"You've probably guessed the reason for this meeting already, Cornelius, so I won't keep you in suspense," Sirius began as he placed the canvas bag on the Minister's desk, "Brian said he suspected you'd worked it out when he mentioned how quickly I was able to respond to the query about custody when he had initially written to Lord Black."
"Well, I…" Cornelius looked fairly bemused as he took his seat.
"Obviously you realised then that I was and, indeed, am Lord Black." Sirius announced briskly, ignoring blithely the different shades of red that Cornelius was turning. He mentally took away the concealment spell on his ring and waggled it at the Minister. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your discretion in keeping my secret to date and supporting my guardianship of Harry. I am in your debt." He pulled out the brand new pensieve from the bag and set it down in front of Cornelius. "I hope you accept this as a small token of my thanks and appreciation."
Cornelius's eyes dropped to the magical artefact and gasped.
"It's top of the line; newest model." Sirius stated as he took a seat. "As you know many countries have provided pensieves for their Ministers for years and it's criminal that the Wizengamot hasn't authorised budget for you to have one yet."
"Criminal, yes." Cornelius touched it reverently. "I can't tell you how envious the American Ambassador is going to be the next time he comes round. This is much better than the one in his office." He sat back suddenly and gazed at Sirius.
This was the pivotal moment, Sirius mused. Cornelius knew that Sirius probably knew that Cornelius hadn't guessed at all but Cornelius had two choices; to throw his toys out of the pram or to graciously allow them both to pretend that he had guessed, save face and continue to develop a relationship with Lord Black. Sirius also knew that Cornelius had to be considering the fact that not only was Sirius Lord Black but he was also the Potter Regent – his eyes had already skated over the crests on his robes twice.
Cornelius cleared his throat. "I have to confess that while I did suspect as Brian surmised, I didn't actually know for certain that you were Lord Black, uh, Lord Black."
"I thought we agreed it was Sirius." Sirius said smoothly. He was surprised at Cornelius's admission but it was a good ploy – a half-truth but not an all-out lie; something that allowed Cornelius to save face, but acknowledged the truth at the same time.
Cornelius smiled widely at him. "Sirius it is."
"My new assistant calls me Lord Black and I keep looking for my grandfather." Sirius joked, trying to remember all the lessons at political glad-handing that his father and mother had literally beaten into him.
"I remember when my parents found a tutor for me before Hogwarts and Professor Lichen called me Mister Fudge for the first time. I thought he was referring to my father and wouldn't answer him." Cornelius replied with good humour. "I received a fair few raps on the knuckles for that."
"Harry finds being Lord Potter quite strange but then nobody has ever told him about his House responsibilities until this Summer."
"Oh?" Cornelius frowned. "I mean, I'm not surprised at the muggles because what would they know about it but surely Albus…"
Sirius shook his head. "I'm afraid not." He didn't have to pretend the heavy grimace that he made. "Harry has been left entirely too uninformed about his place in our world, not just the Boy Who Lived nonsense, but the House of Potter, his family, his heritage…" he sighed, "I've been told that his teachers were made to promise not to tell him about his mother and father."
"That is terrible." Cornelius commiserated. "I've had concerns about how Albus has been handling things at Hogwarts for a number of years now, but his hold on the school is absolute."
"Speaking of concerns," Sirius said, turning the conversation to what he was really there for, "I did have an ulterior motive for getting you the pensieve." He reached back into the canvas bag and extracted three vials filled with silvery fluid. "With your permission, I'd like to show you some copies of Harry's memories from his time at Hogwarts. I'm not certain how much you know already – how much information Albus has shared – but I believe it's important for you to see them. However, I must have an oath that you will keep this information confidential."
Cornelius nodded slowly. "I'm intrigued so I'll agree." He picked up his wand. "I, Cornelius Ambrose Fudge, swear to the House of Black to keep the contents of this meeting confidential." There was a flash of light from the tip of his wand and Sirius was satisfied.
He motioned for Sirius to fill the pensieve and they dived into the basin. The memory begun with Harry and his friends approaching the Cerberus and went from there.
"What is this exactly?" Cornelius asked a tad impatiently. "Some kind of student obstacle course for their first year DADA exam? I can understand your concern; the dog is a bit much."
"I'm afraid it's nothing as benign as an obstacle course," Sirius replied, "this is a set of traps created by the Hogwarts Professors to protect Flamel's Philosopher's stone, or at least that's what they're supposed to be protecting. Somebody has already gotten past them and Harry and his friends are trying to stop the potential thief." He pointed Cornelius back at the action.
They watched silently for the most part although Cornelius muttered a 'oh good show' as Harry caught the key. As Harry faced Quirrell and Voldemort, Cornelius paled considerably (Sirius had thrown up so the Minister was actually doing better than he had done at that stage). He was shaking by the time Sirius led him out of the memory – just after Harry's discussion with Dumbledore in the infirmary (Sirius had been livid when he'd seen it for the first time – Remus had stuck him to a chair until he'd cooled down enough to agree that trying to find Dumbledore in Thailand to hex him was a bad idea).
"Firewhiskey?" prompted Sirius gently.
Cornelius pointed at a cabinet and Sirius retrieved the alcohol and poured him a generous amount. He resumed his seat and waited for Cornelius to speak.
"I assume there's no hoping that the memory has been tampered with or that this isn't an elaborate fantasy of young Harry's?" Cornelius said eventually, his hands wrapped tightly around his whiskey glass.
"It's my intention to show the memory to Amelia Bones and Wilbert Croaker later. I'm sure they can both vouch for the authenticity." Sirius said firmly. "I'm certain it can be independently verified for that matter if necessary."
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