Chapter 4: Broken Facade
“Draco Malfoy? That’s impossible!”
“Virginia, please, listen to reason.”
“I’m sorry, Minister, with all due respect, why would you seek approval from that evil, slimy little prat? Are you forgetting who his father was? Lucius Malfoy, You-Know-Who’s right had man! Why on earth do you even need his approval? He’s nothing in the wizarding world, any power he had died with his father.”
“Virginia, calm down. Yes, his father was a prominent supporter of the Dark Arts. However, Draco Malfoy did not follow in his footsteps, and is a very successful property owner. Virginia, he now owns the property that the Durmstrang school sits on. Bulgaria’s Ministry has been actively refusing any form of cooperation, but if we could get Malfoy to support us, Bulgaria would have to cave under his influence.”
“We have already talked about this. Bulgaria is a lost cause, they are never going to support this, it would be political suicide for their Minister. There are just too many supporters of the Dark Arts in that country. We need to focus on the countries closest to it, get them on our side, so that it will have to cave under the pressure. One man cannot possibly make a difference, especially not an egotistical, maniacal, arrogant Dark wizard like Draco Malfoy.”
“Virginia.”
“No, Minister. He’s a Dark wizard! By making a deal with him, you are undermining everything that this pact stands for, and I refuse to have any part of it. It’s insulting, you know that? To think you need a person like that to support it. We can do this without the likes of him,” she raged, thoroughly upset. She was pacing around her small office, her face flushed, her arms waving. When Ginny Weasley got started on a rant, it was very difficult for her to stop. The thought that she was raging at the Minister of Magic didn’t even cross her mind; that she could be fired for crossing him.
“And there is the fact that you hate him, was in a rival house at Hogwarts, and he is someone who can break apart that lovely little diplomatic façade that you’ve created, because he makes you so angry, you lose your temper whenever he is around, and you hate that almost as much as you hate him,” a cool voice said from the doorway. Cornelius Fudge had stood up, and was walking over to the tall man leaning lazily against the doorframe. Ginny froze, her eyes wide, feeling her face beginning to burn. Turning slowly around, she forced herself to remain calm and let her experience born of three years working as a consul take over.
“Mr. Malfoy, it’s nice to see you. Why don’t you come in and sit down,” she said brightly, unable to look at his face, knowing that his terrible smirk would be there.
“Draco Malfoy? That’s impossible!”
“Virginia, please, listen to reason.”
“I’m sorry, Minister, with all due respect, why would you seek approval from that evil, slimy little prat? Are you forgetting who his father was? Lucius Malfoy, You-Know-Who’s right had man! Why on earth do you even need his approval? He’s nothing in the wizarding world, any power he had died with his father.”
“Virginia, calm down. Yes, his father was a prominent supporter of the Dark Arts. However, Draco Malfoy did not follow in his footsteps, and is a very successful property owner. Virginia, he now owns the property that the Durmstrang school sits on. Bulgaria’s Ministry has been actively refusing any form of cooperation, but if we could get Malfoy to support us, Bulgaria would have to cave under his influence.”
“We have already talked about this. Bulgaria is a lost cause, they are never going to support this, it would be political suicide for their Minister. There are just too many supporters of the Dark Arts in that country. We need to focus on the countries closest to it, get them on our side, so that it will have to cave under the pressure. One man cannot possibly make a difference, especially not an egotistical, maniacal, arrogant Dark wizard like Draco Malfoy.”
“Virginia.”
“No, Minister. He’s a Dark wizard! By making a deal with him, you are undermining everything that this pact stands for, and I refuse to have any part of it. It’s insulting, you know that? To think you need a person like that to support it. We can do this without the likes of him,” she raged, thoroughly upset. She was pacing around her small office, her face flushed, her arms waving. When Ginny Weasley got started on a rant, it was very difficult for her to stop. The thought that she was raging at the Minister of Magic didn’t even cross her mind; that she could be fired for crossing him.
“And there is the fact that you hate him, was in a rival house at Hogwarts, and he is someone who can break apart that lovely little diplomatic façade that you’ve created, because he makes you so angry, you lose your temper whenever he is around, and you hate that almost as much as you hate him,” a cool voice said from the doorway. Cornelius Fudge had stood up, and was walking over to the tall man leaning lazily against the doorframe. Ginny froze, her eyes wide, feeling her face beginning to burn. Turning slowly around, she forced herself to remain calm and let her experience born of three years working as a consul take over.
“Mr. Malfoy, it’s nice to see you. Why don’t you come in and sit down,” she said brightly, unable to look at his face, knowing that his terrible smirk would be there.
Leave a Review