"Desperate Counterattack: Ministry of Magic Scores a Great Victory."
"Scrimgeour—Fighting Poison with Poison."
"Temporary Wartime Policy Adjustments at the Ministry of Magic—No Mercy for Dark Wizards."
"Albert Anderson—The Youngest Master of Prophecy in History."
"Bloody Wedding: Who Was the Mastermind Behind It?"
"Veritaserum to Be Used in Prisoner Interrogations."
"The Most Ruthless Minister for Magic in History."
"Another Dumbledore: A Wizard Even He Who Must Not Be Named Feared."
That day, when news of Scrimgeour leading the Aurors to defeat the Death Eaters spread through all the major newspapers, the entire wizarding world was thrown into uproar. Fudge, who was handling Scrimgeour's election campaign, was so shocked his mouth hung open.
Fudge suddenly understood why the other man had wanted to stall for time. So this was why: he intended to ride the momentum of defeating the Death Eaters into the position of Minister for Magic, which would save him a great deal of trouble afterward.
This had all been Scrimgeour's plan. He had discussed it with that Anderson fellow long ago, using the man's wedding to lay a trap and lure the Death Eaters in.
Just imagining that all the wedding guests had been Aurors in disguise... no wonder the Death Eaters had suffered such a crushing defeat.
Eight had been killed outright, while three Death Eaters had been captured alive. Fudge had even heard that the only reason those three had survived was because Scrimgeour intended to fine them.
Honestly, when Fudge heard that, he was completely dumbfounded. Fining Death Eaters heavily?
A fine? Was that really not extortion?
He had never imagined there would come a day when he would extort Death Eaters.
The reason Fudge knew such explosive news was that Scrimgeour wanted him to persuade the three unlucky men to pay up. The three Death