It's All Fudge's Fault

"Rufus, what's going on?"

Fudge expressionlessly placed today's Daily Prophet before the Head of the Auror Office, feeling indescribably frustrated and aggrieved.

He felt utterly innocent, as though all the blame had been pinned on him just because he was the Minister of Magic.

It was terribly unfair.

Scrimgeour glanced at the Daily Prophet's front-page headline, then looked up at the expressionless Fudge. "Robards is still undergoing Auror training. He's young and hot-headed, and he isn't good at adapting when handling matters, which is what led to this misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding? Telling me it was a misunderstanding is useless." Fudge took a deep breath. "Everyone has a very poor opinion of the Ministry Aurors now. Do you know what happened this morning? I found my mailbox stuffed full of protest letters—at least fifty of them. Can you understand how I felt? Now, can you explain why an Auror still in training was sent out on a mission?"

"The Aurors are constantly searching for Black's whereabouts," Scrimgeour reminded him. "We're severely understaffed. The Ministry of Magic hasn't produced any qualified Aurors in years. The best solution is to have Aurors still in training take part in less important patrol duties, with experienced members guiding them. That gives them some training while also making up for our shortage of manpower."

Fudge fell silent.

There was indeed such a tradition.

"Many people are demanding that we withdraw the Dementors from Hogwarts. Quite a few Hogsmeade villagers have protested to me, saying the Dementors are disrupting their normal lives. As for Dumbledore, he has never liked those Dementors. To be honest, neither do I."

"No one has ever liked dealing with those things," said Scrimgeour.

"Fine, I want to hear your suggestion now. Should we send the Dementors back to Azkaban Prison? They've caused