.Working.as.hard.as.we.can.to.make.sure.Voldemort.can.t.carry.out.his.plans,.
.said.Sirius..
.How.d.you.know.what.his.plans.are?..Harry.asked.quickly..
.Dumbledore.s.got.a.shrewd.idea,..said.Lupin,..and.Dumbledore.s.shrewd.ideas.normally.turn.out.to.be.accurate...
.So.what.does.Dumbledore.reckon.he.s.planning?..
.Well,.firstly,.he.wants.to.build.up.his.army.again,..said.Sirius...In.the.old.days.he.had.huge.numbers.at.his.command:.witches.and.wizards.he.d.bullied.or.bewitched.into.following.him,.his.faithful.Death.Eaters,.a.great.variety.of.Dark.creatures..You.heard.him.planning.to.recruit.the.giants;.well,.they.ll.be.just.one.of.the.groups.he.s.after..He.s.certainly.not.going.to.try.and.take.on.the.Ministry.of.Magic.with.only.a.dozen.Death.Eaters...
.So.you.re.trying.to.stop.him.getting.more.followers?..
.We.re.doing.our.best,..said.Lupin..
.How?..
.Well,.the.main.thing.is.to.try.and.convince.as.many.people.as.possible.that.You‐
Know‐Who.really.has.returned,.to.put.them.on.their.guard,..said.Bill...It.s.proving.tricky,.though...
.Why?..
.Because.of.the.Ministry.s.attitude,..said.Tonks...You.saw.Cornelius.Fudge.after.You‐Know‐Who.came.back,.Harry..Well,.he.hasn.t.shifted.his.position.at.all..He.s.absolutely.refusing.to.believe.it.s.happened...
.But.why?..said.Harry.desperately..Why.s.he.being.so.stupid?.If.Dumbledore.‐..
.Ah,.well,.you.ve.put.your.finger.on.the.problem,..said.Mr.Weasley.with.a.wry.smile...Dumbledore...
.Fudge.is.frightened.of.him,.you.see,..said.Tonks.sadly..
.Frightened.of.Dumbledore?..said.Harry.incredulously..
.Frightened.of.what.he.s.up.to,..said.Mr.Weasley...Fudge.thinks.Dumbledore.s.plotting.to.overthrow.him..He.thinks.Dumbledore.wants.to.be.Minister.for.Magic...
.But.Dumbledore.doesn.t.want.‐..
.Of.course.he.doesn.t,..said.Mr.Weasley...He.s.never.wanted.the.Minister.s.job,
.even.though.a.lot.of.people.wanted.him.to.take.it.when.Millicent.Bagnold.retired..Fudge.came.to.power.instead,.but.
‐.
he.s.never.quite.forgotten.how.much.popular.support.Dumbledore.had,.even.though.Dumbledore.never.applied.for.the.job...
.Deep.down,.Fudge.knows.Dumbledore.s.much.cleverer.than.he.is.a.much.more.powerful.wizard,.and.in.the.early.days.of.his.Ministry.he.was.forever.asking.Dumbledore.for.help.and.advice,..said.Lupin...But.it.seems.he.s.become.fond.of.power,.and.much.more.confident..He.loves.being.Minister.for.Magic.and.he.s.managed.to.convince.himself.that.he.s.the.clever.one.and.Dumbledore.s.simply.stirring.up.trouble.for.the.sake.of.it...
.How.can.he.think.that?..said.Harry.angrily...How.can.he.think.Dumbledore.would.just.make.it.all.up.‐.that.I.d.make.it.all.up?..
.Because.accepting.that.Voldemort.s.back.would.mean.trouble.like.the.Ministry.hasn.t.had.to.cope.with.for.nearly.fourteen.years,..said.Sirius.bitterly...Fudge.just.can.t.bring.himself.to.face.it..It.s.so.much.more.comfortable.to.convince.himself.Dumbledore.s.lying.to.destabilise.him...
.You.see.the.problem,..said.Lupin...While.the.Ministry.insists.there.is.nothing.to.fear.from.Voldemort.it.s.hard.to.convince.people.he.s.back,.especially.as.they.really.don.t.want.to.believe.it.in.the.first.place..What.s.more,.the.Ministry.s.leaning.heavily.on.the.Daily.Prophet.not.to.report.any.of.what.they.re.calling.Dumbledore.s.rumour‐mongering,.so.most.of.the.wizarding.community.are.completely.unaware.any.things.happened,.and.that.makes.them.easy.targets.for.the.Death.Eaters.if.they.re.using.the.Imperius.Curse...