The following is an excerpt from the Lost Day Part 2: The Mystery of Wormtail and Fudge.

J.K. Rowling has made it clear that Fudge was not a Death Eater. But, we know Fudge to be inept and power hungry. That is not a stable combination. One of the first things he says about himself when we meet him in Chamber of Secrets is: "Look at it from my point of view. I'm under a lot of pressure. Got to be seen doing something." All he cares about is perception and how people will look at him. Let us assume that a Junior Minister of the Department of Magical Catastrophes wants to get on the fast track to becoming Minister of Magic. We've seen how many departments and committees there are in the magical world in Order of the Phoenix. We also know that everyone wanted Dumbledore to be the next Minister of Magic. Enter Mr. Quick-Fix a.k.a. Voldemort. If you are a dictator and are making a bid to rule the world, you have to start small and work your way up. It helps to have friends on the opposing side in a position to help you out. With Pettigrew as a spy close to the underground resistance (The Order of the Phoenix, if you will) against Voldemort and Fudge in the Ministry in a position not too high to call attention to himself but high enough to have a lot of clearance to confidential information, Voldemort could move covertly in a lot of his deviance by keeping his enemies so close. The Department of Magical Catastrophes is an interesting department to have on your side. A giant crater with 12 dead people is a catastrophe. Isn't it clever to have someone on your side that can be first on the scene, in a position to control the investigation, eliminate or fabricate evidence, and control the amount of information reported to the ministry and the public, especially during similar catastrophes in the beginning stages of a world takeover? Who do you think was probably in charge of the investigation of Godric's Hollow once it was discovered? A house and two people under the Fidelius Charm blown up magically seems like a catastrophe to me. Who could make sure no one looked for Voldemort's wand? Who could control all information ascertained in an investigation like that?

Suppose after blowing up the house, Pettigrew meets up with Fudge. He's freaking out. He doesn't know what to do. Imagine Fudge's imagination thinking of the prestige of being the first person at the ministry to know that Voldemort has fallen and be able to spread the news. Then, remember that it's nearly twenty-four hours before Sirius discovers Wormtail. Or is he "discovered"? Voldemort is dead and no one knows why. You can make up whatever story you want. According to Prisoner of Azkaban, Sirius had arranged to check on Pettigrew/Wormtail. Arrangement implies that Pettigrew probably knew of this impending visit from Sirius and that it was planned in advance. As Wormtail is talking to Fudge, explaining why he must flee, he lets slip that Sirius'll know and will be looking for him. What does Fudge say: let him find you. Then they can set Sirius up to take the fall for betraying the Potters and Wormtail can get away. No one knows that Pettigrew is secret-keeper. Everyone assumes it is Sirius. Fudge's office will be in charge of the investigation so he can take care of it. They'll just need a good cover story and some evidence. They must scour the house for any clues that can be traced back to Peter Pettigrew. It'll only cost a finger. The prize: freedom. Not to mention, capturing the man who will be known in the wizarding world as Voldemort's biggest supporter will be a HUGE feather in Fudge's cap. When Voldemort falls, no one ever need know about his connection to Fudge. Then the two blow up the house (I say two because if we infer that Godric's Hollow is named for Godric Gryffindor, the cottage would have to have some magical protection). And they get away with murder. The only hope is to be faster than Sirius. And he is.

That was me as a novice. Not knowing what I know now. What is intriguing is that I said that this was farfetched. Then I did my reread of Goblet of Fire. Suddenly, it all became so clear. I think I was on the right track with this one.

I did make a few errors in judgement. In the above, I connected Fudge with Wormtail and that's as high as it went. But suddenly it hit me - this is a huge conspiracy. Think about it. When Fudge, McGonagall, and Hagrid are telling the story in Hogsmeade, FUDGE WAS THE ONLY ONE PRESENT WHEN SIRIUS WAS APPREHENDED! Someone emailed me once and asked me why Sirius would laugh when they arrested him. I relied that Sirius does have a wicked sense of humor. But then later I thought what if he didn't laugh? What if Fudge made up the events of what happened after he arrived? Remember that Pettigrew was gone and all the Muggles were dead. So why would Sirius hang around and wait for the cops to come and get him? The smart move would have been to send up the signal for the Order of the Phoenix and then apparate to Dumbledore or at least another Order member and debrief them that Pettigrew is the traitor. So why not leave? My natural inclination is to say that the curse Pettigrew used knocked him out until Fudge and the Goon Squad arrived. But if he was knocked out, he wouldn't have seen Peter Pettigrew turn into a rat. The only way he could have still been coherent and not able to run away or at least signal the order, was if the moment, I mean the second Pettigrew was out of sight, Fudge showed up. As I have said repeatedly, Fudge's downfall is that he admitted to being first on the scene. My thinking is that Fudge arrived there but did so on someone else's orders. Whose orders?

LUCIUS MALFOY. From our introduction to Fudge, we have known that Lucius has always kept Fudge in his pocket. Like the Godfather, Lucius is a man who gets things done and makes people offers they can't refuse. I still maintain that Fudge was never a Death Eater. But, he has always been affiliated with Lucius. Remember, at the time of the Sirius frame up, Voldemort was dead and gone, so Pettigrew's orders couldn't have come from that high up. I was always struggling to determine who Pettigrew could have run to after witnessing Voldemort's demise. Then it hit me. Lucius is the Darth Vader to Voldemort's Emperor Palpatine. Pettigrew arrived at the Potter's cottage because Voldemort would have made him go as insurance. Voldemort is a lot of things but he ain't no dummy. Just in case it was a trap laid by the Order or Dumbledore or the Ministry, he needed Pettigrew there because Pettigrew would not risk Voldemort's wrath for a trap. He arrived at the cottage and revealed Voldemort to the Potters and watched his master kill his friends. He then saw little Harry not die at his master's hands and his master die. Now he's screwed. He grabs Voldemort's wand. He has but a day and a half (unbeknownst to him) before Sirius tracks him down. No one knows he's secret-keeper, but all the Death Eaters knew that Voldemort went there on his information. He had to think fast. So he went to the only Death Eater that would listen: Lucius.

Why Lucius? Why risk telling any of the Death Eaters? The second anyone discovered he was the reason Voldemort met his end, all the FAITHFUL Death Eaters (who also happen to be the most dangerous) would hunt him down. But there was always one opportunist. One Death Eater who wanted it all for himself and was in a position to get things done and still save face in both the criminal underworld and the civilized wizard community and that person was Lucius Malfoy. Pettigrew arrived at Malfoy's home that night and relayed to him what happened. And while a one year old Draco lie sleeping safely upstairs in his crib, Lucius concocted a plan to get Wormtail off the hook and out of sight. Ask yourself why, if Sirius was under the impression that all the Death Eaters would be after him, that none of the DE's that Apparated to Voldemort's side at the graveyard didn't instantly try to kill Wormtail. Malfoy fixed that. Then after Wormtail divulged all the information, Lucius called his old buddy Fudge and told him that now was the time that his dreams would come true. All Fudge had to do was be at the right place at the right time and tell everyone the story about the crazed lunatic Sirius Black, connect him with Voldemort and case closed.

The court of public opinion would love Fudge forever as the man who brought Voldemort's biggest supporter to justice, chucked him in Azkaban, and threw away the key. Then when it came time to select a new Minister of Magic, who were the choices? Cornelius Fudge and Barty Crouch. Barty Crouch was a leader in the ministry with distinguished years of service. Fudge was a Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes. But Barty Crouch's son also happened to be a Death Eater. Now who suggested to he and the Lestranges that the Longbottoms may know how to bring Voldemort back? Who would have been high enough in Voldemort's camp to know everything Voldemort knew about the Prophecy? Who would have been in a position to set that particular group up to get caught and tried in the Wizengamot in front of Barty Crouch? Someone who has a lot of friends in high places on both sides of the law. Someone like Lucius Malfoy.

1/20/05

Posted by: Nicole

If you would like to contact Brandon, you may do so at Greatbman at aol dot com.

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