| “ | He's not back! | „ |
| ~ Fudge denying Lord Voldemort's return. |
| “ | He's back! | „ |
| ~ Fudge upon seeing Lord Voldemort is alive and in person, as well as realizing his horrible mistakes. |
Cornelius Oswald Fudge is a major antagonist in the Harry Potter series. Fudge was the British Minister for Magic from 1990 to 1996. Therefore, he had complete control over the Ministry of Magic, the main governing body of the British wizarding world.
Despite being a respectable figure on a first glance, Fudge was proven; to be sloppy at best, constantly relying on Dumbledore for the best advice in maintaining the Ministry of Magic; since he lacked desirable any capacity to do so, to where he was ultimately a corrupt tyrant no better than his more detestable predecessors at worst, a fact that; became prominent through the final days of his career.
He was portrayed by the late Robert Hardy.
Personality
Fudge was best described as a vain sycophant; who clearly enjoyed his status as the Minister of Magic, he enjoyed socializing and mingling; with esteemed pure blood families who were of higher class, the Malfoys being one of them. While he performed his duties in office and did what he could to keep the peace in the wizarding community, he was notably inexperienced as minister, often writing to Albus Dumbledore for advice.
Fudge was clearly guilty of prejudice and favoritism as well that; could easily be swayed should something be enough to change his opinion. He treated Harry Potter as a "favorite nephew", greeting him amicably and assuring that; his aunt, Marge Dursley was fine after he accidentally caused her to inflate like a balloon, sparing him from any charges of underage magic. But after learning that; Harry could speak Parseltongue, a rumored talent of dark wizards and witches, Fudge had difficulty trusting Harry and any high opinion of the boy seemed to have evaporated.
But simultaneously, Fudge was clearly biased towards Arthur Weasley; due to his family's status of being poor, as well as the man's liking for muggles and in part used this as an excuse that; he wasn't fit for a higher position. Meanwhile, he befriended and worked with high-ranking individuals; such as Lucius Malfoy and Dolores Umbridge, being entirely unaware of their true malevolent natures and that; they were just using him for their own ends.
Fudge was also bigoted against half-human races or non-human races; such as house elves, giants and werewolves, he refused to summon Dobby to Harry Potter's hearing, dismissing that he didn't have time to listen to a house elf, he also refused to send envoy to the giants due to their negative public reception and held prejudice against Olympe Maxime; but to a lesser extent, Rubeus Hagrid for their status as half-giants, having suspected Maxime to be the one responsible for attacking Barty Crouch Sr, despite having no actual proof to support this; instead relying only on both circumstantial evidence and racial profiling; which also; included shamelessly defending his accusation; when Dumbledore called him out on it; by using Hagrid's fixation; with dangerous creatures as an example. In Dumbledore's own words; Fudge placed far too much importance in how one was born; instead of what they would grow to be.
Fudge appeared to have been spurred on by a form of insecurity and was clearly in possession of a superiority complex, his own feeling that; he wasn't qualified for his position; made him all the more possessive over it, this is what; made him go against more competent individuals; who were more favoured; by the public; such as Barty Crouch Sr and Albus Dumbledore; even; despite the latter generously helping him; during his time in office. In spite of all these negative traits, Fudge wasn't seen in a bad sort of light; prior to Lord Voldemort's return and most viewed him as a bumbling, yet well-meaning minister.
Following the return of Voldemort, Fudge refused to believe that; the Dark Lord had been brought back to life; even; when presented; with strong evidence; such as Barty Crouch Jr having been alive and out of Azkaban, Dumbledore's word, the man having no reason to lie, least of all about said topic and Severus Snape's Dark Mark being active upon Voldemort's return, Fudge persistently refused to take any of this; into account, He was also incredulously shocked over Dumbledore's advice on how to act; by sending envoy to the giants and banishing the Dementors from Azkaban, fearing the public's reaction to either of those decisions, he favored positive public opinion and peace; instead of facing the inevitable truth and preparing for an oncoming war, deep down, it was; implied that; Fudge did know the truth about the Dark Lord returning; but he lacked the bravery to face reality and; allowed his lust of power to blind him, convincing himself that; he was in the right and that; Dumbledore, Harry and anyone; who assisted them were in the wrong. Only; when the Dark Lord revealed himself in the Ministry of magic Atrium did Fudge finally receive irrefutable proof that; Harry and Dumbledore were right all along.
Fudge's denial over the true events taking place extended to outright paranoia and plain idiocy, he convinced himself that; Dumbledore was after his job; despite refusing the role as Minister for Magic four times over, and plotting against him and that; Harry was a fame-seeking troublemaker; who was aiding his headmaster in his "plans" to usurp Fudge, he; even went as far as think that; Dumbledore was training his students to form a secret army as a means of achieving this, therefore; had actual combat training for the "Defense Against the Dark Arts" removed in response and; instead had the class focus on defensive theory; instead; which eventually led Harry, Ron and Hermione to secretly form "Dumbledore's army" to teach the students the skills that; they need to combat the Death Eaters, this would lead to him starting a smear campaign against them, wanting to dissuade any possibility of Voldemort's return and convince the public that; everything was fine; which it wasn't. As Dumbledore warned, this course of action would; allow Voldemort the time he needed to return to power, while denying wizards and witches the skills that; they needed to combat the growing threat.
Under Fudge's leadership and; even; before his great denial, he had a habit of; making foolish decisions that; would often backfire and unfortunately create more harm than good, this; included stationing Dementors outside the grounds of Hogwarts and; even wanting to let them patrol inside the school, Dumbledore himself was furious; when they invaded a Quidditch match and caused Harry to fall off his broom, later the same year, Harry; even came close to receiving the Dementor's kiss, the one event that; made Fudge realize that; his decision was a mistake. Furthermore; when the Azkaban breakout occurred; due to the Dementors loyalty to Voldemort, freeing several imprisoned Death Eaters; instead of accept the possibility that; Voldemort was back, Fudge; instead blamed the incident on Sirius Black as an excuse, this was; due to both Sirius'; prior escape from the facility and his family connections to the Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange; who was his cousin and one of the escapees, unaware that; Sirius and Bellatrix were hated enemies; due to Sirius being disowned; by the House of Black; due to their pro-pureblood values. While Fudge did dispatch his Aurors to capture these escaped Dark Wizards, his cover-up of the truth only; made them search in the wrong places.
To top it off, Fudge turned out to be extremely dishonest, unfair, hypocritical and corrupt, he abused his power and authority within the Ministry in all his attempts to hinder Harry and Dumbledore's desire to prepare for Voldemort's rise to power, going as far as to slander both wizards in the Daily Prophet and unfairly sacking ministry workers for any suspected affiliation; with Dumbledore, he also accepted a bribe from Willy Widdershins, a wizard; who targeted muggles with prank magic, pardoning him from charges in exchange for information regarding Dumbledore's army. All these dishonest actions boiled down to his one goal; to imprison Albus Dumbledore and expel Harry Potter from Hogwarts, as well as oust him from the magical community in general; by having Harry's wand destroyed, so neither could have any power to warn others of Voldemort's return and risk discrediting him, endangering countless innocent lives; in the process.
Despite all of this, Fudge wasn't a completely heartless man, he was capable of being reasonable and compassionate in some instances, although it is unclear how much of his kindness was genuine or superficial, a few examples of this; include his horrified; but also insensitive, reaction over Marietta Edgecombe's disfigurement and being reluctant to imprison Rubeus Hagrid once the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, in the latter case, he did not favor Albus Dumbledore being suspended from Hogwarts, nor was he eager to imprison Hagrid; without any solid evidence that; he was the one responsible for the attacks on muggle-born students, here he seemed more motivated; by desperation over the panic; instead of any selfish attempt to cover things up, he also released Hagrid from Azkaban; with an apology; when he was found to be innocent. Also; despite all the horrible and egregious efforts he; made in an attempt to silence Harry and Dumbledore, it was believed that; even Fudge would have been against Umbridge using the Cruciatus Curse to torture Harry for information; even Umbridge herself acknowledged this; but was of course perfectly willing to do it anyway and hide it from her boss.
Even so, Fudge's inaction and incorrigible nature would ultimately; result in his own downfall, after the truth finally came to light, he was willing to admit he that; had been mistaken; but it was far too late for him to try and save his position, and reputation, both of; which he prioritized over actually repairing the harm he had caused, he did not try to; make any form of amends for how horribly he had treated Dumbledore and Harry; instead, Fudge; made a desperate attempt to retain his position as Minister for Magic; by requesting a meeting; with Harry, hoping that; he would lie on his behalf and tell the wizarding community that; everything was fine and that; the Ministry was ready to tackle any threat, this displayed Fudge's outright shamelessness in; making; such a selfish request of Harry and Dumbledore; despite spending an entire year slandering and going against them. In the end, everyone saw and realized Fudge for what he really was; a coward and a liar, leaving him to the disgraced fate he set himself up for.
Biography
Early Career
Nothing is known about Fudge's early life, but it can be assumed that like most of the wizards living in Britain, he was educated at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His house has never been revealed. In regards to his personal life, Fudge had at least one sibling by whom he had a nephew. Fudge himself was also married but it is unknown if he and his wife had any children.
Fudge began his career at the Ministry at some point before or during the First Wizarding War. By 1981 he was serving as Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. He was one of the first people on the scene at of Sirius Black's supposed murder of Peter Pettigrew, along with that of twelve Muggle bystanders, all allegedly massacred by Black in a single explosive spell, along with Pettigrew himself. Fudge, like everybody else at the time, believed Sirius to have been the mass murderer, as well as the secret keeper of the recently deceased James and Lily Potter, but betrayed them because he was secretly in league with Lord Voldemort. In truth, it was Pettigrew that had betrayed them, who framed Sirius for it before making his escape. An hysterical and laughing Sirius did not defend himself over the massacre (committed by Pettigrew himself) and also had admitted that he was guilty of Lily and James' deaths (blaming himself for turning down their offer to make Sirius the secret keeper). Sirius was arrested by the Aurors for mass murder and for being a Death Eater associate, and due to Sirius' lack of self-defense at the time, Bartemius "Barty" Crouch Sr. – who was the second most powerful man at the Ministry during the First Wizarding War – sentenced him to life imprisonment at Azkaban without a trial.
In 1990, Fudge succeeded Millicent Bagnold as the Minister for Magic. Thus, he had the responsibility of running the magical community, and meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister when necessary fell to him. Fudge wasn't the first choice for Minister, however. Many people had originally wanted Albus Dumbledore or Barty Crouch Sr. to lead them, following the Dark Lord's demise. Dumbledore politely declined all offers, not trusting himself with power, whilst Crouch fell out of favor following the arrest of his Death Eater son, Barty Crouch Jr.
In his early years, Fudge often asked Albus Dumbledore for help and advise, which the Hogwarts headmaster was more than happy to provide. Although he eventually gained enough confidence to start governing on his own, Fudge never forgot how popular Dumbledore was. Furthermore, while Barty Crouch suffered from the scandal of his son, he was still far more popular than Fudge due to his continuous competency and dedication. This led to him gaining a form of insecurity due to not feeling right for the position, and in turn, became more attached with retaining both it and his image. Eventually, this resulting in him demoting Barty from the Head of the Magical Law Enforcement to the Head of Department of Magical Co-operation so Crouch would not potentially take his job in the future, according to his paranoia. While succeeding in get rid of Crouch, he could not do the same to Dumbledore.
Many people, like Rubeus Hagrid, viewed Fudge as a well-intentioned minister, but also viewed him as a bit of a bungler. While Fudge was accepting of all blood types of Wizards and witches, he mostly favored Pure Bloods, but he also agreed with Arthur Weasley's Muggle Protection act. However, Fudge did allow for the passage of laws that would oppress half-breeds such as Werewolves, Giants and Centaurs (an act which would come back to haunt him, as it led to both the Giants and the majority of the Werewolves to join Voldemort's side).
At some point during his time as minister, Fudge awarded himself the Order of Merlin: First Class, an extremely gracious and coveted medal meant for outstanding acts of bravery and distinction. This caused some upheaval of controversy within the wizarding community over dispute of how Fudge actually earned it, especially seeing as his career at that point was considered "less than distinguished".
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1992 - 1993)
During Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts, there were a series of attacks which involved four Muggle-born students at Hogwarts School, due to the re-opening of the Chamber of Secrets. In 1993, Fudge bowed to public pressure and had Rubeus Hagrid, who was believed to have been the one who opened the chamber the first time, taken to Azkaban so it would look like the Ministry was doing something.
Despite Dumbledore's firm belief in Hagrid's innocence, Fudge insisted he had no choice, as Hagrid's record was against him. Fudge, however, appeared to have his doubts about Hagrid's involvement, as he reassured Hagrid that if someone else was found to be responsible for the attacks, then he would be released with a formal apology.
Fudge was present when Lucius Malfoy arrived to issue Dumbledore his letter of suspension from the school board of governors (who had been pressured by Lucius himself). Like Hagrid, Fudge objected to this, but backed down when Dumbledore agreed to step aside for the time being. They all left Hagrid's hut (not knowing that Harry and Ron were also there under the former's invisibility cloak) and Fudge took Hagrid to Azkaban, where he would remain for the next two months.
While no further attacks happened in the meantime, the majority of the school was skeptical about Hagrid unleashing a dangerous monster in the school. It became clear Fudge had imprisoned the wrong man when another attack occurred shortly before the end of the term, this time Arthur Weasley's daughter, Ginny, disappearing under a death threat for her left on a wall. Due to this, the school was nearly forced to be shut down, as it was decided to send all the students back to their home the next day, if not for Ginny showing up again very early in the morning alongside Harry, Ron, and Gilderoy Lockhart – the latter of whom had lost his memory after a memory charm he tried to cast on the boys had rebound on him, due to using Ron's broken wand.
Ultimately, it turned out that Voldemort was the guilty party, as his Horcrux diary possessed Arthur Weasley's daughter Ginny. Upon being presented with this evidence, Fudge was as good as his word and immediately released Hagrid, although the Ministry never bothered to investigate how a fifty year old and empty charmed Muggle book that was once owned by Voldemort in his teenage years ended up at Flourish and Blotts, as Ginny confirmed she owned the diary from her last visit there and assumed it was a magical friendly diary purchased by her parents. It seems the Ministry closed the whole case as an accident, and no further investigation was made. The ruined diary itself was not even seized by the Ministry to examine it and how its power worked. Although thanks to Harry, the memory of Tom Riddle and the part of Voldemort's soul that resided within the diary were both destroyed.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1993 - 1994)
In the 1993 to 1994 school year, Fudge had to deal with the escape of the notorious prisoner Sirius Black from Azkaban. He alerted the Muggle prime minister, who had all the police forces of Britain provided with the pictures of Sirius Black, which were first provided by Fudge himself to the Muggle minister. Black's face appeared in all the Muggle newscasts on television, one of which was watched by the Dursley family and Harry Potter. That way, Fudge ensured the cooperation of the Muggle authorities in order for the whole Britain to corner Black and make sure to apprehend him, mainly because Black was first known as a Muggle killer due to the massacre that got him arrested.
Due to Harry still having the Trace; the Ministry was immediately informed about underage magic being performed at Little Whinging, and Fudge was immediately alerted that it came from 4th Privet Drive where Harry Potter lived. Fearing that Sirius Black assaulted Harry, Fudge sent the authorities to Privet Drive to investigate, but to his relief it was only a family quarrel between Harry and his aunt, and the officials fixed everything and modified Marge's memory to make her forget the accident, ending the matter at the Dursleys peacefully. However, the Dursleys confirmed to the officials that Harry left home in a fit of rage.
Fudge personally went to the Leaky Cauldron to await for Harry's arrival, where he introduced himself to him as the Minister for Magic, although Harry was already familiar with him from having met him at Hagrid's hut for the first time without Fudge's knowledge. Fudge reassured Harry that he was dismissed from any trouble, especially due to the magic being performed unwillingly by accident and that it was nothing serious, and instead focused on reprimanding Harry for leaving home alone. To ensure Harry would stay at the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley for the remainder of the summer, he had the Ministry pay for Harry's staying in there until Hogwarts' next term, and told Harry not to go anywhere at London and stay only at Diagon Alley, commenting it was best if he returned to the pub before dark.
In December, Fudge went on a trip to Hogsmeade, during which he stopped at the Three Broomsticks. He revealed to Hagrid, Madam Rosmerta, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick that he had visited the prison of Azkaban a few weeks prior to Sirius Black's escape. He was unnerved by how normal Black appeared despite being in close proximity to the Dementors both day and night.
It later turned out that Fudge had unwittingly provided Sirius with his motivation to escape. During the visit to Azkaban, Sirius had asked if he could have Fudge's newspaper (since he missed doing the crossword), which the unnerved Minister handed over. Inside was an article mentioning Arthur Weasley, who had won a prize draw at the ministry. A photograph of the family was included, which featured Peter Pettigrew disguised as Ron Weasley's pet rat Scabbers. Recognizing his former friend turned enemy and knowing that he was in a perfect position to kidnap Harry, Sirius, became worried for Harry's safety and also wanted revenge on Pettigrew, gained the motivation to escape.
Unaware of these details, Fudge, believed Black to be a threat to society, took several measures to protect both the magical and muggle communities. He alerted the Muggle Prime Minister to the danger and believed that Sirius was planning to kill Harry. He forgave Harry's unintentional illegal use of magic against his Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, but he also firmly told him that running away with a killer on the loose was very irresponsible. Despite this, Fudge assured Harry that everything was fine and gave him a room at the Leaky Cauldron until his return to Hogwarts. During this, Harry also made a hopeful yet vain attempt at asking Fudge to sign his Hogsmeade permission form. Fudge snappishly refused however, given that he wasn't Harry's family member or legal guardian, while also advising Harry that it was probably better if he didn't visit Hogsmeade that year before leaving (with Harry unaware that everyone believed Sirius was after him at the time).
Unable to capture Black before the start of the Hogwarts term, Fudge, in a desperate bid to protect the students, had Dementors stationed around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. This action was disapproved of by both Dumbledore and the Hogsmeade residents, but Fudge viewed it as a necessary precaution. He said as much to Madam Rosmerta when he visited the Three Broomsticks, before telling her the tale of Sirius' supposed betrayal. Unknown to Fudge or any of the other adults, this conversation was overheard by Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and Harry was devastated upon hearing this (in the film Harry, who overheard the conversation alone, instead swore he would kill Black if he saw him).
Fudge, along with another official and Walden Macnair, was present for the execution of the supposedly dangerous Hippogriff named Buckbeak, who was, in fact, innocent and harmless, and only attacked when provoked by Draco Malfoy despite clear warnings from Hagrid. Buckbeak's death had been enforced by the influence of Draco's father Lucius. Thanks to the intervention of a time-travelling Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, Buckbeak was saved, leaving Fudge confused.
Later that same evening, Sirius Black was captured following a near-fatal Dementor attack near the Hogwarts lake, one that almost saw Harry Potter killed as well. Fudge was delighted at having finally caught Sirius, and immediately sanctioned his execution via the Dementors kiss, whilst promising to award Severus Snape, the supposed hero of the incident an Order of Merlin. He ignored Harry and Hermione's declarations that Sirius was innocent, believing them to be under the influence of a magic spell or traumatized and confused by the events of that night.
Ultimately, the time travelling Harry and Hermione were able to save Sirius from right under Fudge's nose, leaving the Minister both displeased and infuriated, but unaware of their involvement. As he left to bring the Ministry up to speed, Fudge promised to remove the Dementors right away for attacking Harry, and was heard suggesting that they should get dragons to guard the castle instead.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (1994 - 1995)
In the summer of 1994, Fudge, with the help of Ludo Bagman and Barty Crouch Sr., began organizing two major events. Both of these were relayed by Fudge to the Muggle Prime Minister. The first was the Quidditch World Cup final between Bulgaria and Ireland. Fudge attended the match in the top box, alongside the Bulgarian Minister of Magic and the Malfoy family, who were his guests of honor.
There, he met Harry and greeted him warmly. In the movie, Fudge served as an announcer, opening the match. At the end of the game, Fudge and the Bulgarian Minister shook hands with the players from both teams. Although happy that Ireland had won, Fudge, none the less, was left a little humiliated, as the Bulgarian Minister had been pretending he couldn't speak English, forcing Fudge to use sign language.
The second event was the Triwizard tournament. This was an international competition between three schools, Hogwarts, Beaubaxton and Durmstrang, in which three champions were selected to represent their schools, and face a number of dangerous tasks with the intention of winning. As part of this event, Fudge authorized the importation of dangerous creatures, including four dragons and a sphinx for the champions to face.
What Fudge didn't know was that the Dark Lord Voldemort was making plans from behind the scenes. Thanks to the help provided by Peter Pettigrew, and information from the now deceased Ministry worker Bertha Jorkins, Voldemort had learnt about the Triwizard Tournament, and of the survival of his loyal servant Barty Crouch Jr. As such Voldemort came up with a plan that, if successful, would allow him to return to life and instigate another war.
Voldemort and Wormtail freed Crouch Jr. and placed his father under the Imperius Curse. They then captured and imprisoned the famed Auror Alastor Moody, who was due to start teaching at Hogwarts that year and had Crouch Jr. take his place via polyjuice potion. The plan was to have Harry Potter enter the tournament as a champion, then fix events so that he would win, then transport him to Voldemort, who would use his blood as part of a dark ritual to restore himself to life before killing the boy.
The plan was almost undone by Barty Crouch Sr. who started to fight off the Imperius curse and ran to Hogwarts, intending to tell Dumbledore everything. Unfortunately, Crouch Jr. managed to kill his father before he could reveal anything. Fudge for his part believed that Crouch had simply gone mad and that Madame Maxime had murdered him (which Dumbledore believed his accusation of Madame Maxime had more to do with her status as a half-giant due to Fudge having a strong dislike towards half-breeds).
With Crouch 'missing' Fudge took his place as a judge for the third task. He had the prize money for the champion on him and was probably going to present it to the grand champion at the end of the tournament. Things took a nasty turn, however, after Harry emerged from the maze, clutching the Triwizard Cup and Cedric Diggory's dead body. The cup had been transformed into a portkey by Crouch Jr., which took both of the Hogwarts students to the Little Hangleton graveyard. There Voldemort had Wormtail callously murder Cedric, who was simply in the way, then fulfilled his plans and restored himself to life. Unfortunately for Voldemort, Harry managed to escape bringing news of the Dark Lord's return back to Dumbledore, Fudge and the wizarding world.
Fudge initially showed great concern for Harry, was horrified at the death of Cedric Diggory, whose father Amos worked at the Ministry, and was forced to deal with an equally horrified crowd. Crouch Jr. was exposed by Dumbledore shortly afterwards and interrogated. Dumbledore also had Harry explain everything that had happened to him after he touched the Triwizard cup. After hearing all of it, Dumbledore understood everything that had happened following Bertha Jorkin's disappearance and knew that another Wizarding War was just around the corner. Realizing what needed to be done, Dumbledore sent word to Fudge that the Death Eater responsible for these events had been caught, intending to bring the Minister up to speed.
This proved to be a disastrous decision, as Fudge, fearing for his personal safety, summoned a Dementor to the castle as his escort, despite Barty Crouch Jr. already being restrained. Upon entering the room, the Dementor swooped down on Crouch before McGonagall or Fudge could do anything and administered its terrible kiss, leaving the Death Eater worse than dead and unable to provide testimony. Making his way to the Hospital Wing, Fudge, who was searching for Dumbledore, was met there shortly afterwards by the Hogwarts Headmaster.
It was here that Fudge's true colors were revealed. He refused to accept that Crouch Jr. had been acting under the services of Voldemort, dismissing his testimony as the ravings of a madman. He also didn't view Harry as a viable witness, having read several scathing articles by notorious Rita Skeeter, who in her writings claimed that the attack on Harry in 1981 had left him unhinged. Harry tried to persuade Fudge by listing the names of several Death Eaters present at the rebirth, but since all of these people had been cleared by the Wizengamot, Fudge took offence to this.
As such, Fudge, out of paranoia, refused to believe that Voldemort had returned, because it would mean the end of peace to the wizarding world. Dumbledore, however, refused to back down and instead insisted that the situation was still salvageable if they took the necessary precautions; they needed to remove Azkaban from the control of the Dementors and send peace envoys to the giants. Fudge was horrified at the mere prospect of both of these, stating it would mean the end of his career if he did either one. Dumbledore, in turn, countered that Fudge was blinded by the love of his office, and his own prejudices. He provided a warning that the decision Fudge made here and now, would affect how he was remembered in the future: If Fudge took the necessary measures, he would be hailed as a hero throughout the ages. If he did nothing, then he would be immortalized as a coward who allowed Voldemort the opportunity to try and destroy the world they tried so hard to rebuild.
Even when Snape presented his Dark Mark to Fudge as a sign of Voldemort's return, Fudge wasn't convinced at all, only further enraged. As such, he and Dumbledore acknowledged that they had reached a parting of the ways and that from this point onwards, both men would act as they saw fit. The two men then parted as adversaries. Before leaving, Fudge was courteous enough to give Harry his award money, but he refused to look at the boy, and ultimately, this was the last kind thing he ever did for Harry.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (1995 - 1996)
The Campaign against Harry and Dumbledore
In the weeks following the disastrous conclusion of the Triwizard tournament, Fudge's paranoia grew out of control. Completely disregarding both Harry and Dumbledore's claims, Fudge convinced himself that Dumbledore was after his job and that Harry was a pathological liar, trying to stir up trouble because he enjoyed being famous. Therefore, Fudge used his influence over the Daily Prophet to launch a smear campaign against both of them.
He also kept a strict watch over his employees, making it clear that anyone in league with Dumbledore was no longer welcome at the Ministry. This forced all of the members of the Order of the Phoenix inside the Ministry, such as Kingsley Shacklebolt, Arthur Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks, to be discreet. Fudge also used his influence to manipulate several laws to his advantage so that he could achieve further control over both the wizarding community and Hogwarts. Things got so bad that at one point, the Order of The Phoenix wondered if Fudge was acting under the Imperius Curse. Dumbledore assured them that this wasn't the case, which was by no means comforting.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore was not concerned with Fudge's actions and continued to do his best to alert the Wizarding Community about the dangers posed by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. This cost him several high-ranking positions within the wizarding court, with the Ministry threatening further action and the Daily Prophet labelling him a senile old fool. Dumbledore responded to these actions with his usual grace, telling Fudge flat out that he did not care what the Ministry did to him, just as long as they didn't take him off of the chocolate frog cards.
Meanwhile, through Fudge's influence, the Daily Prophet made Harry seem like a pompous fame-seeking brat with a hero complex, some of which was inspired by Rita Skeeter's slanderous articles about him. Though it also portrayed Harry as potentially unstable and rumoured many shady things about him, such as his Parseltongue ability.
The prophet also made snide remarks about Harry and turned him into an insert joke, quoting things such as "a tale worthy of Harry Potter" or in recent accidents, hoping that the victim wouldn't gain a scar on their head or that they would be asked to worship them next. Since Harry only checked the front pages of the Daily Prophet, hoping for news on the goings-on in the wizarding world with Voldemort back, he was unaware of Fudge's smear campaign against him and Dumbledore until Ron and Hermione told him. This, combined with none of Harry's friends contacting him over the Summer under Dumbledore's orders (who was doing this to try and protect Harry) left him extremely bitter once he reached Grimmauld Place, to the point where he lashed out and shouted at his two best friends at the top of his lungs for being kept out of everything.
The Disciplinary Hearing of Harry Potter
On 2 August 1995, Harry was forced to cast the Patronus Charm; in order to protect himself and his cousin, Dudley Dursley; when a pair of Dementors sent; by Dolores Umbridge tried to attack him. For this breach of the International Rules of Underage Wizardry, Fudge immediately ordered Harry's expulsion; but the timely intervention of Albus Dumbledore prevented this. Instead, Harry was summoned to the Ministry to face a disciplinary hearing.
When Harry arrived at the Ministry on 12 August 1995, he found himself tried; before the entire Wizengamot. Fudge; who was serving as one of the interrogators, had organized this event more like a criminal trial; instead o a minor incident. Beforehand, Fudge; even had the time and place of the trial changed last minute, hoping to either; make Harry miss it or; make him late and give him more reason to discredit him, the latter of; which did occur. At the hearing, it became obvious that; any affection Fudge had once had for Harry had completely disappeared and that; the Minister for Magic wanted Harry expelled from both Hogwarts and the Wizarding Community. Throughout the proceedings, Fudge tried his best to discredit Harry. He barely gave the boy any time to speak in his defense, introduced several biased facts and past offences, offences he himself had once cleared and dismissed Harry's explanation about the Dementors as a false story. Harry initially tried to be civil and cooperative; but; when Fudge continued to ignore and disregard him, Harry lost his patience; with the Minister.
Dumbledore's intervention, the testimony of Harry's Squib neighbour, Arabella Figg and the fair, unbiased actions of Wizengamot member Amelia Bones ultimately saved Harry from any criminal charges. Fudge was one of the few people; who demanded Harry to be punished, alongside Dolores Umbridge, Percy Weasley; but Percy's vote didn't count, as he was a court scribe and therefore; not a member of Wizengamot, a few other people; but they were ultimately outvoted. As; such, Fudge reluctantly cleared Harry of all charges.
After the trial, the Minister completely ignored both Harry and Arthur Weasley on his way out of the courtroom, and was later seen talking to Lucius Malfoy; who Harry had identified as one of the Death Eaters; who attended Voldemort's rebirth. This further irritated Harry; but the Minister paid him no attention. Although Harry managed to escape further repercussions and was; allowed to return to Hogwarts, the events of this hearing opened his eyes to Fudge's megalomania and set him firmly against the corrupt Minister from that; point onwards.
Intervening at Hogwarts
Harry would not learn about the full effectiveness of Fudge's smear campaign until he returned to Hogwarts. Several students, including some that Harry had previously been on good terms with, like Seamus Finnigan and Lavender Brown, believed the Ministry's propaganda and turned against Harry. They began treating him like a dangerous object, refusing to get close to him, flinching and bunching closer together at the mere sight of him. Despite this, some students, such as Neville Longbottom and Ernie MacMillan, declared their support for Harry and Dumbledore, arguing that they had been proven right on numerous occasions. A similar rift existed outside the Hogwarts community, with some people like Percy Weasley choosing to side with the Ministry, whilst the rest of his family supported Harry and Dumbledore.
When Dumbledore was unable to find anybody willing to fill the vacancy for Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Fudge used his newly altered laws to install his undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge to the position. Umbridge, like Fudge, believed that Dumbledore was using the school as a recruitment ground against the Ministry. As such, they forced the students to use a Ministry approved program, one based around non-aggression than actual defense. Umbridge was eventually made High Inquisitor of Hogwarts and passed many Educational Decrees; Ministry approved laws that imposed ridiculous rules onto the school, such as banning student organisations that weren't approved by Umbridge, and forbidding teachers from telling the students anything unrelated to the subjects they were meant to teach. All of this was under the guise that Hogwarts was underperforming, when in reality it was for Fudge and Umbridge to usurp control over the school. This did however, come at the cost of two Wizengamot members; Griselda Marchbanks and Tiberius Ogden resigning, seeing through Fudge's abuse of power and attempts at discrediting Dumbledore and Harry (which the were then discredited by the Daily Prophet by falsified propaganda).
Umbridge was also sent to spy upon Harry and Dumbledore. She frequently punished the former any time Harry spoke out of line and took away many of the things that made his life at Hogwarts enjoyable. With Fudge's assistance, Umbridge gradually whittled away Dumbledore's authority during her term as High Inquisitor so that Fudge was the one in true control of Hogwarts, which would allow him rule over the school through Umbridge with an iron fist.
Fudge did none the less suffer a small set back in the Spring of 1996, when a mass breakout happened in Azkaban. Fudge brushed this aside since his main priority was ousting Harry and Dumbledore. He claimed it to be the work of Sirius Black partly due to his family connection to one of the escaped convicts, Bellatrix Lestrange. What he didn't know was that the two cousins completely hated each other due to Sirius being disowned from their family, the House of Black for refusing to uphold their prejudiced beliefs. However, many people weren't satisfied with this simple explanation. Coupled with an interview that Harry had given to the Quibbler earlier that year, this caused a number of people (both in and outside of Hogwarts) to wonder if there was in fact some truth to Harry and Dumbledore's claims. Fudge, of course, continued to deny any of this.
Triumph at Hogwarts
Shortly after the mass breakout, Fudge was called to Hogwarts by Dolores Umbridge, who had discovered an illegal defensive organization called Dumbledore's Army, led by Harry Potter. Fudge arrived at Hogwarts in a triumphant, jubilant mood, thinking that he was finally about to expel the troublemaking Harry Potter at long last. Brought to the headmaster's study, Harry deliberately feigned ignorance and made several rude faces at Fudge, making the Minister even more infuriated.
During this confrontation, Dumbledore once again intervened, making it appear as though he was the leader of this organization, whilst covert Order of the Phoenix member Kingsley Shacklebolt, discreetly modified the snitch's memory to fit these facts.
- In the novel, the traitor was a Ravenclaw called Marietta Edgecombe, the friend of Harry's current love interest Cho Chang. She had reluctantly sold out Dumbledore's Army to keep her mother from losing her job at the Ministry. Due to Hermione Granger placing a curse upon the parchment the members signed, Marietta ended up covered in horrible boils that spelled the word "SNEAK" across her face, something that caused Harry and Cho to break up shortly afterwards.
- In the film, Umbridge had illegally used Veritaserum, a truth telling potion on Cho. Snape reveals this near the end of the film, making Harry and the other members of Dumbledore's Army realize that Cho wasn't in control of her actions.
Now in possession of the "proof" he needed, coupled with a confession, Fudge disregarded Harry and moved to arrest Dumbledore on trumped up charges of conspiracy and sedition. However, Dumbledore made it clear that he had no intention of being arrested, and when Fudge, Umbridge and his Aurors continued to advance upon him, Dumbledore quickly incapacitated all of them. Nevertheless, the Headmaster was forced to leave the castle, but only after telling Minerva McGonagall and Harry that Fudge would soon come to regret the day he tried to arrest him. When Fudge came to and found Dumbledore gone, he gloatingly taunted McGonagall that this was the end of her precious Dumbledore, only for Professor McGonagall to mock him in turn for thinking as such. Fudge's insults towards Dumbledore also made many of the portraits of former Hogwarts headmasters boo and hiss at him, with some even making crude hand gestures.
Even so, with Dumbledore gone, Fudge was now able to appoint Dolores Umbridge as the new Headmistress of Hogwarts, which brought the school entirely under the Ministry's control. Under Umbridge's rule, Hogwarts descended into nothing short of a dictatorship. In response to this, many of the students, with the exception of some Slytherins, turned against Umbridge and the Ministry completely, making sure that Umbridge paid dearly for ousting the former Headmaster. It's unknown what Fudge thought of this rebellion, but with Dumbledore gone, Fudge's chief concern would have been expelling Harry.
Learning the Truth and the Beginning of the End
| “ | Cornelius, I am ready to fight your men and win, again!. But a few minutes ago you saw proof; with your own eyes, that; i have been telling you the truth for a year. Lord Voldemort has returned, you have been chasing the wrong men for twelve months and it is time you listened to sense!. | „ |
| ~ Albus Dumbledore to Fudge, after the Minister for Magic saw the Dark Lord standing in the Ministry atrium |
From the moment the Triwizard Tournament had ended, Fudge had unknowingly become an ally to the Death Eaters, giving Voldemort an entire year to rebuild his forces completely uninterrupted. Because Fudge had ignored and neglected Dumbledore's previous warnings, Voldemort was able to convince the Dementors, Giants and other factions mistreated by the Ministry to join him. The Dementors' defection also allowed the Dark Lord to free his most loyal followers, including Bellatrix Lestrange. This meant that within a year of his return, Voldemort had a sizeable and still growing army at his disposal. By June 1996, Voldemort was ready to begin his conquest.
Ultimately, Fudge's triumph at ousting Dumbledore would be very short-lived, as karma would finally catch up with him on 18th June 1996. At the conclusion of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, the Minister and several other Ministry officials were alerted to a commotion taking place at the Ministry itself. Upon entering the atrium, the group saw none other than the Dark Lord Voldemort himself standing in front of them with their own eyes. Before anybody could do anything, Voldemort managed to grab onto Bellatrix and escape, but the harm had already been done.
At long last, the completely shocked and horrified Fudge finally realized that Harry and Dumbledore had been telling the truth all along. Even so, when Dumbledore made his presence known, Fudge was still partially inclined to arrest him. Only after Dumbledore reminded him about what had just transpired, did Fudge finally relent and back down.
Issuing a series of instructions to his staff, Fudge then asked Dumbledore to explain what had happened. Dumbledore assured him that he would do so, but only once Harry was safely back at Hogwarts. Although taken aback to learn of Harry's presence, Fudge still objected when Dumbledore created an unauthorized portkey in order to transport Harry to safety. However, the older wizard silenced the Minister with a look. He then gave Fudge a series of instructions, which demonstrated who was in real control of the situation, whilst also foreshadowing Fudge's loss of power.
Dumbledore also made it very clear that he intended to return to Hogwarts as its headmaster and told Fudge that he wanted Dolores Umbridge removed from her position, that the Ministry was to call off its witch hunt for Hagrid, who Umbridge had driven out of Hogwarts two days earlier, and that he be allowed to return to the school. The reinstated Headmaster then told the Minister that he would return in half an hour to explain everything and made it clear that the meeting between himself and Fudge, as well as any future correspondence, would take place on his terms, not Fudge's. Ultimately, Fudge could do nothing more than gawk.
Whilst this was happening, Fudge's Aurors rounded up the remaining Death Eaters that Voldemort had sent to retrieve the prophecy, whom Dumbledore had managed to capture before his battle with the Dark Lord. Amongst their number where Lucius Malfoy, Walden Macnair, Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Nott. Even though they were subsequently thrown into Azkaban, their arrest was a further blow to Fudge. Not only were Macnair and Malfoy close associates of his, but Fudge had personally defended these men the previous year when Harry claimed that they were among the Death Eaters that returned to Voldemort's side following his resurrection.
A few days after the battle, Fudge released a press statement, which confirmed Voldemort's return and that the Second Wizarding War had begun. The same article also revealed that Dumbledore had been reinstated to all of his previously revoked positions, whilst treating Harry as a hero, both of whom had persisted despite the slander thrown against them (slander Fudge himself had ordered). This declaration was met with extreme shock and outrage, since Fudge had repeatedly assured the public that everything was fine. Although Fudge assured the wizarding community that both he and the Ministry were now taking the necessary measures to combat this new threat, it was already much too late, as Voldemort and his forces already had a massive head start.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and later life (1996 - ?)
| “ | My dear Prime Minister, you can't honestly think I'm still Minister for Magic after all this? I was sacked three days ago! The whole wizarding community has been screaming for my resignation for a fortnight. I've never known them so united in my whole term of office! | „ |
| ~ Cornelius informing the Muggle Prime Minister about his dismissal |
A couple of weeks after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, in July 1996, Fudge met with the Muggle Prime Minister to bring him up to speed. Like everybody else, the Prime Minister was shocked to hear about Voldemort's return, whilst also noting several changes in Fudge's demeanor and appearance. When the Prime Minister insisted that Fudge had to take action in order to protect the muggles as well as the wizards, Fudge stated that he was no longer in a position to do so, because he was no longer the Minister for Magic.
What exactly happened between the events of the 18th of June and this meeting remains uncertain. However it's clear that Fudge had experienced a massive fall in his popularity. Although both he and the Ministry had never acknowledged its cover up about Voldemort's return, nor its mistreatment of both Harry and Dumbledore, it's heavily implied that the public had put two and two together. Added to this, many of the Death Eaters arrested at the Ministry were men that Fudge had both worked with and vouched for. The Dementors, who Fudge had insisted were on the Ministry's side, had revolted and turned to Voldemort. To top it all off, Fudge's incompetence, paranoia and actions had prevented everybody from taking several steps necessary to combat their enemies.
This led to a massive distrust of the Ministry and every witch and wizard in Britain (no matter what their affiliation) to unanimously turn against Fudge, demanding his resignation. Fudge was ultimately sacked from office on July 2, 1996 in complete disgrace. He was replaced as Minister for Magic by Rufus Scrimgeour, but stayed as an advisory capacity and communicated news of the Second Wizarding War to the Muggle Prime Minister if Scrimgeour was unable to.
Towards the end of his meeting with the Prime Minister, Fudge dropped a hint that his dismissal might not have happened if Dumbledore had let him speak to "the boy". This declaration left the Prime Minister confused. The meaning behind this statement was revealed later in the novel.
Dumbledore later recounted that during his final days in office, Fudge had done everything he could to try and remain in power. In an act of desperation, he asked Dumbledore to arrange a meeting between himself and Harry. Fudge had hoped that he could persuade Harry to lie on his behalf, saying that under his leadership, the Ministry was doing a good job in security. However, Dumbledore refused to even consider it. The headmaster knew straight away that Harry would never agree to it, firstly because of everything Fudge had put him through over the last year, and secondly, Fudge would be trying to get Harry to lie, the very thing he had previously accused him of. Lastly and most importantly, Dumbledore no longer saw any point in helping the man who had ignored, neglected and took action against all his previous advices, which could have easily prevented all of this in the first place. Additionally, at this point, Harry hated Fudge for his actions and held him in contempt. Even so, Fudge passed the idea of making Harry the Ministry's poster boy along to his successor.
After Scrimgeour had tried and failed in doing this during the following Christmas, Dumbledore revealed Fudge's manipulative plot to Harry once he returned to school. In turn, Harry was appalled and outraged at Fudge's audacity to make such a selfish request of him after everything he had done to them the previous year. Even worse, while Scrimgeour was definitely a more competent leader than Fudge who took actions against Voldemort, he still made the same mistakes his predecessor did by trying to provide a false sense of security, valuing positive public opinion over the truth. As such, the Ministry would still remain corrupt until after Kingsley Shacklebolt took over as the Minister after the Second Wizarding War two years later and helped reform the Ministry and their policies.
Cornelius Fudge made his last known appearance at Dumbledore's funeral in the summer of 1997. He had a miserable expression on his face and was twirling his signature lime green bowler hat. Fudge seemed to have disappeared out of Harry's life after this, with Harry neither seeing nor hearing from him again.
Fudge's inaction between 1995 - 1996 ultimately came back to haunt the wizarding community. In the summer of 1997, Voldemort managed to seize control of the Ministry and effectively take full control of Britain. This only ended in May 1998, when Harry finally defeated the Dark Lord during the climactic Battle of Hogwarts, thus liberating the wizarding community at long last.
The ultimate fate of the former minister is completely unknown, but whatever was the case, Cornelius Fudge's reputation and image had been completely tarnished. Having endangered the entire world, Fudge was most likely remembered as Britain's worst and most hated Minister for Magic. As Dumbledore had previously warned him, he was immortalized as the man who had stepped aside and almost let Voldemort destroy what the Wizarding community had tried so hard to rebuild.
Trivia
- Cornelius Fudge's behavior at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and throughout Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is based upon the actions of former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain; prior to World War II and; during its first eight months;
- Both men went to extreme lengths to prevent an all-out war; which ended in them being pressured into resigning.
- They also served as temporary advisers to their successors. Despite this there are a number of major differences between them;
- Chamberlain was a pacifist whilst Fudge was a coward.
- By all accounts, Chamberlain was a proper politician; who used his power to try and benefit Britain, while Fudge was corrupt and deliberately abused his power in his final year in office.
- Although it later came back to haunt him, Chamberlain genuinely tried to negotiate peace with Hitler, while Fudge acted as if Voldemort was still dead, denying the possibility that war was just around the corner.
- Despite Chamberlain's reassurances of peace, he used the time provided to secretly start re-arming, whilst Fudge deliberately tried to deny the citizens and students vital skill sets needed to combat their enemies.
- When it became clear that; Chamberlain's peace attempts had failed, he took full responsibility for his actions, while Fudge refused to acknowledge that he had been in the wrong and continued to try and manipulate both Harry and Dumbledore in order to retain his position.
- Although history would later condemn him, Chamberlain resigned with integrity and his reputation intact. Pledging his full support to his successor Winston Churchill, Chamberlain continued to do what he could to help the allies win the war before his death a day less than six months after his resignation. In comparison, Fudge desperately tried to remain in power, going so far as to ask Dumbledore to arrange a meeting with Harry in order to try and convince the boy to lie that under his leadership, the Ministry was winning the war. Dumbledore refused to do so, knowing that Harry too would refuse and Fudge was forced to resign under pressure from the protesting masses of the wizarding community, angry at him for having concealed the truth, ending his tenure in complete disgrace. Following Voldemort's takeover of the Ministry, he simply disappeared and his contributions, if he made any, remain unknown.
- Fudge is the only villain in the series who started off good and the only one whose corruption is depicted in real-time. Draco Malfoy who starts off as a petty bully and eventually turns outright evil as well, although he was already technically a villain from the beginning.
- While the scenes of Fudge refusing to believe the truth was cut from the film version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it's still mentioned that Fudge wished to cover up the truth; during Dumbledore's memorial speech for Cedric Diggory, during which Dumbledore mentions that the Ministry doesn't want to acknowledge that Voldemort had returned.
- In the novels, Fudge's resignation wasn't revealed until the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In the films, Fudge's intentions were revealed in the final scenes of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix from a Daily Prophet headline. Also, unlike the book, where Fudge was forced to resign, in the film, he apparently realized his mistakes and resigned willingly.
- It's also worth noting that in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Fudge's antagonism towards Harry and Dumbledore was toned down when compared to the novel.
- In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Fudge states that he was "sacked" instead of resignning of his own accord. This could be an oversight on Rowling's part or an indication that Fudge was ordered to leave his office on a set date by a more powerful wizarding authority such as the Wizengamot. Then again, this could also be how Fudge viewed his dismissal in the eyes of the people.
- Fudge is often considered to be one of the most unpopular characters in the Harry Potter franchise. Firstly, he endangered the entire world by denying Voldemort's return. Secondly, he deliberately hindered both Harry and Dumbledore's efforts to warn people by starting a smear campaign against them. Finally, he sent Dolores Umbridge to Hogwarts so that she could act as his spy and further prevent anyone from spreading word of the Dark Lord's return and Umbridge herself abused her power to make life at Hogwarts as miserable as possible for both its students and staff. In the end, it turned out that Fudge cared more about his reputation and position than the lives of the community that he was assigned to protect.
- It's also likely that Fudge had promoted Percy Weasley to be his junior assistant only to keep tabs on the Weasley family and by extension Harry and Dumbledore. This failed and ultimately caused a rift between Percy and his family, which wouldn't be resolved until three years later.
- In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a banner of Fudge is shown in the Ministry Atrium and it depicts the Minister in the style of 1930s posters from the former Soviet Union. During Dumbledore and Voldemort's duel, the broken shards of glass tear the Banner apart, foreshadowing Fudge's time as minister ending in disgrace.
