ESE!Fudge

[huntergreen_3]

No: HPFGUIDX 113507

HunterGreen previously:
>>At the very least its clear that the Dementors are *specifically*
interested in Harry in PoA. Either someone told them to go after
Harry or they are acting on their own. So far, Fudge and Umbridge are
the only people we've seen communitcating with Dementors.<<

Eloise:
>>One could argue that the Dementors are here getting out of hand,
although Fudge clearly has a fair amount of control still. I wonder
if they really are so specifically interested in Harry, or whether
his sensitivity to them makes it seem so.<<

HunterGreen:
They appear to be interested in him on the train (to quote myself):
>>>It struck me as odd that they would stop the train HALFWAY through 
to search it, rather than doing it at the beginning of the trip. 
Obviously, if Sirius was on the train, he would have got to Harry 
long before the Dementers came to look for him. Of course, they could 
have searched it BEFORE it loaded with students, but that makes 
searching it several hours later sort of useless, doesn't it? And 
their search is a little odd too. Its a fair estimate that the 
Dementer searched each compartment of the train, ending with the last 
one, where Harry was. The door opens, Harry passes out, then the 
Dementer just stands there for a moment. Lupin asks it to leave, but 
it doesn't move until he uses (I'm guessing) expecto patronum on it. 
Now why is that? Its clear just opening the door who's in there and 
who's not (especially since the dementer 'senses' rather 
than 'looks'), and certainly no one else on the train had to use a 
charm to get the dementer to leave (since none of them know it), so 
why does it just stand there? Perhaps they were dispatched on the 
train as soon as Fudge could get them there (which was halfway 
through), with orders to find Harry, and that's why it didn't leave 
until Lupin *forced* it to (this is all just guessing, of course).<<<

And then again, at the end of the book, their target, Sirius Black is 
lying *right there* and they ignore him and go after Harry. 

Eloise:
>> When they invaded the Quidditch pitch were they interested in 
Harry, sensing Sirius watching him or just as the text states hungry? 
Dementors seem to make very dangerous allies.<<

HunterGreen:
Here's the quote from PoA:
"At least a hundred dementors, their hidden faces pointing up at him,
were standing beneath him."

Their faces were pointed *up at him*, which could have been Harry's 
imagination, but it could mean that the dementors were focusing on 
Harry in a stadium full of people, when he was further away and 
moving around rather fast. Here's a question: can dementors focus 
their energy on a specific person, or does their mere presence affect 
everyone nearby? There's conflicting evidence for this. On the one 
hand, it would seem impossible for anyone to have a conversation with 
a dementor without getting very ill and being unable to concentrate 
if they just immediately affected you. However, in the case of the 
train and Arthur's visit to Azkaban where he came home shaking, it 
seems that they can't "turn it off", so to speak.
If they affect *everyone* nearby, then how come Harry was the only 
one to fall off his broom? *One hundred* dementors has to have an 
amplified effect, so surely someone wouldn't need nearly as horrible 
of memories as Harry to pass out (remember, Harry passes out when 
he's around ONE dementor), and on two teams of players -- most of 
them older than Harry, who might have had relatives who died in VW1 --
 none of them had a bad enough memory to make them pass out in the 
presence of a hundred dementors? Seems a little hard to believe.
However, if a dementor can focus their energy one one person, then it 
would explain why Harry was the only person affected. But it wouldn't 
explain why they were interested in Harry.

HunterGreen previously:
>><snip> Whether or not Fudge is ESE!
its very hard to believe that he really doesn't think Voldemort is
back (he's either ESE! or *exteremely* corrupt, pretty much to the
point of being a different type of evil).<<

Eloise:
>>I think he really just does not *want* to believe that Voldemort if
back. In the first place, even if he is not corrupt, then the
consequences are just too awful to contemplate, all his cosy
assumptions have flown out of the window and his incompetence and
lack of foresight and preparation are going to see the end of his
career.<<

HunterGreen:
He's the Ministry of Magic though, he has to expect that its not a 
cushy job. Its not always going to be easy. What would not believing 
that there is a major threat to the society you are the leader of in 
the face of clear evidence? 
I think that the non-ESE!Fudge was just too worried about losing his 
seat of power than being remembered as a good leader. His priority 
seems to be longevity rather than reverence. Its odd though, for a 
person so interested and in love with the power he has, he barely 
seems to use it. His first big chance is at the end of GoF and he's 
too afraid of doing the wrong thing to do anything at all. It makes 
me wonder why he wants that power at all, if he doesn't know what to 
do with it. Clearly, though, if he were a good Minister of Magic, he 
could have taken steps to protect his society, which would, at least, 
have stopped the DE breakout from Azkaban.


HunterGreen previously:
>>Again, I ask, why did he have a Dementor with him that day? We know
he wasn't really buying into the 'strange happenings' at Hogwarts,
and a school contest hardly seems like a 'danger' to him. If he
called the Dementor *after* Harry disappeared from the maze, how did
he get one there so fast?<<

Eloise:
>>He was scared. He told us and for once I think it was the plain
honest truth. He said it was for personal protection which means he
knew he was in danger. Was the danger from Crouch Jr not what he
might *do* but what he might *say*? What Crouch Jr could have told
about his past if not silenced?

But yes, he already had the Dementor there, apparently with no prior
knowledge that Crouch Jr was at Hogwarts. Did he feel a general need
for protection because despite all his denials he *did* understand
the truth?<<

HunterGreen:
I still don't see enough reason for him to bring a dementor with him 
to the tournament. I understand why he'd bring one in to talk to 
Crouch Jr., just not what he'd already happen to have one on hand. No 
one, not even Dumbledore, predicted that the maze was going to end so 
badly. That, and why did the Dementor just immediately Kiss Barty 
Jr.? Are they *that* far out of control? So far we have evidence that 
the Dementors can be directed toward a specific person, and that they 
have to be *given permission* to use the Kiss on someone. In OotP, 
they went directly after Harry and Dudley, even though I'm sure there 
were other muggles around (and Harry wasn't even in a spefic place, 
like outside the Dursley's house, the Dementor had to *find* him 
first).