Chapter 92 - Dementors! Part-3

{Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts}

{10th Sep 1991}

{3rd Person POV}

"I already told you Cornelius, no dementor would step foot inside the Hogwarts wards..." Albus spoke as he stared down into the eyes of the portly minister. Cornelius shrank back slightly, even without a Legilimency probe, Albus could tell that the minister was both afraid and furious. But right now Albus didn't care about Fudge's pride. He had a bottom line and that meant that no Dementer would be allowed to roam on Hogwart lands.

He wished the repulsion ward could work 24/7 but the enhancement was not made like that. Dementers were powerful creatures and they needed strong esoteric magic to repel them. The wards could simulate that for a while but just enough to stall, he needed to be blunt and forceful about his conditions so the Ministry itself instructed the Dementers itself.

"...The ministry had decided-" Lucius stepped forward in an attempt to help Fudge but he too stopped when Dumbledore looked in his direction. For all the bravado that Lucius had, he was also aware of the fact that he did not stand a chance against Dumbledore. The old wizard was civil most of the time, even humoring their attempts at politics but when it comes to his bottom lines...

Lucius suppressed a shudder as his eyes stayed locked with Dumbledore's for a moment before he remembered the warning from the Dark Lord and averted his gaze. As much as he wanted to challenge the old man's authority, he didn't dare to make Dumbledore serious.

"Hogwarts is, and always has been outside the influence of the Ministry. Within the wards, no force of any government body is allowed for an extended period. It is all written in the accords Cornelius." Albus stated. Although some headmasters in the past have allowed Aurors to stay mobilized on campus, and it had set a precedent for auror forces in times of emergency, he had no intention of budging on the matter.

Dementors were the darkest of magical creatures, their inherent magic made them almost invulnerable with only the strongest fire magic and only a handful of esoteric magic working on them.

Albus also knew he needed to make sure that Cornelius understood that he would not budge on the matter so with a thought he extended his hand and focused. A silver sword materialized out of thin air, it had a big red jewel at the end with several runes carefully etched onto the blade.

Both Cornelius and Lucius backed away as soon as Dumbledore pulled out the sword from thin air. While Cornelius looked at the sword with an apprehensive look, it was Lucius who recognized the legendary sword. His eyes stared at the famous weapon with fear and greed.

"I want to make sure you understand Cornelius, this is the sword of Gryffindor, famed because it was the primary casting tool that Godric Gryffindor, one of the founders of Hogwarts used during the war, before he settled down with a wand. It is an enchanted weapon that can cut down anything." The unasked question lingered in the air as Fudge had a constipated look.

"You can't threaten to kill the Dementers Dumbledore," Lucius spoke, he didn't know if it was possible but if it was, then the reason why the soul-sucking dark creatures followed the Dark Lord made sense.

"If they cross the Hogwarts wards then I will, the safety of my students would never be compromised. Now is there anything else I can do?" Albus asked, with a flick of his hand the silver sword vanished, the casual display of control over the legendary weapon seemed to have worked as Fudge relented.

"Of course Albus, whatever you feel is right for the safety of the students..." Fudge immediately backtracked on his words, Albus noticed how the minister addressed him with his first name seemingly changing from hostile to friendly.

Cornelius Fudge was many things, a coward, a timid portly man who only cared about his reputation and wealth. But he was not stupid, knowing that trying anything more would not be beneficial to him, he quickly gave way to Albus's demands but after a moment he changed his tune once again, "...but you must help me as well Albus, I can't keep being seen like I'm doing nothing. The public must have faith in the Ministry, so I'll station a squad of Dementors and Aurors around Hogsmeade."

"...You worry about the safety of the students and the Aurors would do well to track the mass murderer, Sirius Black." Fudge finished, and his eyes showed a firm determination to follow through his words. Albus could easily dissuade him from keeping the Dementors so close but he relented as well. At the same time, another idea emerged in his mind, so he quickly nodded.

"Of course, now if you would please, I have some matters to attend to." Albus dismissed the portly man. He could see the way Fudge's face stiffened for a brief moment at the blatant dismissal, the Minister of Magic was anything but graceful as he nodded and waddled over to the fire.

Albus turned to look into Lucius's eyes but the blond avoided his gaze and swiftly ducked behind the fire and flooed away. The lack of words exchanged surprised Albus a little bit.

'He has been silent for a couple of months now, likely planning on dealing with Rigel Black.' Albus thought. He had been debating about approaching the young heir and the distraction of Sirius Black's infiltration served as the perfect way to move forward to deal with the chamber of secrets.

First, though he needed to go through the books of soul magic that he had hidden away from the Restricted section of the Library. How the Dark Lord survived was a mystery to him, but the Dementer's magic was special as well.

'What would happen if a weakened soul of the Dark Lord that was possessing Quirrell is confronted with a misguided Dementor that just happened to prance onto him? This plan certainly seemed more feasible than trying to trap the Dark Lord's soul in a Dark Artifact.'

...

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AN - Plans changing from both sides. Who would come out on top?