"They certainly couldn't keep me locked up."
Dumbledore answered without hesitation. "But if I openly took action, what would happen to the staff and students at Hogwarts? Fudge would take it out on the school, and the children would only suffer more."
He interlaced his fingers.
"I was waiting for you to return anyway, so I might as well stay here for now. Seeing me quietly locked away puts Fudge's mind at ease."
"As long as I'm here, the Ministry of Magic has no excuse to harass anyone else. The school can at least maintain a semblance of peace."
He paused, his gaze growing somber.
"Besides, Tom has returned."
Dumbledore looked at Hermione.
"He's gathering strength in the shadows. If I break with the Ministry of Magic completely now, the entire wizarding world will be consumed by infighting. That is precisely what Tom wants."
"We need to concentrate our strength on the real enemy, rather than waste our energy on Fudge."
Hermione nodded.
That was certainly Dumbledore's style. He would rather suffer himself than let the situation deteriorate.
He simply put up with far too much.
She wasn't having any of that.
"Hermione," Dumbledore leaned forward slightly, curiosity in his eyes, "after you left that day, weren't you supposed to..."
"We can catch up later." Hermione raised a hand to interrupt him. "Let's deal with the problem at hand first."
She rose, walked to the railing, and looked down at the Aurors patrolling below.
"You worry about too many things. The quickest way to solve a problem is to deal directly with the people causing it."
"You want to act now?"
Dumbledore cautioned her, "Fudge isn't at the school. Only his subordinates are here. Even if you drive all these Aurors away, they'll just keep sending more."
"True."
Hermione nodded.