Before Fudge could fully sort out his thoughts, he found himself facing a new problem.
Every newspaper except the Daily Prophet was reporting on the incident. They had even printed a photograph similar to the one Fudge had received earlier. Though it was not the same photo, it was clearly of the same type, and showed Peeves splashing something all over the Aurors.
Then there were the Ministry Aurors, who had somehow all collapsed near Hogwarts' gates. In short, the Ministry of Magic had once again become the laughingstock of the entire British magical world. Many witches and wizards questioned the Aurors' competence, even believing that their poor standards were why they had failed to capture the escaped Death Eaters.
Fudge's political rivals seized the opportunity to kick him while he was down, loudly mocking his incompetence and hinting that his days as Minister of Magic were numbered.
Fudge had no choice but to convene a meeting of the Ministry's senior officials to discuss how to resolve the current problem.
"I'm certain this was the work of those people at Hogwarts." Fudge slammed several newspapers onto the table and roared furiously. "Certain ill-intentioned individuals are trying to smear the Ministry of Magic and undermine its credibility. 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 briefly silent, lowering their heads and avoiding Fudge's gaze. This so-called "disturbing public order" offence had only been added to Ministry law recently.
Under Fudge's leadership, the Ministry of Magic was becoming increasingly absurd.
"I understand how you feel, Minister, but we do not have much energy to waste on Hogwarts right now." Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office,