his term in office.
Fudge seemed to hear people