is there a reason?

[KathyK]

No: HPFGUIDX 77359

Fran:

> Everyone seems to think that Fudge is just naive but I think he is 
a 
> LV supporter if not a DE.  Around the same passage quoted above, DD 
> accuses Fudge of "putting too much importance on purity of blood". 
> Things that bother me about Fudge:
> 1) Puts the blame on Sirius for the Potter's, and Wormtails 
supposed 
> death without a trial or asking for an explanation.

KathyK replies:
Crouch Sr. was the one to throw Sirius in Azkaban.  Sirius says so 
himself in GoF.  "Oh I know Crouch all right," he said quietly.  "He 
was the one who gave the order for me to be sent ot Azkaban--without 
a trial."  (US paperback, 526)  Fudge wasn't even minister until 
after this.  Until Crouch Jr and the Lestranges tortured the 
Longbottoms, everyone thought Crouch Sr was going to become the next 
Minister.

Fran: 
 2)The deatheaters in POA

KathyK:
I don't know what you're referring to with this.  Are you talking 
about the dementors, perhaps?

Fran:

> 3)The dementors kiss on Barty jr without taking the opportunity to 
> question him.
> 4)The whole parting of the ways.
> 5)His continuing reluctance to believe LV is back at the end of 
OOP. 
> He didn't exactly go Oh MY God you were right all along DD, he 
> reacted begrudgingly to it.

KathyK:
His reluctance is understandable, if not outright explained.  Fudge 
loves his power as Minister of Magic.  He's afraid of anything that 
will upset his position, especially Dumbledore.  He grudgingly  
accepts Voldemort's return at the end of OoP not because he's a DE 
and doesn't want to admit that his "master" is back, but because he 
didn't want to admit Dumbledore is right and that he's been not just 
wrong about Voldemort's return but that he's been actively covering 
up the evidence Dumbledore and Harry give so he can remain in power. 
(ugh that's not a pretty sentence, is it?)
And in the "Parting of the Ways" I saw Fudge's refusal to entertain 
Voldemort's return as great fear of Voldemort and of what it could do 
to his position.  The image that always sticks with me from that 
scene is (US paperback, 709): 
He rocked backward and forward on his small feet for a moment and 
spun his bowler hat in his hands.  Finally, he said, with a hint of a 
plea in his voice, "He can't be back, Dumbledore, he just can't be..."
To me he doesn't seem like a DE or Voldemort supporter, just a small 
man afraid to face the truth.

Fran:
> 6)He thinks so highly of Lucious Malfoy. Yes I know Lucious gives 
> money but giving money isnt that big a deal for someone who has 
> alot.  
> I realize that this is out there but I just dont believe he is that 
> naive. I also believe Ludo Bagman is a DE.....Wimbourn Wasp...Wasp 
> buzzing around in GOF and OOP.....
> Fran

KathyK: 
I don't think Fudge is naive, either.  He's in love with his own 
power.  He believes in the purity of blood.  These things do not a 
Death Eater make, IMO.  He's stupid for not believing Dumbledore, for 
placing himself above the safety of the WW, and for continuing to 
hold onto the notion of purity of blood.  But he's not a Voldemort 
supporter.  He's also not the only one unwilling to believe that 
Voldemort returned without proof beyond Dumbledore's word.  
Dumbledore's word probably should be enough, but not for people who 
want to believe their world is still safe and Voldemort-free.

KathyK (who does not believe Fudge and Umbridge are Death Eaters, no 
matter how evil they act)